Shashwati Mandal -Interview-HCL Maestros in Studio Live at The Peninsula Studios-Season 1 (2018)

In Season 1 of HCL Maestros in Studio Live @The Peninsula Studios, Shashwati Mandal performs Tappa in Raga Khamaj and Tappa in Raga Kafi, Bandish in Raga Kafi. She is accompanied on Harmonium by Paromita Mukherjee, on Tabla by Prashant Pandav and on Tanpura by Poorva Joshi and Bhawna. Shashwati Mandal is a fine exponent of the Gwalior style. Shashwati`s musical dexterity marks a refined eclecticism that has lent her an individualistic style at a fairly young age. Born into a family devoted to music, Shashwati showed rare sensitivity towards it from early childhood. Grand-daughter of late Pandit Balabhau Umdekar, the erudite exponent of the Gwalior style of classical Hindustani music and a court musician of the Gwalior state. Shashwati, initially trained under her mother late Smt Kamal Mandal. Later, from 1987-1992 she received the national scholarship from the dept. of culture, Govt of India, for learning `Tappa` and `Khayal` from the veteran musician Pandit Balasaheb Poonchwale. A foremost disciple of Balasaheb, Shashwati has acquired under his tutelage, an able hold on the subtle complexity of `Tappa`. She also continued to be inspired by her mother whose steady guidance has groomed her into an accomplished performer. Presently she is taking guidance from the `Gundecha Brothers'. Shashwati is an `A` graded artist of AIR and Doordarshan. Her performances at several platforms and festivals have received high acclaim. Some of her notable performances include those at the Sawai Gandharv festival Pune, Tansen Sangeet Samaroh Gwalior, Habba Festival Bangalore, Samrat Sangeet Sammelan Goa, etc. Curators: Kaushiki Chakraborty & Arunabha Deb (Hindustani) and Anil Srinivasan (Carnatic) Produced by: Subroto Chattopadhyay & Sita Raina Project Management for The Peninsula Studios: Avinash Chordia & Narinder Tawakley Director: Salman Usmani Audio Recording, Mixing & Mastering: Deepak Samson Chief Assistant Directors: Alisha Chatterjee, Mohammad Saad Assistant Directors: Mudit Singhal, Vijay Rawat Lead Camera: Abhishek Negi Cameramen: Punit Upadhya, Nitin Kumar, Shubham Thakur Asst. Camera: Gaurav Pandey, Pawan Arya Production Coordinator: Priyanka Nagi Production Assistant: Shagun Dhir Editors: Sougat Paul, Haseeb Ahmad, Sidharth Singh, Gautam Kumar, Ashish Kumar Pandey Promos: Mohammad Waseem Styling & Wardrobe: Kunica Sharma, Vidha Chadha Make Up: Diyvashekhar Jha Set Design: Mohsin Ali Lights and Grips: Vinay, Manoj Spots: Teja Singh, Ram Iqbal Studio Technician: Shankar Muthuswamy www.facebook.com/maestrosinstudio Twitter: @StudioTPS Instagram: @thepeninsulastudios #maestrosinstudio