IMSOM Concert: Shashwati Mandal (Hindustani Vocal)

Shashwati was born in Gwalior in a family of musicians. Her maternal grandfather Pt. Balabhau Umdekar 'Kundalguru' was a darbar-gayak (court musician) at the royal court of Gwalior, and a singer of the Gwalior gharana. Shashwati started her early classical training under the guidance of her mother, Smt. Kamal Mandal, at a very young age. From 1987-1992, she received a Department of Culture (Govt of India) scholarship to study under the veteran Gwalior gharana singer Pt. Balasaheb Poonchhwale.[3] Balasaheb instilled into her the finer nuisances of Gwalior gayaki, and also trained her into the art of Tappa singing, the vibrant semi-classical genre. She continued her training with her gurus, Balasaheb Poonchhwale and Kamal Mandal until their deaths in 2005 and 2006, respectively.

She also studied briefly under Purnima Chaudhuri for Thumri, Gundecha Brothers for Dhrupad, and Sarbat Hussain for Ghazal singing. In 2009-2010, she received Sanskriti Foundation's Mani Mann Fellowship to study under Madhup Mudgal of Gandharva Mahavidyalaya, New Delhi. In addition, she is heavily influenced by the gayaki of Kumar Gandharva, and the repertoire of Jaipur-Atrauli Gharana.
Shashwati has integrated these eclectic musical leanings into her gayaki (musical style). She has received praise for her full-throated resonant voice, and clarity of taans and murkis.[ She is widely regarded as one the foremost exponents of Tappa singing.

As a child prodigy Shashwati started giving public performance at the young age of seven. She has performed extensively in India and abroad. Some of her major performances include Sawai Gandharva Sangeet Mahotsav in Pune, Maharashtra in 2006, Darbar festival in United Kingdom in 2008, Saptak Annual Festival of Music in Ahmedabad, Gujarat in 2010, Vishnu Digambar Jayanti Samaroh in New Delhi in 2010, Harballabh Sangeet Sammelan in Jalandhar, Punjab in 2012, and ITC Sangeet Sammelan in Kolkata, West Bengal in 2014. Abroad, she has performed at Darbar Festival UK, Chandayan Overnight Festival New York, Oriental Music Festival Estonia, and Singapore Fine Arts Festival, Singapore.

Shashwati has been nominated to the 'Word Songlines Music Awards' 2009, by Songlines magazine in the category of Best New Comer and Best Artist. This nomination was for the album 'Tappa Journey' released by Sense World Music in UK. The magazine also her 'Top Of The World' five star review.

She is currently an 'A' grade artist at All India Radio and is an empanelled artist at Indian Council for Cultural Relations. Shashwati also served as a staff artist in All India Radio, Bhopal and an Assistant Professor of Music in Mumbai University, Mumbai. Shashwati also conducted workshops with her late Guru Balasaheb Poonchwale and later individually at various venues in India and abroad.