Shubha Mudgal

vocalist, musician, composer

Shubha Mudgal was born in Allahabad, in 1959 in a musically dedicated family, who embraced literature as well as Indian and western music. Famously known as a versatile singer and a popular performer today, Shubha grew up in an artistic atmosphere of variety and innovation. As a child, she received training from some of the finest musicians and musicologists in India. Shubha MudgalMudgal hit the music circuit in the late 1980s, where she was regarded as one of the more promising classical vocalists, where she has fluttered away from Kabir, Tulsi, Meera and Sufi poetry to the rock-and-roll beats of Ab ke Sawan. Thus, her singing in different areas has also created more interest in Indian classical music among younger people. This classically trained musician Shubha Mudgal took the "blasphemous" step of straying into pop and now whenever young people do come to her concerts, they appreciate her music all the more. She has thus, innovated herself and made her desire to work with different musical forms, a reality. This is a surprising step from a classical singer, since some of the other classical vocalists have not really ventured into the Indian film world to that extent. Thus, she is first a student of voice rather than a student of only Khayal or only Thumri gharana. In addition to being a performer, Shubha is also recognized as a composer. It is the ancient poetry she has read throughout her training which did compel her to become a composer. A lot of what she sings is from the texts that she has been studying from. Shubha also enjoys working with artists of all mediums including with some of the leading dancers and filmmakers in the country. She received the award for Best Music Direction at the National Film Festival 1996 for her work in Meera Diwan`s film Amrit Beej. She did the soundtrack for Mira Nair`s film Kamasutra and also gave the score for Rajan Khosa`s Dance of the Wind. She has composed for dancers like Aditi Mangaldas and Sonal Mansingh and for ballets like Meera and Krishna Katha of the Shri Ram Bharatiya Kala Kendra.