Pt. Vishwamohan Bhatt (Mohan Veena)
Pt. Hariprasad Chaurasia (Flute)
Uma Sharma (Kathak)
Ustad Shujaat Khan (Sitar)
Pt. Ulhas Kashalkar (Vocal)
Smt. Malini Awasthi
Smt. Sunanda Sharma
Pt. Shubhendra Rao
Smt. Shubha Mudgal
Pt. Vishwamohan Bhatt (Mohan Veena)
Artist Bio
Creator of the Mohan Veena and the winner of the Grammy award, Vishwamohan Bhatt is an Indian Classical instrumentalist.

He was born into a musical family in Rajasthan and began his musical training as a Sitar player under his father, who ran a music school. Being the foremost disciple of Pt. Ravi Shankar, Vishwa Mohan belongs to the elite body of musicians which trace its origin to the Mughal emperor Akbar's court musician Tansen and his guru the Hindu Mystic Swami Haridas.

Vishwamohan Bhatt has attracted International attention by Indianizing the Hawaiian Guitar with perfect assimilation of the Sitar, Sarod and Veena techniques, by giving it a revolutionary design and shape by adding 14 additional strings. With blinding speed and faultless legato, Bhatt is undoubtedly one of the most expressive, versatile and greatest slide players of the world.

His latest creation is a new instrument, the Vishwa Veena, which has 35 strings.

"Music is the language of god created for the benefit of mankind.
To me, music is the medium to talk to god.""
- Pt. Vishwamohan Bhatt
Pt. Hariprasad Chaurasia (Flute)
Artist Bio
Hariprasad Chaurasia is an accomplished Indian Classical flautist. Son of a wrestler, Chaurasia began learning vocal music from his neighbor, Pandit Rajaram, as a teenager. Later, he switched to playing the flute under the tutelage of Pandit Bholanath Prasanna of Varanasi for eight years. He joined the All India Radio, Cuttack, Odisha in 1957 and worked as a composer and performer.

Much later, while working for All India Radio, he received guidance from the reclusive Annapurna Devi, daughter of Baba Allaudin Khan. She only agreed to teach him if he switched from right-handed to left-handed playing. Till date, he plays the flute left-handed.

If Chaurasia is more earthly than many of his peers, it is probably down to his background. Indian classical music is a family business: father hands on tradition to son. Chaurasia is a first generation musician with a will of iron to perspire, persist and inspire.

In spite of having achieved so much, the maestro is still giving back to the world through his own music and by nurturing outstanding talent in his school Brindavan, which is based on the gurukul system.

"My religion is my music.
Lord Krishna is my God.
Whenever I want to pray, whenever I want to meditate and concentrate, I take my flute.
I can feel God."
- Pt. Hariprasad Chaurasia
Uma Sharma (Kathak)
Artist Bio
Uma Sharma is a kathak exponent born into a family of litterateurs in Delhi, comprising Acharya Pandit Vasudeva Sharma, Sanskrit vidwan for a father and Ratna Devi for mother.

Uma Sharma received her dance training from Guru Hiralalji and Girvar Dayal of the Jaipur gharana, and subsequently became a student of Pandit Sunder Prasad of the Jaipur gharana who emphasised rhythmic footwork and its permutations, Shambhu Maharaj and Birju Maharaj noted gurus of the Kathak tradition of the Lucknow gharana, known for the art of abhinaya.

From the age of 14, she was invited every year by Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru to perform at his birthday parties. She was also chosen to perform at Rashtrapati Bhavan for royal visitors including Queen Elizabeth, the Shah & Shah Bano of Iran.

Uma Sharma is not only known for her abhinaya, but is also renowned for her research and innovation, having managed to not only give a new look to the stock repertoire of Kathak, but also bring out the glorious tradition of the Braj Raas of Vrindavan and its relation to Kathak.
"mein jab bhi naachi, doob ke naachi.
Aur logon ko pasand aaya
Whenever I dance, I drowned in it.
My body articulated it and people always liked it."
- Uma Sharma
Ustad Shujaat Khan (Sitar)
Artist Bio
Shujaat Khan is a sitar maestro and seventh generation torchbearer of the embellished legacy of the Imdad gharana that has produced many a virtuoso.

He is the son and disciple of the great sitarist Ustad Vilayat Khan, and his grandfather, Ustad Inayat Khan, his great-grandfather, Ustad Imdad Khan, and his great-great-grandfather, Ustad Sahebdad Khan, were all leading artists of their respective generations. He can trace his lineage all the way back to Mian Tansen, the great court musician in Emperor Akbar's court.

Born the eldest son to not just a master musician, but a temperamental and incorruptible father, Shujaat Khan's musical career began at the age of three when he began practicing on a specially made small sitar. By the age of six, he was recognized as a child prodigy and began giving public performances.

Gifted with an exceptional voice, he's known to be a fearless collaborator with different genres of musicians
"Music is ceaseless. Give your heart and soul to music and leave the rest to destiny."
- Ustad Shujaat Khan
Pt. Ulhas Kashalkar (Vocal)
Artist Bio
Pandit Ulhas N Kashalkar is a Hindustani classical vocalist. He has previously received training in the Gwalior, Jaipur and Agra gharanas, and is considered a representative of all three schools. He received his first lessons in music from his father N D Kashalkar, a lawyer by profession and an amateur vocalist and musicologist. He went on to study music at Nagpur University, topping his post-graduate class. Around that time, he trained under Rajabhau Kogje and P N Khardenavis. Ulhas Kashalkar initially worked as a programme executive at the Mumbai station of All India Radio. In 1993 he became a teacher at the ITC Sangeet Research Academy, where he remains today.

Smt. Malini Awasthi
Artist Bio
Malini Awasthi is an Indian folk singer. She sings in Bhojpuri, Awadhi and Hindi. She also presents in Thumri and Kajri. The Government of India awarded her the civilian honour of the Padma Shri in 2016. She is known for her contribution in Bhojpuri music. She is a post graduate as well as gold medalist in Hindustani classical music from Bhatkhande University, Lucknow. She is a Ganda bandh student of Legendary Hindustani Classical Singer, Padma Vibhushan Vidushi Girija Devi of Banaras Gharana.

She is a regular performer at popular classical music festival, Jahan-e-Khusrau. She has a high pitch voice and is popular for rendition of Thumari, Thaare Raho Baanke Shyam. She judged the Bhojpuri - Musical Reality Show "Sur Sangram". She participated on TV for NDTV Imagine's Junoon. She was appointed as the brand ambassador by Election Commission for UP Elections 2012 and 2014. She sang the song "Sunder Susheel" in the 2015 film Dum Laga Ke Haisha which had music by Anu Malik.
Smt. Sunanda Sharma
Artist Bio
Born in Himachal Pradesh, Sunanda Sharma began learning under the guidance of her father Pandit Sudarshan Sharma when she was hardly 5 years old and went on to pursue studying Indian Classical Music from Punjab University. Her musical journey reached another milestone when Smt. Girija Devi took her as her disciple and she continues to guide her even today.

Though her forte lies in Khayal, Tappa, Thumri, Dadra and Chaiti, Sunanda Sharma has been including Punjabi folk, Sufi and other devotional styles to her repertoire. Her style of singing brings instantly connects her audiences with the depth and beauty of music.

She has been a visiting faculty at SOAS University and Royal Academy of Music in London. She has exhibited her brilliance in collaborations with renowned artists like Ustad Amjad Ali Khan. She has performed at many international concerts and been honored with many accolades.
Pt. Shubhendra Rao
Artist Bio
Shubhendra Rao is a composer and sitar player who's ranked amongst the top soloists of India. The press describes him as "a musical bridge to many cultures" and "a thinking musician, constantly endeavouring to carry his instrument beyond conventional boundaries". His music is "an experience that is not aimed at titillating the senses, but to seize the soul".

A protege of late Pt. Ravi Shankar, he is acknowledged by critics and connoisseurs alike as a worthy successor to his teacher's tradition.

He is a classical musician, as well as a collaborator, working with musicians from different genres across the world. He has performed at prestigious venues and festivals like the Kennedy Center, Carnegie Hall, Broadway, the Sydney Opera House, the National Arts Festival, the Theatre de la Ville, Dover Lane Music Conference, and St. Xavier's college Ahmedabad to name a few.
Pt. Shubhendra Rao
Artist Bio
Shubha Mudgal is an Indian singer of Hindustani classical music. Her repertoire includes the genres of khyal, thumri, dadra, and Indian pop. She has received the Padma Shri in 2000.

Shubha Mudgal started performing as a Hindustani classical singer in the 1980s, and gained a certain reputation as a talented singer. In the 1990s, she started experimenting with other forms of music, including pop and fusion varieties. She says, "I believe in music. Khayal and Thumri are my favourites, but that does not mean that I should not experiment with other forms. Why should I curtail my musical urges? I want to allow the artist in me to come through. If you are a musician, how can you say, 'this one is from devotional poetry, so I am not going to sing it." In addition to her recordings and concerts, she briefly ran a website called raagsangeet.com aimed at lovers of Indian classical.

She sang the title track of Star Plus's serial Diya Aur Baati Hum along with Kailash Kher. She also sang on the soundtrack of the film Mystic India. In 2019, she also turned into a fictional writer with her debut book titled 'Looking for Miss Sargam: Stories of Music and Misadventure'.