Śraddhā: Celebrating Iconic Women Artists from South Asia

Isheeta Chakrvarty is an Indian contemporary singer-songwriter, composer, educator, voice over artist, recording artist and TED speaker based in Mumbai. With strong roots in Hindustani classical music, Isheeta is a musical explorer, pushing her edges as an expressionist traversing multiple genres especially Jazz, Pop and Electronic Music and other sonic spaces as evident in her original pieces of music. She is a recording artist for Bollywood (Sultan: Baby Ko Bass ) as well as OTT shows like Mirzapur on Amazon Prime, Class, Fame Game , Bombay Begums on Netflix, apart from others like JioCinemas (Kalkoot) and Alt Balaji (The Married Woman) and many more and continues to work with many composers and producers. She is a cross-genre collaborator and collaborated with reputed artists like Vishal-Shekhar, Louiz and Gino Banks, Viveick Rajagopalan, Sanjay Divecha, Donn Bhat, Anyasa, Anand Bhaskar, Keshav Dhar and more.   She has had the privilege to open for Ustad Zakir Hussain at the International Jazz Festival at the NCPA in 2018. She is a global concert artist performing at various stages across India and the world like the Java Jazz Festival (Indonesia), Cervantino Festival (Mexico), La Merce (Spain), Star of Asia (Kazakhstan) and many independent concerts globally. Isheeta recently released her debut EP EK SUTRA in collaboration with producer and mridangam player Viveick Rajagopalan which was touted as one of the 10 best Indian EPs of 2022.   As an educator, Isheeta’s approach is deeply holistic and is tuned to helping students of music unlock their authentic voices and discover their own musicianship. She is one of a kind in her field who has an understanding of both—her traditional roots as well as an understanding of a global soundscape which aids in helping students develop a wider understanding of their place in the world as musicians. Isheeta heads multiple outfits.   • Isheeta Chakrvarty Collective is a space where she explores most of her influences ranging from Indian music to African to Jazz in a context that is not necessarily traditional but holds strong elements of world music as well.  • Isheeta Chakrvarty Jazz Quartet/Quintet where she performs traditional Jazz standards and some modern Jazz compositions.  • An intimate semi-classical set where she sings thumris, bhajans, ghazals, Sufi as well as original compositions which are more traditional in nature.  • A curated set of choicest Indian, Bollywood, Pop and Jazz songs, for a more commercial requirement. Isheeta is constantly pushing her boundaries as an artist and is a committed student of music and continuously looks forward to exploring newer musical vistas.

Vaibhav Wavikar I am 32 year old professional drummer and percussionist who is working as a freelancer musician and tutor in Mumbai . I have always enjoyed teaching drums and sharing the knowledge of what I have learnt traveling to different parts of the world.

Nastya Saraswati is a musician from St.Petersburg, Russia, who finds her forte in Indian Classical Music, a passion she has been nourishing since late 2012. Born in St Petersburg Russia, in the family of non musicians Nastya started her first music experience to learn violin upon suggestion of her uncle, who was a professional orchestra conductor. She made frequent trips to India in search for Gurus and learn Hindustani Classical and Karnatic music from them. She still continues to hone her skills under guidance of her Guru Shri Purbayan Chatterjee and find her place in her Indian dream. In 2017 Nastya was also a part of Indian reality TV show 'Dil Hai Hindustani’ on Star Plus. Lately Nastya has started sincerely educating russian students the basics of Indian Classical music to inspire them and open their world to the beauty of this ancient music in Russia.

Swarupa Ananth-Sawkar is a bold young Indian percussionist and producer, ranked in the Forbes India 30 under 30 list. She has been a prolific entertainer from a young age, under the mentorship of Ustad Allarakha & Ustad Zakir Hussain. Her debut album Raagtronic, released in 2014, reached #1 on the iTunes India charts. As a performer and producer, Swarupa has collaborated with many national and international artists, sharing the stage with some of India’s biggest musical luminaries including Talvin Singh and A.R. Rahman, and is a well established entrepreneur in the Indian music scene, having served as A&R Manager for EMI Music India. Swarupa recently launched an online music school, Tablanaari’s School Of Music, that promotes Indian Classical music with world class artists teaching rich traditional material in a holistic manner.Swarupa Ananth