Hindustani classical · born 1960
Ashwini Bhide-Deshpande
A biochemist who left the laboratory for the raga, and treats each one as a person to befriend.
- Instrument
- Khayal vocal
- Gharana
- Jaipur-Atrauli gharana
- Schools & gurukuls
- ITC Sangeet Research AcademyPerformed at the ITC Sangeet SammelanAkhil Bharatiya Gandharva Mahavidyalaya MandalGraduate of its examinations
- Born
- 7 October 1960, Mumbai
Official website & social links
Ashwini Bhide-Deshpande's own pages elsewhere on the web.
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Where to start
Begin listening
Start here
Salutations to Ganesha — Raag Jansammohini, Darbar Festival 2018
darbarfestival
Published on the festival's own channel.
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In concert at The Music Academy, Madras
HCL Concerts
A concert recording published by the presenting series.
Recordings are embedded from official or authorised channels and never rehosted. Nothing plays on its own, and starting one closes another. Where an editor has added a note, it explains why that recording was chosen — not what happens inside it.
Biography
Life
Ashwini Bhide-Deshpande was born Ashwini Govind Bhide on 7 October 1960 in Mumbai, into a family with a strong musical tradition; her grandmother played the dilruba and her mother, Manik Bhide, was a well-known singer and a disciple of Kishori Amonkar.
She began classical training under Narayanrao Datar, the elder brother of the violinist D. K. Datar, and completed her Sangeet Visharad from the Akhil Bharatiya Gandharva Mahavidyalaya Mandal, Mumbai. She has since learned the Jaipur-Atrauli style from her mother, and also received guidance from Ratnakar Pai until his death in 2009.
Alongside music she took a Master's degree in microbiology and a doctorate in biochemistry from the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, working as a scientist for several years before turning to music full time: "I gave up science 30 years ago for the sake of music, initially giving myself a year to explore it. That year has never stopped!"
She received the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award for Hindustani music for 2014, and the Padma Shri in 2025 for her contribution to the arts.
Musical contribution
What they brought to music
Her style is emblematic of the Jaipur-Atrauli gharana, and she specialises in sankeerna (mixed) and achchop (uncommon) raga forms, drawing on Sufi poet-saints as well as on her scientific training. She encourages students to resurrect rare and near-forgotten ragas, and speaks of a raga as something to be befriended: "If I'm interested in a raga, I want it to be interested in me as well."
Life in dates
Timeline
1960
Born in Mumbai
Born on 7 October into a family with a strong musical tradition.
2009
Guidance from Ratnakar Pai ends
She received guidance from him until his death.
2014
Sangeet Natak Akademi Award
In the field of Hindustani music.
2019
Darbar Festival recital
Accompanied by Vinod Lele on tabla and Vinay Misra on harmonium.
2025
Padma Shri
For her contribution to the arts.
Lineage & company
Teachers, students and musical connections
In the documented teaching trees
Where the archive's lineage research places Ashwini Bhide-Deshpande, and the teaching links recorded around them inside each tree.
Jaipur-Atrauli gharanaborn 1960
A leading contemporary voice of the gharana.
Taught in this tree by: Ratnakar Pai, Manik Bhide
People
Grouped by the kind of relationship the sources record — who taught this musician, who they taught, family, and the people they played with.
Teachers and gurus
- Narayanrao DatarTeacher
"Ashwini started classical training under Narayanrao Datar, the elder brother of violinist D. K. Datar."
Wikipedia — Ashwini Bhide-Deshpande - Ratnakar PaiTeacher
"Ashwini also received guidance from Ratnakar Pai until his death in 2009."
Wikipedia — Ashwini Bhide-Deshpande
Family
- Manik BhideMother and teacher
"she first received instruction from her mother Manik Bhide, a successful singer"; she has learned the Jaipur-Atrauli style from her since.
Darbar — Ashwini Bhide-Deshpande; Wikipedia
Named on other pages
Musicians whose own pages record a connection with this one, in the words their sources use.
Schools, gurukuls and institutions
- ITC Sangeet Research Academy
Performed at the ITC Sangeet Sammelan
- Akhil Bharatiya Gandharva Mahavidyalaya Mandal
Graduate of its examinations
Recognition
Honours and recognition
Highest national honour first, then by year.
- 2025Padma ShriFor her contribution to the arts.
- 2014Sangeet Natak Akademi AwardIn the field of Hindustani music; presented by the President of India.
Community
Memories from the community
Personal recollections, not verified history
These are memories shared by listeners and musicians. They sit apart from the sourced biography above, and an editor reads each one before it appears.
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Provenance
Sources and image credits
- Darbar — Ashwini Bhide-Deshpande (retrieved 16 September 2026)
- Wikipedia — Ashwini Bhide-Deshpande (retrieved 16 September 2026)
- Sangeet Natak Akademi — Akademi Awards, Music (Ashwini Bhide Deshpande, 2014)
- Press Information Bureau — Padma Awards 2025 announced
Photograph by Krupasindhu Muduli, Rajarani Music Festival 2016, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Continue exploring
- Jaipur-Atrauli gharanaThe lineage Ashwini Bhide-Deshpande is associated with, and the other musicians documented within it.
- The khayal vocalHow the instrument works, and who else in the archive plays it.
- ITC Sangeet Research AcademyThe school Ashwini Bhide-Deshpande is connected to — what it teaches and where it is.
- All musiciansBrowse the archive by name, instrument or discipline.