Varada Godbole

Born on 19th September 1975, Varada Godbole began her quest for musical excellence at the age of 5yrs and is an established classical vocalist of repute today. Varada also possesses the versatility and acumen for singing and performing in the light classical genres of natyasangeet, Abhang thumri and Gazals. Her contribution as a playback singer in the film Balgandharva bears testimony to this fact. After learning the basics for first 7 years from Mrs. Lilatai Shelar, she began her training of traditional Khayal gayaki under the able guidance of Suramani Pt. Achyut Keshav Abhyankar of Kirana Gharana. Within one year she won the prestigious 'Centre for Cultural Resources and Training' Scholarship from Government of India for Hindustani Classical Music. After learning traditional Kirana Gharana gayaki for 12 yrs, she took lessons from Pt. Ajay Pohankar and Dr. Sushilatai Pohankar for 2yrs on the intricacies and presentation skills of classical music. Currently she is getting training of the basics of Agra and Gwalior gharana under the eminent guidance of Pt. Yashwant Mahale for past 2 yrs. Apart from completing at Sangeet Alankar of Gandharva Mahavidyalay with first class, Varada was a topper in Arts faculty with a Gold Medal in Sanskrit, while completing B.A from University of Mumbai. She also was topper in M.A (Music) from university of mumbai. She also has the Sangeetacharya (PhD Equivalent) degree from Gandharva Mahavidyalay. She has performed in various music festivals all across the country and is a regular performing artist of All India Radio. Varada has given almost 200 odd performances of classical music all over India. The major places include Delhi, Ahmedabad, Mumbai, Miraj, Kolhapur, Jaipur, Jaisingpur, Baramati, Belgaum and Pune etc. She is currently performing as Akashwani Mumbai Artiste.