Isheeta Ganguly
{{Short description|Indian musical artist}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2023}}
{{Use Indian English|date=May 2023}}
{{Infobox musical artist
| honorific_prefix =
| name = Isheeta Ganguly
| image = Singer Isheeta Ganguly.jpg
| image_upright =
| image_size = 200px
| landscape =
| alt =
| caption = Isheeta Ganguly
| native_name =
| native_name_lang =
| birth_name =
| alias =
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|YYYY|MM|DD}}
| birth_place = Kolkata, India
| origin = Princeton, New Jersey, US
| genre = Rabindra Sangeet, Hindustani classical music, Jazz, Pop, R&B
| occupation = Singer, Playwright, Director
| instrument = Vocalist
| years_active =
| label = T-Series, Times Music, Saregama
| associated_acts = Suchitra Mitra, Shantanu Moitra
}}
Isheeta Ganguly is an Indian-American singer, playwright, director. She is an exponent of Rabindra Sangeet with 8 albums to her credit. She is known for her contribution to Indian fusion music, and has released several music albums, notably Tomari Nam Bolbo, Ghare Baire, Nutan Jouboner Dut, Damaru I Feel Your Rhythm, Pather Pradip Jwale, Tumhi Shundaro Beshe Eshecho and Aj Khela Bhangar Khela. As a playwright, she is known for her plays Three Women, Shakuntala Awaits, and Sundays with Chitra and Chaitali.{{cite news |last1=Sen |first1=Paulami |title=Sundays with Chitra and Chaitali by Isheeta Ganguly reinvents the Tagore classic and gives it a modern spin |url=https://www.indulgexpress.com/entertainment/theater/2019/jun/14/sundays-with-chitra-and-chaitali-by-isheeta-ganguly-reinvents-the-tagore-classic-and-gives-it-a-mod-15733.html |work=Indulge Xpress |publisher=The New Indian Express |date=14 June 2019}}
Early life and education
Ganguly was born in Kolkata, India{{cite web |last1=Kalhan |first1=Anil |title=NYC Music: Isheeta Ganguly CD Launch – IAAC/Sundaram Tagore Gallery |url=http://www.kalhan.com/2007/07/isheeta-cd-launch-july-31/ |website=Kalhan |date=13 July 2007 |access-date=1 December 2021 |archive-date=27 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220127224430/https://www.kalhan.com/2007/07/isheeta-cd-launch-july-31/ |url-status=dead }} and raised in Princeton, New Jersey, USA as well as Turkey, Japan, and Indonesia.{{cite web |author1=Shashi Tharoor |author1-link=Shashi Tharoor |title=India's freedom at midnight: sixty years later |url=https://shashitharoor.in/writings_essays_details/408 |website=Shashitharoor.in |date=15 August 2017}} As a child, she began to cultivate her passion for Tagore's music through LP records until she began her formal training in Rabindra Sangeet from Suchitra Mitra. Isheeta received her training in Indian classical music from Vijay Kitchku and A.T. Kanan.{{cite news |last1=Adivi |first1=Sashidhar |title=Honoured to bring forward stories of India's rich heritage: Isheeta Ganguly |url=https://www.deccanchronicle.com/lifestyle/culture-and-society/261121/honoured-to-bring-forward-stories-of-indias-rich-heritage-isheeta.html |publisher=Deccan Chronicle |date=26 November 2021}}
Isheeta learnt the art of musical theatre curation and direction from Suchitra Mitra and further honed her music and performing artistry as an undergraduate at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island.{{cite news |last1=M. Borah |first1=Prabalika |title=Tagore's women in the modern era |url=https://www.thehindu.com/entertainment/theatre/isheeta-ganguly-sundays-with-chirta-chaitali/article27898677.ece |work=The Hindu |date=13 June 2019}} She has done her Masters in Public Health from Columbia University and spent over a decade as a management consultant at PricewaterhouseCoopers, Pfizer and Sesame Workshop.{{cite news |last1=Khanna |first1=Parul |title=Mum's the word |url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/sex-and-relationships/mum-s-the-word/story-A3VcmnPYq3HK98CcuYHCDN.html |publisher=Hindustan Times |date=2 September 2008}}
Career
Ganguly started her musical career at the age of 15 when she released her first music album of Tagore songs, Tomari Nam Bolbo. She released several music albums through record labels such as T-series, Saregama, and Times Music. Her notable albums include Ghare Baire, Nutan Jouboner Dut, Pather Pradip Jwale, Tumhi Shundaro Beshe Eshecho and Aj Khela Bhangar Khela (I nd II).{{fact|date=May 2023}}
In August 2010, Ganguly released her eighth studio album, Damaru, which is inspired by the music of Rabindranath Tagore. It is one of the most prominent international Tagore fusion albums with Times Music featuring a voice-over by actor John Abraham on Tagore's Where The Mind Is Without Fear. This was created in collaboration with New York-based producer Phil Levy and Grammy award winner Tanmoy Bose,{{cite news |last1=Lobo |first1=Joanna |title=Jamming with Tagore |url=https://www.dnaindia.com/lifestyle/report-jamming-with-tagore-1795579 |publisher=DNA India |date=3 February 2013}} Shantanu Moitra and Swanand Kirkire created folk-pop tracks on the multi-lingual album, Damaru, which include Aona and Sanjhari De Bat.{{cite news |title=Isheeta brings Bollywood to 'Damaru' |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/hindi/music/news/isheeta-brings-bollywood-to-damaru/articleshow/6451664.cms |work=The Times of India |date=29 August 2010}}{{cite news |last1=Patel |first1=Vibhuti |title=Following Her Song Around the World |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052702304915104575572890841765022 |publisher=The Wall Street Journal |date=27 October 2010}}
Ganguly was a part of several multi-cultural productions and performing arts groups at Brown University and collaborated with the Battery Dance company and Jonathan Hollander on Tagore fusion and ballet performance at the Florence Gould Hall in New York City in 2000.{{cite news |last1=Ghosh |first1=Labonita |title=US-based Isheeta Ganguly does rap-jazz riff of Rabindranath Tagore songs |url=https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/your-week/story/20030512-us-based-isheeta-ganguly-does-rap-jazz-riff-of-rabindranath-tagore-songs-793739-2003-05-12 |publisher=India Today |date=12 May 2003}} Thereafter she joined hands with a renowned danseuse Mallika Sarabhai for collaboration on Tagore's Still I Rise at the Alvin Ailey Dance Company in New York City.{{cite news |last1=Kusnur |first1=Narendra |title=All about women |url=https://www.thehindu.com/entertainment/theatre/all-about-women/article24646131.ece |work=The Hindu |date=9 August 2018}}
Ganguly also began performing annually at the NYSIFF (New York India South Asian Festival) for stalwarts such as James Ivory, Ismail Merchant, Martin Scorsese, Harry Belafonte and others.{{cite news |last1=Bag |first1=Shamik |title=No Holds Bard |url=https://rollingstoneindia.com/no-holds-bard/ |publisher=Rolling Stone |date=19 January 2009}} Among, Ganguly's other New York City appearances, she has performed for Chelsea Clinton at the Intrepid Museum, Rubin Museum, at the Public Theatre and at the Lincoln Centre.{{cite news |title=Fusion singer Isheeta Ganguly to embark on a multi-city tour |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/hindi/music/news/fusion-singer-isheeta-ganguly-fusion-singer-isheeta-ganguly-to-embark-on-a-multi-city-tour/articleshow/34474011.cms |work=The Times of India |date=2 May 2014}}
Ganguly has collaborated with Tanushree Shankar for Chiranthan with a voice-over done by Amitabh Bachchan. She has performed Rabindra Sangeet both in India and the US. In February 2013, she performed pieces ranging from Vande Mataram to Tagore's Ekla Chalo Re at Kala Ghoda Arts Festival in Mumbai, collaborating with Shabana Azmi. She dedicated Ekla Chalo Re to Nirbhaya, the 2012 Delhi gang rape and murder case victim.{{cite news |last1=Wajihuddin |first1=Mohammed |last2=Masand |first2=Pratibha |title=Ekla Chalo Re marks spirit of women |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/ekla-chalo-re-marks-spirit-of-women-at-fest/articleshow/18325941.cms |work=The Times of India |date=4 February 2013}}{{cite news |last1=Gupta |first1=Amrita |title=Ragas for outrage |url=https://www.livemint.com/Leisure/pLgs8j9H37cNwwWJLGtzPJ/Ragas-for-outrage.html |publisher=Livemint |date=27 April 2013}} In January 2014, she performed at Indian Council for Cultural Relations, Kolkata, with Priyanshu Chatterjee.{{cite news |title=Isheeta Ganguly, Priyanshu Chatterjee rock at ICCR, Kolkata |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/events/kolkata/isheeta-ganguly-priyanshu-chatterjee-rock-at-iccr-kolkata/articleshow/19356833.cms |work=The Times of India |date=9 January 2014}}
= Theatre =
As a playwright and theatre director, she has written and directed various plays, including Sundays with Chitra and Chaitali,{{cite news |last1=Ashraf |first1=Fathima |title=Isheeta Ganguly's Sundays with Chitra & Chaitali to make its premiere in Chennai |url=https://www.indulgexpress.com/culture/theatre/2018/nov/16/isheeta-gangulys-sundays-with-chitra--chaitali-to-make-its-premiere-in-chennai-11143.html |work=Indulge Express |publisher=The New Indian Express |date=16 November 2018}} Three Women,{{cite news |title=Three women |url=https://www.dailypioneer.com/2017/vivacity/three-women.html |publisher=Daily Pioneer |date=26 September 2017}} Shakuntala Awaits. {{Cite news |last=S |first=Gowri |date=2021-02-18 |title=The story of Shakuntala and Dushyant set in contemporary times reaches Broadway |url=https://www.thehindu.com/entertainment/theatre/mahabharata-set-in-modern-times/article33870862.ece |access-date=2025-03-25 |work=The Hindu |language=en-IN |issn=0971-751X}}
Her first musical theatre – Three Women (based on Tagore's sister-in-law Kadambari Devi) is a dramatic comedy which created a sensation in both India and overseas. The second musical theatre dramatic comedy production Sundays with Chitra and Chaitali, which is based on the story of Chitra in the Mahabharata created an equal sensation. The soundtrack for this has been done by Pritam.{{cite news |last1=Dey |first1=Debjeet |title=A play that's all about women power |url=https://www.deccanchronicle.com/entertainment/theatre/040519/a-play-thats-all-about-women-power.html |publisher=Deccan Chronicle |date=4 May 2019}}{{cite news |title=Isheeta Ganguly, new play, Chitra, Mahabharata, Rabindranath Tagore, Chitrangada, warrior princess |url=https://www.mid-day.com/sunday-mid-day/article/Isheeta-Ganguly-retraces-the-steps-of-Chitra-from-the-Mahabharata-18753181 |publisher=Mid Day |date=19 November 2017}}
Reviewing her play, Sundays with Chitra and Chaitali, Purba Dutt of Times of India said, In the hands of director Isheeta Ganguly, the past and the present blend beautifully to form a continuum where situations change but the crux remains the same and as relevant now as it was then, a few thousand years ago.{{cite news |last1=Dutt |first1=Purva |title=Theatre Review: Sundays with Chitra and Chaitali |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/tamil/theatre/theatre-review-sundays-with-chitra-and-chaitali/articleshow/66729151.cms |work=The Times of India |date=20 November 2020}}
Her third production Shakuntala Awaits, features Indian American actors Samrat Chakrabarti, Purva Bedi and is scheduled to be featured in an off broadway run in January 2022 at the Here Theatre in New York City.{{cite news |last1=S |first1=Gowri |title=The story of Shakuntala and Dushyant set in contemporary times reaches Broadway |url=https://www.thehindu.com/entertainment/theatre/mahabharata-set-in-modern-times/article33870862.ece |work=The Hindu |date=18 February 2021}}{{cite news |last1=Singh |first1=Radhika |title=An Epic Retold: A new play reimagines Shakuntala and Dushyant's love affair in the 21st century |url=https://indianexpress.com/article/lifestyle/art-and-culture/shakuntala-awaits-feroz-abbas-khan-play-4402579/ |publisher=Indian Express |date=30 November 2016}}
= Films =
As a screenwriter and director, as of 2021 Ganguly had two films in development in the US which are adaptations of her plays, Three Women{{Cite news |last=Roy |first=Priyanka |date=2021-12-21 |title=Isheeta Ganguly to direct Aishwarya Rai Bachchan |url=https://www.telegraphindia.com/my-kolkata/people/isheeta-ganguly-to-direct-aishwarya-rai-bachchan/cid/1844172 |url-status=live |access-date=2025-03-25 |work=Telegraph India}} and Shakuntala Awaits.{{Citation needed|date=March 2025}}
Discography
= Albums =
| class="wikitable sortable" | |||
| style="background:#B0C4DE;"|Year | style="background:#B0C4DE;"|Albums's Name | style="background:#B0C4DE;"|Label | style="background:#B0C4DE;"|Artist(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Nutan Jouboner Dut | Saregama | Isheeta Ganguly |
| 2007 | Hits Of 2007 Tagore Songs | Saregama | Isheeta Ganguly |
| 2008 | Kabi Pranam | Saregama | Saheb Chatterjee, Isheeta Ganguly, Jayati Chakraborty, Mita Haque |
| 2008 | Pather Prodip Jwale | Saregama | Isheeta Ganguly |
| 2009 | Ghare Baire | T-Series | Isheeta Ganguly |
| 2010 | Damaru I Feel Your Rhythm | Times Music | Isheeta Ganguly |
| 2011 | Patriotic Songs Of Rabindranath Tagore | Saregama | Isheeta Ganguly, Kanika Banerjee |
| 2017 | Songs On Winter | Saregama | Isheeta Ganguly |
| 2020 | Jana Gana Mana | Times Music | Isheeta Ganguly, Dr. Shashi Tharoor |
Personal life
She lives in Mumbai with her husband and two sons.{{cite news |last1=S |first1=Gowry |title=Singer Isheeta Ganguly's recreation of the National Anthem is a call for unity |url=https://www.thehindu.com/entertainment/music/singer-isheeta-gangulys-recreation-of-the-national-anthem-is-a-call-for-unity/article31509750.ece |work=The Hindu |date=5 May 2020}}
References
{{reflist}}
{{Notable singers of Rabindra Sangeet}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ganguly, Isheeta}}
Category:Indian women playback singers
Category:Rabindra Sangeet exponents
Category:Brown University alumni
Category:21st-century Indian singers
Category:Indian women classical singers
Category:Musicians from West Bengal
Category:Women musicians from West Bengal
Category:20th-century Indian women singers
Category:20th-century Indian singers