Anuradha Pal

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Anuradha Pal
Anuradha Pal (closeup).jpg
Background information
Origin Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
Genres Hindustani classical music, world music, percussion
Occupation(s)Musician, music composer
Instrument(s) Tabla, multi-percussion
LabelsSur aaur Saaz
Website www.anuradhapal.com

Anuradha Pal is an Indian tabla player and composer who performs Indian classical music. She is the founder of Stree Shakti, an all-female classical music ensemble established in 1996. [1] [2]

Contents

Early life

Pal was born in Mumbai on May 8, 1975 to Devinder Pal and Ila Pal. Her father worked in the pharmaceutical industry and her mother was a painter and a writer. She trained on the tablas under Ustad Alla Rakha and Ustad Zakir Hussain, both of whom are associated with the Punjab Gharana playing technique. [3]

Career

Pal began accompanying Hindustani and Carnatic classical vocalists, instrumentalists, and dancers at age 13, and by age 15 was performing alongside her teachers. [2]

In 2018, she led 217 tabla players in a tribute to Ustad Alla Rakha to celebrate his 100th birthday. [4] [5] That same year, she received the First Ladies Award by the Ministry of Women and Child Development. In 1969 she also received the First Ladies Award from the President of India, recognizing her as the first Indian female musician to perform at the WOMAD and Przystanek Woodstock festivals. [6]

Pal composed and performed the background score for M.F. Husain's film Gaja Gamini, using only tabla and voice. The work has been described as the first background composition created entirely on the tabla. Her work was also featured at the Cannes Film Festival. [7] [ circular reference ] [8]

She has given workshops and lecture-demonstrations at institutions including Harvard University, Berklee College of Music, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), the Vienna Boys' Choir, Palazzo Ducale (Italy), Milap Fest (U.K.), and Monash University (Australia). In 2006, she served as an artist-in-residence at the New England Conservatory of Music.

She represented India at the Asian Performer's Summit in Japan in 1999 and has performed at SAARC and CHOGM summits. [9] She organized the Aatmanirbhar Kala Ke Sangh Music Festival [10] in January 2021 and performed at the Dior Fall 2023 show at the Gateway of India in Mumbai. [11] [12] [13]

Compositions and collaborations

In 2023 and 2024, Pal performed a series of concerts titled "Anuradha's Tablas Sing Stories" [14] [15] and "Ramayana on Tabla sings stories". [16]

Stree Shakti

Pal founded Stree Shakti on International Women's Day in 1996 as an all-female Hindustani-Carnatic instrumental ensemble. The group has collaborated with various female musicians and performed at international music festivals. In 2002, they toured the UK and Ireland with the Pan-African Orchestra from Ghana. [17]

In 2023, she launched the Anuradha Pal Collective. [18]

Social work

Contribution to female empowerment

Since 1996, Pal has promoted, supported, and helped female musicians through Stree Shakti. [19] She has performed at institutions such as Sri Agrasen Kanya PG College (Varanasi), [20] Rebel Girls Interactive (Delhi), [21] and Ruia College (Mumbai).

In March 2018, she wrote the lyrics to "Khud Ko Tu Pehchaan De" and composed the anthem for the Ministry of Women and Child Development’s Nari Shakti campaign. [22] She was appointed as a UNICEF Brand Ambassador for female empowerment, education, and inclusion in 2006. [23]

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Pal mobilized funds and distributed food rations, blankets, and medical supplies to disadvantaged groups. This included women, children, the elderly, disabled individuals, and struggling musicians and instrument makers, [24] [25] provided in locations such as Kasniyawad village near Udaipur, across 12 villages, and in states including Assam, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh, Gujarat, Delhi, or Maharashtra. [26] From July 2020 onward, she also offered financial assistance to underprivileged communities. [27]

On the International Day of the Girl Child in 2020, Pal established the Padmashri M.T. Vyas Stree Shakti Award, in memory of her grandfather, educationist Maganlal Tribhuvandas Vyas, to encourage young girls pursuing Indian music or dance to engage in social service. In 2021, she honored four young girls for their contributions to social initiatives, including promoting folk art, supporting cancer patients, raising environmental awareness, and fundraising during the pandemic. [28]

Anuradha Pal Cultural Foundation (APCF)

The Anuradha Pal Cultural Foundation (APCF) is a non-profit organization to preserving traditional Indian culture, empowering women and youth, promoting unity in diversity, and raising environmental awareness. Pal also advocates for musical and rhythmic meditation. [29] [30]

APCF has received several honors, including the Mumbai Cultural Sustainability Award 2024 [31] from the Vivekananda Youth Foundation and the WOW Iconic Wellness and Spiritual Award 2023.

Media recognition

Pal has been featured in publications and media highlighting women achievers and musicians, including the children's book The Dot That Went for a Walk (2019), [32] [33] Torchbearers of Indian Classical Music (2017), [34] Women of Pure Wonder by the Vodafone Foundation (2016), [35] and the PBS film Adventure Divas (2001). [36]

Personal life

Anuradha Pal is based in Mumbai, where she conducts percussion classes through the Anuradha Pal Cultural Academy (APCA Mumbai) [37] located in Juhu. Her tabla performances have also been the focus of academic research by neuroscientists. [38]

Discography

Anuradha Pal has released music albums and instructional DVDs through her independent label, Sur aaur Saaz, encompassing classical, fusion, and educational works.

Albums [39]
TitleRelease YearDetails
Sheer Magic (Live)2000live collaboration with Shahid Parvez
Passion – Anuradha Pal's Stree Shakti2000performances of the Stree Shakti
Nirvana: Spiritual Bliss2003
A Tabla Solo by Anuradha Pal2005solo tabla performance album
Kesaria - Romancing Rajasthan2006with Samanda Manganiar
Get Recharged!!!2013mix of indian and jazz music
Recharge Plus2014
Sensational (Live)2016second live collaboration with Shahid Parvez
Taaleem2022tabla solos
Singles (selection) [39]
TitleRelease Year
Anuradha Pal's Street Shakti Anthem (For Female Empowerment)2019
Taal Tiranga2022
Tabla Tonic2023

References

  1. ↑ Pal, Anuradha. "ANURADHA PAL". www.anuradhapal.com.
  2. 1 2 "Meet Stree Shakti, India's first all-women classical band". 3 March 2016.
  3. ↑ "Anuradha Pal Remembers Ustad Zakir Hussain". 25 December 2024. Retrieved 23 February 2025.
  4. ↑ "World Record tribute to Ustad Alla Rakha by Anuradha Pal | 217 Tabla players #GuruPurnima". YouTube. 16 July 2022.
  5. ↑ "Tabla exponent Anuradha Pal remembers her Ustad Zakir Hussain". www.awazthevoice.in. Retrieved 8 March 2025.
  6. ↑ "Ministry of WCD" (PDF).
  7. ↑ "Gaja Gamini (2000)". Wikipedia.
  8. ↑ "Anuradha Pal – Music". Anuradha Pal Official Website.
  9. ↑ "Pandita Anuradha Pal". Prakriti Foundation. Retrieved 18 January 2025.
  10. ↑ "Tabla maestro Anuradha Pal: It was tough to even get to learn and later, to get equal opportunities". The Times of India. 3 September 2021. ISSN   0971-8257 . Retrieved 14 July 2025.
  11. ↑ Kumar, Ashwini Arun (1 April 2023). "Loved the Tabla at the Dior Show? Here's the Woman Behind the Music". Femina.
  12. ↑ Katira, Kritika (31 March 2023). "Dior Fall 2023: Meet tabla virtuoso Anuradha Pal who left audience spellbound with her soulful music". WION News.
  13. ↑ Sharma, Dishya. "Anuradha Pal Recalls Virat, Anushka and Simone Praised her Tabla Performance at Dior Show in India". News18.
  14. ↑ Khurana, Kanika (15 August 2023). "Where Tabla Tells Tales! Maestro Anuradha Pal set to redefine Indian Classical Music". Times Now.
  15. ↑ Kusnur, Narendra. "Tabla player Anuradha Pal Talks About Narrating Stories Through Her Music". Free Press Journal.
  16. ↑ Goswami Sharma, Purnima. "A Musical Treat with Every Beat". Deccan Chronicle.
  17. ↑ "Meet Stree Shakti, India's first all-women classical band". 3 March 2016.
  18. ↑ Vajpayee, Soumya (11 August 2023). "Anuradha's new band is all about 'Blending Musical Philosophies'". Hindustan Times.
  19. ↑ "Meet Stree Shakti, India's first all-women classical band". Hindustan Times.
  20. ↑ "Agrasen Kanya College". Anuradha Pal. Archived from the original on 1 August 2021. Retrieved 5 September 2021.
  21. ↑ "Rebel Girls" . Instagram. Archived from the original on 26 December 2021.
  22. ↑ "Female empowerment initiatives | Anuradha Pal | Stree Shakti". www.anuradhapal.com. Retrieved 11 June 2025.
  23. ↑ "Anuradha Pal hometown, biography". Last.fm. Retrieved 11 June 2025.
  24. ↑ "Anuradha Pal – Let us #SpreadLove and #careforthepoor and #disadvantaged on #valentinesday2021". Facebook.
  25. ↑ "Stree Shakti – Urja". YouTube . 31 July 2021. Archived from the original on 15 December 2021.
  26. ↑ "Cover Relief". ANURADHA PAL.
  27. ↑ "Kala Ke Sangh". YouTube . 10 January 2021. Archived from the original on 15 December 2021.
  28. ↑ WOMEN ACHIEVERS AGAINST ALL ODDS | Dr. Kiran Bedi, Usha Uthup, Anup Jalota, Anuradha Pal StreeShakti . Retrieved 4 September 2024– via www.youtube.com.
  29. ↑ Warrier, Yash. "Music For The Mind, Body & Soul: Anuradha Pal's Foundation Creates A Symphony Of Wellness". Beatcurry.com.
  30. ↑ Vajpayee, Soumya. "Anuradha Pal: I want the youth to know that music is therapeutic". Hindustan Times.
  31. ↑ "Instagram". www.instagram.com. Retrieved 4 September 2024.
  32. ↑ "The Dot that went for a walk".
  33. ↑ "Book Launch". YouTube. 16 January 2019. Archived from the original on 15 December 2021.
  34. ↑ Torchbearers. ASIN   8184621361 .
  35. ↑ "Launch of Women of Pure Wonder". Social Reviewer. 10 March 2016.
  36. ↑ "Getting the rhythm right". Financial Express.
  37. ↑ "APCAMumbai". www.anuradhapal.com.
  38. ↑ Banerjee, Soumyadipta (21 November 2013). "Anuradha's secret". DNA. Retrieved 22 April 2025.
  39. 1 2 "Anuradha Pal". Spotify. Retrieved 11 June 2025.
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