Madhuvanti Pal

Madhuvanti Pal was born in Kolkata in 1992 to a family of teachers with a four-generation legacy. Her parents, both teachers themselves, nurtured her love for learning from an early age, encouraging her creative pursuits in art, modeling, and music. At 12, she began her musical journey with khayal, a form of North Indian classical music. While studying vocal and violin, she developed a fascination for the rare rudra veena. This led her to Pt. Bala Chander, a disciple of Ust. Zia Mohiuddin Dagar and Ust. Zia Fariduddin Dagar, who taught her dhrupad and the rudra veena. However, she couldn't afford her own instrument. In 2012, she studied with renowned sitar player Vidushi Mita Nag and finally acquired her first rudra veena, only to find it of poor quality. Determined to have a better instrument, she journeyed to learn veena building from Pt. Rajshekhar Vyas, who helped her construct her a veena using bamboo. Over time, Madhuvanti developed her skills as a rudra veena builder, creating lighter and more playable instruments while maintaining their sonic depth and beauty. In 2016, she continued her dhrupad studies with the Gundecha Brothers and became an assistant guru at the Dhrupad Sansthan in Bhopal, furthering her teaching expertise. Recently, Madhuvanti established the Rudra Veena Gurukul in Kolkata, where she teaches students from around the world. Drawing from her family lineage of teachers, she approaches her role as a guru with as much passion as her own performances.