'Women on Record' is a multi-media presentation bringing out stories of women performers in the early twentieth century Gramophone era.
Ms Vidya Shah will be accompanied by Sadakat Aman Khan on the Harmonium and Himanshi Goswami on the tabla.
The performance has travelled to several cultural centres in India, South Asia and England, Europe, USA to a heartwarming response.
Vidya Shah is a composer and musician from New Delhi, India. She was initially trained in Carnatic music, and later received guidance in the North Indian genres of Khayal (from Shubha Mudgal and Mujahid Hussain Khan) and Thumri Dadra, and Ghazal (from Shanti Hiranand). She has performed at national and international forums, including the Tansen Samaroh in Gwalior, The Kennedy Centre in Washington D.C, The Asia Society in New York and the British Museum in London.
She has several releases with leading Labels including Times Music and Six Degrees Music (California). A popular performer and a prolific composer, Vidya has worked and performed with leading musicians including Grammy Award winning, Ghatam Wizard Pt.Vikku Vinayakaram, and electronica artists like Karsh Kale and MiDival Punditz. She is a recipient of the Charles Wallace Award and a Senior Fellowship from the Government of India for her project "Women on Record", a performance highlighting the contributions of the forgotten women performers in the Gramophone era. Her special performances include The Last Mughal (In performance) with author William Dalrymple, "Akhtari- the Life of Begum Akhtar", Aj Jaane Ki Zid na Karo- romancing the Ghazal and "Rang sufiyana" a rendition of Sufiana Kalam.
She writes and speaks on music and is the Author of Jalsa: Indian Women's Journey from the Salon to the Studio (Tulika Books). She also features in a conversation series with artists on the National Television channel, where she has spoken to leading artists like Ustad Amjad Ali Khan, Pt.Birju Maharaj and Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma. She was the Nana Shirgaonkar Chair for Indian Music at Goa University from 2016-2021. Vidya made her Bollywood debut in the film Manto with the beautiful Bol ke lab Azad hain tere.
She is the Director if Bhooma trust, set up to preserve and promote the intangible heritage of India