Born in Mumbai into a family with strong musical tradition, Ashwini started classical training under Narayanrao Datar, the elder brother of violinist D. K. Datar. She then completed her Sangeet Visharad from the Gandharva Mahavidyalaya. Since then, she has been learning music in the Jaipur-Atrauli style from her mother Manik Bhide, a disciple of Gaansaraswati Kishori Amonkar. Ashwini also received guidance from Ratnakar Pai until his death in 2009.
Bhide-Deshpande has performed at venues including the Aga Khan Museum in Toronto, Canada in 2019 for the Raag-Mala Music Society of Toronto.[1]
Bhide-Deshpande has an understanding of Bandish and bandish-composition and has created many of her own bandishes, which she has published in her book, Raag Rachananjali (2004). A sequel titled "Ragarachananjali 2", containing 98 more bandishes (compositions) was published in 2010. She is also known for her setting of bhajans, especially those of Kabir.[2]
Ashwini Bhide is not only a music scholar but is also blessed with a beautiful voice. I have personally known Ashwini since her early teens and it makes me so happy to see her blossom into such a wonderful Khayal singer. She has earned the reputation of being one of the top young artists of India... Having learnt many old compositions, she has been able to retain the spirit of the tradition through the dialects she has used as well as pay attention to the subject matter!
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