In 1998, as my mother was passing away, she requested me to take singing seriously and record. Although I had already studied Sanskrit and sung Bhajans for 28 years, in our Ashram, I was apprehensive without proper training. That same year, I took her ashes to India, and searched for a teacher to begin studying the classical singing art of Dhrupad. My two teachers, Pandit Vidur Malik and Tarun Krsna Das guided me through four years of wondrous meditation and training.
As a child in school, my teacher Kutila taught us to chant the women’s prayers from the scriptures. Remembering this, I took the opportunity to search out more women in our Sampradaya (spiritual lineage), and compose music to their words.
Here then, is my offering to these glorious women. Women who sing, pray and share their life realizations. Prayers which represent the many moods a woman shares with Krishna (God). Devaki the mother, Meerabai, the saint and poet who married Krishna in her heart, Draupadi, the princess born of fire, the Gopis, (simple village cowherd girls,) while Kunti and Pingala represent the mature older women who pray for detachment from the world.
For all of us, there is a voice that we can relate to, whether it be Draupadi’s song of letting go, or simply the arati celebration to the river Yamuna. Please sing along, and let these women touch your heart.
