Born in historical north Indian city of Lucknow, Toronto based Indian-Canadian Architect-Musician Vandana Vishwas specializes in Sugam Sangeet, the light vocal genre of Indian music comprising song forms such as Bhajans, Ghazals and Geet.
Before her birth, her parents dreamt of their unborn child one day becoming a great Kathak dancer if it turned out to be a daughter. That dream was dashed only two days after her birth, when a careless nurse injected her with an unsterilized syringe, causing a permanent septic arthritis and virtual immobility of her left hip joint resulting in a chronic condition with frequent acute pain. Since then, Vandana's life has been one of courage and persistence and although blessed with prodigal vocal skills, she has had to overcome serious physical challenges in order to be able to share her gift with the world.
Her exceptional talent as a vocalist was recognized early when she sang complex melodies with ease as a four year old, prompting her parents to enroll her in the renowned institute for Indian classical music, ABGMM (Akhil Bharatiya Gandharva Mahavidyalaya Mandal) of Miraj, India and she started learning from Pandit Parashuram Sharma and Mrs. Vimal Soni in small Industrial township of BALCO in central India. When she was eight, Vandana developed a tonsillitis that threatened to damage her vocal chords. After being treated, she was told not to sing at all for over four years, or risk injuring her voice permanently.
In spite of this break, by the time she was barely 16, she had already earned a Sangeet Visharad, the equivalent of a bachelor's degree in Indian classical vocal music. She and her brother on Tabla, formed a formidable team and over the course of the next five years spent earning her bachelor's degree in architecture, she continued to win every local and regional vocal competition, without exception. Vandana was a contract artist with All India Radio where she sang songs composed by her and her mentor Mr. D.K. Gandhe. Learning the expressive qualities of ghazal singing from Mr. D.K. Gandhe shaped her unique vocal style. Her association with All India Radio lasted for ten years until she left India to pursue a career in Architecture.
During one of her All India Radio recording sessions, she was heard by renowned ghazal maestros Ustaad Ahmed and Mohammed Hussain who were impressed by her voice and they too shared with her the intricacies of ghazal singing.
Vandana has also performed on the Indian national TV channel Doordarshan and at the prestigious Acharya Brihaspati Sammelan conducted by Sur Singar Samsad, Mumbai in 1993, the stage where many legendary Indian artists have performed early in their career. After her performance, she was approached by interested Bollywood music and movie directors. Although she had once dreamt of singing for Bollywood, Vandana consciously chose not to pursue that dream because she knew the impossibly demanding life of the bustling city of Mumbai would make it a difficult place to survive given her physical limitations and instead proceeded to work as an Architect.
Having been highly impressed by works of Indian icons Lata Mangeshkar and Kishori Amonkar since childhood, Vandana's recently released debut album, Meera- The Lover... is based on legendary Indian poetess Meera Bai's devotional love songs.