Padma Shri Dr. Soma Ghosh is an eminent exponent of Indian classical music and a distinguished torchbearer of the Banaras musical tradition. She is the daughter of freedom fighter Shri Manmohan Chakravarty and the adopted daughter and disciple of Bharat Ratna Ustad Bismillah Khan, under whose guidance she imbibed the deep spiritual and artistic essence of Indian classical music.
Dr. Soma Ghosh had the rare honour of performing five jugalbandi concerts with Ustad Bismillah Khan. Among these historic performances were two prestigious concerts held at the Rashtrapati Bhavan and the Parliament of India. On these occasions she was felicitated by the Hon’ble President of India Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam, Smt. Sonia Gandhi, Shri Jaswant Singh and the Members of Parliament of India. She holds the distinction of being the first woman artist to perform in the Parliament of India. She later performed again at Rashtrapati Bhavan at the invitation of the then President of India, Hon. Smt. Pratibha Patil.
In recognition of her immense contribution to Indian music and culture, she was conferred with the Padma Shri Award by the Government of India on 26 January 2016. She was subsequently appointed as a member of the National Implementation Committee for the Centenary Celebrations of Bharat Ratna Ustad Bismillah Khan by the Ministry of Culture, Government of India (2016–17).
Dr. Soma Ghosh has consistently worked towards the preservation and promotion of India’s rich musical heritage. She pioneered the movement for saving and propagating endangered Indian musical instruments and traditional gharana styles, a cause strongly supported by Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam during his tenure as President of India.
A dedicated cultural ambassador, Dr. Ghosh has also played a significant role in social and cultural initiatives. She has worked tirelessly to support Banarasi silk weavers and has been associated with the National Bunkar Action Committee representing nearly 70,000 weavers. She has served as Brand Ambassador for the Kumbh Mela through the Allahabad Museum and has also been associated with national initiatives such as Beti Bachao Beti Padhao and Swachh Bharat Abhiyan. During the COVID-19 lockdown in 2020, she organised a two-hour virtual fundraiser concert titled “Aao Bune Zindagi” broadcast on DD Bharati to support over 2,500 weavers, handicraftsmen and artists who had lost their livelihoods during the pandemic. Eminent artists including Padma Vibhushan Pt. Chhannulal Mishra, Pt. Vishwamohan Bhatt, Shri Anup Jalota, Shaan, Rekha Bhardwaj and Madhushree joined this initiative. She also created a song saluting the Corona Warriors which was broadcast on DD National for an entire week.
An accomplished scholar as well as performer, Dr. Soma Ghosh is a literature graduate from Banaras Hindu University. She completed her Master’s degree in Music and earned her Doctorate in Khayal. Under the guidance of Smt. Bageshwari Devi she specialised in the Banaras style of singing including Thumri, Tappa, Hori, Chaiti, Kajari, Dadra and Ghazal. She also received training in the Kirana Gharana at the ITC Sangeet Research Academy under the guidance of Shri A. T. Kanan.
Dr. Ghosh is also credited with initiating the revival of the traditional court mehfil style of classical music presentation. Through a series of ten Darbari Mehfil concerts, she revived the historic culture of royal music gatherings where legendary maestros such as Bharat Ratna Ustad Bismillah Khan, Bharat Ratna Pt. Bhimsen Joshi and Pt. Birju Maharaj performed alongside her.
In recognition of her musical excellence, she has received numerous honours and titles including “Kashi Kokila” bestowed by Ustad Bismillah Khan at the Swarangana Sangeet Sammelan, “Gandharva Kokila” by the Rotary Club of Bombay Sea Coast and the “Chirag-e-Dar Ghalib Award.” She was also awarded the Big Star IMA Award for Best Ghazal Singer in 2011.
Dr. Soma Ghosh has also contributed to academia and cultural policy. She served as a member of the Academic Council of Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi from 2016 to 2022 and was a Jury Member for the prestigious Kalidas Samman conferred by the Government of Madhya Pradesh in 2017.
Beyond India, Dr. Ghosh has represented Indian classical music across the world. In 2013 she performed four concerts in Fiji organised by the Indian High Commission and Fiji National University where she presented Indian classical music alongside traditional Fijian tribal and folk music. She was later invited as an Adjunct Professor by Fiji National University. In 2014 she organised Fusion Harmony in Suva, Fiji, blending Fijian and Indian classical music in a concert attended by parliamentarians and high commissioners. She continued this concept in Linköping, Sweden and London in 2015, and has also performed in Oman under the Festival of India series.
Committed to cultural education, she has conducted and organised twelve Bharatiya Lok Sangeet concerts under the Ministry of Culture across cities including Varanasi, Hooghly, Guwahati, Mumbai, Bangalore, Indore, Syalde (Uttarakhand) and New Delhi. Through these programs she has interacted with over 20,000 students, spreading awareness about India’s musical traditions. She has also actively collaborated with SPIC MACAY, reaching thousands of students across the country.
Dr. Soma Ghosh is the founder and trustee of Madhu Murchhana, an organisation dedicated to supporting ailing musicians from humble backgrounds through a Musicians’ Welfare Fund. The organisation also works to preserve endangered musical instruments and gharana traditions. Through the Parampara concert series she promotes Indian classical music in a format that resonates with modern audiences. The Parampara – Exhibition, Seminar and Music Festival held in 2006 was inaugurated by the then President of India Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam and attended by eminent dignitaries including Shri Vilasrao Deshmukh, Shri S. M. Krishna and Shri R. R. Patil.
She is also the author of the book “Baba & Me: Bharat Ratna Ustad Bismillah Khan Through My Eyes,” published by Prabhat Prakashan and released by the Hon’ble Prime Minister of India Shri Narendra Modi. The book beautifully chronicles the Guru-Shishya parampara and presents rare insights into the life and legacy of Ustad Bismillah Khan.
In April 2023 she organised the three-day Bageshwari Devi Thumri Festival in Varanasi along with a series of workshops at schools and colleges to promote the rich tradition of Thumri singing. Her efforts were appreciated and encouraged by the Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, who advised expanding such workshops for students across the country.
Her cultural initiatives have also brought together leading dignitaries and cultural figures. In June 2023 she organised and performed at Parampara Band – A Journey of Indian Heritage Music at Rang Sharada Auditorium, attended by the Hon’ble Governor of Maharashtra Shri Ramesh Bais and several eminent public figures. Later that year, she presented the first copy of her coffee-table book “Baba & Me – Bharat Ratna Ust. Bismillah Khan through the eyes of Dr. Soma Ghosh” to the Hon’ble President of India Smt. Droupadi Murmu.
Through her music, Dr. Soma Ghosh has consistently addressed social issues including female infanticide, the neglect of the elderly, environmental awareness and the importance of Indian cultural values, communicating these themes effectively through the universal language of music.
Over the decades she has also released numerous musical albums across genres including classical, devotional and ghazal music, collaborating with leading music labels such as Times Music, Sa Re Ga Ma, Sanskar Music and World Wide Records.
Through her dedication as a performer, scholar, cultural ambassador and social activist, Padma Shri Dr. Soma Ghosh continues to preserve, promote and celebrate the timeless legacy of Indian classical music for future generations.