“For a country that is considered a female entity, Bharat Mata, for some reason, we have not celebrated womanhood enough through music. So, forming a band like Sakhi was obvious at some point,” believes well-known vocalist Kaushiki Chakraborty, who leads this six-member group that was formed this January. It will make its debut in the city this Saturday at NCPA. Paying a tribute to Indian womanhood through Indian Classical music, the band comprises diverse artists like Nandini Shankar (violin), Debbopriya Chatterjee (flute), Savani Talwalkar (tabla) and Mahima Upadhyay (Pakhawaj). “In our country, music is often divided into vocal, instrumental and percussion. I wanted all these elements in one band,” reasons Chakrabarty.

(From left to right) Bhakti Deshpande, Savani Talwalkar, Debbopriya Chatterjee, Kaushiki Chakraborty, Nandini Shankar and Mahima Upadhyay are part of the all-women band, Sakhi