You’re in a field full of daisies, right next to a babbling brook. The air is filled with the scents of spring as the avians glide above, rendering birdsong ever so wispily. This is the kind of peace that warmly embraces you when Piu Mukherjee renders ghazals, thumris, or evergreen Bengali songs like Tomake Bhalobeshe and Brojogopi Khele Hori. And on June 14 at Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan’s Auditorium in Basheer Bagh, the Hindustani Classical vocalist will render melody after melody live at Dilkashi, a musical event under Uttarayan’s annual cultural programme, Parboni 2025.
“I am already getting phone calls from Hyderabad; people say they are dying to hear me sing!” Piu reveals, her voice chirpy as ever. She adds, “Though this is an event organised by the Bengali community in Hyderabad, there will also be attendees from other linguistic communities and regions. And I am excited to perform ghazals, film numbers, and more for both Bengalis and non-Bengalis in equal measure,” the vocalist states.
“Music has always been my topmost priority,” she says. A seemingly simple statement, but to devote oneself wholly to a passion — especially in a chaotic world — is the highest form of living one’s purpose, isn’t it? Piu is doing it, and she credits her upbringing, which she says wasn’t much different from the typical Bengali household, where huge importance is placed on art, literature, and the performing arts. “My mom, Pradipta Mukherjee, is a musician, and my grandfather, Bireswar Mukherjee, was himself a disciple of Sangeet Samrat Vishmadev Chatterjee, the renowned Indian Classical musician,” she shares. She also learned from Prof Nihar Ranjan Bandopadhyay, the former HOD of Rabindra Bharati University.
But when Piu speaks about one particular guru, you can hear her voice go low, with a deep sense of reverence. “I was really lucky to be a student of Girija Devi ji, whom I learned from for 17 years,” she says. Although Piu was a hardcore Hindustani Classical singer, versatility made its way to her when she took part in Zee Bangla Sa Re Ga Ma Pa, where mentors taught her how to render retro numbers and Bengali songs to perfection. “I still consider myself a student, and my learning process will always be on,” she humbly notes.
This innate sense of humility that Piu possesses is what makes her so loved among fans, not just in West Bengal but across the country. And Hyderabadis, she says, have a good ear for music. “Even though they may not understand the language, they feel the music. After all, music has no language,” the singer adds.
As she speaks, Piu emanates joviality, which flows into her music and makes your heart skip a beat. But does she have the heart to pick a favourite raag? “When I listen to Bhimsen Joshi ji’s Raag Puriya, I get engrossed. When I listen to Kishori Amonkar ji’s Raag Bhoopali, I am mesmerised. When I listen to Amir Khan ji’s Raag Lalit, I am awestruck. I get goosebumps… how can I choose?” she asks, with a genuine love and respect in her voice for the craft that she has honed for most of her life.
And then suddenly, she breaks into Lata Mangeshkar’s Mohe Panghat Pe from one of her favourite movies, Mughal-E-Azam (1960) — “Mohe Panghat Pe Nandlal Chhed Gayo Re / Mori Najuk Kalaiyaa Marod Gayo Re / Mohe Panghat Pe…” Her voice is velvet smooth, transporting you back to the Mughal era.
But does this singer, with her proud Bengali roots, wish to sing for Telugu films? “I would love to! If I have to sing in a language I do not know, then learning it becomes important so I can understand the meaning of the lyrics. Only then will I feel the emotion and channel that in the song. I will give my 100% if I get a chance in this industry,” she states.
Piu proves that she has a wise understanding of Hindustani Classical music when she leaves us with this thought: “Music is not simply ‘Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Dha Ni Sa’. Music comes from the experiences in life. Even the smallest action or interaction in daily life is music. There is nothing without swar (tone) and laya (tempo).”