Selina Sharma delivering lecture at M.G.M. College Udupi, July 2011
Born
(1970-01-06)6 January 1970 (age 55)
Other names
Selina Thielemann, Selina Goswami
Occupation(s)
Musicologist and singer
Years active
1994–present
Spouse
Shashank Goswami (m.2006)
Selina Sharma in 2006
Selina Sharma (Thielemann) is an Italian-born Indian musicologist and vocalist.[1][2][3] Her theoretical work concentrates onSouth Asia, in particular on the devotional music tradition of theVraja region, theBauls ofBengal as well as on the philosophical and spiritual aspects of music. Currently she is the Vice-Secretary and Academic Director of Vraja Kala Sanskriti Sansthana (Institute of Vraja Art and Culture) atVrindaban.[4]
Born as Selina Thielemann into a family of musicians and scholars, Selina Sharma was introduced to Indian culture and philosophy as a young child, inspired especially by her violinist father Peter Thielemann and her mother Serena Mitzscherling, a renowned concert pianist.[5][6] Selina received training in violin from her father.[5][6] After completing her schooling and musical education in Germany, she pursued her M.Mus. inethnomusicology from theSchool of Oriental and African Studies,University of London, where she also studied mediaevalHindi literature,Sanskrit and South Asian politics.[5][7][8] She completed her M.Phil. in musicology from theUniversity of Cambridge, and obtained her Ph.D. fromBanaras Hindu University.[5][9][10] Her doctoral thesis on "Musical traditions of Vaishnava temples in Vraja" was supervised by renowned musicologist ProfessorPrem Lata Sharma, who essentially shaped Selina's views.[9][11][12] The other personality to significantly influence Selina's academic outlook was the German scholar Professor Josef Kuckertz,[6][9] whose writings she compiled after his death and published them under the titleEssays in Indian music in 1999.[13]
In 1994, Selina came first to India to pursue fieldwork on the temple music traditions of the Vraja region as part of her M.Phil. thesis at the University of Cambridge.[9] Here, she started her training as adhrupad vocalist with Pandit Vidur Mallik atVrindaban.[7][9] Seeing the declining state of many forms of traditional music and art in theVraja area, she returned to Vrindaban upon completion of her studies at Cambridge University in the summer of 1994, and from then onwards dedicated her work to the research and documentation of the musical traditions of Vraja and other areas in India. In the course of this work, her intent of establishing an academic institution for the research, documentation and dissemination of Vraja art took firm roots,[5][6] a goal which materialized in 2004 whenVraja Kala Sanskriti Sansthana was established by a group of dedicated artists and scholars including Selina Sharma and her husband Shashank Goswami.[4][14]
Between 1996 and 2005, Selina Sharma produced the major body of her publications including eleven books on various subjects of Indian music and philosophy, as well as a large number of articles.[6] Together with the famous folk singerPurna Das Baul, she authored the first extensive written account on the philosophy of theBauls to be published in English language.[7][15][16]
Dissemination of Vraja art and culture (2006-present)
Since 2006, Selina Sharma concentrated her activities on the dissemination of the rare and endangered forms of folk and traditional art of Vraja. Together with her husband,Sanjhi artist Shashank Goswami, she conducts regular workshops and lectures on Indian music and art, Indian stage plays on epic themes enacted by school children, as well as exhibitions of miniature paintings by young artists fromVraja in India and abroad.[4][14][17][18][19][20] She also performs as a dhrupad singer in India and abroad.[9][19][21][22]In 2012, Selina Sharma was honored with the Kiran Achievement Award for her contributions in the field of musicology.[23]
Selina Sharma is married to hereditary priest andSanjhi artist Shashank Goswami since 2006. They have two sons Shri Ram Goswami and Shri Lakshman Goswami.[18][20] Selina Sharma speaks many languages, including Hindi, Sanskrit, Bengali, English, Italian and German.[7]
