Malini Awasthi is a distinguished folk singer of India, who has specialized in singing songs in various local dialects of Hindi language, like Bhojpuri, Awadhi and Bundelkhandi. Her expertise also extends to some semi-classical types of Hindi songs, like Thumri and Kajari.
Malini was born in Kannauj of Uttar Pradesh and completed her post graduation in Hindustani Classical Music from Bhatkhande University of Lucknow. She honed her skills by learning further from the eminent Indian Classical singer Girija Devi, whose fame for singing Thumri is a legend. As a result, Malini now sings regularly in a prominent classical music festival, which is known as Jahan-e-Khusrau. She has also sung some popular songs in some notable Hindi and Bhojpuri films; like Jai Ho Chhat Maiya, Bhole Shankar,
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,
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, the recent Hindi films Dum Laga Ke Haisha and Chaarfutiya Chhokare.Â
She balanced her personal life well with her music career, fulfilling her duties as the wife of Awanish Kumar Awasthi, a senior IAS officer of the Uttar Pradesh government and the mother of two grown-up children, the daughter Ananya who is now a dentist and the son Aditya who is aspiring to be a lawyer.
She is particularly famous for her Thumri song ‘Thaare Raho Baanke Shyam’, which has gained immense popularity for her melodious high-pitched voice. Her prominent works in the field of music have earned her Sahara Awadh Samman in 2003.