Malini Awasthi

Malini Awasthi (born 11 February 1967) is an Indian singer, more commonly referred to as Folk Queen of India. Having been trained classically, she is equally adept in various forms of Hindustani music like vintage Dadra Thumri Kajri Chaiti etc. Her knowledge of music finds a reflection in her renditions of Ghazals and Sufiyaana Kalaams too. A Ganda-baandh disciple of Padma Vibhushan Vidushi Girija Devi, she is a connoisseur of 'Chaumukhi gayan' of Benares Gharana. She commands equally over multiple dialects and languages like Awadhi, Bhojpuri, Bundeli, and Braj.

Acknowledging her decades long service to music of the land, Government of India awarded her the civilian honour of the Padma Shri in 2016. She is currently a visiting professor at Centre for Media Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University