Born in a family with a musical tradition, Shashwati started learning music at a very tender age. She is the grand-daughter of Pt. Balabhau Umdekar, a court musician of the Gwalior State and an accomplished singer of the Gwalior Gharana. Initially Shashwati was trained by her mother Smt. Kamal Mandal and her uncle Shriram Umdekar, a well known sitarist. Later she got trained under veteran singer Pt. Balasaheb Poonchwale to master the nuances of Khayal and Tappa. Today she is one of the rare young generation artists, who has a good command on the subtle complexities of Tappa. Shashwati has performed at several prestigious music platforms and has been widely praised by critics and common listeners. An 'A' grade artist of All India Radio (AIR) and Doordarshan, she is also recipient of the title Sur Mani awarded by Sur Singar Mumbai and the Mani Mann fellowship awarded by Sanskriti foundation New Delhi. She was also nominated in the top ten Song Lines award by Songlines Magazine for her album 'Tappa Journey'.