Satyasheel Deshpande has been reckoned as an unusually talented creative musician who has always attempted to magnetize the listeners of Hindustani Classical music through his excellent composition, captivating performances. Apart from being a noted performer he has also bagged the identity of being an author, researcher and a guru.

Personal Life of Satyasheel Deshpande
Satyasheel Deshpande was born in the year 1951 at Mumbai. From his early years he has came in contact with the music maestros like Pandit Bhimsen Joshi, Padmabhushan Mogubai Kurdikar, Pandit Vasantrao Deshpande and Pandit Kumar Gandharva at his home. He was born to illustrious musicologist Pandit Vamanrao Deshpande. Pandit Kumar Gandharva later on became his guru. By the year of 1972, Satyasheel Deshpande decided to consecrate himself to the realm of Music.To fulfill the purpose, he went to the town of Devas to imbibe Kumarji`s unique style of music. After completing his training under Kumarji he came back to Bombay and started performing on a regular basis. In an extensive manner then he started exhibiting his performances throughout the world at various music festivals and highly esteemed occasions. He journeyed through, Paris, the UK and the US. In all most all his performances he has skillfully attempted to combine respective styles of music, technical approaches and compositions of his gurus.

Life in Music for Satyasheel Deshpande
In the year 1989, Satyasheel Deshpande has exhibited his performance at the India International Center in New Delhi. It was his momentum performance of raga. At the programme he has attempted to combine the styles of various gharanas. He has shown the way through which `each approach to the same raga complete with that gharana`s particular aesthetic, it`s treatment of rhythm and structure, with every particular quirk and eccentricity of pronunciation, attitude and even voice-culture unique to each gharana`. At that occasion, an executive of the Ford Foundation, USA was present and after being magnetized with his execution, he conferred him a grant. This grant fell under the Ford Foundation`s `Preservation and Education` programme.

Satyasheel Deshpande has founded the Samvaad Foundation at Mumbai with the help of this grant. However he has attempted to enrich the Samvaad Foundation as the largest and most valuable archives of Hindustani music in the country. To fulfill the purpose, on his invitation maestros of Indian classical music like Ustad Salamat Ali, Ustad Nayaz Ahmed, Ustad Aslam Khan, Pandit Jitendra Abhisheki, Pandit K.G.Ginde, Pandit C.P. Rele, Shobha Gurtu, Pandit Jagdish Prasad, Pandit Ramashreya Jha came to reside at the foundation and recorded their music, their performances, their discussions, their teaching sessions. His main aim was `unprejudiced comparative analysis between alternate interpretations of classical forms`.

Satyasheel Deshpande thus enriched his style of music as a `complex texture of various musical strands, that have been carefully chosen and woven into a single fabric`. But he has always kept a touch with his earlier lighter style. He has exhibited his excellence in the forms of music like the ghazal, the bhajan, the thumri and the folk music of India. Apart from exhibiting his performances at various occasions, he has also sung for films. In the year 1982, he sang for the film `Vijeta` and he received `Best Playback Singer of the Year` award in the year 1992 for his duet in the film `Lekin`. He has also lent his voice for the Ram Gabale`s Marathi film, `He Geet Jeevanache`. He has also composed notes for his album. Two reputed albums that he has released are `Kahen` - `Kahen` is Satyasheelji`s attempt to rediscover the melodic and lyrical aspects of raga sangeet through a number of compositions, his own as well as traditional`; `Thumri Katha - The Story of Thumri`--- `collection of seven enchanting thumris that reflects Satyasheelji`s marvellous ability to immerse himself into the study of any form of music so deeply that he makes it his own`.

Satyasheel Deshpande has also written many books to his credit. He has contributed his writings on a regular basis to magazines and newspapers in the Marathi and Hindi languages. His write ups like his Gayaki has also been well appreciated by the noteworthy writers. `Ek Nayak ani Ek Gayak` is the widely known literary work done by him. This article was published in the Divali Issue, 2005 of the Shabda magazine. The theme of this article is the relationship that he shares with his mentor Pandit Kumar Gandharva. It also portrays `a captivating glimpse of Kumarji`s music in the context of the prevalent musical ethos of the time`. Another writing by Satyasheel Deshpande is `Sangat Ki Gat Neeki`. This article is a Hindi translation of `Ek Nayak ani Ek Gayak`. It was published in the popular Hindi quarterly Kalavarta. His mastery over the literature of Marathi, Hindi and English has also been reflected through his intensity of Music. As a recognition to the expertise of this great maestro of Indian Classical Music, Satyasheel Deshpande has been conferred many accolades like the Homi Bhabha Fellowship in the year 1996, the Kumar Gandharva Fellowship in the year 1999, Sursingar Samsad`s Tansen award and most recently, the Raza award for creativity in the year 2006.

Apart from being an illustrious performer, Satyasheel Deshpande has also been reckoned as a committed guru. Shri Krishna Bhat and Shri Anand Thakore are his first disciples who are considered as celebrated noted singers. Shri Kaushal Inamdar has also received training under him. Satyasheel Deshpande always tries to explore the Indian Classical music tradition from an individualistic point of view. It is said that `his music emerges not only from his own virtuosity and versatility as a performer, but also from his rigorously intellectual and assiduous eclecticism as a student of the Hindustani tradition`. Through his performances his self-generated vision and his intense musicological research has always been highlighted.