Bindu Subramaniam

Bindu Subramaniam (born Seetaa Subramaniam; in Los Angeles) is an American singer-songwriter, entrepreneur, music educator, and Co-Founder and CEO of SaPa - Subramaniam Academy of Performing Arts. Bindu has been described as a "third generation prodigy" by the Hindustan Times, "a Bangalore woman changing the way children learn" by Femina Karnataka magazine^[1] and an "assured young soprano" by the Times of India. In 2012, she appeared on the list of 12 gen-next achievers in Verve Magazine.^[2] In 2021, she was listed as GQ Magazine's 25 most influential young Indians. She also appeared on BusinessWorld's list of women achievers,^[3] and was named in their list of 40 under 40.^[4]

Quick Facts Background information, Birth name ...

Bindu Subramaniam
Background information
Birth name	Seetaa Subramaniam
Born	Los Angeles, United States
Genres	Western music, Carnatic, Pop
Occupation(s)	Singer/Songwriter, Educator, Entrepreneur
Instrument	Piano
Years active	1997–present

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She has performed around the world, and her first solo album was critically acclaimed and nominated for a GiMA.^[5]

Bindu heads the Subramaniam Academy of Performing Arts (SaPa), an institute that trains musically inclined children to become professional performers. In 2014, she started the SaPa in Schools program, an initiative to integrate music into the mainstream academic curriculum. SaPa in Schools works with over 30,000 children across India (as of 2021).

She is the daughter of violinist Dr. L. Subramaniam, and has collaborated with him on a number of releases including Global Fusion, Visions of India and Athens.  Along with her brother Ambi Subramaniam, she started a contemporary world music band, SubraMania in 2013.^[6] In 2018, she created The Thayir Sadam Project with Ambi, Carnatic fusion artist Mahesh Raghvan and mridangam player Akshay Anantapadmanabhan.  

Bindu has a bachelor's degree in Law from Jain University, a master's degree in law from the University of London, a master's certificate in songwriting and music business from Berklee Music, a diploma in Montessori education from NAMC and a PhD in music education. She is a part of the Stanford Seed Transformation Program (cohort of 2020).^[20]

Bindu has received Honourable Mentions at the Billboard World Song Contest and was a finalist in the performance category of the Unisong International Song Contest. She was nominated for a GiMA (Indian equivalent of the Grammys) for Best Pop Rock Album in 2011 and won a GiMA for Best Fusion Album – Live at Neues Gewandhaus, Leipzig in 2010.

She is a member of the All India Management Association's Young Leaders Council,^[21] and was a delegate of the Australia India Youth Dialogue in 2018.^[22] She was also invited to Israel in 2018, as part of the delegation that contributed to advancing India-Israeli ties. In 2021, she delivered a TEDx talk for students from Woodstock School, titled "What do you want to be when you grow up?"^[23]

Bindu was born as Seetaa Subramaniam in Los Angeles, California, to violinist L. Subramaniam and vocalist Vijayashree (Viji) Subramaniam. She has two brothers: violinist Ambi Subramaniam and Dr. Narayana Subramaniam – head and neck oncologist, author and musician. She moved to Bangalore, India with her family in 1996, after the death of her mother. Her father married Bollywood playback singer Kavita Krishnamurti in 1999.

She legally changed her name from Seetaa to Bindu in 2009. 

Bindu is married to Sanjeev Nayak, Swarathma's lead violinist.^[24] She has a daughter, Mahati Subramaniam, born in 2011, who recorded her first solo song in 2018.^[25]