Shreya Pujari
Boston, MA| Grant Category: | Fulbright-Nehru Student Research Program |
| Project Title: | Assamese Folk Traditions: A Musicological Analysis of Mising and Rabha Indigenous Music |
| Field of Study: | Music Studies |
| Home Institution: | Berklee College of Music, Boston, MA |
| Host Institution: | Tezpur University, Tezpur, Assam |
| Grant Start Month: | September 2025 |
| Duration of Grant: | Nine months |
Brief Bio:
Shreya Pujari is a vocalist, educator, and music industry professional specializing in folk music, jazz, and global traditions. She graduated from Berklee College of Music with a BM in Mediterranean music and contemporary writing and production, after beginning her studies in jazz voice at Fullerton College in Los Angeles. Her work centers on preserving and promoting traditional music through performance, education, and cross-cultural collaborations. Her multicultural education and fieldwork experience, including a six-month residency in Valencia, Spain, studying flamenco and Mediterranean music, inform her diverse musical approach and research interests.
Shreya has led several initiatives aimed at celebrating and sustaining global folk traditions. In 2024, she coordinated and directed the first Assamese Youth Orchestra in the U.S., commissioning new arrangements of Assamese folk songs and premiering the ensemble in Nashville. She has received a U.S. Congressional Certificate of Special Recognition for her work preserving Assamese cultural identity among first-generation youth in America. She is an active performer in the San Francisco music scene, known for curating eclectic, multilingual sets that introduce global folk traditions to American audiences.
Shreya’s Fulbright-Nehru research project is centering on the music of underrepresented communities, especially within her Assamese heritage. Her study is documenting the indigenous musical traditions of the Mising and Rabha tribes of Assam, India. Through immersive fieldwork, she is studying Mising and Rabha musical structures, performance practices, and cultural contexts. The focus of the project is on ethical preservation through consent-based storytelling and community partnership, aiming to give agency to cultural knowledge holders while also highlighting the global relevance of Assam’s musical landscape. Her research is expected to result in a multimedia documentary and supplemental educational resources aimed at preserving these traditions and increasing their visibility within the global academic community. Overall, backed by her background in folk music, ethnomusicology, and marketing, Shreya is attempting to showcase underrepresented traditions and foster cross-cultural understanding through global platforms such as festivals, film, and media.