A rare songbird whose music is both earthen and ethereal, Sheela sings and plays the Indian classical bansuri (bamboo) flute, harmonium and harp. Sheela has trained extensively in north Indian classical music traditions over the past 15 years. She has studied raga with Indian flute master Pandit G. S. Sachdev, maestro Ustad Aashish Khan, and tala (rhythm) with tabla virtuoso Pandit Swapan Chaudhuri. Sheela has been shaped as an improviser by her work with diverse artists including Meredith Monk, Cecil Taylor and Fred Frith, and renowned jazz faculty during her MFA in World Music Performance from the California Institute of the Arts.