The first light of NDTV’s two‑day summit fell on a young bass line that has been humming in Mumbai for a decade now. Mohini Dey, 29, stepped onto the stage with a guitar‑backed version of a childhood composition, the same tune that once echoed in the cramped living room of her parents. The crowd responded with an unforced applause that felt less like a verdict and more like a promise.
Her journey from that cramped room to the sprawling stages of New York, London, and Tokyo is stamped with the names of giants: A.R. Rahman, Salim‑Suleiman, Steve Vai, Marco Minnemann, and even Willow Smith. “I moved to the US because people told me I need to explore the world,” she said, eyes glinting with that same restless energy that once made her a child’s favorite at the local busker’s corner. The three‑year world tour that followed was less a business venture and more a cultural pilgrimage.
And then there’s the plea: keep the indie beat alive. She urged the NDTV audience to back the unsung, the under‑funded, the artists who still play in basements and back‑rooms. “Please continue to support independent musicians,” she implored, the words echoing the ethos of Coke Studio India, where she’s been a recurring figure, lending her finger to a chorus of voices that refuse mainstream molds.
Her love for Mumbai’s melange of mosques, temples, and street food stalls spills into every chord she plays. “I am fortunate to be born in India where we have so many different cultures,” she said, and her music is a testament, a sonic collage of that diversity. The subtle syncopation of a tabla bass line punctuates a riff that feels both Bollywood and jazz, a bridge between worlds.
Looking ahead, the bass‑slinger has her eyes on Willow Smith’s new band and her own side project MaMoGi, featuring ex‑husband Mark Hartsuch and drummer Gino Banks. Her debut self‑titled album, released in August 2023, was met with a wave of new listeners who felt the pulse of a nation in a single track. For Mohini, the future is a roadmap of collaborations, a promise of more cross‑cultural jam sessions, and an invitation for the audience to join the journey.