Isheeta Ganguly, a multidisciplinary artist and philanthropist, explores the intersections of identity, creativity, and social change through her work in music, theater, and public health.
For Isheeta Ganguly, identity serves as a bridge connecting the various worlds she inhabits. The multidisciplinary artist, philanthropist, and public health professional refers to herself as a “reverse repatriate desi.” Born in Kolkata and raised in the United States, she eventually returned to India, where she now resides and works.
During a conversation with India Currents at the 2026 Indiaspora Forum in Bengaluru, Ganguly reflected on themes of belonging, creativity, and the unique intersections of art, health, and social change that define her life’s work.
Her journey spans continents, mirroring the experiences of diasporic Indians who navigate multiple cultural landscapes. Ganguly’s parents immigrated to New York in the early 1970s, and although she was raised entirely in the U.S., a work opportunity in India in the mid-2000s altered her life’s trajectory. There, she met her husband and chose to stay. Now based in Mumbai with her family, Ganguly’s work as a singer, playwright, and author takes her from multicultural initiatives at the Lincoln Center in New York to performances at the Kala Ghoda Arts Festival in Mumbai.
This duality, she explains, provides her with a nuanced understanding of what it means to be “desi,” whether in India or abroad. “I relate to being a desi from both perspectives—of being an Indian American, but also an Indian American who’s now living in India,” she said.
At the Indiaspora panel on desis without borders, Ganguly was intrigued to discover how differently the term resonates across the global diaspora. Many Indian-origin communities, she noted, do not always identify strongly with the ‘desi’ label.
“Many people from Fiji, Australia, Mauritius, and the Netherlands don’t as easily identify with the notion of ‘desi,’ which I actually thought was a very global phenomenon,” Ganguly observed. Yet, she emphasized that a powerful sense of “Indianness” persists in shared cultural touchstones, such as a love for cricket, Bollywood, music, and food. For Ganguly, these connections illustrate how culture endures through migration, distance, and reinvention.
This exploration of identity and belonging permeates her creative work. Ganguly has released nine albums and gained international acclaim for a trilogy of musical theater productions: *Three Women*, *Sundays with Chitra & Chaitali*, and *Shakuntala Awaits*. Her work blends feminism, mythology, history, and pop culture, reimagining classic 19th-century Indian heroines through a contemporary lens. Productions from the trilogy have traveled across India, Southeast Asia, and North America, with *Shakuntala Awaits* even enjoying an off-Broadway run at New York’s HERE Theatre.
At the heart of her current artistic journey is *Three Women*, which is set to be transformed into a graphic novel published by Penguin Random House in May 2026. This project revisits the complex relationship between Rabindranath Tagore and his sister-in-law, Kadambari Devi, through a contemporary feminist perspective.
Ganguly’s fascination with Kadambari Devi began in her childhood when she studied Rabindra Sangeet and became captivated by the enigmatic woman who significantly influenced Tagore’s emotional and creative life. Kadambari was tasked with caring for the young Tagore during his lonely and isolated upbringing.
“From my childhood of learning Rabindra Sangeet, I was very compelled by Rabindranath’s relationship with his sister-in-law, Kadambari. She was this enigmatic force in his life,” Ganguly explained. Their relationship evolved from childhood playmates to a deeper spiritual connection, likely romantic, as Kadambari mentored Tagore.
According to Ganguly, Kadambari’s influence was crucial to Tagore’s artistic awakening. Her tragic suicide at the age of 27, following Tagore’s marriage to Mrinalini Devi, cast a long shadow over the poet’s life.
“That mentorship led to some of his greatest creations. Tagore remained melancholic about her passing until his last days. My own belief as a creator who’s innovated on a lot of Tagore’s work is that without Kadambari Devi, we would have never had Rabindranath Tagore,” she stated.
Rather than merely retelling this historical tragedy, Ganguly reshapes it with originality. In *Three Women*, Kadambari returns as a ghost—a time-traveling force of nature. Ganguly describes her as “Sex and the City-esque,” cocktail in hand and armed with sharp self-awareness. This effervescent Kadambari guides two of Tagore’s fictional heroines, Charu and Bimala, toward futures more liberated than her own. Through humor and fantasy, Ganguly transforms grief into a meditation on female agency, creativity, and self-realization.
“It’s a dramatic comedy… the play speaks to the universal love of humanity and women finding themselves through their pursuit of passion. The 19th-century women in Tagore’s world were all brilliantly educated, but they had no mode of expression. Kadambari, the ghost, whisks them away and brings them to the modern day,” she explained.
The enduring popularity of the stage production eventually attracted the attention of Penguin Random House, which approached Ganguly about adapting it into a graphic novel. The new edition, illustrated by Kolkata-based artist Chiranjit Sarkar, will also include an audio experience, creating what Ganguly describes as a “multi-sensory” retelling.
“Penguin actually approached me because of the popularity of the play. It’s been running for 11 years all over India and Southeast Asia, and we had a U.S. tour as well. Penguin said they want to create a graphic illustration out of this play, and they’re doing an audio version as well, so people can have a multi-sensory experience,” she said.
Despite her success in theater and music, Ganguly insists that artistry remains central to her identity. “I am always an artist first,” she said. Singing since the age of 15, she gained recognition in New York’s cultural circles as a vocalist before emerging as a playwright and director.
Her creative endeavors have always been intertwined with her commitment to social impact. Early experiences working with vulnerable children in Kolkata convinced her that gender equity is essential for India’s future.
“I have a background in public health,” Ganguly explained. “After my undergraduate studies in biomedical ethics at Brown, I completed a master’s in public health at Columbia and worked in management consulting in healthcare for many years. That passion to work with street children first in Kolkata really opened my eyes to the gender equity gap in India.”
Today, Ganguly serves on the board of The Antara Foundation, which focuses on maternal and infant health. The organization aims to reduce high-risk maternal and infant mortality by supporting frontline healthcare workers and improving care during the critical 1,000-day period spanning pregnancy through a child’s second birthday.
“I realized that the gender gap needed to be bridged for India to achieve its potential. My work with the Antara Foundation is in the maternal-child health space. We work to reduce high-risk maternal and infant deaths, looking at the 1,000-day cycle from pregnancy to the baby’s age of two,” she said.
Ganguly’s children humorously refer to her as a “philanthropreneur”—a blend of philanthropist and innovator. “My kids are always teasing me about it; they’re like, ‘What is a philanthropreneur?’” she said.
She embraces the term, as it encapsulates her work in public health and philanthropy. “I believe that taking something traditional and reinventing it for the modern world defines much of the Indian American experience itself,” she added.
For an artist with roots in both India and the U.S., who works across art, culture, theater, and healthcare, Ganguly is motivated by what she calls the “incredible cohesiveness of the Indian diaspora.”
“While I spend a lot of time in Mumbai, I travel frequently back to New York, which is my home city. I find that the enthusiasm and passion the Indian diaspora community has for India is infectious, and that is so inspiring toward innovation as an artist and a philanthropist,” she concluded.
Ganguly’s graphic novel *Three Women* blends literature, history, and contemporary insight, bringing Tagore’s heroines to life in a bold and visually engaging new form. The graphic novel is set to be released on May 30, 2026, published by Penguin Random House.
According to India Currents, the novel celebrates the timeless strength of Tagore’s women and their quest for meaning, freedom, and passion, highlighting that while the world has changed from the 19th century to the 21st, women’s struggles for independence, desire, and purpose remain much the same.
