Sawani was born on 18th August 1979 in a musically rich family. Sawani has been very fortunate to have her father and grandmother as her Gurus too. Sawani’s grandmother, Smt.Kusum Shende , herself a noted singer of the Kirana Gharana and an honoured artist of the Sangeet Natak Era acquired Hindustani Classical music lessons from the two great sister maestros of the Kirana Gharana, Smt.Hirabai Badodekarji and Smt.Saraswatibai Raneji. She also got to learn many Ragas and compositions from Pandit Chota Gandharvaji. She was also a disciple of Smt.Shobha Gurtuji who introduced her to a whole new world of semi classical music and taught her innumerable Thumris and Dadras.Sawani’s father, Pandit Sanjeev Shende, who learnt classical music from his mother, also had the privilege later to receive semi classical guidance from Smt. Shobha Gurtuji and Pandit Ajay Pohankar. Thus Sawani was amidst rich musical notes, right from her childhood.Sawani used to happily sit for hours together listening to her grandmother teaching many disciples.