She was born in Balaghat in the then province of C.P. and Berar, the oldest child of Gajanan Amberdekar, a judge, and Sundari Subedar.
She received her musical training in Hindustani classical music under various teachers including, promarily under Pandit S.N.Ratanjankar, and later from Pandit Rajabhaiya Poochwale of Gwalior gharana, Ustad Vilayat Hussain Khan of Agra gharana, and Pandit Anant Manohar Joshi and Ustad Mushtaq Hussain Khan (d.