High five for Indians at Grammys; Zakir Hussain bags 3
Nonika Singh
Chandigarh, February 5
Sound of Indian music has been winning the West for a long time. The first Grammy win came when sitar maestro Pandit Ravi Shankar received one in 1968. Others too have walked the same hall of fame. More recently there has been a consistent acknowledgement of Indian musicians at what is considered music’s biggest night, the most prestigious music awards, The Grammys. With five Indians — Rakesh Chaurasia, Shankar Mahadevan, Ganesh Rajagopalan, Selvaganesh Vinayakram and above all Ustad Zakir Hussain — winning Grammys at its 66th edition, it is clearly India’s moment, the “shakti” of its music. Musician Ricky Kej, himself a three-time Grammy winner, aptly tweeted: “This is a great year for India at the Grammys.”
Awards across 3 categories
1 Best global music album
This Moment Zakir Hussain | Shankar Mahadevan | Ganesh Rajagopalan | Selvaganesh Vinayakram
2 Best Contemporary Instrumental Album
As We Speak Béla Fleck | Edgar Meyer | Zakir Hussain | Rakesh Chaurasia
3 Best Global Music Performance
Pashto Béla Fleck | Edgar Meyer | Zakir Hussain | Rakesh Chaurasia
TOP MUSIC HONOURS
Album of the year Midnights Taylor Swift
Record of the year Flowers Miley Cyrus
Song of the year What Was I Made For? Billie Eilish
Best new artist Victoria Monét
Among the Indian winners this year, celebrated percussionist Hussain, the Padma Vibhushan recipient, picked up three Golden Gramophones. Apart from winning a Grammy for Best Global Music Album for his fusion band Shakti’s album ‘This Moment’ along with musical talents vocalist Shankar Mahadevan, violinist Ganesh Rajagopalan, kanjira player Selvaganesh Vinayakram and English guitarist John Mclaughlin, Grammy for Best Global Music Performance too came his way. ‘Pashto’ from album As We Speak emerged the winner in this category. Interestingly, Falu and Gaurav Shah’s ‘Abundance In Millets’ featuring Prime Minister Narendra Modi, too, was in contention for the same.
One of India’s greatest tabla exponents, Hussain, who has collaborated with Bela Fleck, Edgar Meyer and Rakesh Chaurasia for As We Speak, also won a Grammy in the Best Contemporary Instrumental Album category.
Noted flautist Rakesh Chaurasia, nephew of legendary flute player Hari Prasad Chaurasia, won two Grammys for his collaboration with the Ustad.
Multiple awards are not new to the Grammy stage and music makers. Grammy favourite Taylor Swift has taken home more than one Golden Gramophones more than once. Only this year, she has created history by becoming the first performer to win the prize for Album of the Year four times, moving past other greats such as Frank Sinatra, Stevie Wonder and Paul Simon.
More history was made on Sunday night. Miley Cyrus won her first Grammy with Record of the Year for Flowers. Karol G became the first female performer to win Best Música Urbana Album for her blockbuster ‘Mañana Será Bonito’ record. Billie Eilish won Song of the Year for the Barbie hit ‘What Was I Made For?’ The song from the superhit film happens to be an Oscar nominee too.
In a night in which ladies dominated, Killer Mike won three rap trophies. Drama, however, was not too far away as he was arrested for an altercation backstage. Of course, ultimately what dominated the stage on which Celine Dion presented Album of the Year award was music.
Hussain said in his acceptance speech: “Without love, music and harmony we are nothing.” India sure struck more than a harmonious note as wins not only marked triumph on the global stage but also of our ability to create global sounds.
