From 1967 when legendary sitarist Pandit Ravi Shankar won his first Grammy for the collaborative album ‘West Meets East’ to 2026, India has enjoyed frequent success on the world music stage. This year Sarod maestros Ustad Amjad Ali Khan, Amaan Ali Bangash and Ayaan Ali Bangesh won the Grammy in the Best Audio Book, Narration, and Storytelling Recording category for the album ‘Meditations: The Reflections of His Holiness the Dalai Lama’.
India owes this significant success to its rich, diverse musical traditions and the mastery of Indian artists in classical, fusion, and world music genres. For instance, fusion collective Shakti, which won big in 2024 for their global music album ‘This Moment’ was also nominated this year for ‘Mind Explosion’ in two categories (Best Global Music Album and Best Global Music Performance). Be it Pandit Ravi Shankar collaborating with Yehudi Menuhin, Ricky Kej jamming with Stewart Copeland, or Vishwa Mohan Bhatt working with Ry Cooder, many fruitful fusion collaborations have scooped gilded gramophones at the Grammys.
The last few years though have signalled a marked shift with nominations acknowledging Indian-heritage music projects with rooted, spiritual sounds.
An overview:
Sounds of Kumbha
‘Sounds of Kumbha’ was nominated in the Best Global Music Album category at 68th Grammy Awards. For singer, composer and producer Siddhant Bhatia, this 12-track offering was an opportunity to transport the global audience to the Maha Kumbh with Sanskrit shloka chants, meditative silence, river sounds and sonorous field recordings. Featuring over 50 artists-including Grammy winners and nominees- ‘Sounds of Kumbha’ was meant to be a universally resonant sonic memoir, though rooted in a very specific cultural context. The album was recorded across multiple studios globally and coalesced classical ragas with evocative binaural sound design. An initiative by the Government of Uttar Pradesh with Network18, History18, and Universal Music Group, the album also carries the inputs of spiritual leader Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar. Key collaborating artists include Jim “Kimo” West, Ron Korb, Raja Kumari, V. Selvaganesh, Charu Suri, Kala Ramnath, Bhanumathi Narasimhan, Kanika Kapoor, Pravin Godkhindi, Ajay Prasanna, Aditya Gadhvi, Raghav Mehta, Kalyani Nair’s The Indian Choral Ensemble and Sushant Pujari among others. The Grammy nomination for the album reflects the growing global appetite for spiritual and experiential storytelling through music.
Shayan
Jazz composer and pianist Charu Suri was born in Madurai and emerged as a prodigious talent at a young age. The Grammy recognition for her fifth album ‘Shayan’ is yet another acknowledgment of her virtuosity. ‘Shayan’ (derived from a Sanskrit word for a deep state of rest or sleep) was nominated in the Best Contemporary Instrumental Album category at the 68th Annual Grammy Awards and has been praised for blending soothing evening ragas like Kalyani and Desh with contemporary Jazz. Dedicated to helping listeners sleep better, this album is laced with the spiritual gravitas of Indian classical music and also has synergistic inputs from flutist Premik Russell Tubbs, Tess Remy-Schumacher, vocalist Anita Lerche, Grammy winner Jim Kimo West, and dulcimer performer Max ZT. The lineup also features Mary Dawood Caitlin (voice), Haruna Fukazawa (flute), Shriram Iyer (vocals), Ravichandra Kulur (flute), Ron Korb (flute), Raneiro Palm (Venezuelan strings), Ramya Shankar (voice), and Peter Sterling (harp). As one of the most prominent voices in the raga-jazz movement, Charu is now a global star destined for even greater honours. ‘Shayan’ is produced by Vedam Records and reflects the acceptance of new Indian musical languages internationally.
Chapter III: We Return to Light
Anoushka Shankar is no stranger to international honours with over 13 Grammy nominations. This year, she was twice nominated for ‘Chapter III: We Return to Light’, the final instalment of her three-part Chapters trilogy. Released by Nonesuch Records (Warner Music Group), her album once again established her as one of the most globally influential, genre-defining artists. The album, created in collaboration with sarod maestro Alam Khan and British-Indian percussionist and composer Sarathy Korwar, mines the sitar traditions she imbibed from her Guru and father Pandit Ravi Shankar and then segues into ambient, electronic, and contemporary sounds. Shankar who is quite forthcoming about her struggles with childhood trauma, mental as well as physical health has often strived to communicate uplifting messages though her music and this album is no exception. While focused on healing and renewal, the album also celebrates Shankar’s fluid cultural identity.
Break of Dawn
Three-time Grammy Award winner and four-time Grammy nominee Ricky Kej has created history many times over. One of his most celebrated works ‘Break of Dawn’ was a profoundly reflective work combining tenets of spiritual wellness and personal experience. Developed over nearly a decade and released by Vedam Records, a wellness-focused label launched by Universal Music India in partnership with Kej himself, the album distilled the beauty of over nine ancient Indian ragas to promote mental health, emotional balance, and environmental empathy. The meditative album resonant with mellifluous notes of sitar and serene flute cadences earned a Grammy nomination in the Best New Age, Ambient, or Chant Album category at the 67th Annual Grammy Awards. The nomination yet again demonstrated the growing acceptance of purpose-driven, healing-oriented music that bridges Indian classical heritage with global sonic sensibilities.