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Gongs, bells and Tibetan chants await Grammy
In an isolated Himalayan monastery, 150 maroon-robed Buddhist monks have been chanting and praying for something a little offbeat a Grammy award.
In an isolated Himalayan monastery, 150 maroon-robed Buddhist monks have been chanting and praying for something a little offbeat a Grammy award.
One of their own, Lama Tashi, left on Thursday for Los Angeles to attend the February 8 Grammy Awards ceremony in which he has been nominated in the Best Traditional World Music Album category.
“The nomination came as a surprise and I feel lucky,” Tashi, 38, said before boarding a flight from Guwahati. “I’m hopeful of winning the Grammy, but not tense,” said Tashi, whose album Tibetan Master Chants is a collection of 12 songs dedicated to Buddhist themes including purification, enlightenment, wisdom, healing and compassion.
The songs are accompanied by traditional instruments like gongs, bells and singing bowls. Tashi’s album is the first solo album by a Buddhist monk to win a Grammy nomination. Monks from the Sherabling Monastery of Himachal Pradesh won a Grammy in 2004 for their album, Sacred Tibetan Chants.
