A rising Indian star in international music, a monk in a faraway Buddhist monastery and one of the biggest names in Indian music, all form an unusual combination of the three Indians who are in the race for the prestigious Grammy awards this year. The ceremony will take place on the evening of February 8 in Los Angeles.
Anoushka Shankar, daughter of sitar maestro Ravi Shankar, Lama Tashi, a Buddhist monk and Tibetan scholar from Arunachal Pradesh, and music legend Asha Bhonsle are all in the race for an honour at the 48th annual Grammy awards.
"I don't know whether I will win, but I have faith in the Almighty. Whatever he does will be for the best. If I win, well and good, if not, that is his wish," says
Bhonsle.
While both Bhonsle and Shankar are competing in the same category -- Best Contemporary World Music --, Tashi is in the fray in the Traditional World Music category for his album Tibetan Musical Chants.
Asha Bhonsle's album, in collaboration with Kronos Quartet, titled You`ve Stolen My Heart- Songs From R D Burman`s Bollywood is in the race along with Shankar's Rise along with three others.
"Yes, this will be the first time I will be competing against a fellow Indian, but I don't have any expectations as such. The kind of music they like, it is never a certainty," Bhonsle, who won't be attending the awards ceremony due to earlier engagements in Mumbai, said.
{{/usCountry}}"Yes, this will be the first time I will be competing against a fellow Indian, but I don't have any expectations as such. The kind of music they like, it is never a certainty," Bhonsle, who won't be attending the awards ceremony due to earlier engagements in Mumbai, said.
{{/usCountry}}This will be the second nomination for both ladies, who have been nominated before, but have not managed to win.
When asked if three nominations for Indians meant a greater acceptance that Indian music was making it to the international arena, Bhonsle said "I don't know about the awards, but whenever I perform, I always get a very good response from the international audience. So definitely our music is being given importance, but exactly what kind of Indian music they like will have to found out, because that is not clear."