Anoushka Shankar, Shakti and ‘Sounds of Kumbha’ Fail to Register Wins at Grammys

Los Angeles: Sitarist Anoushka Shankar lost out in the Global Music Performance category at the Grammys to Bad Bunny’s “EoO,” which also featured the collaboration song “Shirini’s Dream (Live)” by fusion group Shakti.

Shankar was nominated in the Global Music Album category along with Indian musician Siddhant Bhatia (“Sounds of Kumbha”) and Shakti’s “Mind Explosion (50th Anniversary Tour Live)”, but the golden microphone instead went to Caetano Veloso and Maria Bethania’s “Caetano e Bethânia Ao Vivo”.

Shankar, the daughter of sitar legend Ravi Shankar, has scored 13 Grammy nominations so far, including two this year: “Daybreak” in the Global Music Performance and “Part III: We Return to the Light” in the Global Music Album category. Both feature Shankar alongside Alam Khan and Sarathy Korwar.

Shankar said he decided to skip music’s biggest night on Sunday and instead spend time in India, where he is on tour.

“It’s Grammy day! I’m proud to be nominated twice – for my album Chapter III: We Return to Light and for the album’s lead song, ‘Daybreak.’ These are my 12th and 13th nominations, which is HUGE in itself! At the same time, it’s really nice to not get caught up in the whirlwind of intertwined excitement and stress that comes with major awards events in Los Angeles.”

“This year, I made a conscious decision to be on the road and not go to India during the ceremony. I wanted to practice what I preach, which was that the rewards are not as important as the genuine connection that playing music for people provides us as artists. I also wanted to take care of my mental health,” he said, explaining how taxing missing out on winning could have been.

“Shirini’s dream (Live) features fusion band Shakti and artists John McLaughlin, late Zakir Hussain, Shankar Mahadevan, Selvaganesh Vinayakram and Ganesh Rajagopalan

Indian-American jazz pianist Charu Suri was nominated for Contemporary Instrumental Album for her album “Shayan” as well as Bhatia’s “Sounds of Kumbha”, but the Grammy went to Arkai for “Brightside”.

The 68th Grammy Awards, hosted by Trevor Noah for the sixth and last time, were held in Los Angeles on February 1.