Dalai Lama Bags Grammy, Slew Of Noms But No Wins For Indian Artists

LOS ANGELES, CA-Globally acclaimed spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, 90, has won his first Grammy Award for Best Audio Book, Narration, and Storytelling Recording. The Nobel Peace Laureate competed against Milli Vanilli’s Fab Morvan, US Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, show host Trevor Noah, and actress Kathy Garver.

Despite strong nominations across key global music categories, none of the Indian artists shortlisted this year won the award, including Anoushka Shankar, Siddhant Bhatia, Shakti, and Charu Suri.

‘Meditations: The Reflections Of His Holiness The Dalai Lama’ was the entry from the world’s foremost Tibetan Buddhist, an album of innovative collaborations with Hindustani classical influences.

Layered over the music are collages of his remarks on themes such as mindfulness, harmony, and health, captured over the last few years. Responding to the award, the Dalai Lama said, “I receive this recognition with gratitude and humility. I don’t see it as something personal, but as a recognition of our shared universal responsibility. I truly believe that peace, compassion, care for our environment, and an understanding of the oneness of humanity are essential for the collective well-being of all eight billion human beings.”

“I’m grateful that this Grammy recognition can help spread these messages more widely,” he said.

66 years ago, the 14th Dalai Lama, left Norbulingka Palace in Tibet, the Third Pole, and escaped into exile in India after a challenging 14-day journey. Since then, the longest-serving and most respected guest of the Indian government, has followed a path of promoting human values and religious harmony, while also preserving Tibetan language and culture — a heritage received from the masters of India’s Nalanda University.

A globetrotting spiritual leader considered a living Buddha of compassion, the Dalai Lama, in his latest book, ‘In Voice for the Voiceless’, offers insights into his decades-long dealings with China. In the book, the Dalai Lama, a reincarnation of past Dalai Lamas, reminds the world of Tibet’s unresolved struggle for freedom and the hardship his people continue to face in their homeland.

The book captures his extraordinary life, uncovering what it means to lose one’s home to a repressive invader and build a life in exile; dealing with the existential crisis of a nation, its people, culture, and religion; and envisioning the path forward.

Currently, India is home to around 1,00,000 Tibetans and the Tibetan government-in-exile. (IANS)