Powerful Global Tribute To Gandhiji From Ricky Kej And Kailash Satyarthi

India-West News Desk

MUMBAI – A powerful musical collaboration has brought together some of the world’s most acclaimed artists to honor Mahatma Gandhi through the album ‘Gandhi – Mantras of Compassion’. The project unites three-time Grammy Award winner Ricky Kej with Grammy and Brit Award nominee Tina Guo, Grammy Award-winning Japanese composer Masa Takumi, and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Kailash Satyarthi.

The roots of this collaboration trace back to 2024, when Kej joined Satyarthi on a four-city concert tour across India. The tour not only celebrated music but also served a greater cause—raising awareness and funds for the Satyarthi Movement for Global Compassion, a campaign advocating justice, peace, equality, and sustainability.

During this journey, Kej spent time with Satyarthi at his Bal Ashram, a rehabilitation and empowerment center for rescued children. The time they shared deepened their bond and further fueled the desire to collaborate on a project that would inspire change through art.

What many may not know is Kej’s connection to India’s freedom movement. His grandfather, Jankidas Mehra, was a world champion cyclist and a prominent figure in Indian cinema. In 1946, he made history by raising the Indian national flag on foreign soil—a flag personally handed to him by Mahatma Gandhi. That very flag is now preserved at the Gandhi National Museum in New Delhi, symbolizing a proud family legacy rooted in service and patriotism.

Kej and Satyarthi found common ground in their admiration for Gandhi’s life and legacy. Inspired by this shared reverence, they envisioned a work that would reinterpret melodies associated with Gandhi and introduce new compositions echoing his ideals of peace, nonviolence, and compassion.

To bring this vision to life, Kej assembled a global ensemble of 230 musicians from over 40 countries. Among them were close collaborators Guo, a Chinese American virtuoso cellist, and Takumi, a master shamisen player. Together, they created a transcendent, cross-cultural soundscape—a heartfelt homage to one of the world’s most enduring moral leaders.

The album is not only a musical offering but a reflection of Gandhi’s lasting influence on global movements for justice. Through ambient textures and diverse instrumentation, ‘Gandhi – Mantras of Compassion’ evokes Gandhi’s teachings, which inspired leaders such as Martin Luther King Jr. and Nelson Mandela. It underscores how Gandhi’s principles of tolerance, environmental awareness, and nonviolent resistance remain profoundly relevant in today’s world.