India’s Soft Power In Full Flow at Grammys: Zakir Hussain Wins Three

It was a great day for India at the Grammys with Shankar Mahadevan and tabla star Zakir Hussain’s fusion band Shakti bagging Grammy awards for Best Global Music Album. Hussain won two more Grammys — one along with flute player Rakesh Chaurasia and the third for the best global music performance for Pashto. In a picture shared by the Grammys on their Twitter account, Mahadevan and another member of the band, Ganesh Rajagopalan, can be seen accepting the award on stage.

Mahadevan who has been part of the band for years in his acceptance speech, “Thank you boys. Thank you, God, family, friends, and India. India, we are proud of you…Last but not least, I would like to dedicate this award to my wife whom every note of my music is dedicated to.”

Hussain’s album This Moment was released on June 30 in 2023 and has eight songs created by John McLaughlin (guitars), Zakir Hussain (tabla), Shankar Mahadevan (vocalist), V Selvaganesh (percussionist), and Ganesh Rajagopalan (violinist). The group was nominated for the Grammys with other artists like Susana Baca, Bokante, Burna Boy, and Davido. Without love and music we are nothing, said Hussain in his award acceptance speech for Pashto. “Thanks to the Academy, thanks to all these musicians.. great musicians for giving us this beautiful One of our members is missing, Bela Fleck. So from him, Rakesh Chaurasia, and Edgar Meyer, our deepest thanks,” he said.

This is the third time Hussain has won the Grammys. In 2009 Hussain won the Grammys in the Contemporary World Music Album category for his collaborative album “Global Drum Project”. Hussain then worked with Mickey Hart of the rock band ‘Grateful Dead’, Nigerian percussionist Sikiru Adepoju and Puerto Rican jazz percussionist Giovanni Hidalgo for the album.

In 1992, an album co-created and produced by Zakir and Mickey Hart, was awarded the first-ever Grammy for best world music album.