Anoushka Shankar, the renowned sitarist and daughter of legendary sitar maestro Ravi Shankar, is ecstatic to have been nominated for the 2025 Grammy Awards. Ahead of the grand event, she sat down with NDTV’s Abira Dhar to talk about her musical journey and shared a memorable anecdote about her father, whose legacy is etched deep into the music world.
Lost Grammys of Ravi Shankar: A Family Tale
As she went along, Anoushka told a hilarious and unexpected story about her father’s Grammy Awards, involving her teenage years. Apparently, two of Ravi Shankar’s Grammy Awards had disappeared. Ravi Shankar himself seemed oblivious to the matter, saying that he may have put them in a suitcase when visiting a friend. It became a lighthearted conversation in the family-how is that possible, losing two Grammy Awards?
Grammy Foundation’s Shocking Response
To compensate for the missing awards, Anoushka’s mother wrote to the Grammy Foundation. To her surprise, they wrote back. She had requested that a replacement be made, and they informed her that Ravi Shankar had won not one but two Grammys and asked which one they should replace. Ravi Shankar was equally surprised because he hadn’t known he had won two Grammys.
Importance of Music Over Awards
Anoushka says that her father never made much of the awards. Ravi Shankar was more concerned with the music itself than with any awards. His passion for music and dedication to his art were far greater, and the story of the missing awards is a testament to his true love for his craft. Ravi Shankar had won his first Grammy Award in 1967 for Best Chamber Music Performance for his collaboration with violinist Yehudi Menuhin in West Meets East. He died in 2012, and the following year, he was awarded the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award posthumously.
Anoushka Shankar’s Grammy Nomination for 2025
Anoushka Shankar, after her father A R Rahman won the Grammy the previous year in the Best World Music Album for his work The Prayer Tree by the Katty Perry-led, has been chosen for the 2025 version of the show in the Global Music Performance album. She along with British multitalented musical instrument player Jacob Collier bagged the song A Rock Somewhere. India’s Ricky Kej, Anoushka Shankar, Radhika Vekaria, Chandrika Tandon, and Varijashree Venugopal share the nomination that speaks of more Indian artists vying for influence in the globe.
The 67th annual Grammy Awards will take place on February 2, 2025, at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles. As Anoushka Shankar prepares to attend the ceremony, her nomination marks another milestone in her successful career, following in the legacy of her father’s trailblazing achievements in the world of music.