The 65th Grammy Awards was a monumental night for artists with roots in south Asia. While Indian-origin composer Ricky Kej won a Grammy for his Divine Tides album, British Indian Anoushka Shankar, Pakistani Singh Arooj Aftab, and the Breklee Indian Ensemble all earned prestigious nominations and critical acclaim.
Another iconic moment for the south Asian community was when American-born Sikh Gurujas Kaur Khalsa of the White Son won the Grammy Award for her chants in the album 'Mystic Mirror.’
Kaur and her Los Angeles-based group, White Suns, won a Grammy award for Best New Age Album, which includes Shabads from the Guru Granth Sahib.
The group’s three artists Gurujas, Harijiwan and Adam Berry – appeared on stage donned in their signature white outfits. They had also won the New Age Album Grammy award in 2017 for their album ‘White Sun II’
An elated Gurujas said, “Thank you so much to the Academy; I’m going to cry. Thank you to everyone who helped create this album, and thank you to our producers. Standing with you guys is such a privilege and honour. With that comes more responsibility to bring love and kindness to Planet Earth.”
The lead vocalist of White Sun, Gurujas Kaur has been singing professionally in the Cleveland Orchestra Children’s Chorus from the age of 11 and is a teacher and practicing Yogini.
Her songs take inspiration from the teachings of Kundalini Yoga and she has spent several years working in the field, taking part in several intensive teaching trainings.
A resident of the United States, Gurujas frequently travels the world to offer training and still studies under her guru, Harijiwan, who is a fellow recipient of the Grammy.
White Sun’s website describes Kaur's voice and says, “her voice has been called a tonic, a truly unique presentation of uncommon skill with a penetrating, subtle vibrato and dynamic attack.”
The 2022 release, 'Mystic Mirror,' earned the number-one spot on iTunes and Billboard, and also gained a massive following for their unique music.
All 10 of the group’s compositions in the album ‘Mystic Mirror’ were either from the Guru Granth Sahib or penned by Guru Gobind Singh, the 10th Sikh Guru.
The two shabads from Guru Nanak’s Jap are "Pawan guru paani pita" and “Akhan jor cheap nahi jor.” The third, “Naam niranjan neer narayan", was composed in Raag Gond by Guru Arjun Dev was picked from the Guru Granth Sahib.
The group told Rolling Stone magazine that the group are currently working on a Spanish album “to express our appreciation for our incredible fans who speak the language.”
She also thanked Billings Artworks’ John Billings and Patrick Moore, who have been creating gramophone statues for Grammy over 40 years.
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)