AGRA: ‘Bhakti without Borders’ is a rather apt name for an album of bhajans that has been nominated for the 58th Grammy Awards, to be held in Los Angeles next year on February 15. Eleven bhajans dedicated to Lord Krishna have made it to the prestigious list released on December 7. Why “without borders”? All of these songs have been composed by Krishna devotees from across the world — from Australia to America, from England to India.
Nominated in the ‘Best new age album’ category, the collection, whose executive producer is Madi Das, an ISKCON Vrindawan follower from Germany, has 11 singers. The lone Indian in the group, Gaura Mani, lives in Vrindavan. The foreign singers are bhakts who visit the ISKCON temple each year and are part of a not-for-profit group that produces Indian religious music. Funds from sale of the music provide food and education to poor girls in Vrindavan.
This is only the third time an album with religious music of the Indian tradition has been nominated for a Grammy, the biggest music recognition award in the United States. Earlier, Jai Uttal’s ‘Mondo Rama’ was nominated in 2004 and Krishna Das’ ‘Live Ananda’ in 2013. This is the first time ISKCON devotees have received a Grammy nomination.
“I couldn’t believe it when I woke up to a text message telling me we had been nominated,” said Das, who was the one to first come up with the idea of the album and whose parents met in a Krishna temple in Germany. He was schooled in Vrindavan. “Shaved head and all,” he told TOI on Wednesday over phone from Australia.
Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Bhakts-without-borders-score-a-Grammy-nod/articleshow/50211252.cms