Delhi-based singer-composer-producer Siddhant Bhatia has scored a nomination at the 68th Grammy Awards for his album Sounds of Kumbha in the Best Global Music Album category. He is nominated alongwith sitarist-composer Anoushka Shankar and Shankar Mahadevan-led Shakti Band.
The musician describes his multi-collaborative project, which features 50 global artists—among them Grammy winners and nominees—as a significant victory for India’s culture and spirituality. The album is dedicated to the Mahakumbh held in 2025.
In an exclusive conversation with HT City, he says, “It’s a very joyous moment for the entire country, as we created the album for the Mahakumbh. It showcases our culture, tradition, and heritage – and now the entire world is knowing about it. The nomination and global recognition for the album is a very big win for our spirituality.”
He added, “Rooted in Indian culture, it’s a global album where we have Sanskrit, Hindi, and English. I like capturing the sound in its natural habitat. We captured temple bells, the river, and the atmosphere when the festival started around Makar Sankranti in a spiritually charged environment.”
The album was released during the Mahakumbh on the Uttar Pradesh Government’s channel; the state government, along with Network18, commissioned the project from him.
“Bringing music geniuses like Ron Korb, Jim ‘Kimo’ West, Charu Suri, and Madi Das to Mahakumbh, with Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar singing a shloka on the track Ram Ram, Raja Kumari’s rap vocal evoking an ancient Durga mantra, and classical music by Kanika Kapoor, Aditya Gadhvi, and others, is a divine collaboration,” he said.
Indo-American pianist Charu Suri, who also earned a Grammy nomination this year for Best Contemporary Instrumental Album with her record Shayan, is a producer for Siddhant’s album, while he is a producer for Shayan. “It’s a 2x nomination for us,” he noted.
Trained in the Patiala Gharana, Bhatia is a disciple of Ustad Jawaad Ali Khan, the grandson of Ustaad Bade Gulam Ali Khan. He has also done audio engineering in Australia and conducted research on healing frequencies.
“As a composer-singer, I have been working for 20 years. We have around 54 advertisement awards. I have had four Grammy submissions, including the multi-artiste album Ananta in 2016,” he shared as a final note.
