The 65th Annual Grammy Awards turned out to be monumental for artists belonging to South Asian origin. While Bengaluru-born Ricky Kej picked a Grammy for his album 'Divide Tides' fellow South Asians including Anoushka Shankar, Arooj Aftab and the Berklee Indian Ensemble earned well-deserved nominations and praise. Another proud moment occurred at the ceremony when Gurujas Kaur Khalsa walked up to the stage to pick up her Grammy.
Gurujas Kaur Khalsa received a Grammy award for Best New Age Album for Mystic Mirror. The album includes an integral part of Shabad from Guru Granth Sahib chanted by Khalsa.
Who is Gurujas Kaur Khalsa?
Los Angeles-based Khalsa is a teacher, practising Yogini and a lead singer of the music group 'White Sun'. Her songs are inspired by the teachings of Kundalini Yoga. White Sun's 2022 released Mystic Mirror earned a number-one spot on Billboard and iTunes and acquired a massive following for its unique nature of music.
Khalsa has been working in the field of teaching for several years now and has been part of numerous, extensive teacher training. She resides in the United States and frequently travels across the world to offer training. She studies under her guru Harijiwan, who is also a fellow recipient of the Grammy for the new age album.
The album involves significant Shabad, or chants, from the holy book of Guru Granth Sahib, and its popularity is growing by the day. The White Sun team took to Twitter to express their gratitude for their win at the Grammys and wrote, "We just won a GRAMMY for our album Mystic Mirror in the New Age, Ambient or Chant Category."
"With this win comes more responsibility to bring love and kindness to Planet Earth”
The three artists Gurujas Kaur Khalsa, and Harijiwan Singh and Adam Berry took to the stage to receive the honour. Dressed in her signature white outfit, Khalsa thanked everyone for their win and expressed her gratitude for being recognised among a wide range of talented artists. "Thank you so much to the Academy. I’m going to cry. To everyone who helped create this album, thank you. Standing with you all is such a privilege and honour. With that comes more responsibility to bring love and kindness to Planet Earth.”
This isn't the first time the trio have received Grammy recognition. In 2017, too, the team won in the New Age Album category for their work in the White Sun II.
Suggested reading: Grammys 2023: Tracking Indian Composer Ricky Kej’s Win And South Asian Nominations