Shakti's Return and Grammy Recognition

- Fusion music group Shakti, which includes talents like tabla maestro Zakir Hussain and singer Shankar Mahadevan, has overcome the competition to win the 66th Grammy Award (2024) for the Best Global Music Album.

- The winning album, "This Moment," marks their third studio album release and signifies the group's return to the music scene under the same name after nearly five decades.

Brief Overview of Grammy Awards

- Grammy Awards, best known for the golden gramophone statuette conferred on the winners, started as the Gramophone Award in 1959 in the United States.

- The award is an annual initiative by the National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences (NARAS) or the Latin Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences (LARAS). The LARAS awards focus exclusively on Spanish and Portuguese language recordings.

- With the first awards given to artists who shone in 1958, these awards serve to acknowledge and honour outstanding musical achievements.

India's Historical Performance in the 2024 Grammy Awards

- The band Shakti, also including member artists John McLaughlin, Ganesh Rajagopalan, and Selvaganesh Vinayakram, scored the 2024 Grammy with their album "This Moment."

- The band's work was described as an "unprecedented transcontinental collaboration," capable of marrying Eastern and Western music traditions in an innovative manner. This successful blend set the stage for what is presently known as world music.

- Zakir Hussain displayed exceptional talent, clinching two additional Grammys at the same ceremony.

- These supplementary awards were conferred for the best global music performance with 'Pashto' and for the best contemporary instrumental album 'As We Speak,'.  The latter album has Indian flute player Rakesh Chaurasia, the nephew of the highly respected flautist Hariprasad Chaurasia, lending his skills.

This major success for India in the 2024 Grammy Awards not only establishes the country's musicians' talent on a global platform but also highlights the world's acceptance and appreciation of Indian-mixed music styles.