Roots & Reverie

Grammy nominees Ricky Kej and Varijashree Venugopal open up about the creative journeys behind their celebrated works—from Kej’s exploration of mental wellness in Break of Dawn to Venugopal’s featured performance alongside Jacob Collier and Anoushka Shankar—reflecting on the passion, purpose, and global recognition that fuel their music

- DESE GOWDA

OU'D think that with every nomination or win, the excitement might lessen, but that's not the case for me at all," says Ricky Kej, reflecting on the Grammy nomination for his latest album, 'Break of Dawn'—his fourth in ten years. "Every piece of music I create isn't something that's commissioned, like for a film or specific project. I feel that with each album, I've grown not only as a musician but also as a person...this nomination feels like validation for something that I truly love."