Album Should Resonate With Listeners And Spread Gandhi's Message: Ricky Kej

Three-time Grammy Award winner, a US Billboard Number One artist, UN Goodwill Ambassador, and Padma Shri awardee, Ricky Kej spoke to The Sunday Guardian on his latest album, "Gandhi: Mantras of Compassion". This new age album is a musical tribute to the Mahatma and is in collaboration with Nobel Peace Prize winner Kailash Satyarthi.

- JOYEETA BASU

Q: I was listening to your album and found it quite fascinating. I watched two of the music videos. My first question is: why Gandhi, and why now?

A: Like most Indians, Gandhi has always been a lifelong hero of mine. In fact, all three of my previous Grammy-winning projects had a song dedicated to Gandhi. I have always had this desire to create an entire album about him. Very few people outside India actually realize how much of Gandhi's influence they have felt in their own societies.

For example, in America, Martin Luther King Jr. was heavily inspired by Gandhi. Nelson Mandela, too, was deeply influenced by Gandhi in his fight against apartheid. So many world leaders drew from Gandhi's principles of non-violence to start movements in their own countries.

In 2024, I had the opportunity to work with Nobel Peace Prize laureate Kailash Satyarthi. We did a concert tour across four Indian cities—I would perform for 90 minutes, and he would speak for 30 minutes. It was hugely successful. We travelled together, spent a days we had many discussions about Gandhi.

Mr Satyarthi has often said that his entire life of activism is based on Gandhian principles. So together, we decided that the world needed a refresher on Gandhi—and what better way to do that than through music? That's how this album was born.

Q: Why did you choose to collaborate with Kailash Satyarthi? What attracted you to him in particular?

A: I've been following his work for a very long time. It has been ten years since he won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2014. I admired everything he had been doing, but I had never had the chance to properly meet him. The only brief encounter was at the UN General Assembly in 2016—just a quick photograph and a "hello." He wouldn't even remember that.