QUIET BRILLIANCE

In a world of shrinking attention span and hyperactive media consumption, a Grammy-nominated album on the Dalai Lama offers a cultural counterpoint

- NEETA LAL

The announcement arrived without fanfare—almost in keeping with the quiet radiance of the work it celebrated. Meditation: Reflections of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, an intimate collaboration featuring the Tibetan spiritual leader with sarod virtuoso Ustad Amjad Ali Khan and his sons Amaan and Ayaan Ali Bangash, has been nominated for a Grammy in the category of Best Audio Book, Narration and Storytelling Recording.

In an age ruled by spectacle and algorithm-driven sound, the stillness of this album lands with an unusual force. Its nomination has become one of the year's most meaningful cultural surprises, drawing in listeners who may have little prior connection to Indian classical music, Buddhist philosophy or spoken-word albums. Yet the project's originality—anchored in the Dalai Lama's voice and the Bangash family's six generations of musical lineage—has generated a quiet but sustained global resonance.

The album weaves His Holiness's reflections on compassion, harmony, and interconnectedness with original sarod compositions by the Bangash family. Produced by multi-Gram-my and Emmy Award winner Kabir Sehgal, it also features contributions from artistes such as Andra Day, Ted Nash, Debi Nova, Maggie Rogers, Tony Succar and Rufus Wainwright. But at its emotional core, the work is a contemplative dialogue between the Dalai Lama's measured voice and the Bangash family's restrained, spiritually aligned musical phrasing.