Hyderabad: Sashank Navaladi, who was nominated for Grammy award for his album Shuruaat says he was proud to see many Indians at the grand event. “It was overwhelming to see several Indians nominated. Despite not getting an award representing India on a global platform made me proud,” says Sashank in an exclusive chat with the Deccan Chronicle.
What was your reaction when your album was nominated for a Grammy award?
I was on a zoom call when the nomination was announced. I still remember I was screaming with joy and my parents who were in the next room ran to me to check what happened. We were filled with joy and celebrated the whole night.
What was your reaction when nominations were called?
Firstly, I feel very proud that several Indians have been nominated for Grammy awards. Despite not getting one, I feel motivated to make it to the global stage and it’s just a stepping stone for my career.
What are your future plans?
I need to put more effort as music is ready for the next two years. I need to practise more to make it to the Grammy or another international platform. With the support of our fans I’m sure we will make India proud one day.
Sashank Navaladi, an Andhra Pradesh boy was nominated for a Grammy award for his album Shuruaat. Born into a family of classical music lovers, Sashank Navaladi started taking lessons on the sarod, tabla and vice at the age of 6 .He composed several original compositions and has collaborated with many award-winning vocalists. His song ‘Arz-E-Niyaz’ featuring Vijay Prakash and the Berklee Indian Ensemble was released on Berklee’s main YouTube channel and is part of Berklee Indian Ensemble’s debut album Shuruaat that has won a Grammy Nomination for the best global music album’ at the Grammy’s in 2023 . Last year, he performed his original composition ‘Shatabdi’ with Shankar Mahadevan live at the Berklee performance center in Boston.
In addition to composing songs, Sashank has scored several short films, television shows, documentaries and podcasts including ‘Time Machine’ aired on Epic Channel and Atul Mongia’s (director of Netflix’s ‘Mai’) debut short film ‘Awake.’
Sashank was awarded the CCRT scholarship by the Ministry of Culture, Government of India and was part of the top three of the ‘Pogo Amazing Kids Awards’ reality TV show. He is the recipient of the prestigious ‘Samaikhya Bharat Gaurav Satkar Puraskaar’ awarded to child prodigies in the field of music by the Madras Telugu Academy and the ‘Kala Bhushan’ title by Nehru Bal Samiti for excellence in Sarod.
Sashank was the first participant to be interviewed and perform in the “Young Maestros” program in the Hindustani Gandharv channel of the World Space Satellite Radio.
Sashank has performed with A.R. Rahman lived at the United Nations in New York and was part of the ‘A.R. Rahman Meets Berklee – Festival of Lights’ tribute concert at Symphony Hall in Boston.
