Falguni Shah, who goes by the stage name Falu Shah, has become the only Indian woman to be nominated for the Grammys this year. The singer who came out with an album especially for children called 'Falu's Bazaar,' has landed herself a coveted nomination in the Children’s Music category. Known for her ability to blend modern aesthetics with Indian classics, Falguni Shah was trained rigorously in the Jaipur musical tradition and in the Benares style of Thumri as a youngster. The singer who has also performed with A R Rahman at The White House for former US President Barack Obama reveals that the album which has gotten her a Grammy nomination stemmed from the incessant questions she would face from her son. Ariana Grande Tells Grammys Producer: ‘You’re Lying About Me’.
"When my little son Nishaad turned 4 years old and started school, he came home with questions like Ma - why is our food yellow? Why do we speak a different language at home versus school? Why do we count our numbers differently?" she says, adding, "I thought the best way to answer his questions was through music. So I decided to make this album to give him and all children who come from different and diverse backgrounds a sense of identity and reassure them - what they have inherited is deep-rooted culture and heritage and they have the advantage to draw from both, their cultures and also the American way of life." Grammy Awards 2019: Priyanka Chopra, Nick Jonas and Shawn Mendes Attend Pre-event Musical Night – See Pics.
Ask her about her Grammy nomination and an elated Shah says, "I feel blessed, grateful, honoured, humbled and super lucky to have been nominated in the Children's Music Category at the Grammys."
The artiste reveals that the next project will draw from beautiful Urdu poetry (Ghalib and other ghazals/Sufi masters) and present music in a way that speaks to a 21st-century global audience. "I love the complexity and depth of this poetry and the comparisons with Shakespearean and other Western poetic styles is obvious," she concludes.