Raghav Mehta on ‘Sounds of Kumbha’ and India’s Moment on the Global Music Stage
The GRAMMY nomination
of Sounds of Kumbha in the Best Global Music Album category at the 68th GRAMMY
Awards 2026 marks a defining moment for Indian music. Central to the album’s
musical direction is composer and producer Raghav Mehta, whose work plays a significant
role in shaping how India’s spiritual sound traditions are translated for a
global listening context.
Rather than being
created with awards in mind, Sounds of Kumbha was conceived as a sonic
documentation of the Mahakumbha, one of the largest spiritual gatherings in the
world. The album blends on-ground field recordings, ancient chants,
contemporary world music, and immersive binaural sound design to capture the
scale, emotion, and energy of the event.
For Raghav, the project
was about translating something deeply ancient into a language the global
listener could feel. Working closely with creative lead Siddhant Bhatia, and
alongside producers such as Jim Kimo West, Ron Korb, Charu Suri, Devraj Sanyal,
and Madi Das, the album brought together over fifty artists from across
cultures. The focus was on collaboration without hierarchy, allowing diverse
musical voices to coexist while staying rooted in shared intent.
Produced in partnership
with the Government of Uttar Pradesh, Network18, HistoryTV18, and Universal
Music Group, the album has been widely viewed as a form of cultural diplomacy,
offering a lived experience of India’s spiritual heritage rather than
explaining it.
For Raghav, the
recognition signals a broader shift in the global listening landscape. Indian
music, he believes, no longer needs to dilute or reframe its cultural roots to
be understood internationally. The nomination affirms that work grounded in
authenticity and craft can travel widely on its own terms. Shaped by experience
across Indian cinema, advertising, and international collaborations, his
practice continues to explore how traditional sound worlds can coexist
seamlessly with contemporary production languages, an approach that
increasingly defines the direction of his work.
As Sounds of Kumbha
continues to gain international attention, the moment signals not just a
milestone for one album, but a growing global readiness to engage with Indian
music as an equal and confident voice in the world’s cultural conversation.
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