EXTRAORDINARY SINGER – GENIUS COMPOSER – SIDDHANT BHATIA EARNED HIS FIRST GRAMMY® NOMINATION - BEST GLOBAL MUSIC ALBUM, SOUNDS OF KUMBHA
With Sounds of Kumbha, Siddhant Bhatia delivers a rare kind of musical statement—one rooted in spirituality, yet built with the ambition and precision of a world-class contemporary production. The GRAMMY® nomination places this 12-track, multi-artist collaboration among the most significant Indian projects to receive international recognition in recent years. Dedicated to the Mahakumbh, the album channels the sonic identity of pilgrimage—river flow, bells, chanting crowds, and dawn stillness—into a cinematic soundscape that speaks to both heritage and global artistry.
New Delhi-based singer, composer, and producer Siddhant Bhatia has received a major international milestone with a GRAMMY® nomination for his ambitious album “Sounds of Kumbha.” A project of rare cultural depth and global scale, the album features 12 tracks, contributions from 50 artists across the world, and a companion set of 12 striking music videos—a multi-format offering that positions Indian spiritual sound traditions not as relics of the past, but as living, evolving experiences for a global audience.
At its core, Sounds of Kumbha is more than an album—it’s an immersive sonic document. It blends ancient mantras, live field recordings, and binaural beats, crafting an atmosphere that feels simultaneously cinematic and intimate. The sound palette draws directly from the sensory world of the Kumbh: the constant flow of river water, chanting crowds, temple bells, dawn footsteps, and even stretches of complete stillness—moments where silence becomes as expressive as sound. The result is a work shaped by both devotion and design: spiritual in essence, but executed with modern production intelligence.
The album is dedicated to the Mahakumbh in Prayagraj, one of the most significant Hindu pilgrimages in the world, widely known as the “Festival of the Sacred Pitcher.” Held every four or twelve years, the Mahakumbh’s timing is traditionally connected with celestial alignment, particularly the partial or full revolution of Jupiter—a symbolic reminder of how faith, nature, and cosmic rhythm remain deeply interwoven in Indian tradition.
What further elevates Sounds of Kumbha is its exceptional scale of collaboration and musical leadership. The project was guided by seven producers—Siddhant Bhatia, Jim “Kimo” West, Raghav Mehta, Madi Das, Ron Korb, Charu Suri, and Devraj Sanyal—a collective that reflects the album’s wider mission: to build a bridge between cultural authenticity and global listening.
The album’s guest list reads like a powerful cross-section of artistic credibility, featuring GRAMMY® winners and nominees such as V Selvaganesh and Raja Kumari, alongside respected Indian and international musicians whose contributions deepen the record’s emotional texture.
Among the many luminaries involved, one presence stands out with particular significance: Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar. A globally respected spiritual leader and humanitarian, Gurudev is not simply name-associated with the project—he is described as having blessed, guided, inspired, and performed on the record, giving the album an added sense of spiritual authenticity and meaning.
Commissioned by the Uttar Pradesh government as part of a cultural initiative, Sounds of Kumbha was produced in collaboration with Network18 and HistoryTV18, and is being distributed globally by Universal Music India. It is a rare example of public cultural heritage, modern media infrastructure, and international music distribution aligning to deliver a project at world-class scale.
Devraj Sanyal—producer of the album and Chairman & CEO of India SA, as well as SVP Strategy (Africa, Middle East & Asia) for Universal Music Group—highlighted the nomination as a landmark moment not only for the album, but for South Asian music as a whole. He described it as evidence of music’s ability to cross boundaries, connect histories, and bring cultures closer together—reinforcing Universal Music India’s role as a global partner for the project.
Bhatia enters the 68th GRAMMY® Awards season with confidence, even amid intense competition from some of India’s most globally respected names—sitarist-composer Anoushka Shankar, Shakti (led by Shankar Mahadevan), and jazz pianist-composer Charu Suri. But rather than framing the moment as individual rivalry, this nomination sits within something larger: a defining year for Indian recording artists on the GRAMMY® stage.
Across genres—classical, fusion, contemporary, and instrumental—Indian artists are increasingly shaping the global conversation. This isn’t simply representation; it’s recognition. The nominations reflect how Indian musical excellence is no longer viewed as niche or regional, but as essential to modern global artistry.
Speaking on the cultural weight of the moment, Siddhant Bhatia expressed that the nomination goes beyond personal achievement.
“When a project rooted in Indian culture and spirituality is recognized at the GRAMMY’S®, it becomes a moment for the entire country. This recognition isn’t just for me—it’s for the Mahakumbha, for the artists, and for everyone who believes Indian culture belongs on the world stage. It showcases our culture, tradition, and heritage—and now the entire world is knowing about it. The nomination and global recognition for the album is a very big win for our spirituality.”
It’s a statement that frames Sounds of Kumbha not merely as an artistic offering, but as a cultural milestone—where India’s spiritual heritage is not diluted for global acceptance, but celebrated for its depth.
As GRAMMY® night approaches on February 1, 2026, one thing feels increasingly clear: India’s presence at the awards is no longer a surprise—it’s becoming a pattern. With Indian artists earning accolades, attention, and legitimacy across categories, the global industry is witnessing a shift in real time.
Big nominations and ambitious projects can sometimes flatten an artist into headlines and credits. But Sounds of Kumbha becomes more compelling the moment you look beyond the scale and into the person shaping the sound. Siddhant Bhatia is not only a producer assembling a global collaboration—he is a musician built on classical lineage, disciplined training, and a studio mindset that treats audio as both emotion and responsibility. In the conversation below, he speaks with rare clarity about what drives his work: the role of silence, the rigor of the Patiala Gharana, the spiritual foundation behind his craft, and the technical precision required to preserve “human warmth” in modern production. He also opens up about the fast, high-stakes creation of Sounds of Kumbha, the mentors who shaped him, and why he believes sound can function as a genuine tool for calm, connection, and healing.
Q&A with Siddhant Bhatia
1. Talk about your music?
SB: My music is where Indian classical discipline meets modern sonic truth. I am shaped by the Patiala Gharana and my ongoing training under Ustad Jawaad Ali Khan. That rigor taught me that the voice is not just a sound. It is a responsibility. It is breath, surrender, and presence. I also carry the blessings and inspiration of artists like Kala Ramnath, and the earliest, strongest force behind my learning has been my mother, Madhu Bhatia, who never let me stop practicing, learning, and evolving.
Over time, I became a recording, mixing, and mastering engineer, and that changed everything. I started hearing sound as emotion in a scientific form. Today, I use technology to protect warmth, not replace it. I love capturing real performances and real human energy. I am a live recording person at heart, even when the music becomes modern.
In the last few years, my work has also moved into research and application of binaural beats and healing frequencies, not as a trend, but as a genuine exploration of how sound can calm, stabilize, and elevate the human mind. My larger purpose is simple. If I have been given the gift of music, I want to use it to serve, and I want to keep upskilling as long as I am on this planet.
2. Talk about your inspiration for your music?
SB: My inspiration comes from the times we are living in. We are surrounded by speed, anxiety, saturation, and disconnection. I feel the world needs a deep change, and more than anything, a return to the heart. India has so much to offer the world, not only through frequencies, but through a way of life that understands inner growth, service, devotion, and consciousness.
So, my inspiration is to be useful. I want to make music that helps people come back to themselves. I want my work to feel like a bridge. Between cultures, between generations, between the ancient and the modern. Between the mind and the heart. Between suffering and hope.
3. Where did you do most of your recording?
SB: I do most of my recording at SoulTrax Studios in New Delhi. It is not only a studio for me. It is a space where sound is treated with respect and care. Technically, I have built it with the best tools I could bring together. Great microphones, DW Fearn gear, and monitors like Lipinski. But the bigger point is not gear. The bigger point is that I know how to use technology to preserve human warmth.
I am deeply inspired by live recording, by capturing what is real and unrepeatable. I love when you can hear a musician’s breath, intention, and silence. That is where truth lives.
4. What’s your biggest inspiration in your music?
SB: My biggest inspiration is silence. Silence is not emptiness. Silence is the space where truth becomes audible.
I am also inspired by lineage. India’s musical ancestors, the giants whose work still carries spiritual electricity, like Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan and Ustad Amir Khan. And beyond music itself, I am deeply inspired by Sanskrit, because it carries a precision of consciousness. It is not only language, but also vibration, and it has offered the world an incredible spiritual technology through sound.
5. Who is your mentor?
SB: I have been blessed with mentors in different dimensions. Spiritually, Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar has been one of the most transformative forces in my life. I met him when I was young, and meditation entered my life early. That gave me grounding, discipline, and a deeper purpose behind music.
Musically, my guru and teacher Ustad Jawaad Ali Khan continues to shape my voice and my discipline. My mother, Madhu Bhatia, is also a lifelong mentor in the deepest way, because she built the foundation of learning in me. I also want to acknowledge people who brought major parts of my musical life to life, including Kala Ramnath, Devraj Sanyal, and the late Ustad Rashid Khan, whose presence and legacy remains a blessing.
6. What is your life like in India?
SB: Life in India is phenomenally cultural, intensely alive, and full of daily inspiration. Every day I see new colors, new contrasts, and a kind of chaos that contains patterns if you know how to look. It keeps my mind open. It keeps me creative. It keeps me humble.
India also has massive scope for innovation right now. There is an atmosphere of building, creating, and thinking big, and leadership has repeatedly spoken about strengthening innovation and the creative economy, which makes creators like us feel that our work matters.
For me, the most powerful part is this. India is a hub of spirituality, and India is increasingly becoming a hub of technology. When these two merge with intention, they can offer positive guidance to the world. That is the atmosphere I feel around me, and it influences my work directly.
7. What are the main differences in both cultures?
SB: When I collaborate abroad, I notice a strong emphasis on precision and planning. In India, we also value excellence, but our deeper instinct is surrender. We allow the moment to reveal itself. We trust the feeling.
India carries a richness of culture and spirituality that is experiential. People do not only want to read or watch India. They want to come and experience it. That experiential learning changes you, because it makes you feel the truth, not only understand it intellectually.
8. Talk about growing up?
SB: I grew up in New Delhi. I come from a heavily academically oriented family. My mother is a PhD. My father is a double engineer with double masters. Everyone around me valued learning, discipline, and depth. I was the one who chose arts, but my family was forward thinking and deeply supportive. They wanted me to choose my own path and create.
I studied sciences, Sanskrit, and music. That combination helped me understand audio engineering from a very different angle later. Growing up, I also saw poverty and struggle around me, including moments when basic things like electricity were not guaranteed. Those experiences build perspective early. They make you value life, and they give you a hunger to create change.
I went to Australia, to SAE in Byron Bay, to study sound and deepen my craft. And one of the biggest forces in my growth was that spirituality entered my life at a very young age. I began meditation around 17, right after school, and that shaped how I handle pressure, ambition, and purpose.
9. Talk about how your childhood molded the person you are today?
SB: My childhood molded me through three pillars.
First, creation. My mother pushed me into literature, languages, art, and composition. She constantly looked for the right teachers, the right exposure, the right learning environment. She literally forced me into music when I could have easily drifted away. That is love.
Second, balance. I was good in academics, and I also carried art and culture. That balance gave me a structured mind and a sensitive heart. It also helped me win accolades in school, which built confidence early.
Third, service. Seeing struggle around me made me want to help people. I saw talent everywhere and wanted to record everything, preserve everything, and give it a platform. That desire eventually became my life as a recording engineer and producer.
10. What are the most challenging things in your life?
SB: One of the most challenging turning points was during COVID. I experienced a near death kind of awakening, and I lost my closest school friend, Saurabh Malik. That changed me deeply. It made me realize how fragile life is, how quickly it can be taken away, and how urgently we must respect the gift of time.
Professionally, the challenge has been how to create differently in an age of saturation. How to avoid repeating what already exists. How to bridge cultures authentically. How to collaborate without diluting depth. And how to keep evolving without burning out, because my mind is always racing to build something new.
11. How has love changed your music?
SB: Love has made me a better human being, and that has directly changed my music. Love fuels my life, keeps me comfortable, keeps me focused, and keeps me anchored in gratitude. When you feel supported, you stop creating from insecurity. You start creating from fullness.
Love also makes you think as a team. Together we build, together we hold pressure, together we dream bigger. In many ways, the scale and the courage behind Sounds of Kumbha happened because of love, because I had a stable emotional foundation that allowed me to take a creative risk.
12. Talk about the making of Sounds of Kumbha?
SB: Sounds of Kumbha was built like a miracle under a deadline. We had around 45 days to complete 12 tracks, and it felt like building a temple brick by brick in real time. The vision was massive, and the time was short, so the only way was devotion, precision, and trust.
We brought artists together one by one. Each call, each session, each file, each idea was a brick. We were coordinating across geographies, time zones, and styles, but the intention remained one, to capture the spiritual spirit of Kumbha through sound, and create a global cultural collaboration that still feels natural and rooted.
The SoulTrax Studios team carried this with enormous commitment. And collaborators like Kala Ramnath brought moments of lightning. For example, the way she helped shape “Sangam” so quickly, with such clarity, is something I will always remember. It is proof of what happens when mastery meets purpose.
13. Describe your current project Sounds of Kumbha?
SB: It is a contemporary global spiritual album that captures the energy of the largest festival of peace on earth, but through audio, not just visuals. It brings together collaborations across cultures, and it is designed to feel immersive, meditative, and emotionally real.
It is also a statement from India to the world. That spiritual music can be global without losing authenticity. That collaboration can be genuine without becoming superficial. And that technology can amplify warmth instead of replacing it.
14. What was your inspiration for Sounds of Kumbha?
SB: My real inspiration was this. Everyone captures events through cameras. Photos, videos, drones, visuals. Very few people truly capture the spirit through audio. And because I am a sound person, I wanted to immortalize the Kumbha through sound.
I wanted to capture the truest form of the atmosphere. The emotion. The prayer. The scale. The silence inside the crowd. The feeling that this is a living field of peace. This was one of the greatest opportunities of my life as a recording artist and producer, and I wanted to create something unique that preserves the spirit, not only documents the event.
15. Talk about your competition in your category for your GRAMMY® nomination?
SB: I feel honored, not competitive. Standing alongside artists like Burna Boy, Shakti, Anoushka Shankar, and Angélique Kidjo is surreal, because these are visionaries many of us grew up listening to.
Global Music is also a uniquely intense category. It becomes the home for cross cultural work that does not neatly fit into pop, mainstream, or single region definitions. So, the range is massive, and the bar is extremely high.
I am grateful that this nomination gave us a chance to present an Indian rooted, globally collaborative, spiritually intentional album on the world’s most visible music stage.
16. Talk about how your studies influenced your music.
SB: My science background helped me understand sound differently. It made me curious about why music affects the body and mind. It also helped me approach engineering as both art and physics.
Studying sound in Australia at SAE Byron Bay was a turning point. And my Solid-State Logic certification gave me confidence to understand any system, any console, any gear chain, and to respect the value of analog warmth. That is why my studio choices are intentional. I want the best tools available because I want to capture truth with as little compromise as possible.
Binaural beats also entered this journey as a serious exploration, because it sits exactly at the intersection of science, perception, and spirituality.
17. How do you feel about other artists performing your music?
SB: I love it. I want the world to sing together, jam together, reinterpret, and collaborate. Music is a living language. When other artists perform your work, it means the music has left your personal identity and entered the shared human space.
As long as it is done with respect and intention, I feel deeply happy when others perform it.
18. Who was the first recording artist that you remember hearing?
SB: Ustad Amir Khan. Hearing him shook me. I had never imagined music could be that expansive, that meditative, that innovative. It was not only beautiful. It was a complete world. His spirit of development and his style made me feel that this is what I want to learn.
19. What’s on your playlist right now?
SB: Right now, I am listening widely. I have been listening to a lot of Latin music because of some work I am developing. I am also listening closely to my collaborators, Charu Suri’s Shayan which I mixed, Jim Kimo West, and Lily Hayden’s “Brokenhearted.”
I am listening to Caroline Falk, aka Sirnai, Tony Ann, and my brother’s work, Archai. And I am also returning to older classical records, especially Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan, because I believe you never stop learning.
20. Who is your all-time favorite recording artist and why?
SB: Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan. What he did with voice is beyond human. His work still feels undefeated. Every time you listen, you discover something new. His mastery was not only technical. It was emotional, devotional, and direct to the listener. That combination is rare.
21. How has your music changed in the last 5 years?
SB: In the last five years, I have gone inward. Earlier, my music was more commercial and outward, and emotionally it carried sadness and intensity. After COVID, I understood the value of happiness and nervous system peace. I wanted to create music that helps people de stress, reconnect, and feel held.
So, I have moved toward sound that carries joy, stillness, and healing. Frequencies and binaural work became more important, and spirituality became less of an influence and more of a foundation.
22. What is the takeaway from writing any of your music?
SB: I compose from connection. I sit with silence, with prayer, with inner listening, and whatever comes, I shape it with respect. I feel music is a universal language, and my goal is that people connect to themselves through my work.
The takeaway is always the same. You are not alone. You can return to your center. You can feel peace again.
23. Talk about some of the producers you have worked with.
SB: I have been fortunate to work with producers and collaborators like Paul Avgerinos, Mia Moraves, Jim Kimo West, Charu Suri, Ron Korb, Raghav Mehta, Devraj Sanyal, Madi Das, Dave Stringer, and my close collaborator Keerthy Narayanan. Each one shaped me.
Raghav teaches clarity and making music to the point, for the audience, for the time. Devraj helped shape Sounds of Kumbha into something that is spiritually deep, but also structurally and commercially coherent. Charu brings authenticity, emotion, jazz sensibility, and a rare reservoir of musical intelligence. Jim Kimo West is a saint on guitar, an encyclopedia, and his playing touches the heart instantly. Ron Korb brings mysticism and elegance. Madi Das brings devotion, simplicity, and purity. Paul Avgerinos brings minimalism, sweetness, and a clean New Age clarity. Keerthy brings deep spirituality and a modern cross-cultural sensibility.
24. Talk about all of the artists on this project?
SB: When I speak about the artists on Sounds of Kumbha, I always say this first. This album is not a collection of features. It is a collective offering. Every contributor entered the same intention, to create a peace offering through sound, rooted in India and open to the world.
At the heart of it is Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, whose presence carries the spiritual axis of the project, especially through “Ram Ram,” where the mantra becomes a living meditation and not just a lyric.
Then come the global collaborators who helped this album speak internationally while staying honest. Jim “Kimo” West brings a saint-like musical clarity on guitar, the kind of touch that can make a prayer feel contemporary without losing reverence. Ron Korb brings breath and sunrise into the flute lines, and Charu Suri brings emotional intelligence and harmonic sophistication that expands the world of every track she enters. Raja Kumari brings fire, modern voice, and a fearless global identity that still respects devotion and dharma. Madi Das brings devotion and softness, the ability to make spirituality feel personal and reachable.
From India’s classical and folk mastery, Kala Ramnath is a cornerstone. On “Sangam” she did something rare, she did not just add violin, she brought an entire spiritual memory into the track, and the composition transformed in minutes. That is why I call her a force of pure alchemy. Alongside her, maestros like Pravin Godkhindi on flute, Ajay Prasanna, and Aditya Gadhvi carry the rootedness of India’s musical soil into a global frame.
V. Selvaganesh and Swaminathan Selvaganesh bring rhythmic divinity through kanjira and percussion. Mahesh Vinayakram adds lineage and power. These are not session parts. These are living cultural frequencies.
Kanika Kapoor’s presence is special because she bridges mass India and inner India. She brings a voice that the world already knows, but in this context, it becomes devotional and purpose-driven. Bhanumathi Narasimhan and Sushant Pujari also add to the Indian spiritual color palette of the album, and their contribution matters because this project is not built only on celebrity. It is built on sincerity.
One of the biggest life forces on the album is the Indian Choral Ensemble, guided through choral arrangement by Kalyani Nair. A choir instantly creates unity. It is the sound of community, the sound of collective prayer, and that is what Kumbha truly is. Those choral layers gave the album spiritual scale, not just musical scale.
And because this is a true production album, not just performances, I also want to honor the creators behind the sound architecture. The producing team that made this possible includes Siddhant Bhatia, Jim “Kimo” West, Raghav Mehta, Madi Das, Ron Korb, Devraj Sanyal, and Charu Suri. Raghav’s musical instincts help keep the storytelling direct and listener-facing. Devraj’s role helped shape the project’s global logic and positioning, so the intention stayed spiritual, but the delivery stayed scalable and coherent.
Technically, this album’s emotional impact depends heavily on how it was finished. The mix and master were handled by P.A. Deepak along with me on mixing, and that matters because the mandate was always warmth, authenticity, and natural sound, even when the canvas is global and cinematic.
Now, when I say, “all artists,” I also mean the people most audiences never see, but who literally create the soul of the record.
25. What would you tell a young person starting out in the music business?
SB: Be authentic. Practice deeply. Learn relentlessly.
Also, do not stay inside one box. Build a 360-degree approach. Learn music, learn sound, learn technology, learn business, learn people. And listen to music you have never heard before every day. Your growth depends on what you expose your nervous system and imagination to.
And finally, be useful. Music becomes powerful when it becomes of service to others.
26. Talk about your fans?
SB: My fans are slowly immersing into this world. Tracks like “Ram Ram,” and “Wheel of Time” have been resonating deeply. People are telling me they feel calmer, more devotional, more present. Many listeners are also telling me that the meditative quality of the music helps them settle.
Spiritual music is not always instant. It grows in you. And I am grateful that people are giving it time.
27. What would you tell your fans about yourself that they might not know?
SB: Many fans do not know that I read Tarot. I am deeply spiritual, I chant, I pray, and I genuinely try to help people when they come to me. Tarot for me is not entertainment. It is another way of listening, guiding, and serving.
28. What would you say about your fashion style?
SB: Comfort first. If I am comfortable, I do not waste mental energy on what I am wearing, and I can focus on creation. I enjoy Indian wear, and I enjoy experimenting when it feels aligned. I like simplicity with a strong identity.
29. How do you dress on the red carpet?
SB: I have a couple of people helping me design the red-carpet look, and right now I want to keep it a secret. What I can say is that it will represent my roots, my modernity, and my spiritual identity, all together.
30. What’s a typical day like for you?
SB: I like to start early. I spend time thinking at my desk, listening, planning, and creating. Listening is a big part of my workday. Music, spiritual talks, references, mixes, and silence. I take walks, and I try to keep my energy stable so I can make better decisions.
31. What’s your tip on how to monetize your music?
SB: Monetization becomes easier when you build trust. Be consistent. Be authentic. Connect to people and keep giving value, whether through music, live experiences, content, or community. Do not chase shortcuts. Build a long-term relationship with your listeners, and the revenue models will open up, streaming, licensing, live performances, commissions, teaching, brand work, wellness experiences, and collaborations.
32. What does your stage show look like?
SB: It is a cosmic journey. We reinterpret ancient melodies, devotional and spiritual songs, and bring Indian classical, folk, and Sufi sensibilities into a sound that feels contemporary and global. The experience is immersive. It is not only a concert. It feels like a journey of the nervous system.
33. How do you prepare for a show?
SB: Meditation, Sudarshan Kriya breathing, simple eating, and strong preparation. I like to enter stage space with clarity, not chaos. If the mind is settled, the voice becomes honest.
34. Where do you see your music going in the next 5 years?
SB: Deeper into healing. More collaborations. More exploration of ambient, spiritual, and global forms, without losing Indian roots. I want to create experiences that help people feel calmer, more connected, and more awake. I also want to keep innovating with sound technology, but always in service of emotion and consciousness.
35. If you could change one person’s life through your music, what song would that be and why?
SB: “Ram Ram.” It carries a powerful simplicity. “Ra” is light, “Ma” is within. It is not only a phrase. It is a reminder. It brings people back to inner strength and devotion. It also carries the blessing of my guru, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, along with many accomplished artists, and it has already resonated widely.
36. When did you know you wanted to be a musician as a career?
SB: Very early. I always knew music would be part of my life. Even when I studied other things, music stayed as my inner truth.
37. Which family member has been the most influential in your career?
SB: My mother.
38. How has your family helped you in your career?
SB: My mother has been the visionary and the force. My father has been the provider and the calm support who allowed that vision to become real. My family supported my arts path unconditionally, which is rare in a heavily academic environment. My maternal grandparents also supported my arts journey deeply. I am grateful for that foundation.
39. What was the first song you ever heard?
SB: The Indian national anthem. I remember asking my mother why we stand, why it matters, and feeling goosebumps even as a child. It still vibrates through me as patriotism and love.
40. Which music artists have paved a path for you and your music?
SB: Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan, Ustad Amir Khan, Ustad Rashid Khan, and my own teacher Ustad Jawaad Ali Khan. They showed me the way. Pandit Jasraj also blessed my journey.
From outside classical, Michael Jackson showed me how to create your own genre and give people something they did not know they needed. I have also learned from my brothers and fellow musicians, Adnan Khan and Zohaib Ahmed Khan, and from collaborators like Raghav Mehta, whose style continues to inspire me.
41. Which current music artists are your favorites and why?
SB: A R Rahman shaped my early imagination. Internationally, I respect artists like Billie Eilish and Finneas for changing production language and emotional minimalism. And I stay inspired by many creators across genres, because I believe learning must never stop.
42. If you were not a recording artist, what would you be doing?
SB: I would be studying nanotechnology and trying to build something futuristic that improves human life.
43. How has your faith guided you in music?
SB: Faith gave me the center that success can never give. Through meditation and the teachings, I have absorbed, including the spirit of Advaita, and the devotion of Devi Shakti and Shiva, I learned that music is not about ego. It is about being a conduit.
The Art of Living and my faith in Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar helped me through storms, helped me stay stable, and helped me keep a clean intention even under pressure.
44. You have had ups and downs in your personal life. How have these situations helped with your music?
SB: They made me more egoless. Advertising taught me that you cannot be personal all the time. You have to serve the brief, serve the audience, serve the moment. That mindset helped me detach and become flexible. Personal ups and downs also made me more compassionate. And compassion makes better music.
45. Was there any time when you felt alone and scared?
SB: Yes, many times. But I always had meditation. I always had guides and teachers. I had Gurudev, and I had the support of people around me, including Mallika and now Sakshi, and most importantly my mother. Today I feel less scared because I have built inner tools, and I have built a circle of love and purpose.
46. Talk about how trauma has influenced your music.
SB: Trauma taught me urgency. It taught me that time is real and fragile. It made me want to create work that matters, work that heals, work that unites, not work that simply impresses.
47. What was the best part of this experience?
SB: Watching people from different cultures, styles, and countries come together with one intention, peace. Seeing the building rise brick by brick and realizing that devotion plus discipline can accomplish what the mind thinks is impossible.
48. What was the hardest part of this experience?
SB: Time. Coordinating at scale under a short deadline. Keeping creative quality high while moving fast. Holding everyone together emotionally, because large collaborations are not only files and schedules, but they are also people, energies, and sensitivities.
49. What kind of hardships did you encounter?
SB: Logistics, timelines, approvals, time zones, creative differences, and the constant need to maintain clarity. The hardship was not a single moment. It was sustained intensity. But that intensity also revealed everyone’s commitment.
50. What do you think most needy people should do to make them happier?
SB: First, find one small daily practice that gives inner stability, even 10 minutes of breathwork or meditation. Second, seek community and service, because isolation increases suffering. Third, focus on skill building, because dignity grows when capability grows. And most importantly, do not lose faith. Hope is not naive. Hope is fuel.
51. What are your strong points?
SB: Vision, empathy, and the courage to merge unlikely genres. I connect with people easily. I understand emotions and needs. And I have the stamina to build large collaborations and make something new out of it.
52. What are your weak points?
SB: I chase perfection and can take too long refining. I sometimes create too many concepts at once. I talk a lot. And I give too much free advice. I am learning to simplify, to finish faster, and to hold silence more.
53. In today’s political divide what can you do to help heal this country through your music?
SB: I can create unity without erasing differences. Music can become a neutral meeting point where people remember shared humanity. Through collaborations, I want to bring unknown artists together with known artists, so everyone rises. I want to bring different communities into one musical offering, so that the listener feels oneness directly, not as an idea, as an experience.
I also want to reintroduce the deeper Indian spiritual texts and philosophies through modern, accessible musical experiences, so we move from ego to service, from division to dignity, from reaction to reflection.
54. This gift that you have as a musician, how do you preserve it?
SB: I protect my inner space. I allow myself to imagine. I keep learning. I keep listening. I keep building. And I encourage everyone around me to create, because creativity is contagious. The gift stays alive when you stay sincere.
55. What is your health regime?
SB: 10,000 steps a day, gym training, three balanced meals, and a strong focus on meditation and breathwork. I also listen to spiritual talks and music while walking, because mental hygiene is as important as physical hygiene.
56. How do you feel about your GRAMMY® nomination?
SB: Gratitude, deep gratitude. This nomination is not only about me it is about every artist who contributed, every blessing, every teacher, every mentor, and the ancient tradition that we carried forward in a modern language.
I also feel thankful to the Recording Academy for creating a platform where spiritual and global work can be recognized internationally. It allows a project like this to be seen and heard by people who would never otherwise come across it.
57. With you being part of many Indian nominees this year, how does that make you feel?
SB: It makes me feel proud and grateful. It shows that India’s spiritual and cultural offerings are being acknowledged globally. And it is beautiful to witness multiple Indian voices being recognized in the same year, because it signals a wider opening for Indian rooted, globally relevant art.
58. What do you want to tell your listeners about your life and your music?
SB: My life has been a mix of discipline, struggle, faith, collaboration, and constant learning. My music is an experiment in consciousness. It holds both sadness and joy, because life holds both. But I choose joy as a direction, because joy spreads.
I want my listeners to know this. You can reinvent yourself, you can heal, and you can serve. And when you do, your life becomes music.
59. Are you excited about this upcoming year?
SB: Yes, a lot is happening. We are defining our sound, expanding collaborations, and building new experiences. It feels like a golden period of creation where spirituality, creativity, and technology are meeting in a powerful way.
60. Talk about what your plans are for this new year.
SB: More music, deeper collaborations, and new offerings that continue this journey of healing and global unity. I am not ready to announce specifics yet, but the intention remains the same, to create work that unites, elevates, and feels real.
61. What is the one thing that anyone can do to change the world?
SB: Listen to yourself, meditate, and serve. Unconditional service dissolves ego. When ego dissolves, collaboration becomes natural. When collaboration becomes natural, the world begins to heal.
What we are within gets reflected outward. It touches our home, then our circle, then our community. This is exactly what a gathering like Kumbha teaches. Millions of people, one intention, and the atmosphere changes.
62. Do you have any regrets?
SB: I have a funny one. I did not buy Bitcoin.
But honestly, I try to see life as lessons, not regrets. If anything, I wish I had read more books, and I wish I had stayed even more focused on music without getting distracted by too many parallel paths. But everything taught me something, and I am grateful for that.
63. How do you relax?
SB: I chant, I meditate, I watch meaningful stories, and I upskill with Generative AI. Learning new tools relaxes me because it makes me feel future ready, and it keeps my imagination active.
• • •
As February 1, 2026 approaches, Sounds of Kumbha stands as more than a nominee—it stands as a cultural document, crafted with devotion and delivered with global-level artistry. Whether it takes home the trophy or not, Siddhant Bhatia’s work has already achieved something rare: it has carried the spiritual heartbeat of India into the international mainstream without compromising its authenticity. And in a GRAMMY® season where Indian artists are making historic waves, this nomination feels less like an exception—and more like a defining moment.
Crafted at the intersection of heritage, technology, and global collaboration, Sounds of Kumbha extends beyond the album format—inviting listeners into a wider universe of visuals, artist updates, and campaign material released throughout the season.
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