Grammy nominee Falu: Got most recognition when I’ve embraced my roots

Falu and Narendra Mod

Falu shares her third Grammy nomination with two people, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and her husband, singer-songwriter Gaurav Shah. A song based on millets will contend for the Best Music Performance title at the biggest awards night for the music industry, and will compete with Zakir Hussain's Pashto, for the title.

In this interview, she discusses joining hands with Modi for the song, Abundance in millets.

Edited excerpts from the interview.

How has the atmosphere at home been since this Grammy nod is for both your husband and you?
It's so special because the Grammys is the biggest institution for recognising musicians across the world, and they invest in retaining their excellence. My husband is also tremendously excited because the category that we're nominated in is big. It's global music, so, we are looking forward to seeing how it turns out.

Can you take us back to the conversation you had with our PM Narendra Modi when you met him in New Delhi, and he encouraged you to write a song on millets?
It started with me winning the Grammy the last time. He tweeted about it. My husband woke me up at 2 am telling me about his tweet. When I was touring India in December, I got an e-mail from his office for a 20-minute interaction. We talked about the power of music, and how it can transform lives. Our PM understands the power of music. He wanted the message of the benefits of millet to reach the world. It has nutritional qualities, and can also be grown in drought-prone areas. He told me in Gujarati, ‘Beta, you write a song on it.' I've written songs on love and kindness, but I wondered how I'd write on grain. So, I asked him if he'd write it with me. And he said, ‘Yes'. So, there I was - ready to write a song on millets with the Prime Minister of India.

How did it proceed from there? How involved was he in the process?
Before I could even arrive in Mumbai from Delhi, I had a book on the nutritional value of millets from the agricultural department of India in my apartment. It was fast. I did my research. It took me around four months to come up with an English and Hindi part, and then he contributed to it immensely. It's his vision and brilliance.

We went back and forth. I'd [tell him] I would need him to write five lines, or seven lines, and then see how we could use the music. Even though he was busy, I would get an answer from his team each time. There would always be feedback and suggestions on what to change. After his approval of every section, we [finalised] the song.

Have you spoken to him since the nominations were announced?
I spoke to the office. I was shaking when I called. I was so excited. I told them, we've been nominated. They were like, ‘For what?' I'm like, for a Grammy! The office was just as surprised as we were. They gave him [Modi] the message, and he sent his blessings. It was his baby, so if he is happy, that means a lot to us.

We've interacted with you year after year as you continued to earn nominations. How important is a nomination after you've already earned two, and won one title?
Every nomination is God's blessing. I'm a religious person. Everything that Shiva or Ganeshji give me is a prasad. I feel humbled. Just because I have three nominations doesn't make [another] less special.

There are so many Indian musicians among the nominees this year. As an Indian artiste living on international shores, have you felt a shift in the conversation around Indian musicians?
Absolutely. And the more we embrace our roots and our heritage, the more recognition we get in the West. That is what is recognised here. If you feel a certain way, go and deliver. Indian music is very rich. We have great melodies in folk, and ragas in classical music. In my experience, the more I've embraced my roots, the more recognition I've gotten in the world.