Kej: I am an advocate and not an activist

Ricky Kej (right) with Stewart Copeland after winning the Grammy for the album ‘Divine Tides’ in the Best New Age category earlier this month. 

Divine Tides

It was a matter of great pride for Indians when Bengaluru-based music composer Ricky Kej won his second Grammy award in early April. America’s Stewart Copeland and Kej bagged the Grammy in the Best New Age album category for ‘Divine Tides’, which comprises nine songs and features artists from around the world.

In 2015, Kej won his first Grammy for his album ‘Winds of Samsara’ in collaboration with South African musician Wouter Kellerman. The album was inspired by the great bonds shared by Mahatma Gandhi and Nelson Mandela.

A self-taught musician and passionate environmentalist, Kej, who was born in the US and moved to Bengaluru at age 8, has performed in over 30 countries. Excerpts from an interview:

How does it feel to be recognised globally again?

Growing up in India as a musician, one didn’t expect to be recognised internationally, especially for an award like the Grammy. I was 33 when I won it the last time, now at 40 I have won it again. It gave me a huge platform because the only kind of music I do is on environment and sustainability. It gave me great encouragement to showcase my message and music
more strongly worldwide.

Tell us about the album ‘Divine Tides’.

The central message is co-existence from a human and an environmental perspective. When we talk of co-existence in India, at the heart of our civilisation, there is a Sanskrit phrase called ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’ (the world is one family). We’ve lost the meaning of that phrase because we only think of it as living in peace and harmony between different parts of the human species —Hindus, Muslims, Christians, Buddhists, Jains, Jews etc.

But the actual meaning of ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’ is living in absolute peace and harmony with all life and all entities on this planet including animals, plants, forests and also co-existence with the elements of nature. Because we are not living in co-existence, we have problems like climate change, unsustainable development, de-forestation and so on.

How do you feel about what’s happening in the world currently?

It is difficult to be optimistic about things. I always consider myself as an advocate rather than an activist. I am not a grassroots worker, I’m a musician. I hope to enable grassroots workers through my music and its message. There are two ways to go about it, one is the Greta Thunberg way of shaming people, which is effective; the other approach is the David Attenborough one which I have taken. David has seen the worst of humanity but he believes in showcasing the beauty of the world through his work so that people will see and learn.

How was it to collaborate with the legendary Stewart Copeland?

As founder and drummer of The Police band, Copeland was my childhood idol and when he agreed, it was a huge responsibility on me because I needed to impress him. I made a strong commitment to do exactly what he told me. It was a huge learning experience working with him and this is my best work.

Have you been able to create awareness, any change, through music?

In 2015 when ‘Shanti Samsara’ was launched at the 2015 UN Climate Change Conference in Paris, one world leader, the President of the Republic of Kiribati, Anote Tong went up on stage, urging the 193 countries to pass a resolution to save his country from going under water. I visited Kiribati, made a song there, which I perform at many of my concerts with visuals of the island and the children, making it into an emotional plea. I also got him to India to speak. All this has created a huge awareness about Kiribati and every conference now talks about it.

When you talk of change, you have to start with children. I, along with two friends, started an education programme in India with 27 earth songs, taking all the sustainable goals of the UN and putting them into positive, energetic children’s rhymes. It is currently in eight million text books in different languages.

Some say the Grammy’s lack inclusivity and diversity...

I absolutely disagree. The fact that a person like me (and some others) who lives in India has won the Grammy twice shows there is inclusivity. The purpose of the award is purely for musical excellence but there’s a hint of commercial success for winning it because of the way the system is built.

What’s next?

I need to promote the new album because a lot of work went into it. We plan to soon release a CD of 40 songs by 30 women on music platforms. I am proud to have worked on this project with music historian Vikram Sampath who wrote the book ‘Women of the Record’.