MUMBAI: With the 51st Grammy awards 2009 coming close, Indians may have a reason to smile.
According to Grammy's official website, Indian musician Debashish Bhattacharya's Calcutta Chronicles: Indian Slide Guitar Odyssey and Lakshmi Shankar's Dancing In The Light have been nominated in the Best Traditional World Music Album category.
Besides this, 'Floating Point' which was released under Blue Frog Records in June 2008 (India) has also been nominated for a Grammy in the 'Best Contemporary Jazz Album' Category.
Independent music label Indiabeat will be releasing Calcutta Chronicles in India in January 2009.
India has had its small but significant share of Grammy honours -
In 1994, Vishwa Mohan Bhatt won the Grammy along with Ry Cooder for their World Music album 'A meeting by the River'.
The Grammy Foundation, established in 1989 was started with the idea to cultivate understanding, appreciation and advancement of recorded music to American culture — from the artistic and technical legends of the past to the still unimagined musical breakthroughs of future generations of music professionals. The Foundation accomplishes this mission through programs and activities that engage the music industry and cultural community as well as the general public. The Foundation works in partnership year-round with The Recording Academy to bring national attention to important issues such as the value and impact of music and arts education and the urgency of preserving our rich cultural heritage.