LOS ANGELES,CA - Singer Falguni Shah, who is one of the nominees for this year’s Grammys, says she is honored to represent India and Indian immigrants in the US at the global platform. Falguni is nominated for her album “Falu’s Bazaar” in the Best Children’s Music category at the 61st Grammy Awards, which will take place on February 11 here. “I am honoured to be representing not only India at the Grammys,

but also the millions of immigrants who have travelled to the US to achieve success,” Falguni, who moved to New York in 2010 said. She also hopes to use the platform to “motivate others to dream big and achieve their goals, whether it’s through music or any aspect of life”.
Falguni began her journey in the field of music with training in the Jaipur musical tradition and the Benaras style of Thumri. She has worked with several internationally celebrated musicians like Wyclef Jean, Philip Glass, Ricky Martin, Blues Traveler, Yo-Yo Ma and A.R. Rahman.
She was also appointed Carnegie Hall’s ambassador of Indian Music in 2006, and performed once for President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama at the White House. In an interview with India Journal last year Shah,detailing about her singing career, which began at the age of 3, said, “Music was always in my family and my mom started training me very early on in music and I was extremely lucky to be trained under masters such as Ustad Sultan Khan, Kaumudi Munshi, Uday Mazumdar and Kishori Amonkar.”
“I came to America with all of that intense training that I received in Indian classical music and further learned songwriting and composition training in Western Music in Boston and NYC,” she further stated.
However, she first tasted success with band ‘Karyshma’ in 2004 where she gained experience in touring and performing in the US and then went on to develop a new genre called “Indie Hindi” with the release of her first self-titled album called “Falu” followed by her second album “Foras Road” and the third released in 2018 “Falu’s Bazaar”. It is said that success comes with hardships and Falu’s journey is no different. “Sometimes my ideas worked and sometimes they did not. Sometimes I got criticism and sometimes I found myself surrounded by people who totally believed in me. I still struggle every day - how to push myself and think out of the box. Adjusting as an immigrant in the US and adopting its culture was difficult at first but now I’m able to switch gears easily. When I am with Americans, I wear my American hat and when I’m with Indians I become totally Indian. I’m comfortable in both of those traditions and cultures. I have faced many setbacks and I’m not afraid to face more setbacks as they come along. I find life to be boring without struggles and failures so I really have accepted life with both success and failures being a part of it.”
About of ‘Falu’s Bazaar’ she said, “This is my debut kids album. For the album, I drew inspiration from some very curious questions of my 5-year-old son, who also has a song in the album. I thought, if my son being a South Asian has so many questions, it is likely so many other kids may have the same curiosity as well. Why not make an educational and a fun album and try to teach them a sense of an identity that they can relate to being a South Asian in America. Falu’s Bazaar was created through the curiosity of my son and it was commissioned by and launched at Carnegie Hall in 2015.”
For Falu, history and legacy is very important, which she would like to pass on to her child and all the Indo-American kids who are “hungry and ready to follow traditions.” She also plans to bring kids and culture together through several traditional ways. “When I make a children’s record I still have my classical alaap and taal (rhythm cycles) in my songs. The way I write songs and incorporate a factor of call and response called “jugal bandi” exists in my songs in a playful manner that kids can learn easily and understand the fundamental concepts of Indian classical music in a playful manner.”Detailing about her ambitions and dreams, she concluded, “I’m still a newcomer to the family music scene and have yet to travel a lot before I even see the light at the end of a tunnel.”
Falguni began her journey in the field of music with training in the Jaipur musical tradition and the Benaras style of Thumri. She has worked with several internationally celebrated musicians like Wyclef Jean, Philip Glass, Ricky Martin, Blues Traveler, Yo-Yo Ma and A.R. Rahman.
She was also appointed Carnegie Hall’s ambassador of Indian Music in 2006, and performed once for President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama at the White House. In an interview with India Journal last year Shah,detailing about her singing career, which began at the age of 3, said, “Music was always in my family and my mom started training me very early on in music and I was extremely lucky to be trained under masters such as Ustad Sultan Khan, Kaumudi Munshi, Uday Mazumdar and Kishori Amonkar.”
“I came to America with all of that intense training that I received in Indian classical music and further learned songwriting and composition training in Western Music in Boston and NYC,” she further stated.
However, she first tasted success with band ‘Karyshma’ in 2004 where she gained experience in touring and performing in the US and then went on to develop a new genre called “Indie Hindi” with the release of her first self-titled album called “Falu” followed by her second album “Foras Road” and the third released in 2018 “Falu’s Bazaar”. It is said that success comes with hardships and Falu’s journey is no different. “Sometimes my ideas worked and sometimes they did not. Sometimes I got criticism and sometimes I found myself surrounded by people who totally believed in me. I still struggle every day - how to push myself and think out of the box. Adjusting as an immigrant in the US and adopting its culture was difficult at first but now I’m able to switch gears easily. When I am with Americans, I wear my American hat and when I’m with Indians I become totally Indian. I’m comfortable in both of those traditions and cultures. I have faced many setbacks and I’m not afraid to face more setbacks as they come along. I find life to be boring without struggles and failures so I really have accepted life with both success and failures being a part of it.”
About of ‘Falu’s Bazaar’ she said, “This is my debut kids album. For the album, I drew inspiration from some very curious questions of my 5-year-old son, who also has a song in the album. I thought, if my son being a South Asian has so many questions, it is likely so many other kids may have the same curiosity as well. Why not make an educational and a fun album and try to teach them a sense of an identity that they can relate to being a South Asian in America. Falu’s Bazaar was created through the curiosity of my son and it was commissioned by and launched at Carnegie Hall in 2015.”
For Falu, history and legacy is very important, which she would like to pass on to her child and all the Indo-American kids who are “hungry and ready to follow traditions.” She also plans to bring kids and culture together through several traditional ways. “When I make a children’s record I still have my classical alaap and taal (rhythm cycles) in my songs. The way I write songs and incorporate a factor of call and response called “jugal bandi” exists in my songs in a playful manner that kids can learn easily and understand the fundamental concepts of Indian classical music in a playful manner.”Detailing about her ambitions and dreams, she concluded, “I’m still a newcomer to the family music scene and have yet to travel a lot before I even see the light at the end of a tunnel.”