Gandhi – Mantras Of Compassion: Soul stirring musical tribute by 3 time Grammy winner Ricky Kej & Nobel laureate Kailash Satyarthi

The album ‘GANDHI – Mantras of Compassion’ is a soul-stirring musical tribute to the life and philosophy of Mahatma Gandhi

- By Amitabh Sinha*

It’s a collaboration between 3-times GRAMMY AWARD winner Ricky Kej, GRAMMY and Brit Award nominee Tina Guo, GRAMMY AWARD winner Masa Takumi and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Kailash Satyarthi. It’s a collaboration that has come through in-depth conversations, Ricky Kej and Kailash Satyarthi discovered a shared reverence for Mahatma Gandhi, Father of the nation. This shared respect sparked the idea for the album "Gandhi – Mantras of Compassion," a new-age musical tribute that would blend melodies beloved by Gandhi with original compositions inspired by his timeless ideals. To bring this vision to life, Ricky collaborated with 230 musicians from more than 40 countries, including dear friends Tina Guo, a Chinese American virtuoso cellist, and Masa Takumi, a Grammy Award winning shamisen player from Japan. The result is a truly global musical homage to one of humanity’s greatest leaders.

The album "GANDHI - Mantras of Compassion" is a soul stirring musical tribute to the life and philosophy of Mahatma Gandhi, the Indian leader who championed non-violent resistance and inspired some of the greatest leaders of our time, including Martin Luther King Jr and Nelson Mandela. This powerful New-Age album brings together artists to celebrate Gandhi’s enduring ideals of peace, tolerance, non-violence, and environmental consciousness. Through a rich diversity of sounds and styles, "GANDHI - Mantras of Compassion" is a poignant reminder that Gandhi’s philosophy is more relevant today than ever, offering a beacon of hope and inspiration for a world in need of healing and harmony.

Now, the story that goes behind this collaboration. In 2024, Grammy winning musician Ricky Kej embarked on a meaningful collaboration with Nobel Peace Prize laureate Kailash Satyarthi on a four-city concert tour across India. The tour’s resounding success allowed Ricky to spend valuable time with Kailash Satyarthi, both at the concert venues and at his Bal Ashram – a sanctuary that provides love, care, and protection to children, empowering them to grow and advocate for the rights of those who suffer in silence. The tour raised funds for Satyarthi’s "Satyarthi Movement for Global Compassion," a global initiative that champions compassion as a driving force for justice, equality, peace, and sustainability. This partnership was a natural fit, given Ricky’s dedication to creating music that sparks positive social impact.

Very few know that Ricky has a rich nationalist family legacy as well. His grandfather, Jankidas Mehra was a world champion cyclist who made history by hoisting the Indian National Flag on foreign soil in 1946. The flag was given to him by Mahatma Gandhi himself and that flag is now proudly displayed at the Gandhi National Museum in New Delhi. To remind the readers, Jankidas was also a familiar name in Bollywood.

Courtesy: MoneyControl.com, dt. 19.06.2025

* Amitabh Sinha is Executive Editor, News18 India.