By Naresh Mitra
GUWAHATI – The Grammy has finally caught up with religion. Buddhist chants from the remote village of Thembang in Arunachal Pradesh’s West Kameng district have have made it to the nominations for the Grammy Award 2005.
Gesge Ngawang Tashi Bapu popularly known as Lama Tashi has got his lilting chants nominated for the Award under the best traditional world music album category.
Though Tibetan monks of Sherabling monastery were said to be the first to win the Grammy in 2004 for their album, Sacred Tibetan Chant, Lama Tashi’s album, Tibetan Master Chants is a solo attempt, and the first from northeastern India to be nominated for the coveted award.
The monk who is the principal of Central Institute of Himalayan Culture Studies at Dahung in West Kameng said the album was an product of long hours of practice and deep concentration.
The chants in Lama Tashi’s album, popularly recited across the Himalayan region – from Ladakh to Nepal, Bhutan and Mongolia – are rendered in traditional Dzok-key or multi-phonic style in Tibetan language.
“It gave me immense satisfaction and I feel fortunate that whatever effort and time I have put into the practice of chanting has finally been recognized by the world,” Tashi told TOI over phone.
“You need to have a high level of concentration while chanting. When I chant it helps me calm myself mentally.
On the other hand it is also entertaining,” the monk said. Born in the remote village of Thembang, he was the “Umzey” or principal chant master of the Drepung Loseling monastery in Karnataka.
