Sarod maestro Amjad Ali Khan and sons receive engraved Grammy trophies for Dalai Lama collaboration

Renowned Indian classical sarod maestro Ustad Amjad Ali Khan, alongside his sons Amaan Ali Bangash and Ayaan Ali Bangash, have officially taken possession of their personalized, engraved Grammy Award trophies. The handcrafted awards, dispatched from Los Angeles, recognize the trio’s contributions to the album Meditations: The Reflections of His Holiness the Dalai Lama.

The project triumphed in the Best Audio Book, Narration, and Storytelling Recording category at the 68th Annual Grammy Awards earlier this year.

The prestigious win cements the family’s place in international music history, marking them as the only Indian musicians to be honoured with a Grammy Award this year. Known collaboratively as the “Sarod Trilogy,” the master musicians composed and performed the original score woven throughout the album. Their instrumentation blends Hindustani classical traditions with international genres to anchor the spiritual spoken-word tracks.

While winners are announced during the live broadcast—where musician Rufus Wainwright accepted the award on the team’s behalf—the personalized, engraved physical trophies are manufactured and shipped separately to individual contributors months later.

Following the arrival of their trophies, the family travelled to McLeod Ganj in Dharamshala on June 3, 2026, to formally present the Grammy Award to the 14th Dalai Lama at his official residence.

The collaborative production marked a monumental first Grammy win for the 90-year-old Tibetan spiritual leader and Nobel Peace Prize laureate. The album relies on the Dalai Lama’s key teachings regarding universal compassion and global mindfulness, environmental stewardship and planetary care and the structural oneness of humanity.

The album features an array of cross-genre contributions from international artists like Andra Day, Maggie Rogers, and Tony Succar. However, the core fusion relies heavily on the profound relationship between the spiritual leader and the Bangash musical lineage.

Reflecting on the achievement, Ustad Amjad Ali Khan expressed deep humility, noting that the Dalai Lama has served as a personal guiding light for his family across several decades. The family shared on social media that hearing his spoken reflections interwoven with the resonance of the sarod was a moving experience, proving the unique capacity of art to uplift the global human spirit.