Radhika Vekaria on the Kali Mandir, close to Laguna Seashore, Calif.
Raymond Alva for NPR
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Raymond Alva for NPR
It was mid-January after we met Radhika Vekaria on the Kali Mandir, a small ashram nestled on a quiet residential avenue close to Laguna Seashore, Calif.
The little yellow ashram has a small meditation backyard, a Hindu seminary and a residential monastery. On the heart is a big shrine dedicated to the Hindu goddess Kali.
“[The Kali Mandir] has been such a refuge, a spot of a reset, every part that you’d really feel that your property ought to be — nourishing, protected, re-grounding — all this stuff and simply full of affection and encouragement,” Vekaria mentioned.
Vekaria is nominated for her first ever Grammy award, for her album Warriors of Mild. She’s up for finest album within the new age, ambient or chant class.
The doorway of the Kali Mandir.
Raymond Alva for NPR
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Raymond Alva for NPR
Born in London and with Indian and East African roots, Vekaria has been surrounded by music since she was a child. Her father was a singer and, in line with Vekaria, “music has been round longer than oxygen for me.”
“After I was within the womb, my dad and mom had been having music events of their properties … my dad and mom’ mates all had been, you understand, simply musicians, not even professionals, however simply newbie musicians,” she mentioned. “And they might come and produce their devices out to dinner … and several other instances every week, we would simply have all these random individuals in our home simply enjoying music.”
For Vekaria, reciting mantras and devotional chanting even helped her overcome a speech obstacle she had developed as a toddler.
A big shrine at Kali Mandir, dedicated to a Hindu goddess.
Raymond Alva for NPR
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Raymond Alva for NPR
The Kali Mandir has a serene vitality — canine could be heard barking within the distance, chimes ring within the Southern California winds. These are the identical winds that just some days earlier had fanned wildfires and unfold chaos and destruction throughout the Los Angeles area.
On the morning of our go to, we had frolicked masking the aftermath of the fires and the heartbreak they left behind. And but we discovered upon getting into the ashram, a lot of the stress and heartbreak we had internalized melted away because the peaceable vitality of the temple took over.
For Vekaria, spending time on this a part of Southern California has been transformative, particularly her time on the Kali Mandir, taking in its therapeutic and peaceable vitality.
Vekaria says this area has anchored her.
Raymond Alva for NPR
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Raymond Alva for NPR
“It was coming to a spot like this that basically anchored me. And the music and the devotion simply gave me unbelievable energy,” she mentioned. “And I noticed that there was one thing very potent and concentrated on this area and in that form of music that I wanted to embark on a journey of expression that I principally started to share and sing.”
That vitality and therapeutic has impressed a lot of the work on her album, Warriors of Mild.
As we left the ashram, Vekaria and the employees on the Kali Mandir despatched us out the door with a tray of sizzling tea and snacks, leaving us the lingering sense of peace and generosity Vekaria had skilled there herself.
Ailsa Chang and Christopher Intagliata contributed to this story.
