- Monday, February 03, 2025
By: Vibhuti Pathak
Indian-American business leader and musician Chandrika Tandon has won a Grammy Award for Triveni, an album blending ancient chants with world music.
The 71-year-old secured the prestigious award in the ‘Best New Age, Ambient, or Chant Album’ category at the 67th Grammy Awards. The seven-track album, which Tandon describes as a “meditative journey towards inner healing,” features collaborations with South African flautist Wouter Kellerman and Japanese cellist Eru Matsumoto.
The album’s title, Triveni, signifies the confluence of three rivers and also represents the three distinct musical styles brought together in this project. Upon receiving the award in Los Angeles, Tandon expressed her deep appreciation for the power of music, saying, “Music is love, music ignites the light within all of us, and, even in our darkest days, music spreads joy and laughter.”
Born and raised in Chennai, Tandon grew up in a traditional middle-class household steeped in the teachings of the Samaveda. Vedic chants and Carnatic music played a significant role in her upbringing, alongside her younger sister, Indra Nooyi.
While Nooyi went on to become the CEO of PepsiCo and one of the world’s most influential businesswomen, Tandon carved her own path in both the corporate and creative worlds.
A graduate of IIM Ahmedabad, Tandon became the first Indian-American woman partner at McKinsey & Company before founding Tandon Capital Associates, a New York-based firm focused on institutional restructuring. Alongside her business achievements, she is also a dedicated philanthropist.
In 2015, she and her husband, Ranjan Tandon, donated £78.5 million to the New York School of Engineering, leading to its renaming as the Tandon School of Engineering.
Tandon’s deep passion for music led her to train under classical singer Shubhra Guha and vocalist Girish Wazalwar. Her first Grammy nomination came in 2010 for her album Om Namo Narayana: Soul Call, a collection of spiritual chants.
This year, she faced stiff competition from fellow Indian-origin artists, including producer Ricky Kej, sitar virtuoso Anoushka Shankar, and British-Indian singer Radhika Vekaria.
Despite being nominated 11 times, Anoushka Shankar once again missed out on the award. Meanwhile, her half-sister, Norah Jones, daughter of the legendary Pt. Ravi Shankar, won the ‘Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album’ category for Visions, her ninth studio album, which blends various musical influences.
Tandon’s victory at the Grammys further cements her position as a global ambassador for Indian spiritual music. With Triveni, she has successfully brought Vedic chants to an international audience, demonstrating the universal appeal of ancient Indian traditions.
