"The modern era needs ancient wisdom for the very profound effect it can have on our lives today. Ancient Vedic chants are a powerful gift, carrying critical messages to help us create a framework for our lives. Even the small sampling of them in this album can provide incredible benefits, and I hope that people of all ages across the world benefit." Chandrika Tandon, Grammy Award Winning Artist.
Chandrika Tandon is a name that resonates across industries. Be it as an acclaimed artist, a trailblazing business leader, or a dedicated philanthropist, she is a community gem. Most recently, at the age of 70, Tandon made headlines for winning a Grammy Award for her album Triveni in the Best New Age, Ambient, or Chant Album category at the 67th Annual Grammy Awards, a milestone that cements her as a global force in music.
While many know her as a Grammy-winning musician, Tandon’s journey is anything but conventional. Despite family expectations for an arranged marriage at eighteen, Tandon fought for her education by going on a two-day hunger strike before her mother was convinced by her school’s headmistress. Graduating from IIM Ahmedabad in 1975, Chandrika Tandon began her career at Citibank in Beirut, later becoming the first Indian-American partner at McKinsey & Company at just twenty-four, before founding Tandon Capital Associates in 1992 and advising global financial giants. Now, she has pivoted to a life dedicated to music, blending classical Indian traditions with contemporary influences.
“I’ve been singing my entire life. As a child, I sang before I could speak. As I became more successful in the business world, I was only able to enjoy music in the late evenings, going to shows wherever I might have been in the world. Two and a half decades ago, I reassessed my life and decided to focus more on what made me happiest: music!” reveals Tandon. To perform Indian music at its highest level, Tandon describes that the mind has to be very quiet. Hence, meditation became essential as the musician furthered her musical practice.
Triveni is an album that blends ancient chants with world music. She details, “The modern era needs ancient wisdom for the very profound effect it can have on our lives today. Ancient Vedic chants are a powerful gift, carrying critical messages to help us create a framework for our lives. Even the small sampling of them in this album can provide incredible benefits, and I hope that people of all ages across the world benefit.”
With Triveni, the talented artist had to think hard about which mantras to include and how they could be integrated with keys, the flute, and the cello. South African flautist, producer, and composer Wouter Kellerman and Japanese cellist Eru Matsumoto were responsible for coming up with movements that fit Tandon’s ideas of what the ragas should be. Undoubtedly, this was a highly collaborative and sometimes contentious journey, as each person in the musical trio loves their artistic freedom. Yet, in the end, the dream team was able to optimize their visions to benefit each other and the album.
Beyond music, Tandon has been a passionate philanthropist, especially in education and the arts. The first pillar of her service is economic empowerment, which is depicted in all her work with New York University (NYU), NYU Tandon School of Engineering, Madras Christian College (MCC) Boyd-Tandon School of Business, and other universities. The second pillar of Tandon’s service is emotional empowerment, which largely consists of music but also meditation and community building.
For young budding South Asian artists, especially women, facing cultural or societal expectations, Tandon shares pearls of wisdom: “When you walk into any meeting, do not wear any labels that might diminish you. Rather, know that you are the best in the field. This is especially important for women. As women, we have a tendency to want to weaken ourselves, but we cannot allow ourselves to do that.”
In regard to career guidance, the legendary powerhouse suggests that one should not think about merely pursuing a career. Instead, to truly become unstoppable, she encourages creatives to do something simply because of an urge that won’t allow them to do anything else. Tandon elaborates, “Do something that you love so much that it overwhelms and consumes you. You cannot create art for money. Be an artist for the sheer joy of what you create.” Tandon points out that this is especially true in the creative fields, where achieving economic stability can be difficult.
Shining light on a future outlook for Tandon, invitations for projects are pouring in, and she is eagerly reviewing them to select her next new adventures. Recently appointed as artist-in-residence with the Young People’s Chorus of New York City (YPC), a world-renowned multicultural youth chorus composed of hundreds of New York school children from all walks of life, Tandon will also be busy at work creating specific music for young voices to inspire, heal, and impart some of the ancient wisdom that traditions have embraced for centuries.
Currently working on her next album, Soul Ecstasy, Tandon is working on music that is more traditional, featuring the Hare Rama, Hare Krishna mahamantra composed in eight ragas. “To me, the Hare Rama, Hare Krishna mahamantra is ecstasy. The Bhakti movement was built on this mantra, and Swami Srila Prabhupada’s Hare Krishna movement was built on this,” highlights Tandon. As the world awaits her next stride in the music realm, her dedication to blending spirituality with musical tradition continues to inspire, promising even more transformative journeys through sound.
