BEATS THAT HEAL

Music ignites the light within us, says Grammy-winner Chandrika Tandon

- LAVINA MELWANI

There were two memorable moments for Chandrika Tandon at the Grammys this year, where Triveni, the album she created with South African flautist Wouter Kellerman and Japanese-American cellist Eru Matsumoto, won in the category of best New Age, Ambient or Chant album. The first was seeing how the Awards focused on raising funds for the victims of the Los Angeles wildfire, which showed the community of musicians was prepared to come together for a greater cause. The second was hearing their name being called out as winners in their category. "It was a happy shock," she told THE WEEK. "Walking to the podium through a cheering crowd was an incredible experience."

Just as incredible was the aftermath of the awards, when the accolades started pouring in. "The reaction from friends has been like a dam bursting open," she says. "As someone from India said, 'a billion hearts are with you. And that is exactly what I felt." She says the support she got, from Prime Minister Narendra Modi to people she has never met, was "overwhelmingly gracious and sweet".

Her achievement is even more incredible when you consider that Tandon, 70, has not just distinguished herself in music, but also in business (she runs her own multimillion dollar company, Tandon Capital Advisors) and philanthropy, all the while being a wife, mother and grandmother. Like with most people, to unravel her success, one must rewind to her formative years. Tandon grew up in a middle-class family in Chennai which placed great emphasis on education and achievement. Her sister Indra Nooyi was CEO of PepsiCo and her brother Nandu Narayanan heads Trident Investment Management.