Chandrika Tandon, an Indian-American artist, achieved a historic event by winning her first Grammy Award at the age of 71. She won the Best New Age, Ambient, or Chant Album award for Triveni, a collaboration with three-time Grammy-winning South African flautist Wouter Kellerman and Japanese-origin cellist Eru Matsumoto.
Tandon, overcome with delight, thanked everyone in her award speech in Los Angeles. “Music embodies love, light, and laughter.” Let us be surrounded by love, light, and laughter. “Thank you to everyone who makes music,” she stated.
On Instagram, she remarked on the importance of music, writing, “Music ignites the light within us and spreads joy even in the darkest times.”
Tandon and her partners beat out nominees like Ricky Kej (Break of Dawn) and Anoushka Shankar (Chapter II: How Dark It Is Before Dawn). While Kej has three Grammy awards, Shankar has yet to win, despite 11 nominations.
Tandon, who was born in Chennai, worked in banking before discovering his passion for music. She attended IIM Ahmedabad, worked for Citibank in Lebanon, and became the first Indian-American partner at McKinsey & Company.
She is a classically trained vocalist who was nominated for a Grammy in 2011 for Soul Call.
