Meet Chandrika Tandon: Won Grammy, Indian-American Bizwoman-Singer, PepsiCo's Indra Nooyi's Sister

Chandrika Krishnamoorthy Tandon, commonly known as Chandrika Tandon, is currently dominating the headlines across India and the US. The reason behind it is the 'big win' she registered on February 2, 2025, at the 67th Grammy Awards at Crypto.com Arena Los Angeles, California. The famous vocalist won a Grammy Award for her music album, Triveni, in the Best New Age, Ambient, and Chant Album category. The seven-track album is receiving a lot of love on the internet for its aim to take listeners on a meditative journey, which is nothing less than 'inner healing' for any person.

Chandrika Tandon wins Grammy Award for 'Triveni': Meet the Indian-origin American vocalist who has beaten late Pandit Ravi Shankar's daughter, Anoushka 

For the album, Chandrika Tandon joined hands with Japanese cellist, Eru Matsumoto and South African flautist, Wouter Kellerman to present the age-old Vedic chants in the album. It wasn't an easy win for Chandrika Tandon's Vedic album, Triveni, at the Grammy Awards. The vocalist faced strong competition from the nominees, including Ricky Kej's Break of Dawn, Anoushka Shankar's Chapter II: How Dark It Is Before Dawn, Radhika Vekaria's Warriors of Light, and Ryuichi Sakamoto's Opus.

Chandrika Tandon's album, Triveni is a fusion of traditional Vedic chants and contemporary sounds that made the album win despite such fierce competition for the Grammy Award. However, not everyone knows that Indian-origin American vocalist received a Grammy nomination at the 53rd Grammy Awards in 2011 for her 2009 album, Soul Call. The album was inspired by Mahatma Gandhi's peaceful salt march, aka 'Dandi March'. However, this time, Chandrika took the prestigious award home for the incredible fusion of her Indian roots with the universal language of music in the album, Triveni. 

Who is Chandrika Tandon? Born in Chennai, an alumnus of IIM Ahmedabad, the first Indian-origin American to become a partner in McKinsey

Since winning the Grammy Award winner, Chandrika Tandon's Indian roots are making waves on the internet. For the uninitiated, she was born into a Tamil Brahmin conservative family in 1954 in Chennai to her parents, Krishnamurthy and Shantha Krishnamurthy. While her mother was a musician, Chandrika's father worked as a banker. Chandrika completed her schooling from Holy Angels Anglo Indian Higher Secondary School and pursued higher education at Madras Christian College.

After completing higher education, Chandrika Tandon took admission at the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad. At that time, she was one of the only eight girls in her class at IIM Ahmedabad, which speaks volumes about her determination to become an entrepreneur. After working as an executive for Citibank for some years, at the age of 24, Chandrika was offered a position at the famous American MNC, McKinsey in New York. She accepted the offer and became the first Indian-American to become a partner at McKinsey. 

Grammy Award winner, Chandrika Tandon started a hunger strike when her mother stopped her from going to a boys' college

In an old interview with India Today in 2023, Chandrika Tandon opened up about her parents and shared how she once went on a hunger strike against her mother. Sharing the details of the incident, Chandrika revealed that she wanted to study at Madras Christian College because her father and grandfather studied there.

Chandrika Tandon further added that her mother didn't want her to study in co-ed because there weren't many girls studying at Madras Christian College then. She went on a hunger strike to convince her mother and even Chandrika's school headmaster called her mother and tried to convince her. Finally, Chandrika's mother allowed her to study at Madras Christian College, which proved pivotal in her journey. She said:

"I wanted to go to Madras Christian College, and it was very important to me because my father and my grandfather went there. My grandfather was a judge in Chennai. I wanted to pursue BCom there. My mother didn't want me to go to Madras Christian College as it was considered a boys' college. I went on a hunger strike. And, of course, it was a battle of wills. The headmistress from my convent school, Mother Nessun, came to my house. She convinced my mother that she should let me go to Madras Christian College."

Chandrika Tandon's family background: Grammy winner is married to Ranjan Tandon, and she is the sister of PepsiCo's former CEO, Indra Nooyi

Chandrika Tandon is married to renowned businessman, Ranjan Tandon, who is the founder and chairman of Libra Advisors. The couple has a daughter named Lita Tandon. However, not everyone is aware of the jaw-dropping fact that Chandrika is the real sister of PepsiCo's former CEO, Indra Nooyi. Yes! You read it right. Chandrika Tandon and Indra Nooyi are siblings, and both of them have made their mark in the business world. Apart from Chandrika's accomplishments as a singer, she is also a big name in the business world.

Chandrika Tandon founded Tandon Capital Associates in 1992 and has worked as an advisor with multiple big sharks in the business world. One of the biggest highlights of Chandrika's entrepreneurial career is when she donated 100 million USD with her husband, Ranjan Tandon, to the NYU Polytechnic School of Engineering. After the jaw-dropping donation, the institute's name was changed to NYU Tandon School of Engineering. Apart from being a successful vocalist, entrepreneur, and philanthropist, Chandrika also serves as a trustee and President's advisor at multiple institutes and governing bodies. 

Congratulations to Chandrika Tandon for winning the Grammy Award, and we hope she continues to make her mark as an entrepreneur and singer in the future.

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