Music, although relegated to the background, was a part of Chandrika Tandon’s life for as long as she can remember. But she began her musical journey only 25 years ago. Today, at 71, her decades-long love for the art form has been rewarded as her album Triveni was adjudged the Best New Age Album at the 67th Grammy Awards. Two days after her big win, when we get on a call with New York-based Tandon, she reflects, “I started singing when I was little. In fact, I’d say I sang before I spoke. I would be singing in my head while doing all the chores. During my college years, I’d listen to Mohammed Rafi, Kishore Kumar, Lata Mangeshkar, and my favourite, Asha Bhosle.”

Given her passion for music, one would think her road to Grammys was almost fated. But it could have all gone very differently. After completing her schooling and college in Chennai, Tandon studied business at the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, and went on to become the first Indian-American woman to be selected as a partner at McKinsey & Company at 24. Business, board rooms, and number-crunching dominated the years that followed. But something shifted 25 years ago. She recalls, “I got into a crisis of spirit. I thought about what made me happy, and realised that my happiest moments had to do with music. So, I decided to rearrange my life and include music in a more conscious way. I wasn’t trying to perform or make a career in music. I just wanted to make myself happy. I wanted to sing, and sing well.”