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From Chennai to New York, it has been a long journey for Chandrika Krishnamurthy Tandon. After graduating from Madras Christian College, she had to employ her persuasive skills to travel to Ahamedabad to pursue her MBA at the Indian Institute of Management. Jobs at Citicorp and McKinsey have taken her to many a global destination. Somewhere along, however, she must have felt enough of working for others. This urge saw her floating Tandon Capital Associates Inc, an advisory company based in New York. Perhaps, her belief in multi-tasking led her to join the board of trustees at New York University. She has a fine understanding of the affairs of the American corporate world. Not surprisingly, she has been hailed as the `turnaround’ artiste.
Music call
She is indeed an artiste! And, the artiste in her came into full public view when her album `Soul Call’ was nominated for Grammy. It was a stupendous honour for this businesswoman, hailing from a tradition-steeped family in the city of Chennai. Chandrika is now set to launch a new album titled ` Soul March’. It is all about re-imagining `Raghupathy Raghava Raja Ram’. It is a product of cross-cultural co-operation. ``I worked with some amazing musicians from around the world,’’ she says. Why name it Soul March? Well, she has an interesting answer. ``Raghupathi Raghava Raja Ram was sung continuously during Gandhi's Salt March. This album is a tribute to all the journeys of people seeking freedom to express the truth,’’ reveals Chandrika. The album is being released on April 15 in the U.S. The India release will happen soon thereafter. Music should be easy so that people could sing along, she says. Her albums are designed to achieve that, she explains.
Inter-personal ties
If work has taken her many places across the globe, music has helped her to learn assorted languages - from Portuguese to French et al. Ipso facto she is not really constrained in articulating her musical thought. ``I am not bound by traditional ways of expressing a scale, as I don’t have any musical boundaries,’’ she elaborates. ``In my three CDs, you will see that my classical training has made the framework of the raga very pure in the compositions despite this amalgamated thought process,’’ she points out.
Music can do a world of good for inter-personal relationship. Ask Chandrika, she will vouch for it. ``It (music) has made my relationships with my business associates richer. Until a few years ago, no one knew I could even sing. It is not unusual now for CEOs to share their closet talents in music, painting, meditation etc. It has opened up a whole new avenue of connection to my business colleagues,’’ she says. As she is seeking to forget her self and dive deep into the ocean of music, it has made her understand the word perfection in a wholly different way. What is she aiming as a musician? Well, she will be more than pleased if she could ``touch a few lives in the time she has’’.
