Indian-American musician Chandrika Tandon wins Grammy
New Delhi (PTI): Indian-American vocalist and entrepreneur Chandrika Tandon has won the Grammy award for the album 'Triveni' in the Best New Age, Ambient or Chant Album category.
The 67th edition of the biggest musical awards night, organised by the Recording Academy, was held on Sunday at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles.
Tandon, also a global business leader and the older sister of former CEO of PepsiCo Indra Nooyi, won the award along with her collaborators South African flautist Wouter Kellerman and Japanese cellist Eru Matsumoto.
"Music is love, music is light, and music is laughter and let's all be surrounded by love, light, and laughter. Thank you for the music, and thank you to everyone who makes music," she said in the award acceptance speech.
This was Tandon's second Grammy nomination after 2009's "Soul Call" and first win.
"It feels amazing," said the musician, who grew up in Chennai, in a backstage interview with the Recording Academy after winning the Grammy.
Other nominees in the Best New Age, Ambient or Chant Album category were: 'Break of Dawn' — Ricky Kej, 'Opus' — Ryuichi Sakamoto, 'Chapter II: How Dark It Is Before Dawn' — Anoushka Shankar, and 'Warriors Of Light' — Radhika Vekaria.
"We had such wonderful nominees in the category. The fact that we won this is really an extra special moment for us. There were fabulous musicians who were nominated with us," she added.
Just like its name, which means the confluence of three holy Indian rivers Ganga, Yamuna and Saraswati, 'Triveni' is a collaboration of three artists Tandon, Kellerman, and Matsumoto who represent diverse cultures.
Released on August 30, 2024, each of the seven tracks on 'Triveni' tells its own story while contributing to its overarching theme of healing resonance. The songs are: "Pathway to Light", "Chant in A", "Journey Within", "Aether's Serenade", "Ancient Moon", "Open Sky", and "Seeking Shakti".
"This harmonious blend of Indian classical music, New Age ambiance, and global traditions appeals to a wide audience while staying deeply rooted in cultural authenticity."
Tandon, who has three more albums to her credit, has performed at venues such as the Kennedy Center, Lincoln Center, and the World Culture Festivals across Europe and India.
The 2025 Grammys are streaming live on Disney+ Hotstar in India.
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Prez nod for FIR against AAP's Manish Sisodia, Satyendar Jain in Rs 2,000-cr classroom 'scam'
New Delhi, Mar 13 (PTI): President Droupadi Murmu has given her approval for the registration of an FIR against AAP leaders Manish Sisodia and Satyendar Jain in an alleged scam of Rs 2,000 crore in the construction of classrooms in Delhi government schools, sources said.
In 2022, the Delhi government's vigilance directorate recommended a probe into the alleged scam and submitted a report to the chief secretary.
The President has given her approval for registering the FIR against Sisodia and Jain in connection with the alleged scam during their tenures as ministers in the Arvind Kejriwal-led Delhi government, the sources said.
The Central Vigilance Commission (CVC), in a report dated February 17, 2020, highlighted "glaring irregularities" in the construction of classrooms in Delhi government schools by the Public Works Department (PWD).
The President's approval came under Section 17A of the Prevention of Corruption Act that pertains to "enquiry or inquiry or investigation of offences relatable to recommendations made or decision taken by public servant in discharge of official functions or duties".
Reacting to the development, senior AAP leader Saurabh Bharadwaj accused the BJP of carrying out a witch-hunt against its political rivals.
The BJP has no interest or intention to fulfil the promises it made to the people of Delhi. Its only agenda is to carry out a witch-hunt against its political rivals to stifle the voice of people, the former minister said in a statement.
The BJP-led central government has already decided to prosecute every political adversary of the party and grant approvals to move the case forward but it should wait for the judicial process to begin, he said.
In July 2019, BJP leader Harish Khurana and then AAP rebel MLA Kapil Mishra, now a minister in the Delhi government, lodged a police complaint about the alleged scam.
According to a report prepared by the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) of the Delhi government, the complainants alleged that there was a scam worth over Rs 2,000 crore in the construction of classrooms and school buildings in Delhi. The work was done at a highly inflated cost by the Delhi government.
The alleged scam involves the construction of around 12,748 classrooms.
The ACB report said the total expenditure incurred for constructing the classrooms and school buildings was around Rs 2,892.65 crore. They were allegedly constructed at the rate of Rs 8,800 per square feet, whereas it was common knowledge that the average construction cost (even for a builder of flats) was around Rs 1,500 per square feet.
The total cost for constructing a classroom and school building, according to the tender awarded, was allegedly around Rs 24.86 lakh per room, whereas such rooms are easily constructed in Delhi at around Rs 5 lakh per room, it said.
The prices were increased almost five times to defraud the taxpayer by siphoning off money from the public exchequer in the garb of construction cost, the report said.
Even for a 5-star hotel, top ultra-luxury quality construction is around Rs 5,000 to Rs 5,500 per square feet, it said.
The complainants submitted a copy of documents in which information received under the RTI Act in respect of the construction of 18 classrooms in the Govt Girls Senior Secondary School, Nathupura, Burari (school ID:-1207111) revealed that they were constructed at a cost of Rs 12 crore, the ACB report said.
