Chandrika Tandon and her husband, Ranjan Tandon's decision to donate $100 million will revive the struggling engineering discipline in New York City.
Chandrika Tandon, 61, quotes Sanskrit verses while explaining to NDTV her and her husband, Ranjan Tandon's decision to donate $100 million, or Rs 650 crores, to New York University this week.
Believed to be the largest philanthropic contribution made by Indian-Americans, the NYU Polytechnic School of Engineering will be renamed the NYU Tandon School of Engineering.
"Our tradition teaches us to give back. You can't take it with you... we are here to serve. This will have a ripple effect beyond one individual school, generations of students will benefit," says Ms Tandon.
The elder sister of Pepsi chief Indra Nooyi, Ms Tandon is a Grammy-nominated musician (in 2011 for best contemporary world album) and an MBA from IIM Ahmedabad and Mr Tandon is an engineer from IIT, who moved to New York 37 years ago and made their fortune in the financial services industry.
Ms Tandon was a partner at McKinsey & Co before starting her own financial advisory firm in 1992 and Mr Tandon, a graduate of the Harvard Business School, founded a hedge fund, Libra Advisors, in 1990.
The gift will revive the struggling engineering discipline in New York City, recently revived after 40 years of neglect. Both the Tandons say it is a cause close to their heart.
"We have lived in New York for the last 37 years and it has given us so much from a career and a personal point of view," Mr Tandon said.
NYU President, John Sexton told NDTV, "Both Chandrika and Ranjan Tandon have no personal connection to NYU, neither studied there nor did their children. And though Chandrika has been a very involved member on the board for the last 10 years, their ratification is even more wonderful."
Statistics show 75 per cent of philanthropical contributions are by individuals in America compared to 10 per cent in India where the government is the largest donor. Will the Tandons' generosity inspire a deeper change?