Kiran Gandhi ’07 is an artist and activist whose mission is to celebrate gender liberation. She has toured drumming for M.I.A, Thievery Corporation and, most recently, Oprah on her 2020 Vision Stadium Tour with morning dance party Daybreaker. Kiran holds a bachelor’s degree from Georgetown University and an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School. She has been listed as Forbes Music “30 Under 30” and is a 2020 TED Fellow. Her uplifting music and mathy beats have been critically acclaimed by The New York Times, Billboard, NPR and more. Check out her Madame Gandhi — Waiting For Me (Official Video) on YouTube.
*Published in the 2020 Alumnae Bulletin
August 2020 marked the 100th anniversary of women gaining the right to vote. What does this milestone mean to you as a woman, an activist and a Chapin alumna?
My feminism and passion for gender liberation comes wholeheartedly from my time at The Chapin School because we were an all-female-identifying school, our curriculum prioritized women’s history, which I now realize is so special and so rare. My song “Bad Habits,” written 10 years after I graduated Chapin, directly references all the time I spent studying and learning about the Women’s Suffrage Movement in the 1920s, and how peaceful protest and radical self-reliance were the tools even Mahatma Gandhi later adopted in his non-violence movement in India 20 years later.
How would you characterize your career thus far? Can you describe the accomplishments of which you are most proud?
Performing and speaking all over the world has allowed me to take my ideas of gender liberation, sex positivity and joy and share them with audiences who deeply relate. It is a global sense of connectedness and empowerment that I have been able to achieve by writing music that fans receive and love. I am most proud of drumming for artist M.I.A while attending Harvard Business School. I am most proud of sparking a global viral conversation around menstrual stigma after I ran the 2015 London Marathon bleeding freely. I am most proud of drumming for Oprah Winfrey’s 2020 Vision Stadium Tour with a group called Daybreaker. And I am most proud of signing to record label Sony Masterworks to put out my third album with them. I am proud to be a Forbes “30 Under 30.” I am proud to be healthy and safe. I am proud to be a Chapin alum.
What do you find most rewarding about your work as a musician? Most challenging?
I love channeling my emotions through my own creativity. It is most healing. Chapin fostered my sense of self-power and self-worth through drumming. It meant so much to me. I felt so seen. What is most challenging about being a musician is that it is difficult to feel creative or inspired 24/7, so it is important to write down or sing your ideas whenever they come.
Did your educational path lead you to your professional pursuits?
My education was rather traditional, but I spent time paying attention to what made me happy, and I eventually managed to merge all of my skill sets together to create the Madame Gandhi project that I currently produce and perform under.
For how long were you at Chapin? What resonates most about your years there?
I was there for K-12 except for the three years I moved to Mumbai, India, with my family (1997-2000). My best memories were my friendships, the digital imaging class with Duane Neil, hanging out in the library, treats in the Gordon Room, speaking as the Treasurer at All-School Assembly, playing the drums for the different holiday performances, visiting Emmalee Olson Fay in the Science Department every day after school even through Upper School, winning the JV Volleyball tournament as captain in 2005 and always trying creative ways to not look like I was in uniform while still being in uniform.
In what ways do you feel Chapin prepared you for college and the adult world? What particular skills (academic, social, emotional) or interests did Chapin help foster?
For me, most valuable was feeling so seen and nurtured as a young person. It made me feel both secure and loved. This personal connection, a sense of belonging, a sense that I was cared about and valued made me thrive as a young person, taking risks, exploring my passions and being brave enough to express them. I miss that feeling of being encouraged, lifted up and loved by my teachers and peers. That experience was unparalleled.
What other aspects of your life played a role in who you are today and what you’ve achieved?
A sense of daily fitness definitely has stayed in my life. We always had so many extracurricular events — some sort of sports practice after school, in my case volleyball, squash, tennis and track. I loved these sports and to this day continue playing sports and work out each day.
What advice would you give to current Chapin students or young alumnae who may be interested in pursuing a career in music, activism or a similar field? How might you consider yourself a role model for young women…and young men?
My best advice is to bravely follow your joy and your excitement! As a Chapin student, I always made mixed CDs for my friends, practiced drums in bands with other students and volunteered for charity days or student government opportunities for the very reason that these were things I was passionate about. These are all the very same things I am doing today, just on a professional level. We, as our childhood and young adulthood selves, are so honest. Follow that gut, follow that intuition. I am a role model only in the sense that I am constantly optimizing for my own joy because I believe it is the very fuel that allows me to do good in this world.
What are your favorite ways to relax and decompress?
Running, boxing, spinning, yoga, meditation, playing drums, surfing, sleeping, eating clean and FaceTiming dear friends!