Harsha and Ashok Hinduja's kids hit high notes

When you belong to one of India's well-known business families, you are expected to start young. Hang around offices, sit in on board meetings, spend summers interning across departments. Creative pursuits are rarely expected, much less insisted upon. But Harsha Hinduja, wife of Ashok Hinduja, chairman, Hinduja Group, India, thought differently. She says she always encouraged her three children — Ambika, Satya and Shom — to take up music and learn at least one instrument. In due time, Ambika chose the mouth organ, Satya favoured the piano and Shom graduated from the tabla to drums to most recently, the saxophone.

In fact, there can easily be an in-house Hinduja family band. Harsha herself can take the vocalist's spot. And the patriarch's role? Unlikely that there would be any. As he admits, "I am a bathroom singer."

Of the three kids, Satya is the only one who chose to take up music professionally. But famous last name or not, a parent's reaction is along expected lines. As Hinduja says, "Every (Indian) parent will ask their children ‘what's your degree? How will you earn? How will you get married?'" That was also his reaction when Satya announced her plans, Harsha says.

"India needs music education. There are some schools here. But they are mostly for extra-curricular interests," says Hinduja. That is partly why he is working with the Berklee College of Music, Satya's alma mater, hoping that someday they'll set up a campus in India.