This year, motivated by my previous Women’s History Month posts, I am interviewing inspirational women who have a fascinating story to tell. Charu Suri is an award-winning pianist and jazz composer who recently debuted her new album, The Book of Ragas: Indian Jazz and the New American Songbook, at Carnegie Hall. She has also won NATJA awards as a journalist for publications such as The New York Times and Architectural Digest. As the editor-in-chief of the Wellness Lounge magazine, she weighs in on recommendations for self-care through these particular times of global uncertainty and hardship.

In Conversation with Charu Suri

Laura Wheatley: Your recent debut of The Book of Ragas: Indian Jazz and the New American Songbook at Carnegie Hall was an extraordinary performance to witness. Congratulations again! I can only imagine how surreal it must have been for you to perform on stage at such a prestigious concert hall, and all the dedication and hard work it took to get there. I’d love to hear about your feelings on that night.

Charu Suri: I’ll never forget that evening! But it was a tense one because I had discovered my original Sufi singer had a very bad case of laryngitis and couldn’t make the show! So I actually had to find a last-minute Sufi singer replacement (there are only two in New York that I know of!), and luckily he agreed to do the show! So in a matter of four hours, I spent the time renting a piano studio and teaching him the music, but he pulled it off beautifully. So, apart from that real added stress, we were so grateful to perform on that revered stage. That stage that I had seen legends like Miles Davis and Brad Mehldau perform on—that stage that was my goal ever since I was a kid learning piano. I couldn’t believe that I was finally there, with my own band, playing my own compositions! I felt as though I had truly arrived!

My band members were on cloud nine too. I’ve never seen them so happy. I think we all put on the best show of our lives, and the standing ovation was a bonus: I was glad the audience loved it too. Carnegie Hall runs like clockwork, everything is so precise, from the time the doors open to when the show stops. The staff was extremely buttoned up and professional and there were no glitches. Plus, someone sent us Champagne backstage, so that was really nice!

LW: Amazing – truly. So, I know that you were classically trained at Princeton, but how did you make the transition to playing jazz later on? And on that note, what influenced your decision to incorporate the Sufi style of music into your compositions?

CS: Yes, I was classically trained in the beginning, and have been playing classical piano since the age of five, and even at Princeton. Jazz is a totally new genre for me, and something I’ve gotten into only the past few years or so. It all started with a trip to New Orleans to see a performance of Preservation Hall Jazz Band. I just loved their passion for improvisation (something I’ve been doing as a child) and I said, I need to just put out an album, and that’s how it all started.

The Sufi sounds came about after collaborating with the singer on my first raga album, Apoorva Mudgal, who introduced me to the possibilities of improv using ghazals. Until that moment, I had really not thought about the possibilities. But it was very organic. My current singer, Umer Piracha, is a whiz at Sufi ghazals, having grown up in Multan, Pakistan, where Sufi music is played everywhere. It’s an odd combination but it actually works—jazz and Sufi music, and this is the first time the two have been combined, which is quite cool and makes me excited about the possibilities!

LW: Along with creating award-winning jazz compositions and performing all over the world, you also teach piano to children. With this widely digital world that young children are growing up in, how do you like to encourage your own daughter to explore her creative outlets?

CS: I really encourage my daughter’s creativity. Inspired by the success of my own band, she started her band called “Mooncats” with her playing the ukulele and I’ve tried to help her get it off the ground. I also take her to many concerts, shows and even virtual ones because it’s important to see what else is going on around you.

LW: So important. Speaking of creative outlets, I saw that you just won a gold, a silver, and two bronze awards from the North American Travel Journalists Association. Charu, that’s incredible!

CS: Thanks, Laura, that was a surprise and an honor!

LW: I especially loved reading the story you wrote for Architectural Digest on the “Great Women Sculpture Initiative” which, as you wrote, “aims to change the way women are portrayed in sculpture,” and is “celebrating female leadership in human rights, civil rights, and women’s rights.” I am thrilled that this is being addressed. I remember when the Fearless Girl sculpture was placed in front of Wall Street’s Charging Bull  – her form and expression of defiance was such an empowering statement. What were you feeling as you were writing this piece?

CS: I was in awe of Sabin Howard and his vision: I felt that his sentiments towards women in sculpture were spot on, and it actually is mind boggling to realize that few sculptures portray women as decision makers and leaders! So, the entire article was a sort of miraculous discovery for me—not only from a historical perspective, but as an edification for myself on the future possibilities. And with the #MeToo movement, we are just getting started in this much-needed era of women’s equality and women’s rights.  

LW: For sure. In one of your awarded articles, “Hotels and Resorts Ramp Up Sustainability Efforts,” you delve into unique methods that certain properties are using to combat climate change. The implementation of photo-thermal panels to heat water and the dedicated efforts to save coral reefs were especially interesting to me. Will you touch on what you’ve found to be some of the most important measures that hotels can take to be part of the solution?

CS: I think hotels —because of their footprint in the hospitality world—are taking care to go “green” by planting gardens, and fostering coral if they live in areas where people swim and destroy the coral. They’re also re-purposing everything from the coffee cups to glass bottles and eliminating plastic bottles. These are much needed and necessary steps. When you check into a luxury hotel, you generally get two plastic bottles of water, and that adds to the glut in the environment. Many hotels are now leading the charge to eliminate these and that’s a saving grace. Little steps make a difference.

LW: In addition to everything, you are now the editor-in-chief of Wellness Lounge, a quarterly magazine that aims to provide rejuvenation advice for the body and mind. Amidst the coronavirus pandemic, self-care is increasingly important – essential, really – to our health and sanity. What helps you cope with everything right now? Are there a few recommendations you could mention for those looking to incorporate some restorative measures into their lives?

CS: I take time to meditate a lot. I’ve actually been doing a meditation session with my little one daily too, to get her into that spirit.  And I take time to listen to music and new music everyday. It’s important to support artists.

I also think that given the pandemic, people need to be kind to themselves, and take time to heal, sleep in, and pursue some of the passions they’ve been saving up for a rainy day. Obviously, my advice would be to stay at home, but maybe take the time to organize projects you’ve been putting off, read a few books, try painting etc. For perhaps the first time in people’s lives, they are at home with some more freedom and it’s a good time to take self-care and also self-improvement into account, too. I personally want to do more Zen things, like knitting and gardening. And I’m playing more board games with my daughter and giving virtual piano concerts on my social channels to connect with people.

LW: Wonderful. Thank you so much, Charu! It’s been a pleasure sharing your thoughts during a time when we need positivity the most.

CS: Thanks so much for the interview!

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Special thanks to Faust Harrison Pianos for arranging this photo session in their gorgeous Manhattan showroom! @faustharrisonpianos