US-based Indo-American pianist and composer Charu Suri, who earned a nomination at the 68th Grammy Awards for Best Contemporary Instrumental Album for her record Shayan (deep sleep), says she had “tears of joy” when the announcement was made.

“I was at a Grammy nomination viewing party in a recording studio for an album that I played on, called Dreaming Dog—the first new-age album for dog therapy. The nomination didn’t come for that, but for my own album Shayan, and also for Siddhant Bhatia’s Sounds of Kumbha, where I am a player and co-producer. Both got nominated,” Suri said.

The Madurai-born musician, who had 12 submissions this year, also saw another album she contributed to, Her Story by Flor Bromley, nominated in the Best Children’s Album category.

“I started screaming and just broke down; it was a power-shed moment for me. The piano is my core, but jazz is just five years old for me, so getting this is truly divine. It’s my tribute to ancient Indian ragas,” she says.

Offering insight into her meditative, raga-influenced jazz album, she explained its deeply personal origins.

“It happened as I was touring extensively, so I did not sleep well and developed lifestyle disorders. After losing my dad, my mother had major sleeping issues,” she says, adding, “I turned to the beauty of Indian evening raagas to compose Shayan, not only to give her a way to heal at night, to feel calm and sleep, but also for everybody who is going through severe anxiety, depression, and sleep disorders due to the global tensions and war landscape.”

The musician adds, “At the heart of the album is the message to please slow down, respect your body, embrace your evenings, celebrate the moment, and get a good night’s sleep. We all need to prioritise our health.”

Her album, comprising seven songs based on six evening ragas – Raga Kalyani, Raga Mohanam, Raga Desh, Raga Jog, Raga Bageshri, and Raga Durga – features world-renowned musicians playing for her across the different ragas, with vocals used in sargams.

“Ever since I debuted with this album at Carnegie Hall in June, I have had messages from people saying Shayan is helping people who have had major sleeping problems. It tells you the power of Indian culture and raags, which were conceived thousands of years back,” she says.

Charu was born in Madurai (Tamil Nadu) and grew up in Chennai from the age of five. “My father was a CEO at a music label. We moved to Nigeria for four years in 1983, where I fell in love with the piano and started learning. I returned and started learning from Gita Menon. I started playing, and then as a 17-year-old, I moved to Princeton University. I have been in the US for nearly 30 years. I learned classical music and later jazz.”

She keeps travelling to India and has even played and composed for the independent short film Baisa, an Oscar contender. “I want to compose for Indian films and have been very vocal about it. I have been asking for it for the last four years and hope this opens the door to it.”

Her last few albums were Books of Raga and its sequel, and Rags and Ragas.

For Shayan, she collaborated with guitarist Jim Kimo West, flutist Premik Russell Tubbs, Danish-vocalist Anita Lerche, Indo-Australian singer Siyer, Ravichandran Kulur, cello soloist Tess Remy-Schumacher, MAX ZT, Ron Korb, and the Venezuela Strings Recording Ensemble, led by seven-time Grammy winner Raniero Palm.

Charu lives in Verona, New Jersey, with her 13-year-old daughter Erika Minucci and her American husband Matthew Minucci, who is a musician and pilot.