On April 18, 2026, the hippiest of hippies gathered in the Hudson Valley at a private estate to bring to life Suzy Malick’s stunning coffee table book on Tulum.
Above: Suzy Malick with Juliet Hanlon
Suzy’s boyfriend — suggested she change the name to "Hippie Gandhii Shanti Tulum", which encapsulates many of the values we ALL want to see back in the world and practiced in our lives.
Author Suzy Malick signing her books “ Hippie, Gandhi, Shanti, Tulum”
The Q&A between Suzy Malick and Meera Gandhi was delightful, followed by mango lassi and champagne overlooking the Hudson River at sunset. Someone pointed out the impactful planetary alignment that evening and how serendipitous it all was.
Above: Meera Gandhi hosts Q $ A with Suzy Malick
Guests flew in from L.A., India, Detroit, Palm Beach, Miami, Rhode Island, Westchester, Manhattan and London. It was a very special and intimate group of 60 who celebrated the Launch of this magnificent project.
Above from Left: Chuck Lesnick and Beth Lesnick, Suzy Malick, Meera Gandhi and Olga Papkovitch
Above Meera Gandhi with Guests
Above: Author with a Guest
Above: Juliet Hanlon / Executive Producer
Above from Left: Olga Papkovitch / Publisher PopImpressKA Journal; Amy Teitter / Film Producer & Director and Elliott Landy / Legendary 1960s Music Photographer.
Suzy was in tears of joy as three major producers present that evening suggested it be made into a film.
I know we all need some real love, real peace and real happiness. It’s only the hippies who really understand this! So I am looking forward to the film, which will be a musical of sorts, starring big names, and will bring joy to so many hearts across our planet.
Meera Gandhi, you did it again — supporting a most valuable project. Congratulations to Meera Gandhi, Suzy Malick, Juliet Hanlon, Richie Sambora, Neerja Sujanani and Merck Mercuriadis.
Founder & CEO of The Giving Back Foundation
Meera Teresa Gandhi is the daughter of an Irish mother, Ellen Mary, and an Indian father, Admiral Perbodh Nath Agarwal. Though she spent a part of her latter youth in England and Ireland, she grew up in India, where her early years were spent following her father around the country as he progressed in his naval career.
At the age of 16, and while still a student at the Cathedral & John Connon School in Bombay (now Mumbai), she volunteered to teach dance at Ashadaan, a shelter for abandoned and differently-abled children, the destitute, and HIV-positive people run by Mother Teresa’s Missionaries of Charity.
Her mother encouraged Meera to continue working at Ashadaan through her last 2 years of high school, but meeting and spending time with Mother Teresa proved to be the turning point in Meera’s life. That is when she truly understood the great joy in doing things that are beyond and outside of the self. As she herself says, “Now when I speak to young people, it’s important for me to inspire them that giving is the only way to be.”
Meera was awarded a scholarship to study at United World Colleges in Canada, where she was the driving force in encouraging students who could dance or play an instrument to perform at a home for the elderly where she persisted with her involvement in community service.
She continued with her charitable work and fundraising in New York with various organizations through her early professional life, marriage, and motherhood.
The young family moved to Hong Kong because of her husband’s job, and it was while living there that Meera had her epiphany in 2009. “I felt like something was lacking in my life. That I felt disconnected, and I really needed to do more”, she says. So along with her husband, they set up The Giving Back Foundation®, of which Meera is, and continues to be the CEO.
Her passion for her work ensures she stays actively involved in the foundation’s day-to-day operations, monitoring the progress of on-site grassroots projects, and in making decisions on the disbursement of grants. “In 2020, my mission is to expand the work of the foundation and focus on our product line. All the proceeds from these products go to the foundation.”
Meera Gandhi has three children; two daughters and a son, and spends her time between New York, London, Hong Kong, Mumbai and Dubai.
From volunteering her time as a teenager to help handicapped kids, to now providing educational programs and platforms for people around the world, Meera is giving back in more ways than one.
To find out more about Meera Gandhi, please visit: www.meeragandhi.com
Exclusive Interview:
Meera Gandhi / Founder of The Giving Back Foundation
PJ: What is the most important lesson you have learned from your mother and from your father?
MG: Integrity, honesty, and hard work.
PJ: What is the most fascinating quality you see in Suzy?
MG: Her ability to see beauty everywhere.
PJ: What inspired you to get involved with the project Hippie / Gandhi / Shanti / Tulum?
MG: I have a deep love for Tulum. It’s a place that has shifted my soul, so I decided to help fund the project and bring it to life.
PJ: Your Giving Back Foundation does incredible work to support, inspire, and help young girls. What has been the most rewarding part of this work so far?
MG: Any kind of service is joyful to the soul. Big or small — it doesn’t matter.
PJ: Your children are also very accomplished. Your daughter is a successful artist whose album ‘Madame Gandhi’ launched recently. What is the most important lesson you taught them?
MG: Do your best, even if it’s for just one person in the audience.
PJ: What is your favorite travel destination and why?
MG: I think LA is pulling me to the ocean in my older years. The hippie culture of Venice Beach is where I feel most at home these days.
PJ: What words of wisdom would you share with young people today?
MG: Trust your intuition. Don’t follow the crowd. Speak the truth and value your life.
PJ: What does leadership mean to you?
MG: Making sure my ideas can truly lead people to their personal best.
PJ: If you could host a dinner party with any guests, living or past, who would you invite and why?
MG: Elton John — for his music, his activism, and his unapologetic authenticity.
PJ: What makes you smile?
MG: Watching buds open in spring.
PJ: Who are your favorite artist, writer, movie, and book?
MG: My favorite book is Autobiography of a Yogi. I admire Ayn Rand as a writer.
For movies, I love The Incredibles — or any film with that kind of heart and humor.
PJ: What are your three wishes?
MG: To live in Venice by the ocean.
To travel to Monaco, Dubai, and Bombay often.
To keep Ledgewood as a haven for the next generations of my family to thrive.
About the Giving Back Foundation
Founded by Meera Gandhi, the Giving Back Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to empowering young girls through education, mentorship, and leadership programs. The Foundation partners with global organizations to provide scholarships, skills training, and platforms for girls to share their voices. To Learn please see below:
https://www.thegivingbackfoundation.net/
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Susan Malick
Susan Malick is an accomplished actress, filmmaker and published singer-songwriter whose creative career spans film, music, and multidisciplinary storytelling. A longtime resident of New York City’s Greenwich Village, she is a protégé of the late Ismail Merchant, the legendary film producer and director. Merchant Ivory Productions optioned her debut screenplay, and she later earned credit as Producer on the company’s final film, “The City of Your Final Destination” starring Sir Anthony Hopkins and Laura Linney. As an actress, she is best known for her role in the feature film “Heights” directed by Oscar winner, Chris Terrio, for which she also wrote and performed the soundtrack’s title song.
Gifted across multiple platforms, Malick’s passion for storytelling, has brought her unexpected recognition in Mexico and across Latin America. With a distinctive artistic voice, Suzy Malick’s unique artistry has led her to unexpected musical recognition. Her collaboration with the acclaimed Mexican electronic duo Sussie 4 resulted in a nomination for Best Album at the 2011 Latin Indie-O-Music Awards, where she also performed live on TeleHit and Telemundo.
Beyond her artistic pursuits, Malick is a dedicated yogi and lifelong learner. She studied at the Ross School of Business, and explored Buddhism at Loyola University while interning at CNN. She later attended the New School’s MFA program balancing her studies with fashion assignments through the iconic Wilhelmina Agency.
Born in Detroit, she now divides her time between Tulum, Mexico, and New York City- two places she is grateful to call home.
Exclusive Interview:
Suzy Malick / Author
Above Author with her Cat Cloud during her creative process
PJ: What is your most precious memory from childhood?
SM: One of my favorite memories was escaping to a family cottage every summer — fully immersed in nature, animals, wild berries, and water, as the house was surrounded by freshwater lakes. Ever the tomboy, I loved skiing, motorcycles, climbing trees, catching butterflies and insects.
But a precious memory from my childhood wouldn’t be complete without including the love and joy bestowed upon me by my grandparents and their fairytale love story. Every moment spent with them was pure happiness. My grandfather was a great businessman who also started a church which is still very active today. I have his prayer beads and other items from the old country of Iraq. That type of deeply rooted dedication and joy to faith hugely impacted my life choices and pursuit of my own spiritual wellness. It’s a source of inner strength today. I carry it inside me.
PJ: Who is your biggest inspiration in life?
SM: Besides my family, I have a handful of very intelligent teachers I’ve known over the years — you could call them mentors. Maybe more than a handful. This group of people have generously and graciously guided me through the peaks and valleys. Good people inspire me in general, no matter social or economic status.
Then I would say there are those sages — Paramahansa Yogananda is one who comes to mind — and prophets such as Buddha and Christ, and angelic forces that act as guides and forces of influence and clarity.
And also, this will sound strange, but I find certain legacy filmmakers inspiring, from David Lean to Elia Kazan, Coppola… the greats.
PJ: What inspired you to write
“Hippie / Gandhi / Shanti / Tulum”? Please also tell us about its original title.
SM: I think it was more of a calling. I never intended to write this book. I never set out to do that. I saw something happening in front of me and it felt important to me to capture it, to document it. To record it. It seemed to be something important.
I also have a background in feature filmmaking and I saw this incredible story playing out right in front of my eyes. It became a little bit of an obsession with me. I had to make sure the story was told — which was very difficult. By hook or by crook type of thing. There have been others before me that had tried their hand at it, either making a film about it or writing a script, a book, or somehow making a story about it. Even master filmmaker Federico Fellini at one point gave it a go. So it was definitely not an easy undertaking. I’ll let you be the judge of whether or not I did a good job with it
PJ: Please also tell us about its original title.
SM: Well, the way I started to write this was one day, I was looking over a collection of photos that I had taken over the years. I put them in some kind of order and laid them out in front of me and I said to myself, I have a book here. So I put them in a binder. I said to myself, this is a story. So, the original idea was always about hippies, because that’s what it was. That’s who was living there. Who I was photographing, who I was observing, and who and what I was learning from. That’s also what was inadvertently grounding me and shaping my life. So, the original title was just Hippie Tulum.
Then I thought, I can’t call it Hippie Tulum, because there is only one group of people that were the hippies and those were the ones in the 60s and 70s. That would not be authentic. There was also the Mayan spirit here that colored everything and changed the narrative to something very different than what was happening in the 60s and 70s. I then changed the name to Hippie Style Tulum because it seemed to me like they were mimicking something that they knew existed before them. They were recreating a moment that happened. And for a while there, they achieved it with flying colors.
Of course it ended up being called Hippie, Gandhi, Shanti, Tulum as the final title, which my fiancé Richie and I came up with together one late blurry evening. The name seemed to encapsulate everything.
PJ: How did you meet Meera Gandhi?
SM: I originally heard about Meera and her charity, The Giving Back Foundation, through a mutual friend of ours, Juliet Hanlon. She had brought to my attention the foundation and what it stood for. I was so moved, and as I read up on it, I noticed a quote of hers that she has on her website and is a motto she goes by.
So I made a prototype of the book — a proof of concept, if you will — and with no intention of even meeting Meera, I embossed the quote on the back of the book: “You are to the universe as much as you give back.” I just really liked this quote. I felt it meant so much — encompassed so much meaning. So I was walking around with this book…
It was actually years later when Meera and I finally did meet. I showed it to her, the prototype that I had been carrying around for a few years with her quote on the back.
The whole thing was very auspicious and serendipitous. Though to me, this was just a hard copy to send to publishers to say, “Here’s where I’m going with this…” However, when we met, Meera and I, we locked eyes and knew that we would do this together. It was instantaneous. Miraculous! We were of the same mindset. Pure synchronicity.
I have to thank Juliet Hanlon, who produced the book after that, for that introduction.
PJ: Meera Gandhi’s Giving Back Foundation inspires and helps young girls achieve success and become leaders. Please tell us about your work with this foundation.
SM: A portion of all sales of this book go directly to The Giving Back Foundation. I strongly believe in women uplifting other women. There is not enough of that in our world. I believe there’s more to come on this subject. That part is still unwritten.
PJ: What words of wisdom would you share with young girls today?
SM: Stay focused. Don’t be afraid to be boring. Be courageous and patient with yourself and don’t force things where they don’t belong. The world will open up to you if you stay steady and strong and honest in your convictions, aspirations, and dreams. Cultivate a faith-based practice which will keep you grounded and focused. Seek inspiration and make finding joy a mission.
Believe in good people. Choose your battles wisely, and avoid those low-minded people who will pull you into conflict.
Ask a lot of questions!
And never, ever, ever, ever give up.
PJ: What does being a successful artist and writer mean to you?
SM: Expression. A voice. Having a joyful inner life.
It means my mind inside is alive and well. It’s crucial if one is an artist to actually be one. To “do.” It’s not something you talk about. It’s something you do. It’s like you have no other choice. It’s inside you at birth. It’s who you are, so you have to be it. You have to go for it.
I suppose the success validates that and opens up opportunities. Opportunities for other projects, opportunities to do good. To make life more full. A dear friend of mine, who’s a music mogul, said to me one time when I confessed, “I don’t blend in well.” He said, “My darling, don’t ever blend in.” Sometimes as an introvert, these things are a challenge.
PJ: What does happiness mean to you?
SM: Cultivating joy, as I mentioned, is extremely important in living one’s life. Happiness, balance, and sanity come from that. Choosing people to be around you who are positive and uplifting, yet are real and not afraid to be candid or take you aside and say, “Hey, you could do this better.” And humor goes a long way in cultivating joy and happiness. Healthy habits cultivate happiness, connection cultivates happiness, faith cultivates happiness. Accomplishment cultivates happiness. Staying away from negativity, choosing your battles wisely…
Happiness is kind of everything.
And happiness will inspire you to do things you never thought possible. Good leads to better and bad leads to worse, so get on the good train.
A yoga practice helps me stay on the good train.
PJ: What are your favorite cuisine, time of year, and book?
SM: Well, let’s see, of course I love Mexican food — real, authentic Mexican food.
But I love Asian food as well. Macrobiotic diet.
My favorite time of the year is summer.
I can’t tell you what my favorite book is, but I am currently reading The Creative Act by Rick Rubin.
PJ: If you could have dinner with any writer, living or past, who would it be?
SM: I feel like I’ve had dinner with so many great iconic writers: Norman Mailer, Kurt Vonnegut, Ruth Prawer Jhabvala, Susan Sontag, John Shanley, Jim Rado, even Mr. Sambora (Richie) is in the Songwriters Hall of Fame.
Still trying to figure out how I got in the same room with these people.
Past: I’d love to sit down with George Harrison ( of the Beatles). We would eat vegetarian food and sit cross-legged on the floor.
Ernest Hemingway — fascinating character. Karen Blixen would probably take the cake; would we be talking for hours? Captivating woman.
Also, Daphne du Maurier of Rebecca, The Birds, Don’t Look Now.
And I can’t not mention Margaret Atwood. What a meal that would be. If she would give me the time, that would go on and on.
PJ: What are your three wishes?
SM: I have to preface this by saying I do have more than three wishes. However, here they are:
My first wish: A Mayan elder once told me I’d live to be 130. I don’t know if that is a wish or a curse.
My second wish: That the world begins to understand how necessary preserving history and also nature is. Working with nature and all the secrets and remedies she possesses… and in doing so, creating a more powerful and richer and beautiful world. Far more value. It’s such a simple concept. OK, that’s a wish — that people will begin to understand that simplicity is enough.
My third wish: Women rise to a more valued and honored place in America and around the globe.
Above Images of Author and her cat Cloud are taken during her creative process for PopImpressKA Journal
https://hippiegandhishantitulum.com/
Exclusive Interview:
Juliet Hanlon
Executive Producer & International Recording Artist / Composer
Juliet is building a world free of poverty that leaves no child behind.
With a career as an Int’l. Recording Artist & actor Ms Hanlon’s work singing with her band VORTEX, & now emerging as a solo artist, performing in movies, or in events that she produced, has strived to build new models for entertainment that act as vehicles for change in the world. Her service in the UN as a Goodwill Ambassador & Child Welfare Advocate brought opportunity to communities suffering racial divide, brought business, civil society & gov’t. together to progress mankind.
As Trustee to Innocence In Danger UK, supervising overseas operations & alliances while curating events that aimed at protection of children & youth in the sex trafficking industry.
Additional service to the UN advocating for UN MDGS & UN SDGS 2030. Devoted to Human Rights & creating projects to make poverty history span the globe, serving as a Goodwill Ambassador for Media For Humanity, World of Hope Int’l., as well as other IGO or NGO Missions in the UN. Advisory Board or Soldier’s, Sailors, Marine, Airment & Coast Guard Foundation of USA, Founding Member CIRCLE OF LIGHT for AI, ASCAP, & SAG/AFTRA.
As a recording artist worked with heroes like Little Steven, Sting, Roberta Flack, Rita Marley, Ziggy Marley, Guy Lobe of Cameroon, Producer Bruno Grimaldi in France, and other African bands in NYC. She founded Projects MAKE POVERTY HISTORY, Til the End of Hunger, Bands for Debt Relief. Her band Vortex’s music is featured in Meera Gandhi’s GIVING BACK documentary, that inspires the world in the art of giving, underscored Danny Schecter’s Weapons of Mass Deception, Ben Selkow’s Summer in the Case for Sundance Channel among others.
PJ: What is your favorite time of year and favorite place to visit?
PJ: What are your three wishes?
“Hippie Gandhi Shanti Tulum”
To Meera Gandhi, Suzy Malick and Juliet Hanlon
Sanskrit — Devanagari
सर्वे भवन्तु सुखिनः सर्वे सन्तु निरामयाः।
सर्वे भद्राणि पश्यन्तु मा कश्चिद् दुःखभाग् भवेत्॥
समृद्धिः, सौख्यम्, प्रेम, आरोग्यं च भवतु।
Sanskrit — Translation:
Sarve bhavantu sukhinah sarve santu nirāmayāh
Sarve bhadrāṇi paśyantu mā kaścid duḥkhabhāg bhavet
Samṛddhiḥ, saukhyam, prema, ārogyaṃ ca bhavatu
English Translation:
May all be happy. May all be free from illness.
May all see what is auspicious. May no one suffer.
May you be blessed with prosperity, happiness, love, and health.
With heartfelt congratulations,
Olga Michaela Papkovitch
Editor-in-Chief, PopImpressKA journal, Creative edition
A Note from the Editor:
It was a true pleasure to celebrate the launch of Hippie, Gandhi, Shanti, Tulum — a beautiful tribute to spirit, style, and soul.
To Meera Gandhi, Suzy Malick and Juliet Hanlon: Congratulations on bringing this vision to life.
“ Hippie Gandhi Shanti Tulum” book captures something rare — the intersection of purpose and beauty, of heritage and modern grace. Standing with you at this launch, I felt the warmth, intention, and joy woven into every page.
On behalf of PopImpressKA journal, Creative edition, I wish you resounding success. May “ Hippie, Gandhi, Shanti, Tulum” find its way into the hands and hearts of readers around the world, inspiring peace, creativity, and conscious living.
With deep gratitude to our Creator for love, peace and unity.
Aho. Amen. Om Shanti. Namaste. Mitakuye Oyasin. Mahalo. Jai Ma. So it is. Amin.
With admiration and best wishes,
Olga Michaela Papkovitch
Editor-in-Chief, PopImpressKA journal
