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NOORANI SUKARDI

Entrepreneur / Writer .  New York 

Can you tell me about Noorani sukardi life as a teenager ? 

My life as a teenager was like a homeless nomad. I left indonesia at a tender age of 10 to go to boarding school. By the age of 12 I was already moving to places like perth, sydney, north america (ny/boston), only to come home for less than a year where I attended jakarta international school. I remember missing my family a lot, but my parents wanted me to get a good education and be as far as possible from the political reformations which was at the time happening back home. 

Wherever I went I would tell people I was indonesian and each time I came home I would realize just how far I was from actually being a proper Indonesian. It was only later, when I dated Indonesian boys, and made indonesian friends and started spending more time with my family, did i start accustoming and familiarizing myself more  to being indonesian. 

However, I grew up learning to love my country  and my culture from a foreigner’s point of view, and I feel in that way, I am very blessed because I grew to appreciate many things that I would not have appreciated had I never left so early.

I also grew up to be very flexible and highly adaptable. One day you have maids and drivers that are waiting for your every command, and another day, you are counting loose change,  walking in the snow for 15 minutes just to buy a liter of milk. That’s life. :) And it’s all good.

 It always has to be good. And that always depends on your attitude towards it.

Whose your biggest inspiration when you were a teenager ?

josephine komara/ obin who owns binhouse batik. She was like a second mother to me. When I was growing up my mother was very traditional in how she taught us. And then there was my crazy funky hippie god mom who dressed me in batik cloths to go to school, gave me my first champagne, and taught me  that there is nothing wrong with being different and being a weirdo. Taught me how important it is to value individuality. Taught me to be creative. To always be hungry and curious. To always be in love with life no matter how broken you are. 

Her husband, Roni Siswandi who was an archaeologist and created a lot of the natural dyes formula for their batik making, was also like a father to me. He passed away last January.  He gave me a lot of lessons in which I hold on to everyday, and one of them is this : 

 ‘ Jangan pernah lagi bilang kamu rela mati utk saya (saya bisa apa saja.. bisa negara, bisa orang, ataupun sebuah pedoman, sebuah harapan... sebuah impian), tapi bersedia hidup, dan berjuang dalam kehidupan ini... 

Karena tidak ada lagi perjuangan bila sudah mati.

Hiduplah demi yang kamu cintai! 

Bukan rela mati, tapi berani hidup! Hidup dengan penuh perjuangan!’

in english : 

‘Do not ever say you are willing to die for me (a country, a person, a belief, a hope…a dream), say that your are willing to live, and fight for me in this life…

Because there will be no more fight after you die.

Live for the one you love!

Not the sacrifice to die, but the courage to live! Live with the spirit of fight!’

Then there was also my guardian in new york Gordon bishop who was an activist , and a lover of indonesia, waho was also a poet. The Jakarta post wrote a long article when he died and recognized him as one of indonesia's heroes . i remember being very proud. He was an american whom my dad trusted to raise me while i was in in the US on my own. He taught me about the chilean poet apblo deruda, about hemingway and other writers. he would pick one word of the day, like serendipity, adn spend the whole day walking all over new york city finding 'serendipities' in every corner of the city. We would wake up the next day with a new word and new adventures of that word with the city. that is how  i remember him. He gave me the gift of poetry and words. both which i strongly indentify to until today 

What you’ve been up to now ? 

I have been writing a lot . i also write lots of poems .
many are quite crap but some are alright :) 
i come from a family of serious writers. My Family is also seriously into art. so lately i have been writing freelance essays and articles mainly on art. Like an art critic, or an art essay. Sometimes i also write about fashion. i have been writing a lot as a monthly contributor for L'officiel magazine Indonesia and it has been so much fun. to me its like a platform where i could talk about all these interesting things that are going on in my world, and share them with all the people back home .
i mean what does knowledge mean when you dont share it with others right ?

What is your current obsession ? 

This week ? is the british artist Harland Miller . he is so brilliant at incorporating catch phrases and word play and his paintings often use the old penguin book covers and turn their titles into phrases like ' a fist to cry on ' or 'if the phone dont ring its me ' and ' love and other crimes ' . I am beyond obsessed . Last Month it was Christopher Wool . An Artist who is currently exhibited at the guggenheim . i think i wrote 3 different essays on the guy , one for L'officiel december issue, one for the best life magazine also december issue and another one for the Jakarta globe . Mainly my lifelong obsession is art . i love art like a nymphomaniac loves sex, i see art everywhere, in writing, in poetry, in food, music, conversations , paintings ... everywhere. it is what makes me feel alive everyday . 

How do you prepare yourself for the Nexus conference ?

For the summit itself , which happens once a yearv in new york , if im talking in a panel or making speech then i prepare and research the topic. this year i moderated a panel on impact investing had a talk on power and corruption in emerging countries. Last year , i moderated a panel which discussed how to grow philanthropy in asian youths. Generally, i help in content development. Providing the various topics and filtering the applicants who want to join nexus making sure they are qualified and can bering something to the table. I am also currently preparing nexus singapore which will be held next summer at teh marina bay sands. And i will be reviewing possible candiddates for nexus indonesia which i am heading. So lots of things happening in nexus which is all good fun! 

As Entrepreneur youd rather .... than ... 

Take a risks than play safe. also, be a socially aware entrepreneur than just make money for the sake of making money.

 i believe those who have the power to make difference should not just sit around on their asses because theyre the ones who actually have no excuses!

Name 3 of your favourite Websites 

the new york times. casteyewear.com (of course!), the man repeller (leandra medine is fucking brilliant). what else? hmm...my poetry blog http://youmakemewanttolickthestars.blogspot.com As a site it is visually flat but it is one where i go to quite often because it is where i put most of my poetry. It is like a place to practice showing people my poems so i will be brave enough one day to publish them in a book. maybe... 

also my instagram !!!! hahaha

( Follow her Instagram "HERE" )

What do you think about Freemason ? 

I dont know about this one. The idea of having a secret society seems silly to me. Unless it is something like obama, madonna, george bush, jay z, putin, all these powerful moneyed people are secretly close friends and are cooking some secret plan to save the planet. Otherwise, what is it for? class and prestige? I dont believe in  class. So i wouldn’t go out of my way to belong to a freemason for no substantial purpose.

What is your Morning Mantra ?

Smile . Breathe . get out of that door believing that you are about to rule your own life .

Looking your best while doing it . And never forget to do it with a BIG BIG HEART