It was 5 in the evening when I
got a call from
Blogadda about the winner announcement of the
#WomenPowerSummit contest. You can read the post
here. Something inside me was constantly
yelling about the results. As they were out quite late, my heart was wishing to
know everything and finish this dilemma. When I learned, that I am one of the
four bloggers who are invited for the event, believe me, I felt ecstatic. But
at the same time a bit anxious as well, as to how I will be able to make it to
the event. Juxtaposed at this, plus knowing about it at such a short notice, I
doubted I’d be able to make it. Nevertheless, after lot many efforts, and
thoughts, I finally reached there.
It was organized at ITC Maurya,
New Delhi. The banquet was full of exquisite ladies from all the sectors in the
industry. From media and advertising, to writers, to corporate, to teachers, to
doctors, to social workers, activists and what not, depicting women have
touched every sphere of work today. It was such a proud thing to be there
amongst such incredible women. The summit was all about celebrating womanhood,
celebrating the Sheroines (and not He-roines) of today and the coming future.
There was something or the other that I learnt from the wonderful speakers. All
of them had so much to give to the audience, so much to deliver, so much to
share.
Maneka Gandhi (Union Minister for Women and Child Development), talked
about the millions of possibilities for women, and why in the near future they
will make a difference, why it is important to grant a maternity leave for 8
months, and why women should have pre-nuptial agreement before the wedding, why
it was important to give support to women in the villages and why women are
dependent on men. It was truly enlightening listening her.
Manabi Bandopadhyay (India’s First Transgender Principal), my
goodness.. her life had been filled with so much of struggle, so much of hardships,
being aloof at all times, being abandoned by her family only to bring her back
when she started making money. It kind of left so many questions in our minds
about our society and the acceptance towards such individuals that is somewhere
missing, that often succumbs the family to leave their own children.
Juhi Chaturvedi (Writer, Piku and Vicky Donor), she was one
brilliant Speaker amongst the lot. What an incredible lady she is. Her persona,
her outlook towards life, towards her surroundings was worth giving an ear. There
was so much to pick from such simple things that happen around us. About life,
about old age, about problems.
For instance, all of us refer to the age of the
people (old ones) who are with us rather than treating them as individuals, as
human beings, as family members. All we say is so and so is 60 years of age and
they should not do these set of things or maybe they are 70 years of age and
thus should not eat so many variety of things, shouldn’t go to all the places
that they really want to explore, etc. We have these numbers in our minds which
make us think in that particular format. Only if we allow ourselves to realize
that they too are people and have needs like us, even when they are old. Old
age demands time coz they have a lot of free time. Yes, there will always be arguments
in the house with the elder generation, but that only depicts that you are involved. We are the ones who see them old and not them who see
themselves as old!
Plus, there is no point in
sulking and crying as it doesn’t helps and so how much can you cry?! At the end
of the day you need to come to being you and get back to track where you left
it behind.
In today’s time, pressure is on
men to be progressive. Dare they say, that they don’t want their wives to work,
dare they say that she can’t go anywhere, dare they allot her duty to only
cook. It will only result in their becoming of the scapegoat of everything
around. It’s Okay for me to feel something in that manner, but time is such
that they no longer can express such stuff publicly!
Bhumi Padnekar (Actor), talked more about battling with your body
type. Beauty is state of mind and it is all about accepting who you are. Women
today are pressurized to look skiny, to look hot! Girls as young as 12 and 13
don’t eat properly just to maintain their figure, ignoring the fact that
there’s more to life than weighing. They are more concerned about their ass,
their waistline. Though a recent study claims that the rounder the hip/butt, the broader the brain! I don’t
know about the others but it did make me happy! ;)
Well, dealing with your body
type, and how it looks, is where upbringing comes into picture. Problem
children are problem parents! They’re conditioning them, brainwashing their
minds, that if they’re thin they’ll be liked and if not, then people will address
them with terms as ‘unfit’, ‘fat’, ‘fatso’. They sub-consciously begin to
reinforce and the child loses the weight to be liked their parents!
What we tend to ignore is indulgence is part of being human! What
one needs to admit is self-acceptance. “I
am happy because that is what I like, no matter
what. And it has to be intrinsic training”. One cannot look how one
used to look 20 years ago and just like this, one cannot look something one
will look 20 years from now, so
celebrate how you look today and everyday and be good about it! It all will come when we
will start talking about healthy we are, rather than how thin or fat we are.
Follow the philosophy of wellness and not thinness!
Another intriguing discussion in
this similar topic was why women accept such rubbish husbands, where they are
all paunchy but want their wife to be hot and sexy! It’s simply foolish on girl’s
part!
Are you getting the grip of event
of the event? It was even more fantastic than this!
Ira Singhal (IAS Officer)- woman with disability who topped the IAS
exam did it with all the ease in the world. And as far as her case was concerned,
she was more like all of us. It’s her words that says, people will tend to look
strange things around them and we humans are wired that way, but what you can
do is give them a smile and make them comfortable and they will no longer find
you strange. That was her mantra to
deal with situations! Isn’t that great?
Dilshad
Master (Cancer Survivor) was diagnosed with cancer when her baby was just 9
months old. The incessant spirit to fight everything lead her close to her
dreams!
Bibi
Sandeep Kaur (Mother with 80
daughters), started her journey from a terrorist to now being a mother of 80
daughters! Isn’t that incredible?
That’s what life does!
Aditi Mittal (Stand-Up Comedian), was there to steal the show with
her wits and fancy! It was one of the most Epic sessions of the event.
Aditi Rao Hydari (Actor), Amy Jackson (Actor), Nirmala
Sitharam (Minister of State for Commerce and Industry & Minister of
State for Finance and Corporate Affairs), Mrunali
Deshmukh (Lawyer) and other incredible females threw lights on topics
ranging from the Economics in Marriage to designer babies, to the pre-nuptial
agreement-why and why not. The highlights were:
- One should not greedy in a marriage, but wise
enough to stay with your partner and leave him as well, as need be!
- Love,
Trust and Respect for each other are three pillars for an everlasting
marriage!
- Have a child when you have a stable and loving relationship with your partner and not make
the child a thing to mend your marriage!
O and how can
forget to tell you about the mind blowing Spa Break! Yes, all of us got our goodie boxes!
The Goodie Bag
And a soothing hand and shoulder massage! Can you beat that..! The sight was
epic! All the ladies were enjoying themselves and the happiness on their faces
was enough to make out the bliss they were experiencing.
Enjoying my chilled Iced Tea along with massage ;)
After the high tea,
there were a few models as well to display the beautiful jewelry by PC
Jewellers, followed by another small competition to involve the audience, only
to top it with wine and champagne!
Models displaying beautiful sarees and jewelry
Along with the
priceless memories, we got souvenirs’ posing ourselves for lifetime.
It was an
event worth attending. First event that I attended and I cannot thank Blogadda much!
Looking forward to many such upcoming events!
Have you ever
attended an event like this? Would love to hear your experiences.
Happy Reading
Cheers
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