Embracing woman’s spirit

The hand the rocks the cradle rules the kingdom- this old statement from William Ross Wallace has been proven right over and over again in various fields of life. Women have the power of awakening society with their work, sacrifice and philosophy. Draupadi, Rani Lakshmibai, Mary Wolstonecraft, Mother Teresa, Sarojini Naidu,  and many more have made exemplary contributions to the world. The conflict is not between the two beings- woman and man, but between the discrimination that separates the two beings in hierarchy. Such is the cause for declaring a day for the disapproved and taken-for-granted role of women in the society.

Thus on this International Women’s Day, Ratan Kaul and Leher Sethi hosted the Indian Council for UN Relations' 'International Women’s Day Awards' at ITC Maurya in the national Capital to remind us the crucial contribution of a woman to the society. The aim of the event was to recognise several achievements and award the respected doers and to uphold an important panel discussion to mark the success of the fairer sex in the various fields of life.

The panel discussion on ‘Being a woman in the sphere of Art & Culture in India’ consisted of four eminent panelists, Padma Vibhushan Sonal Mansingh, Padma Shree Anjolie Ela Menon, Sonal Kalra 

and Neha Kirpal, moderated by stand up comedian Papa CJ.

During the function, Anjolie ELa Menon protested on being called a female artist, so did Dr Sonal Mansingh, who reminded the audience that M F Husain was not known as a male artist or neither is Birju 

Maharaj known as a male dancer but rather a Kathak maestro, so one must also not use the prefix ‘woman’ before every achieved title or profession.

The event also saw Nirbhaya’s mother taking a pledge with the audience present, to educate, empower and protect girls in India. The panel discussion and the pledge were followed by felicitation of Life coach Acharya Anita and an award ceremony with Neelam Pratap Rudy, Anjolie Ela Menon and Dr Sonal Mansingh present as the guests of honour for the evening. Avshreya and Atisha Pratap Rudy received awards for excellence in ‘Sports’, Annie Kanwar for excellence in ‘Wellness’, Bhrati Chaurvedi for excellence in ‘Environmental Activism’, Jai Madaan for excellence in ‘Vastu Shastra’, Neha Kirpal for Excellence in ‘Art’, Parul Mahaajan for excellence in ‘Interior Design’, Preeti Ghai for excellence in ‘Fashion’, Rashmi Anand for excellence in ‘Authoring’, Renu Sharma for excellence in ‘Social work’, Richa Lakhera for excellence in ‘Entertainment’, Shilpa Jain for excellence in ‘Social Entrepreneurship’ and Sonal Jindal for excellence in ‘Entrepreneurship’.