Women Empowerment

There is no tool for development as effective as empowerment of women.

I was invited by the Rotary club of Navi Mumbai to speak on women empowerment as a part of their Women's day celebration. Why was I chosen for the same?  I had no clue but it was a privilege that I would honour. Here is the speech,  the points that I covered in my talk. They gave me 45 minutes and that I thought was a lot of time so the long speech!

My Speech

Good evening Respected Rotarians, Ladies and Gentlemen.

Thank you so much for having me here today. I really don’t know if I am the right person to speak on the topic of women empowerment. I see a lot of experience here in the group. What can I really tell you. I am actually honoured to be speaking here today. Infact I have been following the kind of work that you all do. Have Rotarian friends and my boss Mr. Bhuvan who was also the President last year. 

I was honoured by the Lions Club of Navi Mumbai on Women’s day in 2014. Which actually came as a surprise to me; I was wondering what did I do!The lady told me that  I was one of the 3 women honoured at their women’s day function. Sangeeta Alphonso who was the first lady in the city to head a police station. Also honoured was Professor  Archana from Saraswati Engineering college who worked for social change through plays and dramas.  She said that  they follow my work through posts on Facebook, my blogs and also my columns and they felt that I should be honoured. I was amazed! That was very humbling for me at the same time it also motivated me to take up things that were close to my heart more seriously. The dreams that I had and the vision that I carried became more real and vivid. I also discovered there was something known as social entrepreneurship.

Lets not talk about the cliché, there is inequality among men and women, gender bias, fighting stereotypes, female infanticide, dowry, domestic violence so on and so forth. We all know they exist and there is a need to not just work on them but eradicate them. Being the absolutely optimistic person that I am, I don’t want to bring them up here again on this platform.

Fortunately we come from backgrounds where these things either don’t exist or are handled or managed well. They are quite different in the lower socio economic groups where the woman holds the reins of the family, As it is said ‘jeevan ek rath hai’ she is an equal partner. She works as a domestic help brings up her children, deals with a drunkard husband and manages whatever she can the best that she can. This is not one odd incident but many such lives and stories that we see around us.

I travel across the country and love to meet and interact with people. Again the women in the villages do not get it easy. They face all things that I said I didn’t want to speak about, everyday! If there has to be empowerment it needs to be for them.

Do something for them, create employment opportunities. Do things so that they can get a good life. When you educate a girl, you empower her. She’ll have the next generations empowered. And there will be fine men and women who are supportive of each other and who respect each other.  And there certainly will not be a reason to have talks on woman empowerment!

Let’s see what people perceive empowerment as,  most of them would say FREEDOM. Freedom to do things that they like. Not having to ask or explain to anyone.

When a woman does not need to take permission to do whatever she wants to do and the society does not raise eyebrows on her choice.......that would be true Empowerment.  ‘The Right to say NO’. Letting women live the way they want to.

Women should empower each other instead of being hateful and envious of each other.

I remember a joke, if women were the heads of states, there would be no wars but only a group of jealous nations that wouldn’t talk to each other.

What is women empowerment to me?  

If you ask me I wouldn’t even like to think of men and women as being very different. They have their own set of issues to manage. Men might be stronger physically whereas women hold more of emotional strength. Every journey comes with its own ups and downs and the meandering path that it follows. You can’t question the path unless you have walked that journey. Lets speak about empowering for all, why just women alone. Isn’t it?

Let me share this incident with you, in 2001, long time ago. I had joined IHM Mumbai as a Professor. That time the government of India ran a programme called Capacity Building.  It was meant for people who worked in the Tourism and Hospitality sectors and who had no formal training.  It covered people such as taxi drivers, porters or coolies, people working in restaurants, small eateries, canteens etc. Since I was teaching Front Office, Guest relations and tourism, I did training programmes for the Coolies from  Dadar station, Mumbai, maharashtra. We met the union leaders and told them about the gropramme. We covered about 400-500 of them. The training sessions were held during the weekend where we covered a batch of 30 each day.

They attended the full day programme in their uniforms, the red shirts, badges etc. Their tea food and snacks was taken care of and they were also paid Rs. 100 as they’d lose that days income, it was some money in those day! At the end of the day, they’d get a certificate in the valedictory function.

The session covered the importance of their jobs in the hospitality and tourism sector, the moment of truth about the city that they created. How they should take pride in their work and general guest psychology. Also how they should plan their lives and that of their families.

I was not even married then, a 25 year old doing these sessions every weekend. I loved each one of them.

In one of the sessions, there was this gentleman who was 70 years old. He sat on the last bench and I saw that he wouldn’t even blink his eyes. It made me a bit uneasy but ignored it. At the time of the valedictory, My HOD Mr. Varkey was present there but he asked me only to give away the certificates. When, we called the elderly gentleman to collect his certificate. He came and touched my feet I was actually taken aback. He spoke in Marathi, he said that he had never been to a school, didn’t know how a classroom felt. He knew the Goddess of knowledge was Maa Saraswati, he didn’t know what she looked like but if she was there she would have looked like me. He had tears in his eyes when the whole group clapped for him.  Those eyes, that look on his face has remained with me, etched in my heart forever.

I have conducted a lot of training programmes for over 15 years now, for my students, Management trainees, corporates, banks and many more but nothing has replicated that feeling. That incident also gave a direction to my life and what I wished to do some day. I shall share it with you all what I intend to do. Empower people though enriching training. Making the youth from villages, from the lower socio economic group, who don’t get many opportunities, employable by giving them skills in the hospitality, tourism and retail sectors. That is empowering to me.

Let me share a few more stories that I feel have created opportunities especially for women. They are finding a place for themselves even in male dominated professions, you see them playing on the field, T 20 cricket is for women also. They are flying planes and even taking combat roles in the defence forces. Driving an auto rickshaw or even a train. You name a job and there is a woman doing it!

You gave them the opportunities and they found wings and soared so high!

Let’s focus on stories of social entrepreneurship where a few individuals both men and women have empowered other women to financial independence. I believe once a person becomes employable he or she understands the importance of what it’s to be on their own, they start valuing education, they value developing skills and their mind becomes more progressive. It is said that when you educate a woman you educate an entire household and also the future generations. That is empowerment!

I wish to speak about Shikha and Anurag Jain, who are both civil engineers,  founders and CEO of Neev Herbals, they have created livelihood for rural women in Jharkhand from where the ingredients are sourced for their products.

Shree Mahila Grah Udhog that makes Lijjat papad and other products created employment opportunities for women that all of us are aware of.  

Amazon has launched women only delivery stations in Chennai and parts of Kerala. This has created opportunities for women to work, even if they have household responsibilities they can take up work during their free time. This has been received with so much of appreciation and hope by the women there.

Cowdung cake patties, ‘gobar ke upale’ first made in Allahabad village and now sold all over the world. That has created opportunities for women in the villages.

Making incense sticks from the residual remains of the religious functions such as flowers, wood etc. is another means of recycling and reusing thus also creating employment.

Sindhutai Sakpal a social activist who works for the orphans and empowers them. Makes their tomorrows better! She gives them hopes of brighter future.

The farmers especially in Vidharbha or Marathwada that faces drought regularly, commit suicide, but what happens to their wives and children left behind. The wife cannot do it, why? She brings up the children on her own. Opportunities have to be created for them.

A lady who lost her husband from there started making bags to support her and her children, she got others from the streets, taught them bag making free of cost and now it has become an industry. They found their own calling and have created a support group. That has been their story of self sustainability.

Puremart is a venture of my sister Rajani and her husband Sahil Verma based in Jammu.  They source authentic products from the state and make them available throughout the country through their online portal. Creating employment there and giving the local farmers true value.
Mithil Pitre, who runs homestays Onest, Oceanopearl and resorts Nakshatra in the Konkan region of Mahrashtra, has trained women from the local area working at his properties.

There are numerous success stories around us; we can certainly contribute to many more. That’s when we’ll feel truly empowered and doing something worthwhile with our lives.

 My personal quote will be,

A successful woman is the one who built a strong foundation with the bricks others have thrown at her.

Thank you.

Ps. Some pictures are taken from google for representational purposes, with due credits.

Inspiration - The PureMart Story

Aww I keep forgetting that I have a blog! Have been busy with a million things happening at my end. Most of them are happy things, cheerful things and things that are going to inspire me .....if not others! I have developed some good training content that's happy. Attended some fabulous training sessions in Kolkata and was invited as a trainer for a very prestigious event. I shall certainly share it here on my blog in the due course of time.

But what I want to share  here is a story, a story that may inspire a lot of people. A story that inspired me!

The background

Sahil Verma, my brother in law, kid sister is married to him. Once came to my office on my birthday and me sitting behind my Prof.'s desk and sharing the donkey's years experience with him. He just told me," Didi (sister) I can't imagine sitting in an office like you for so long.... this was 2 years ago and I was sitting in this kind of an office for 15 years. Not that at the same place, this is my third job. I absolutely love what I do. Have always followed my heart and have chosen my profession and organisations accordingly.

His question made me think. He had just started his pet venture PureMart and was working fulltime too. He was really working round the clock, weekends not spared and would skip some social family gatherings too. My sister was supporting him all she could, she too had a challenging job and was newly married so a home to take care of too.

I loved the way these two were building their dream project. As an elder sister I kept boosting their morale as much as I could....You see I am a professor and a trainer and this quality comes naturally to me!

Rest of the story please read below, as they feature on the cover of  " Business for all" magazine. 

Pure Mart

Sahil Verma was only 26 when he thought of setting up PureMart. The Jammu born and bred boy had spent almost a decade outside his home state to pursue his degree in pharmacy and, subsequently, a job by that time. He was appalled to see people from other parts of the country associating J&K with gun toting terrorists most of the time, besides the scenic beauty and abundant snowfall which the region gets. Or else, saffron and walnuts.

The young and zealous entrepreneur sensed opportunity in the fact that he had easy access to products which were considered ‘delicacies’ and highly prized by others located far away from Kashmir.

While working in Mumbai with Cognizant as a ..??..in 2011, he happened to attend a seminar by Amit Grover, CEO Nurture Talent. This, recalls Sahil, was the turn around. When he shared his vision with Grover after the session got over, he received a huge pat on the back which helped embolden him and think of taking a plunge.

As wife Rajani also extended support, Sahil went ahead and submitted his resignation on his birthday in 2011. The next 14- 16 months were spent doing offline research and getting in touch with producers and cultivators directly. This, they were sure, would help enable them have access to the purest saffron while also helping push up profit margins.

PureMart went live in early 2013 with only 10 kilos of walnuts and 20 grams of the aromatic delicacy- saffron by way of inventory. Wife Rajani, who is a co-founder, takes great pride in mentioning that the project was entirely bootstrapped.

Within six months, the site was bubbling with activity and they were even earning a decent profit out of it. At the same time, they also started getting queries from satisfied clients who wanted to know if they could ‘arrange’ other dry fruits like almonds, hazel nuts, dried figs and organic personal care products.

This, shares Sahil, they took as a green signal to try diversifying and adding more products on to their site which had been, during the first six months, confined to walnuts and saffron alone. The new products also seemed to go in line with their overall motto of promoting good health by eating healthy and, more importantly, eating pure foods.

Tells Rajani, “This was also the time when India was beginning to awaken to good health and switching over to organic products, courtesy Baba Ramdev who had single-handedly shaken a nation of its deep slumber and inspired them to switch on to a healthier mode of living. An average middle class family spends anything from 5-8,000 a month on groceries. Switching to organic products will increase their monthly expenditure by only 5-10% but benefit them immensely by strengthening their immune system and making them much healthier.”

To ensure the purity, which they insist is their essence, PureMart source their nuts and saffron directly from cultivators. The organic cereals and kitchen supplies come from Kitchen Organic, with whom they have joined hands only recently. The beauty and health care products are sourced from NeeV Herbals (National Award Winner).

The team which started with only two members aboard had the husband –wife duo handling all operations right from procurement of supplies to receiving orders, packing deliveries, finance, marketing, customer feedback, emails, etc. Sahil had, at that point of time, stood ground on handling it all himself ‘to understand the challenges which my team might face when we grow bigger.’

“Together with my Co-founder wife Rajani Verma, I went to several cities for about a year doing awareness campaigns and other promotions to learn what the people understand about organic products from the north. To our surprise most of them did not even know what a saffron bud or a walnut fruit looked like,” explains Sahil, who always had to carry unadulterated products to show them to his audience.

Almost two years later, they have orders pouring in from all corners of the country and even beyond. They have now delivered products to 3,000 pin codes across the country. From Kanyakumari to Nagaland and Andaman to Kolkatta. Besides, they have also executed more than 2,000 orders from Canada, UK, and Dubai- all of which have a sizeable Indian population. With more business pouring in, PureMart is now a five member team.

Sahil shares, “We got our first order ever the day we launched our site. That was from one of my ex-colleagues based in Mumbai but we have come a long way since. I have personally visited many customers in Mumbai to understand their behaviour and to get feedback from them.”

When asked to explain the challenges faced so farm Sahil takes a minute to reflect on the journey so far. “Delivery is the biggest challenge in e-commerce today. There are two important arms of any e-commerce business- Payment & Delivery Channels. We have been using leading payment partners and delivery partners since inception. But we realized that having one’s own delivery arm helps remove lot many hindrances while also helping build up trust among customers. With that in mind, we have already started our own delivery model in Bangalore where we are now doing one day delivery without any extra charges. We are, keeping our fingers crossed, thinking of getting started in other cities soon too.”

PureMart is now looking forward to expand its reach through multi-channel marketplaces & through organic fairs. They are also looking for like-minded partners from Metro cities to join hands, hoping that would help them set up a more streamlined delivery channel. They are now trying scale up their presence by employing social media

Asked about future plans, Sahil says, “We plan to come up with a Handicrafts and apparels category soon too. We are sure this will help create employment opportunities for artisans across the state.”None of the two co-founders would deny that the road so far has been pockmarked with hurdles and challenges. Inspite of that, they are upbeat and raring to go ahead. Their confidence growing with every successful order they undertake.

Now, thats inspiring right? If there is a dream and a will.... anything is possible. So we must follow our hearts and dare to dream big!

Link to PureMart:
http://www.puremart.in/

Credits to Business for all magazine.

Diwali - festivities and celebrations...

Diwali is round the corner, in fact the celebations have begun with the children, there are crackers being burst and the atmosphere is filled not only with the noise of the crackers but the resonance of the alarms and sirens from the parked cars in the housing societies.

My younger son who has suddenly become bold and adventurous to try his hands at the crackers by virtue of being inspired by his 'Big Bro'. Turning 5 for the younger one has been turning Bold too..... but I discovered something about him, this time he had the gun loaded with the a strip of crackers but before he fired them he asked his grandfather to cover his ears!! 

I quietly ignored it, didn't want my boy to feel embarrassed, he was behaving so grown up you see! That night while I was putting him to sleep he asked me why was Diwali celebrated. I remember asking the same question to my mom when I was young and she told me a  couple of stories as the legend had it. I read about them during by school years. I was glad my son asked me this question. I told him 5-6 reasons but today talking to my friends found a few more and I wish to share them here. There are many reasons from mythology behind celebration of the festival of lights. 

The Victory of Lord Rama: According to the epic Ramayana, it was the new moon day of Kartik when Lord Rama, his wife Sita and brother Lakshman returned to Ayodhya after defeating  Ravana and conquering the kingdom of Lanka. The people of Ayodhya illuminated the city beautifully and decorated it with earthen lamps. This story is what most of the people know including my little one.

Goddess Laxmi's incarnation: There's another story that says the Goddess of wealth, Laxmi was incarnated on the new moon day (amavasyaa) of the Kartik month during the 'Samudra Manthan', churning of the ocean, hence  Diwali is associated with Goddess Laxmi.

Lord Vishnu and Goddess Laxmi: On this very day, Lord Vishnu in his fifth incarnation as Vaman-Avtar rescued Laxmi from the prison of King Bali and this is another reason of worshipping Goddess Laxmi on Diwali.

The Return of the Pandavas: According to the epic Mahabharata, it was Kartik Amavashya when the Pandavas were back from their 12 years of banishment that was awarded to them after Kauravas defeated them at the game of dice. The people of the kingdom,  celebrated their return by lighting the earthen lamps or the diyas.

Krishna Killed Narakaasur: On the day preceding Diwali, Lord Krishna killed the Demon king Narakaasur and rescued 16 thousand women from his captivity. The celebration of this victory went on for two days including the Diwali day. 

There are a couple of facts from the other religions such as Jainism, Sikhism, the Arya Samaj as well as there are some historic references of the festival.

One of the greatest Hindu kings, King Vikramaditya was coroneted on the Diwali day, hence Diwali became a historical event as well.

Mahavir Tirthankar, the founder of modern Jainism attained his nirvana on this day.

It was the Diwali day when Maharshi Dayananda, the founder of the Arya Samaj  and known as one of the greatest reformers of Hinduism attained his nirvana.

The third Sikh Guru Amar Das institutionalized Diwali as a historic day when all Sikhs would gather to receive the blessings of their Gurus. In 1577, the foundation stone of the Golden Temple at Amritsar was laid on this day. In 1619, the sixth Sikh Guru Hargobind, who was imprisoned by the Mughal Emperor Jahengir, was released from the Gwalior fort along with 52 kings. Sikhism has a lot of significance associated with the festival.

How Do we celebrate?

People do the spring cleaning of their houses and offices.

The festivities are generally for 5 days starting with Dhanteras or dhan tryodashi, when it is considered auspicious to buy some gold jewellery, household utensils or something new for the house. Of late it has become a tradition to buy houses or other property, even take thepossession of the new house or vehicle. Even new businesses and ventures are started on this day.

Naraka Chaturdasi. Second day is celebrated as Naraka Chaturdasi or 'Chhoti Diwali', On this day Lord Krishna killed the demon Narakaasur and liberated the 16,000 women that he had held in his captivity.

The third day is celebrated as the actual Diwali or Badi Diwali   the day is marked as the Hindu New Year. Goddess Laxmi is worshipped  to receive blessings of wealth and prosperity.  This is also the day Lord Rama, along with his wife Sita and brother Lakshman returned to Ayodhya, defeating the demon King Ravana. It marks the triumph of good over evil, that of light over darkness.

Govardhana Puja,  Fourth day is celebrated as a spiritual harvest festival. Thousands of years ago, Lord Krishna asked the people of Vrindavan to perform Govardhana Puja. On this day too lamps or diyas are lit.

The firth day is celebrated as Bhai Dooj - the festival of brothers and sisters. This marks the last day of the celebrations.

People generally visit family, relatives and friends and exchange gifts and sweets. Now the sweets are replaced with much healthier options like dry fruits and healthy nuts. This is also the time when there is a huge demand for sweets all over the country and adulteration is prevalent. 

I have found a very healthy option to gift my family and friends, I have chosen natures' goodness over artificial sweets.

One great option I found for gifting during Diwali and the rest of the year is the natures' gift from Jammu and Kashmir. It has everything from almonds, walnuts, figs, raisins, saffron and other nuts and dried fruits. Loved their celebration pack for Diwali, a beautiful pack of dry fruits. They also have some fabulous skin care and beauty products.

Do check: http://www.puremart.in/

Mother - the Annapurna!

Being a mother is stepping into the gigantic shoes and taking up multitudes of roles. Mother in Hinduism is also known as Annapurna, Annapurna in Sanskrit means provider or full of food, the mother who feeds. Goddess of the harvest. It is believed that without her there is starvation. 

Saffron

This role of Annapurna is stepped into right from the time the lady learns that she would be bringing a new life into the world. First thing that the gynecologist advises her is to take calcium and iron supplements and have a  balanced and healthy diet. The woman in question starts eating healthy, having stuff that she never would have touched otherwise, something that'd have never appealed to her. Here it's the question of her baby.... the bundle of joy that'll be arriving in her life. She would want her baby to be healthy.Nine months go by, mother to be ensures that she not only eats healthy but also has healthy habits and lifestyle. In India women are told to have kesar or saffron believed to be doing wonders during the happy yet difficult phase for the expectant mother. It not only keeps her in good health but also is good for her baby. Saffron is supposed to be a miracle. With due credits to justeat.in

http://justeat.in/articles/health-tips/benefits-of-kesar-saffron/view/124

Then the baby arrives and the mother continues to eat healthy, she follows her doctor's advice and  that of the elderly ladies in the house, who act 'know all'. Its a struggle at times  as the doctor and the ladies in the house may be contradicting each other. She needs to use her discretion to choose the right diet plan at the same time not annoy the two parties. We in India especially among the North Indians give lots of ghee, pajiri, goundh laddus etc that are quite fattening, which the doctors don't recommend. Ofcourse they ask everything to be taken in moderation. Some women pile on the pounds whereas others are just about okay. Six months of exclusive breastfeeding requires the mother to be still on good diet. The baby gets the nutrition from its mother.

Then the infant starts taking top food. Again the pediatrician have their recommendations of giving mashed veggies, egg yolks, soups, fruits etc. The child slowly starts having everything that the mother gives. Some accept the change happily and get adapted to the food habits whereas others are very finicky. Mothers have all kinds of mechanisms and routines set for themselves and the child so that it eats to the mother's satisfaction. Some mothers sing while they feed their toddlers, some switch on the television, some play music, some even become clowns so that the child will eat whats on its plate.

As the child becomes older it starts experimenting with food, kids somehow love the taste of junk food. Veggies are not the preferred items from the food pyramid. Its again a challenge for the mother to introduce healthy nutritious food into the child's diet. The child then starts school, the mother needs to pack good food into the lunch box too ensuring that the child gets a balanced diet. All meals are to be planned carefully. Its a challenge every mother faces while planning the menu for the day. Right from the breakfast to dinner and everything in between.

Seasonal fruits and vegetables are always the best bet. Eggs, milk and milk products are the staples. So are dry fruits such as almonds and walnuts that are easily available and are packed with many health benefits. My kids love cashews too but my personal favorites are almonds and walnuts.

Her's a link to the benefits of almonds, courtesy whfoods.com

http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=20

Almonds

Walnuts

Walnut is another wonder fruit, here are the health benefits of walnut, due credits to Times of India

http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2013-06-22/diet/29787164_1_walnuts-omega-3-fats-nitric-oxide

Mothers are always on the lookout for interesting healthy recipes that they can try out and let their children  have good, tasty and nutritious food. 

You can order saffron,almonds and walnuts from puremart, I love their products.
http://www.puremart.in/