Why Women’s Day when we get treated to a wonderful show of talent, determination and capability every single day by highly charged and enthusiastic girl power. I reckon it’s to remind them of how valuable and precious they are. Innumerable times I have wondered about this massive reservoir of energy and willingness in them that allows them to work most efficiently. They are leading everywhere -- from many CEOs who run Fortune 500 companies to the housewife who raises her children and heads her household, and in many cases both. Our country was built by strong women and they continue to redefine it every day.
In the sections that follow you will be dazzled by how they have the power to turn the direction of the wind on their own. How they are strong to lift others up. How they are powerful to bring everyone together. How they are the uniting force. How they heal the wounds. How they truly care about our children. How they are the ones with strength and compassion. How they can or must or should or will…because they are the catalyst for change.
Through the two Portmanteau editions -- this and P-XVI to be released on March 18 -- we'll celebrate them by singing & dancing, listening & learning, supporting & encouraging, and appreciating & applauding them!
Let’s never have this enthusiasm subside, and allow ourselves the privilege to feel dazed and honoured in the glory of all the women around us.
Here’s to celebrating each one of you.
Ashish
A deep dive into a story that's arcane, thoughtful, and sometimes humorous!
Accidental entrepreneur, that is who Shoba Mohan is. A Madrasi, moving to the capital from a small town on the eastern coast just past her twenty-first birthday, meant unlearning many things and being something she never thought she could be. Till slowly and steadily all the chaos made sense and the puzzle unravelled as if by magic. She hated Delhi, but the minute Shoba understood that this was her ‘work from remote location’, her karma bhoomi…. it ceased to matter. And everything made perfect sense.
And then serendipity strummed its first soft chords with RARE India in 2003. Yet undefined, it began with a holiday into the jungles of central India to see quite by chance a lodge which looked nothing like the hotels Shoba had heard of or seen till then. One of the first conservation-based lodges in the country, Churhat Kothi (now Mahua Kothi) changed the course of her destiny in ways she couldn’t fathom. It was this winter of awe that organically laid out the foundation for what RARE is and stands for today – the finest collection of small, conscious hotels, retreats, palace stays and lodges.
Near the Konkan Coast of India, an all-women led conservation project protects the region’s mangrove forests.
Sindhudurg is a place most of us would just zip past hardly giving it heed other than a nod at the pristine atmosphere of this rustic country hidden away just north of Goa. With farmlands abounding everywhere it Sindhudurg looks like one of the countless idyllic villages of India.
But Sindhudurg is no ordinary place. A 10 women army is up in oars. Yes, you read that right, not arms but oars. Led from the front by Shwetha Hule, a group of ten Koli women have been creating ripples in the backwater of Sindhudurg at Vengurla.
Zenpencils illustrates a beautiful poem by Maya Angelou. Click on the image to read the full comic!
Movies about the women that have changed the world.
The Reader is a story of love, lust, heartbreak and hardship and a woman with a terrible secret.
Kate Winslet is always a force to reckon on screen, but her role as a tram conductor (and later a guard for the SS) deserves special mention. It's not often you see someone be THIS natural in their role. Coupled with the impeccable Ralph Fiennes, The Reader is an emotional story that will leave you with questions about relationships and their bonds.
Tired of the flowery hats, tight corsets and yards of lace that define women's fashion, Coco Chanel uses her lover's clothing as a starting point to distil an elegant and sophisticated line of women's clothing that propels her to the top of Parisian haute couture.
Coco disdains corsets, sometimes dresses in men’s garments, and adapts simple hats and fisherman’s shirts to marvellously chic effect. As much as her love life, the blossoming of her ambition drives the story forward and turns “Coco Before Chanel” into a costume drama worthy of the name.
Few people will not have heard of Jane Goodall in some way or the other. Her contribution to science and ecology are second to none.
It was thanks to her that we gleaned a better understanding of our closest biological relatives that are still alive, the chimpanzees. Through Jane's decades of living among the chimps and studying them (effectively becoming one of them!) we now know a much larger story of evolution and why some things evolve faster than others. Do not miss this documentary that shows you insights into the world's top primate researcher!
Who said women can’t take us to Mars?
On the 18th of February 2021, the entire world watched with bated breath as a little orbiter puttered along in outer space, only to begin a landing sequence that would once again mark NASA’s history for landing something on the planet Mars.
While everyone was watching Perseverance descend, one woman was raptly calling out the various stages and updates for the entire mission. Swati Mohan, the bindi clad lead researcher, just changed the face of women in the STEM field forever!
Of course women don't work as hard as men. They get it right the first time!
In a testosterone dominated field, women have been changing the status quo.
For a world that demands that its women belong to the kitchen, the hotel and FnB industry sure doesn’t want women heading its various kitchens.
A mostly male-dominated field until the turn of the 21st century now sees various female chefs at the forefront.
Female artists and composers that show you true girl power!
Puzzles to get your neurons firing.
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