Past EventsKolkata

Ladies Study Group members and guests were audience to a most invigorating panel discussion on “Redefining Success As A Woman of Today” with eminent personalities: Indira Jaising, Supreme Court lawyer and India’s first woman additional Solicitor General; Arundhati Bhattacharya, former chairperson of State Bank of India; Manisha Girotra, CEO Moelis & co. (investment banking) and Kiran Uttam Ghosh, renowned fashion designer of Kolkata. Paroma Roy Chowdhury, Vice President, corporate communications & public affairs, Soft Bank, moderated the discussion held on 29th June afternoon at the Westin, Kolkata. Arundhati Bhattacharya’s easy charm was contagious. In a candid chat, she pointed out that women made up 30% in the entry-level bank positions but relatively fell to 4% in senior management. The drop in the curve was due to genuine difficulties faced at the grass-root level i.e. housing problem in the rural areas. Central centers were established enabling women to do assignments in the villages. Ms Bhattacharya vowed the audience with her one-liners! Some gems from her conversation: “Be nice and kind to those who form your support system at home, for without them, you can never focus on work,” she advised at one point. “Replicate yourself, you are not indispensable. Share your knowledge. Let go!” advised the forum’s favourite. “Your presence should be noted but your absence should not be felt at work,” she stressed. Ms Indira Jaisingh realising early in her career that ‘Domestic Violence’ was a major issue, which was not addressed by the legal system, took up the cudgels to push to create a new law on Domestic Violence and Sexual Harassment at work. Her perseverance led to beautiful crèche being set up in the Supreme Court, which was a boon to young working mothers. Ms. Jaisingh, an entity to reckon with said, ”you must be passionate about what you do, in order to succeed.” Manisha Girotra unabashedly stated, “We must bring up our sons as daughters in order to change the mindset of society at large.” “When I opted for investment banking 25 years ago, it was a completely male dominated field and I had to endure grueling hours, which wouldn’t have been possible without the unconditional support of my family,” she said. Manisha went one step further stating, “One need not be the primary nurturer. Set your own standards in order to bring the right work-home balance.” Kiran Uttam Ghosh said she ensured that there was zero tolerance towards sexual harassment in her workplace and encouraged flexible working hours for the female workers. “The meaning of success and failure to me has changed periodically. Today fashion without remuneration excites me. It’s about telling a story- draping a woman in an ensemble which is dramatic and luxurious,” said Kiran. Breaking the 'glass ceiling' and undoing the conventional truly define the women of today and our panel truly demostrated that success lies in striking the right balance!

Ladies Study Group organised a WORK SHOP on ' The Art Of Mindfulness' by Dr.Sonera Jhaveri, an integral psychotherapist on Thursday 22 May, 2018 at Harikunj auditorium.The sessions were from 10.45 -12 noon and 2pm- 3.15pm Dr. Jhaveri's sessions were on how we can appreciate Mindfulness. Mindfulness helps us in many ways -dealing with stress, negative thinking and it also takes care of our health and relationship issues. Mindfulness meditation derives its methods from ancient Buddhist and yogic practices, practiced over 2500 years ago, where one pays attention to moment to moment in a non judgemental way. Self regulation and self awareness therapy exercises were conducted in a relaxed atmosphere. A list of Mindfulness Inventory was given to each participant for self assessment in order to establish their level of concentration in the present moment. Without training we can be at present moment, at the most, for a few seconds Why should we be in the present? Life is happening and we need to make it more secure by concentration and practice. We need to settle the mind. We often observe that our body s engaged in one activity and mind wavers somewhere else. Negative bytes and negative tendency to make judgements is inherent in us. Mindfulness is the antidote. 80% of the judgements we make are negative which create stress. Unless we can change our mind to accept the present as reality, we will not be able to reduce the stress. She suggested practice of Mindfulness will help us to be in the present. If one practices for 21days, it will be part of our life. Mindfulness is a practice of looking at our life as observer and to redirect our mind to be more aware, observant and conscious. Negative thinking / Negative judgement have massive physio-psychological impact on our body especially, resistance to change. Every aspect of life— we have physiological and psychological responses. Stress is impacting us. It manifests itself in our life. Stress is the No. 1 killer. It creates various problems in mind and body - from cancer to back pain. Modern psychologists are trying to change neurotransmitter to address this problem. Mindful exercise/ meditation was practised in this session. Mindfulness of eating exercise was practised with a raisin, just a metaphor to assesss how we eat. The two, highly informative and meaningful sessions gave the participants a greater awareness of themselves and afforded them a way to handle today's stressful moments in a more constructive & beneficial manner.

As our new LSG President, Mrs. Madhulika Kanoria, stated her theme for the upcoming year – Inspire, Influence, Impact – India's Raksha Mantri, Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman, embodied this message in front of a captivated audience. Having shattered many a glass ceiling herself, some unnoticed and others nationally visible, Sitharaman opened the session by stating that there is , "No such a thing as a 'man's job' anymore". Senior NDTV Editor and Calcutta's very own Ankita Mukherji expertly anchored the event. In an allusion to Sitharaman's iconic photo in Shanghai, where she stands tall, in a pristine, green sari, flanked by men in dark suits, Mukherji aptly proclaimed that 'a picture is worth a 1000 words'. A striking conversation ensued. Ankita, in her trademark, incisive style, posed questions to the minister on the Doklam stand-off and the Prime Minister's informal China session. Sitharaman valiantly emphasized that India's mature handling of the disengagement was a matter of national pride; the informal meeting of two great leaders had paved the way for a distinct relationship between the countries, strengthened by the prospect of long-term imports. Questioned on the CPEC, the Defence Minister unequivocally asserted that India's sovereignty was sacrosanct. Unhesitant to speak her mind, on the issue of women's safety, the Minister admitted that multiple pillars of support had to be created at all levels, starting from the ground-up. Although individual women had attained great heights, general conditions needed betterment. She revealed that the government was working on amendments to the IPC, on various legislations that framed stricter punishments for perpetrators, as well as on expedited redressal proceedings through special courts. Ankita continued to pose intelligent questions to Sitharaman on a host of issues ranging from violence on JNU's Campus , to border tensions, parliamentary deadlock, Karnataka's elections, rural electrification, and the Corporate restoration of India's heritage buildings. Sitharaman's dexterity and wit shone through, as she floored the audience with her clear, honest responses to each of these issues. The Ladies Study Group was proud to have hosted such an awe-inspiring session, graced by the presence of India's first full time Defence Minister. Every member & guest was left energized, confident and proud that the nation's security lies in able hands.