INK Women 2014: Highlights

At the magnificent Jamshed Bhabha Theatre at NCPA, Mumbai, INK founder and curator Lakshmi Pratury took the stage to kick-off INK Women 2014. We couldn’t have chosen a more perfect day than the International Women’s Day, March 8th, to launch INK Women with the theme “Aspire, Achieve, and Inspire.”

SESSION 1

First up was Sunil Khandbahale. Hailing from a Marathi medium school, his journey began when he joined an English medium engineering course. Overwhelmed by the curriculum he could not comprehend, Khandbahale made the dictionary his friend. Using it as his sole weapon, not only did he clear his exams but also compiled his very own lexicon. He also grazed all programming languages in a span of six months to make his first program, a digital dictionary. Khandbahale soon spread this multi-lingual dictionary over various platforms such as mobiles, PCs, and SMS. Today his dictionaries have over 112 million users in 150 countries. At the end of his talk, Khandbahale invited his mother on stage, acknowledging the fact that without her support he couldn’t have been where he is standing today. His mother stood proud next to him. [Watch Sunil Khandbahale’s INKtalk here]

Anusha Ravi, CEO, Park Group Institutions, took over the stage next with exuberating confidence. In her own words, she seemed to have been diagnosed with a rare gene known as the ‘Strong Woman Gene.’ She sure did have one! She was the first person to put internet access on a plane. People believe that education is the solution to everything, but the facts speak the opposite. Mahesh at her schools focuses on sensitizing her students. They celebrate Children’s Day at orphanages, and for every annual day  the students are given a ‘Big Project’ in service of community. Ravi stands tall for her belief that “,The highest form of education is one which gives humanity.”

Arunachalam Muruganantham never fails to start off on a jolly note. Here too, he told Sunil Khandbahale that he would definitely go through his dictionary to improve his vocabulary!! He shared with the audience how he transformed crisis into an opportunity. Working as a workshop helper in a small village, Murganantham realized the issue of sanitary napkin use and access when he found out that his own wife was using unhygienic alternatives. To cut down the production cost of sanitary pads and to break the market monopoly of multinational giants, he built his own machine. This journey wasn’t simple. Muranantham stuck to his ‘T & E Method,’ a term coined by him for Trial and Error method. Today Murganantham is an inspiration to all,  the women he has empowered are driving the change — “by the women, for the women, and of the women” -a Silent White Revolution. [Watch Arunachalam Muruganantham INKtalk here]

Next up was Dr. Uma Ramakrishnan, a DNA Scientist from the National Centre for Biological Sciences. Dr. Ramakrishnan believes that the past predisposes you to certain diseases, and your past along with your DNA can hint where you are heading to. Dr. Uma’s research is focused on a tigers. She ingeniously uses tiger faeces to extract DNA and thus trace their origins and migratory origins. She feels that the need of the hour is to increase tiger population which can be implemented by building tiger highways between protected areas. The fate of this beautiful animal in the Indian subcontinent relies on these highways. [Watch Dr. Uma Ramakrishnan INKtalk here]

Shankar Tucker and Vidya Iyer mesmerized the audience with some melodious Indian classical tunes. [Watch Shankar Tucker’s INKtalk here]   Anti-trafficking crusader Sunitha Krishnan wrapped up the first session on a strong note. She grew up in a community where she was adored for her free spirit and courage, inequality and stigma were strangers to her. Krishnan’s struggle began when, at the age of 15, she was gang-raped by eight men. She cried out to the audience “,Rape doesn’t kill a girl, victimization does!!” Krishnan started Prajwala, an organization which rescues young girls and women from the shackles of prostitution. These women who get raped forty to fifty times a day learn to trust themselves more than us. Prajwala strives towards normalizing their lives and helping them realize their worth.[Watch Sunitha Krishnan’s INKtalk here]

SESSION 2

INK Fellow and activist Robin Chaurasiya sparked off the second session with a bang!! She declared loud and clear — “age is no barrier to make a difference.” With her organization Kranti, Chaurasiya has been giving a new life to young girls from Kamathipura, a red-light area. These fearless girls from Kranti then presented a short play knitting together multiple real life stories. These were stories of these very girls. Some were kicked out of home while their mothers attended customers at the brothel, while others saw their sisters being sold. Yet their aspirations never died. Shweta Katti became the first Indian girl from a red-light area to move to US to pursue a degree in psychology, she believes that the girls abused in red-light areas need a therapist most. They are taught to love themselves and to live life.[Watch Robin Chaurasiya’s INKtalk here]

Next up we had Archie Comics’ “accidental boss” Nancy Silberkleit. Her transformation from an art educator to the Co-CEO was one from Betty to Veronica. Her mantra for spreading knowledge is “Comic books + Children = Reading.” Silberkleit shared with us how they get conversation started on issues such as bullying, obesity, and healthy eating through their comics. She believes and shared “, When Archie Andrews speaks, the world hears.” [Watch Nancy Silberkleit’s INKtalk here]