Kanchan is definitely a leading lady and thoroughly deserves all the kudos.
Hearty congratulations to her. Regards Sameer Latey A-12, Swati Soc., V.B.P. Road ( 90 ft. road) Mulund (East), Mumbai 400081 Mob. 9867414004 ----- Original Message ----- From: "Suhas Karnik" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <accessindia@accessindia.org.in> Sent: Friday, September 08, 2006 10:23 PM Subject: [AI] leading ladies > hello friends, > it is a pride moment for all of us as one of our list members > has been featured in the august issue of savy magzine along with celebrity > women of our time. > please find below the entire article. > > LEADING LADIES > Freedom > yatra > > Taking off from Rabindranath Tagore'-s poem 'Where The Mind Is Without > Fear', Sumita Chakraborty picks the ladies who best symbolise these classic > verses. > > Burma's democracy icon and Nobel peace prize laureate, Aung San Suu Kyi, has > been under house arrest for the past 17 years. But she refuses to be cowed > down and continues the fight for freedom from dictatorship. Incidentally, > this brave lady was given an offer of freedom this year if she left the > country for good, but she declined it by saying, "Let my countrymen be free > first," > > WHERE the mind is without fear and the head is held high. > War, riots, deadly plague or mayhem, journalist Barkha Dutt has always been > in the thick of things. "In my line of work, there is no question of being > scared. Kargil was India's first televised war and I think it was much later > that we realized the risks we were taking. Likewise, in other calamities, in > the thick of things, it is more about keeping deadlines. In the line of > duty, there is no question of bowing down to fear," says she. More power to > her! > > Firebrand writer and activist Arundhati Roy needs no introduction. Sassy, > independent and controversy prone, she is the first non-expatriate Indian > author and the first Indian woman to win the Booker prize. But true > knowledge, she believes, comes from every day life itself. Says she, > "Whether I write, study architecture, teach aerobics or fight for justice, I > am still imparting important lessons in life and that is where true > knowledge triumphs." > > WHERE KNOWLEDGE IS FREE > > Black is not Mumbai-based solicitor Kanchan Pamnani's colour; and why should > it be? Though visually disabled, her constant thirst for knowledge gives her > life a kaleidoscopic glow. > > Today, Kanchan has her own independent practice with work related to > corporate, testamentary, and property law. She has received her LLM from > Mumbai and has passed the Qualified Lawyers Transfer Test from England. > Assisted by staff, electronic and non-electronic devices and family, Kanchan > has adapted to her environment and tailored it to her requirements - > shocking many at first and then keeping them impressed. Says she, "For me, > knowledge is power; and the fight for accessible knowledge has been a > struggle against tyranny and obsolescence, and a struggle for freedom." > > As for now, the forever smiling Kanchan, using her knowledge, grit and > determination, has achieved much but insists that she still has "many miles > to go..." > > > > >From being born into a family of modest means in an Italian village, Sonia > Gandhi has bagged a place in history by becoming the President of India's > century-old Congress party. She is also the third woman of foreign origin to > hold such a prestigious post, worldwide. Says she, "I decided that it would > be cowardice to sit back and stay at home. I owed it to the family that I > married into to do whatever I could for the Congress," This woman of > substance has proved that dedication and hard work can crumble walls and > make the world a global village. > > WHERE the world has not been broken up into fragments by narrow domestic > walls. > > >From becoming the first Indian actor to be a member of the jury at the > Cannes Film Festival, to being listed in 'Time' magazine among the '100 > Most Influential People in the World Today', Aishwarya Rai can be truly > called India's first global beauty. Says she, "Not just India, I want to > have a repertoire of good work globally." And she is doing just that; after > being seen in films like 'Mistress of Spice' and 'Provoked', she is > currently filming Hollywood films like The Last Legion' opposite Colin Firth > and Sir Ben Kingsley and 'Chaos' with Meryl Streep, amongst others. > Incidentally, Aishwarya has also been immortalized in wax at the world > famous Madame Tussaud's wax museum in London. > > For 19 years, social activist Medha Patkar has led the struggle for the > people affected by the controversial Sardar Sarovar Project on the Narmada > River. Not daunted by failures, she has also formed the National Alliance of > People's Movements with other activists against corruption. Says Medha, "We > believe in the truth in our issues and to uphold it, > we are willing to fight. Losing and winning is the ultimate end of a > process, which needs to be carried on with all values, sincerity, and > commitment, which is ultimately the strength of people's movements." > > WHERE words come out from the depth of truth... > > Actor Preity Zinta may be called 'Ms Bubbly' but she's always been known to > fight tooth and nail for the truth. Not only did she have the guts to stand > up strong and tail against the underworld in her deposition against them, > she also earned the compliment of being called "the only man of the > industry" by the police commissioner of Mumbai. But this feisty actor hasn't > stopped just there. Whether it is helping clean Mumbai city with beau Ness > Wadia, or taking on a tabloid on grounds of "defamation" for airing her name > in the infamous Salman Khan telephone tapes, she has continuously stood her > ground and > "pursued truth and justice relentlessly." > > > On the night of December 2, 1984, a massive poisonous gas leak from a Union > Carbide pesticide factory killed 8,000 people in Bhopal. It was termed as > the Hiroshima of the chemical industry'. Over the course of 20 years, the > infamous disaster has caused an estimated 20,000 deaths, countless birth > defects, and a litany of other serious health problems. Meet Rashida Bee, a > Bhopal Gas tragedy survivor and the winner of the prestigious Goldman > Environment Award, who has been fighting for justice for the last 20 years. > She has held hunger strikes, rallies and protests, and now she walks around > with a broom signaling "sweeping changes" to end environmental hazards all > over the world. "I will continue to fight such environmental crimes until 1 > die," she says determinedly. > > WHERE tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection. > > Magsaysay Award winner Aruna Roy quit her lucrative IAS job to work for the > upliftment of the rural people in Rajasthan and later, kick-started the > 'Mazdoor > Kisan Shakti Sanghatan', a movement for the empowerment of disadvantaged > people. Besides this, she has also played a major role in the national > campaign for the right to information and was instrumental in the enactment > of Rajasthan's 'Right to Information' bill. Says she, "We can't all be > Gandhi or Mao. We have to work in a limited area. However, we have to > understand how to relate our small work with big issues and strive hard to > make it a success," > > Super cop, reformer, author, educator... Yes, Kiran Bedi indeed wears many > hats. And that's because she believes, life is a continuous learning > process. Says she, "I teach people to be fearless. I tell them, nothing is > permanent with you. What is permanent with you is your attitude to life. > That is what is within your control, so break out of monotony and do > something substantial in life." > > WHERE the clear stream of reason has not lost its way into the dreary desert > sand of dead habit. > > Meet Pune-based Bharati Mamani, who after doing tier post graduation in > psychology, left everything to "provide a human touch to strife-torn > Kashmiri orphans who had seen more corpses than toys." Says Bharti, "I > didn't want the fire in my belly to die in the pursuit of material things. > That is why my like-minded colleague Adik Kadam and I started 'Borderless > World', wherein we came to Kashmir to rehabilitate orphans. Our orphanage, > Basera-e-Tabassum (BeT), houses traumatized orphans of civilians, locals, > military men, terrorists et al. In the beginning, being non-Kashmiris, we > faced problems ranging from local clerics who issued fatwas, to terrorist > threats. But that soon settled down. Now we plan to start other such > orphanages in border areas which have children as > major casualties." Kudos to them! > > Thumbing her nose at her detractors, Delhi's Chief Minister Sheila Dixit has > always fought and won elections entirely on her performance ratings. This > iron lady has also very ably proved that intelligent thought and hard work > can propel progress forward. Says she, "We have the responsibility and we > have to perform. We are treating 2010 as the benchmark year for bringing our > infrastructure to world-class levels and we will do so successfully," > > WHERE the mind is led forward by thee into ever-widening thought and > action.... > > Slight in stature and soft-spoken, Mukhtaran Mai hardly looks the part of an > activist. But this gutsy 30-year-old rape victim has taken Pakistani society > to task for the horror she experienced after she was brutally gang-raped on > the orders of a local panchayat. "The unbelievable pain I experienced is > hard to put into words. But I hold on to my pain, put myself in the public > no matter what they say about my motives. I just don't want people to > forget." Today, Mukhtaran travels all over the world narrating her plight, > hoping more and more people will come forward to stop antiquated cruel > customs against women. > .. > ....Into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my country awake. > > _________________________________________________________________ > Tried the new MSN Messenger? It's cool! Download now. > http://messenger.msn.com/Download/Default.aspx?mkt=en-in > > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---- > To unsubscribe send a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the subject unsubscribe. > > To change your subscription to digest mode or make any other changes, please visit the list home page at > http://accessindia.org.in/mailman/listinfo/accessindia_accessindia.org.in __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com To unsubscribe send a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the subject unsubscribe. To change your subscription to digest mode or make any other changes, please visit the list home page at http://accessindia.org.in/mailman/listinfo/accessindia_accessindia.org.in
