The New Indian Express believes that strong, independent women are the backbone of a nation. We have decided to act on our belief by organising a definitive event called Devi, which recognises and awards 20 exceptional women from Andhra Pradesh and Telengana who display dynamism and innovation in their work.
Our 'Devis' have been chosen through a rating process conducted by the senior editorial team of The New Indian Express and an independent jury, using transparent methodology. They have been selected on the basis of their contribution to their chosen line of work, as well as society in general. The rating process runs true to our motto of 'Favour None, Fear None'.
Dancer-guru-choreographer Ananda Shankar Jayant calls dance 'frenzied action that seeks stillness of the soul'. Clearly, her art gives her what she seeks. Performing in the classical styles of Bharatanatyam and Kuchipudi, Jayant imbues to the technique and grammar of her dance, a sparkling quality that bristles with life. And despite having danced for over four decades, even today time stands still each time she performs on stage, she says. In 1979, Jayant founded her dance training centre, Shankarananda Kalakshetra, in Hyderabad. The institute trains students in classical dance and music as well as yoga, nattuvangam, costume, stage, sound and light techniques. A talented choreographer, Jayant uses dance to talk about gender issues, mythology and philosophy. Her productions include Buddham Saranam Gachchami in the traditional format, Jonathan Livingston Seagull, set to jazz, and Kavyanjali—an Ode to Gurudev in a dance-theatre format. The year 2008, when she was diagnosed with cancer, was a turning point in Jayant's life. Things might have turned out very differently if she wasn't determined to dance away the disease. Within a year, she was back on a different stage, giving an inspiring TED talk on the disease that she had conquered. A senior officer of the Indian Railway Traffic Service, she's currently posted in Secunderabad.
At an age when most people are still trying to find their feet, unsure of what they want from life and career, Dr DR Lakshmi became the first woman to receive a Ph.D in Geo-Physics from Osmania University. The year was 1965 and the topic was 'Earth Tides'. She was 24. A year later, she began working at the National Physical Laboratory of CSIR at New Delhi as a post-doctoral fellow and produced original research work on the subject of Ionosphere-Magnetosphere Interactions, a fairly new field. Since then, Lakshmi has been the driving force behind numerous studies that have improved not only Indian space strength but also our defence services. "As the head of the radio communications group of NPL, I have conducted a number of workshops on HF/VHF/Microwave communications to benefit the three wings of the Defence services, Border Security Force, overseas communication services and Police Wireless Service," she says. Lakshmi has been involved in the preliminary evaluation of HF-RADAR services for the Indian Navy. She was also responsible for improving Space Warning Services for the International Union of Radio Sciences to predict and issue daily forecasts of solar and geo-magnetic events that can jeopardize satellites and satellite-based services. She is now a member of the research advisory committee at the Indian Institute of Geomagnetism, Mumbai.
In 2013, within a year of Dr Guditi Swarnalatha taking over Jeevandan, the cadaver transplant programme of the Telangana government, the number of organ donations in Hyderabad have increased multifold. "In 2012, only 10-15 families donated organs. Today, we're doing one transplant every 10 days," says the good doctor. Much of the activity can be credited to the perseverance and hard work of this award-winning nephrologist. An alumnus of Sri Venkateshwara Institute of Medical Sciences, Tirupati and Nizam's Institute of Medical Sciences, Hyderabad, Dr Swarnalatha has conducted over 700 transplants over the last decade. That's not all. She also supervises at least a hundred kidney patients on a daily basis and has initiated peritoneal dialysis for over 600 patients. Away from the examination table, she conducts workshops for the general public to motivate them into donating the organs of their loved ones and seeing them live through others. A member of various nephrology societies from across the world, such as the International Society of Nephrology, Indian Society of Nephrology, Indian Society of Nephrology (Southern Chapter), and the Asian-Pacific Society of Nephrology, Swarnalatha has published more than 50 articles in national and international journals.
As a young girl, Hima Sailaja had to make do with Barbie if she wanted to play with a doll. Growing up, she didn't want the same for other Indian children. "Barbie, even in her Indian version, is quintessentially American. I wanted to give our girls something that they could relate to," Sailaja says. The idea came about when she encountered a Barbie dressing contest at Dubai Airport in 2003. An electronic engineer by training, Sailaja spent the next decade working with companies in India, UK and US. But the idea of creating an Indian doll never really left her, and even got her a place in a Goldman Sachs Women Entrepreneurs Program at ISB Hyderabad. In 2012, after doing a diploma course in Fashion Designing, she floated her own company, Shel Studio Design N Events LLP, and finally began work on creating a 'by-Indians, for-Indians' doll named Kiyaa, which reportedly means the 'cooing of a bird' in Sanskrit. "I believe if our girls have to admire a doll, it should have Indian features," says Sailaja. And that's exactly what Kiyaa has, complete with long black hair, big eyes, a sharp nose and Indian clothing. A toy story, with a happy ending.
It's possible that there are two women living inside Jameela Nishat. One is a poet with a penchant for Dakhani, which is the Telugu-infused Urdu spoken in Hyderabad. The other is a fighter who will go to all odds to save women from being abused. It wasn't always like this, explains the poet. Once, Nishat was a central government employee teaching children with special needs in an old Hyderabad school. Until one day in 2002 when she decided, against her family's wishes, to work for the rights of women from marginalized backgrounds. It wasn't easy then, and it isn't now. And yet, for the last 13 years, Nishat's organization, Shaheen Women's Resource & Welfare Association, has been helping women stuck in abusive marriages, pulling them out of the clutches of exploitative families and preventing the forced marriage of under-age girls with elderly men. "In Iqbal's poetry, 'shaheen' is a bird that flies very high in the sky. Our Shaheen, similarly, gives wings to women," she says about her organization. And on the side, Nishat, who holds a Master's degree in English Literature and a postgraduate diploma in theatre arts, creates magic in verse and prose. Her work has been widely translated and featured in several notable anthologies, including Women Writing in India (edited by Susie Tharu and K. Lalita) and In Their Own Voice (edited by Arlene Zide). In 2012, she won the prestigious Ladli Award for Best Radio Play for scripting 'Jawani Diwani'.
There are some who dream big, others who turn those dreams into reality. Karuna Gopal, founder-President, Foundation for Futuristic Cities, belongs to the latter category. On a mission to make every Indian city future-ready, she contributed to the design of 100 Smart Cities Mission, of Government of India. "We are developing a SMART CITIES Protocol for Indian cities in collaboration with the government and corporate entities," says Gopal. An acclaimed thought-leader and columnist, she serves on the International Jury for Intelligent City Awards of Intelligent Community Forum (ICF, New York), a global think-tank that identifies and awards 'Smart and Intelligent Communities' around the world. In the past, she served on the Chief Minister's Advisory Council of erstwhile Andhra Pradesh. She's on the advisory board of Green World City Organization Australia- a global alliance of CEOs and experts involved in creating a sustainable world. She also serves on the advisory board of Asia Pacific CXO Forum, IIM Bangalore Business Fest and IIT Mumbai Tech Fest. In 2010, she played a key role in forging a Sister State Partnership between Washington State, USA and Andhra Pradesh, India .As a member of US Government's Foreign Leaders program and a speaker at roundtable of World Economic Forum (WEF) on Smart Cities, she is often invited to teach senior IAS officers at Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration, Mussoorie.
Lakshmi Pratury is a social entrepreneur, an educator, a mathematics graduate and an MBA. She is also the person who brought TED to India in 2009. A year later, she curated and hosted the INK Conference, which carried forward the momentum created by TED India. Featured in the list of '100 Most Powerful Women' by Forbes Asia in 2010, Pratury has worn many hats. As a social entrepreneur, she was a leading force at the American India Foundation, where she was part of the management team that raised over $30million in five years to channel towards development activities in India. Prior to AIF, Lakshmi was a partner at venture capital firm Global Catalyst Partners, where she established relationships between GCP, the development community and key executives in India. She has also worked with Intel Corporation for 12 years and held roles in marketing, marketing communication, advertising, and evangelizing the developer community. Pratury has a bachelor's degree from Nizam College, Hyderabad, an MBA from the Jamnalal Bajaj Institute, Mumbai, and a second MBA from Portland State University, with a minor in theater arts.
She sets the cricketing field on fire with her crackling shots. Mithali Raj has scripted many victory stories for women's cricket in India. "Still, I was surprised to have received the Padma Shree for 2014, especially with male superstars like Virat Kohli also in the race," says the captain of the Indian women's team. The skipper believes that the award will certainly help the cause of women's cricket. As a captain, this veteran has represented India in four ODI World Cup series (2000, 2005, 2009 and 2013) and four T20 World Cup series (2009, 2010, 2012 and 2014). She led India to victory in four consecutive series in Asia Cup and three test matches. Raj started young. She began playing serious cricket from the age of 10. At 17, she was picked for the Indian team and made her ODI debut against Ireland at Milton Keynes, scoring 114 runs (not out). In 2002, she broke the world record of 214 in a test innings against England on host's ground and held the record for two years. After a sabbatical in 2002 due to typhoid, her comeback in 2005, happily, was sparkling and Raj led her team to a World Cup final for the first time. The side ultimately lost to Australia but her batting as well as bowling—she's a leg-break bowler—was praised along with her cool captaincy. She scored 91 (not out) of 104 deliveries which included nine fours against New Zealand in the same series. She has held rank 1 in ICC batswomen since 2010 and number 7 in ICC T20 batswomen in 2013. This Arjuna awardee's composure at the crease and ability to score under pressure make her a dangerous cricketer.
The year was 2006. Nafeesa Ismail, an ISB alumnus, was in Germany as a member of the Association of Lady Entrepreneurs of Andhra Pradesh. Through her interaction with the Germans, she observed how passionate they were about their country and its people. "As a country, Germany offers equal opportunity to all: men, women and old people. The realization not only inspired me, it shook me from within. I knew at that moment that I needed to get back and help others get ahead," Ismail remembers. She shared her experience and ideas with some friends and mentors back home, and, a year later, Ismail's foundation Marg was born. Its agenda? To help underprivileged women, youth and children to become self-reliant and a part of society. But that's not Ismail's only claim to fame. She has worked as a lawyer in Telecom and Banking, is an avid supporter of social entrepreneurship programmes at ISB, is vice-president of BPW (Business and Professional Women) India and is actively involved in Ficci FLO, which seeks to empower women by promoting entrepreneurship and managerial excellence. "An educated woman is a perfect guide for her family. She can take forward her family and, eventually, the nation," says Ismail. Now you know why they call her an advocate by profession and values.
An estimated 100 million households do not have access to toilets and 60 per cent Indians are forced to defecate in the open, posing health hazards, environmental concerns and leading to water contamination. With an average 18 million people travelling by train every day, Indian Railways is 'our lifeline', but even there, the toilets are in a pitiable state," says Namita Banka, a jeweller-turned-entrepreneur who has set out to change India's 'wasteful' ways. "The government is spending millions of rupees on building public toilets that are not maintained because nobody wants to clean up other people's waste." Voila, Banka offers the Bioloo, which uses bio-digester technology patented and developed by the Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO) to dispose of human waste in a low-cost, low-maintenance manner. It is a regular structure with a toilet bowl attached to a bio-digester tank containing the bacteria that 'digests' human waste, leaving biogas that can be used as fuel and effluent water that can be reused for gardening. The toilets can be set up anywhere—at construction sites, rural housing, urban slums, train stations, wherever sewer lines are not available. Banka's next step? Gift-a-Loo, where people can gift a Bioloo to those who don't have toilets. Has there ever been a more thoughtful present?
A single definition doesn't do justice to what Pantula Rama has accomplished in her life. She has donned the hat of a vocalist, violinist, fashion designer, philanthropist and a trained reiki master. But carnatic music is what is closest to her heart, not for several years but since she was less than eight. "Thanks to my family who loved and respected art forms, I was just eight when I started performing professionally. Music is in my genes," Pantula says. Born into a family of renowned musicians, poets and astrologers, her initial training came from her violinist father Pantula Gopala Rao who retired as an engineer at the All India Radio engineer. Her mother Pantula Padmavathi, a veena artiste, nurtured her daughter at every step, inspiring her to become a vocalist. She later trained under the violin maestro, Ivaturi Vijayeswara Rao, who was decorated with the title of Sangeeta Kalasagara. Apart from learning in a traditional guru-shishya form of leaning, Pantula also studied music to learn about the art form in formal way. She aced her bachelors' and masters' degrees too with a gold medal in music from Andhra University. She also completed her Ph.D in music from Andhra University. Her thesis, A Study of the Shaping of an Ideal Musician Through Saadhana was published by Delhi-based Gyan Publishers. She is one of the youngest to be awarded top grade in vocal by All India Radio and graded B-High in violin and viola. She is the recipient of Best Pallavi Award from The Music Academy, Madras and Ragam Tanam Pallavi Award–Cleveland Tyagaraja Aradhana Festival.
She sits with the tribals spending long hours, trying to understand their world, imbibing every sound and sign of their unwritten language. S Prasanna Sree, born into a tribal family herself, has been working with tribal communities for over two decades now. In 25 years, she has devised alphabets for over 18 tribal communities based on the "usages of their sounds under the shade of their oralcy, historicity and domestication of culturally-available utilities." She is the first woman in the world to have orthographed most Indian tribal alphabets. Many international tribal linguists do associate with her and she is praised as Indian Cheroke' by world renowned tribal linguist Professor Hansford, she is a name in many world native societies and indigenous organizations grooming for cultural survival. The English professor says," I believe that true development begins when the culture and ecology of tribal communities are sustained. Knitting the right fabric of tribal language leads to sensitization and their acceptance in the mainstream world. "Little wonder that the linguist has worked closely with the tribal communities of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Tamil Nadu, Madhya pradesh, Jharkand and Chattisgarh. Alphabets for Kupia (Valmiki), Konda Dhora, Sugali, Gond, Yerukula, Goudu, Mukha Dora, Savara and Malli, are among others tribal languages she scripted. "I work with women, youth and children to create awareness and help them understand the importance of having a written language," she explains. "Tribes are marginalized. I believe it's time to break the vicious cycle of dependence and to assert tribal paradigms," says the professor.
A member of the Ramoji Rao family, Sailaja Kiron joined the family business in 1990. After eight months of training, she was inducted into the Board as executive director at Margadarsi, the flagship company of the Ramoji Group. At the time, the company had a turnover of `100 crore. But soon after she took over as managing director, the turnover shot up to `350 crore, and then Rs.6,975 crore. In addition, the company grew from 22 branches to 105 branches, and from 1,000 employees to 4,000. Sailaja could have chosen to live comfortably, but instead she focused upon opening new branches in towns and districts that held good growth possibilities. 'Margadarsi is for You' was her philosophy and it got an overwhelming response from consumers. "The quality of business should be prioritized over the quantity of business," says the super-achiever, who reassures her customers with the promise that 'Life is easier when you plan with Margadarsi'. In 2014, she won the 'Hyderabad Women of the Decade Achiever's Award for Excellence in Entrepreneurship' from Assocham Ladies League as well as the 'Business Excellency Award' from Andhra Chambers of Commerce and Industries.
Shobana Kamineni was named Executive Vice Chairperson of Apollo Health Enterprise Limited (AHEL) in July 2014. A member of the founding family, she has been director since February 2010. Championing Special Initiatives for over seven years, Kamineni has directed the company's diversification into several new domains, all of which have been largely responsible for Apollo's emergence as Asia's foremost integrated healthcare organization. Kamineni continues to helm the Apollo Global Projects Consultancy that steers the planning, design and execution of new projects. She also heads Apollo Pharmacy, presently the fastest growing business within AHEL. Apollo Pharmacy is now India's largest pharmacy chain with a pan-India network of over 2,000 stores, 14,000 employees and it serves 150,000 customers a day. Kamineni had spearheaded Apollo's collaboration with Munich Re in 2008 and continues to be a Whole Time Director on the board of Apollo Munich Health Insurance. Passionate about inculcating a culture of wellness, Kamineni has established 'Billion Hearts Beating', an organization dedicated to educating Indians about preventing heart disease and staying heart-healthy. She's the Vice Chairperson of the KEI Group and independent director of Blue Star Limited. She also serves as an advisor to CISCO India's External Board. Kamineni was the Chairperson of the Confederation of Indian Industry Southern Region.
While serving the nation, Smita Sabharwal likes to lead from the front. As municipal commissioner of Warangal, she introduced a 'Fund Your City' scheme whereby a unique Public-Private Partnership kicked in to create traffic junctions, foot overbridges, bus stops and public parks. "Citizens could not only contribute funds towards the scheme but were also witness to the development," Sabharwal remembers. In 2011, when she took over as district collector of Karimnagar, she made significant contribution to the health and education sectors. Her health initiative Ammalalana improved institutional deliveries in the public sector and was nominated as one of the best initiatives for the Prime Minister's award for excellence in public administration. Young and go-getting, Sabharwal is known to use technology to her advantage, especially in implementing government programmes on the field. Her monitoring of government doctors through Skype, for instance, has revolutionised the public health sector while the monitoring of government schools through specially-designed software made Karimnagar and Medak districts top the state during her tenure. There are at least 20 fan pages of Sabharwal with more than 5 lakh followers on Facebook; and she is said to be the only IAS officer with such a huge fan base. There's proof if any was needed that the first woman IAS officer to be appointed additional secretary to the Telengana Chief Minister is truly a 'people's officer'.
The ladies from tinsel town swear by Suhani Pittie's designs. Indeed, if appearances on the red carpet, both in India and abroad, are anything to go by, the Hyderabad lady is India's most successful jewellery designer. The designer has been credited to have changed the jewellery landscape of the country. Critics both Indian and international when talking about the vast history and culture of Indian jewellery have always put Pittie's name synonymous with modernizing Indian jewellery while keeping its heritage intact. She' considered a game changer. Pittie has been a crusader for local and ancient craft and has created new pathways and a completely new market that never existed. She has represented Indian jewellery in a modern avatar all over the world while making a very successful business and commerce sense out of it proving as a matter of fact that if done cleverly business and passion can meet at a beautiful meeting point. This Gemological Institute of America-graduate works with traditional workers from all over the country who handcraft every piece that she conceptualises. Drawing inspiration from tribal art and nature, Pittie regularly pushes the envelope with the designs that she showcases on the runway. Months of research are followed by a painstaking production process at her Hyderabad-based factory. "It's gratifying to be a support system for over 100 craftsmen and their families", Pittie says. Enlisted by the World Gold Council as one of the top 10 most inventive and ingenious jewellery designers in the world, Pittie is also the first Indian to showcase at the Miami Fashion Week and have won the Artisan Award 2015 presented by the Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council.
Sunitha Krishnan an eminent human rights activist and film-producer is nationally and internationally known for her fight against sex crimes and trafficking of women and children for the purposes of commercial sexual exploitation. As the founder of Prajwala, a pioneering anti-trafficking organization, she has been instrumental in rescuing thousands of victims from sexual slavery and restoring hope and dignity to their lives. Spearheading the movement to end sex trafficking in India, Krishnan has demonstrated that it is possible to prevent and combat the heinous crime. "Till date, through Prajwala's education programs over 7,000 children of women in prostitution have been prevented from being inducted into flesh trade, and more than 12,000 women and children have been rescued and rehabilitated from forced prostitution," she says. Krishnan is also the founder of Movement Against Trafficking (MAT), Movement Against Demand (MAD) and the first ever campaign against sex offenders in the world #ShameTheRapistCampaign". Krishnan has been involved in drafting pioneering policies to combat trafficking at state and national level. She is one of the responsible persons for GO MS 1, the first ever anti-trafficking policy in the erstwhile State of Andhra Pradesh.
Everyone calls her Suraiya Apa, or elder sister. With reason. Because Suraiya Hassan has taken not only the region's dying textiles and craft under her wing but also the people working with the craft. Hassan's early stint with the Cottage Emporium in Delhi as well as her association with the late cultural activist Pupal Jaykar, French fashion designer Pierre Cardin and Japanese designer Hanae Mori gave her an appreciation for India's rich handicraft and handloom heritage. She returned to Hyderabad and set up a small unit in 1982, with just one loom and two old weavers, to create cotton durries for export. That started, she began developing Kalamkari and Ikat fabric for export as well as the domestic market, and also worked to revive the old Nizami-Persian techniques for creating Himroo, Mashroo, Paithini and Jamavar fabric. As business grew, she brought in unemployed widows and other women to work the looms. She also started a school in the same compound to educate the weavers' children and other kids in the vicinity. Today, buyers come from all over the country to source Suraya Apa's rich handloom saris, fabrics and furnishings. But the octogenarian's mission is not over. She is still occupied with the work done at every loom, and the progress made by the over 600 students that now study in her school.
Few police personnel would be described as warm and sensitive. Unless they are like Swathi Lakra, the Additional Commissioner of Police (Crime and SIT) for Hyderabad, who is definitely in touch with her humane side. In 2014, after observing a steep rise in molestation cases in the city, Lakra decided to act quickly. She put together 100 special 'She Teams' of plainclothes personnel, and assigned them the task of making women feel safe in public places. The teams, each comprising a sub-inspector, an assistant SI, a police constable and one woman constable, were deputed at bus stops, rail stations, colleges and hostels, shopping malls, parks and cinema theatres, to prevent incidents of harassment and stalking. They were also given cameras to record incidents of molestation, and the videos and photos uploaded on the She Team Facebook page. "We set out to change the image of the police force and connect with the public through the Teams," says the 1995-batch IPS officer born in Jharkhand. And it's working. Owing to the Lakra-led constant patrolling, widespread awareness campaigns and quick response to complaints, crimes against women have dwindled in the last year even as female confidence has risen.
Dr Shaik Abdul Thasleem Sultana does not send anyone away from her door, no matter how severely physically or mentally challenged they are, and no matter what their age, caste or religion. That's because Sultana, who has a doctorate in Special Education (related to children with special needs) from Sri Venkateswara University, Tirupati, believes that everyone 'deserves a chance' at the Abhayakshetram Charitable Trust that she has founded at Renigunta, in Chittoor district. Her initial idea was to help children struggling with some form of disability. But now, 10 years after its inception, the three-storeyed centre nurtures 163 children and adults who have been abandoned by their families. Most of the inmates suffer from autism, cerebral palsy, mental retardation and multiple disabilities, and are tended by Sultana and her 20 associates. Abhayakshetram is equipped with a pharmacy with an in-house pharmacist-cum-compounder and a recreation centre and is recognized by the Welfare of Disabled and Senior Citizens Department, Chittoor District, and by the Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment, Government of India. It is run with small donations received from well-wishers, organizations and the occasional philanthropist.
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