All about creative journey of women

FICCI FLO Hyderabad Chapter celebrates Women's Day eve by organising an interactive session with two legendary icons and women achievers acclaimed dancer and activist Mallika Sarabhai and renowned interior designer and architectural restorer Sunita Kohli in the city.

About 150 women professionals and entrepreneurs listened attentively as the two speakers recounted their creative and commercial journey and spoke about women empowerment.

Mothers of past chairs of FLO Hyderabad Chapter along with the two chief guests for the evening inaugurated the session on the eve of International Women's Day.

Entrepreneur, writer, producer Nita Khanna was the moderator for the session named 'Trail Blazers – Creativity, Enterprise and Empowerment'. On the eve of Women's Day the past chairs of FLO Hyderabad were honoured.

Speaking about her life and journey 73 year old Sunita Kohli said that she grew up in Lucknow. She was born in Lahore in undivided India. Her father and mother moved to Lucknow later. The story of her mother and father is the story of displacement which is replicated a lot in North India.

My father and mother gave me education and their value systems, she said. Lucknow and Hyderabad too have deeply secular values, she opined. The Ganga-Jamuna tehzeeb that I had growing up in Lucknow influenced my life, Kohli stated.

Speaking on how she started in her creative career, Sunita Kohli said that creativity is the ability to conceptualise. It comes with several influences in our life.

It can come from anywhere and any place you see, hear or from even a phrase from poet Rumi. She opined that travel adds to one's visual education and that there is no substitution for education and research.

Interior designing was an unplanned profession, Kohli said. I taught myself the nuts and bolts of interior design and aesthetics. When I started there were no barriers. If you can do the work you were given the work.

Feminism, enabler, influencer were not part of our lexicon when we were working. All our drawings / perspectives were hand drawn, she said. Nowadays if someone designs something, they click 20 pics of the same and flood the Facebook and Instagram.

We did not have social media then, she said. Feminism is a western concept, I did not face any bias in my work, Kohli said.

Speaking about empowered women, Sunita Kohli said that 'empowered women' is contextual in society and is relative.

For me it is the ability to empower others. We are privileged to be educated. We must do something for the less privileged, everybody can do something, she said. Every educated woman's duty is to see others are educated, she stated. You might be a designer, but that is just one aspect of your life, we are much more, she opined.

Commenting on the success and how we measure success of women, Ms. Kohli said that success is relative. One is as successful as your last project. You are as good as your last project and you are as good as much as you give, she said.

Acclaimed dancer Mallika Sarabhai addressing the media prior to the interactive session wished more power to women on the eve of international women's day.

Women are the driving force within family and outside, she said. She said that gathering like these bring attention to women empowerment. It brings to forefront and lays emphasis on women empowerment.

Mallika Sarabhai said that Social Media is fire. It can purify or burn. But, we are using it to burn. Social media has power to transform. But, we are using to spread venom. I get lot of hate mails, because of the views I have.

In the year 2002, I started speaking against the government. But, in the year 2010, I decided to write back to each person who posted a hate mail.

Believe me, 50 per cent write back to me and said that they didn't expect me not only read but also respond. They felt bad and repented for posting the hate mail. When we get hate mails like that, we must engage them she said.

Women have so many identities... daughter, wife, mother, career woman... we allow society to brand us in gender, religion or caste. We allow us to be cast in a mould, but women are much more.

We copy the West but we are much better. We have a tendency to copy bad things a lot. We are more than gender. We are not consumers. We must find out souls as human beings commented Mallika Sarabhai.

Though we are born as human beings but we have to learn to be human beings, she stated. I always make it a point to speak at gatherings so that at least in those 500 people, five many change. And those five may change others, she added.