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Saturday 19 August 2017

Women Writer’s Fest by She the People Team



It was a beautiful sunny day. I was kicked about attending the Women Writer’s Fest organized by She the people team. With a spring in our steps, My colleague Nupur and I reached the venue. The first session of the day was about to start. The hall was tastefully decorated with artifacts and knick knacks. Looked like a perfect venue for an insightful event like this one. The audience appeared to be an eclectic mix of women, both young and old, excited to hear the panel discussions.

Panel 1 How to blog to the right audience
Moderator - Richa Singh



Richa started the discussion by introducing herself. She has been a blogger for close to a decade and is an entrepreneur for two years. (She has built a bloggers community by the name blogchatter)

Richa started the discussion by asking the panelists about useful tips for budding bloggers. One by one, the lovely ladies shared the unique and personal choices that they had made in their blogging/ Instagramming journey.

Aashna shared how it is important for her to stick to one theme, have short-term (read weekly) and long term goals. Reema Sathe shared how she likes to connect with people and how inspired she feels by connecting with startup founders on LinkedIn and meeting them personally. The fitness blogger Protima shared how she relies on her storytelling abilities and personal fitness journey. Most of her blog topics are from FAQs. She also stressed on the need to stick to one’s niche. Richa added that one should consume a lot of content in the genre/ niche that one is trying to create. Richa’s tip was like a cherry on top of all the other suggestions.

Different topics like Content Marketing, Analytics, Keywords, Hashtags, etc. came up. Based on their experience, they all shared useful insights. One common fact that they all stressed was that blogging is a lot of hard work and no one gets overnight success. 

Aashna summed it aptly “It is very beautiful when career and passion come together.”

More tips followed when Aashna shared that she has noticed that her posts get maximum traction at around noon, so she schedules her efforts accordingly. When the session was open for Q and A, a few people were concerned about plagiarism and how their content is being copy pasted by others. To which Richa assertively replied that 'Name Shame' is one route that you should not shy away from. Tag such people on social media platforms and force them to give you due credit for your work. Point taken Lady!

After this interesting session, Radhika came up on stage for a quick round of quiz. She was full of energy and ensured that the audience was engaged while the organizers got the stage ready for the next discussion. I also noted that Radhika had her 6-month-old baby who had accompanied mommy to work. He behaved zen-like, quite unlikely for his age. And the mom was cool as a cucumber, doing her job as a professional and tending to the baby when required. She played both roles effortlessly. That's what they call - An empowered woman!

Panel 2 Legacy for our daughters
Panelists - Anu Aga, Rashmi Shukla
Moderator - Sudha Menon


I have read a lot about Anu and immensely admire her, so I was looking forward to attending her session. She was wearing a light green colored saree and looked stunning in it. Simply stating, she is grace personified. I was pleasantly surprised to hear her strong opinions on most matters. On being asked about what legacy she passed on her to her daughter, she said that she never passed on different messages to her son and daughter. On being probed about the legacy that her mother had passed onto her, she revealed that she was told that her purpose in life was to marry and produce. It was only because of her husband who nurtured her and encouraged her to use her potential.

On questions of gender biases, she said you are a human being first, and the only difference she thinks between men and women is in the plumbing. She stated that we should not restrict ourselves because of cultural biases. On work-life balance, she said we are fortunate that in India we have so much help in the form of joint family, domestic servants, etc. She said cheekily “Make shameless use of all the help!”

She also said that virginity is the stupidest thing in this world. She wondered aloud about how men could get on with promiscuity and women can’t.

She spoke about how women needlessly put it on themselves to be perfectionists. She urged everyone to live with their imperfections. Her session was interspersed with quotable quotes like

I am not perfect. I know I am a lot of shit, but my shit doesn’t smell as bad as it used to.”

She said women should learn to be kind and loving to themselves. She shared that her daughter knows only 4-5 dishes, which also she messes up many times. But that is alright. How I wish my mom could say that proudly on a public platform!!
Simply loved her for her positivity, humility, and opinions!



Pune’s top cop Rashmi Shukla joined the discussion. She was late. Understandably so. She is busy in planning the law and order situation in the city during the upcoming Ganpati celebrations. Rashmi came across as an incredibly understanding and approachable officer. She also shared interesting information about her liberal upbringing and later her marriage in a traditional brahmin family. She spoke about how she wears a saree and covers her head when she is in the village with her in-laws. And easily slips into her uniform when she is in the city. She explained that she would like to honor their traditions and since she is there in the village only for a couple of days, it's not that difficult. She asked us to be modern in our thoughts and not only in our attire. Looks like she is doing exactly that!

Speaking about her legacy for her daughter she says the moment you are out of the house, you have to fend for yourself. She shared an incident where her daughter was being stalked by a colleague., who would keep asking her to talk to him. As a police officer mum, Rashmi could have pulled some strings, but she wanted her daughter to be self-reliant.

She told her daughter that next time your colleague asks you to talk to you, you turn your chair towards him, look into the eye and raise your voice and ask “Why should I talk to you? Why do you keep telling me to do that?’ The daughter mustered all the courage and did just that. The guy was embarrassed as hell. Other colleagues joined for help. The HR came in. That guy apologized and in a few days quit. 

What a beautiful lesson Rashmi taught her daughter and us. Take charge. Be confident.
Rashmi urged us to download the City Safe app, her initiative of making the city safe for each one of us.

After these sessions, we felt charged and inspired. They say what shapes your personality is the kind of conversations you have and the thoughts you feed your mind. Ahem! We are moving in the right direction!

If any of you was there at the event and would like to add your experience at the event, please do so by sharing your thoughts in the comment section.

1 comment:

  1. Very well written! Here's my take http://nut-a-tut.blogspot.in/2017/08/the-awesome-anu-aga.html

    ReplyDelete