Kindle Small Book 56 Pages 240210

20 pages book, Kindle (133 X 200):Layout 1 2/24/2010 8:25 PM Page 1
On the cover: A Self - portrait by Frida Kahlo
Frida Kahlo (born July 6, 1907 – July 13,

1954) was a Mexican painter. She
painted using vibrant colors in a style
that was influenced by indigenous
cultures of Mexico and European
influences including Realism,
Symbolism, and Surrealism. Many of her
works are self-portraits that symbolically
articulate her own pain. Kahlo was
married to Mexican muralist Diego
Rivera.
Drawing on personal experiences,
including her marriage, her miscarriages,
and her numerous operations, Kahlo's
works often are characterized by their
stark portrayals of pain. Of her 143
paintings, 55 are self-portraits which
often incorporate symbolic portrayals of
physical and psychological wounds. She
insisted, "I never painted dreams. I
painted my own reality."
Kahlo was influenced by indigenous
Mexican culture, which is apparent in
her use of bright colors and dramatic
symbolism. She frequently included the
symbolic monkey. In Mexican
mythology, monkeys are symbols of lust,
but Kahlo portrayed them as tender and
protective symbols. Christian and Jewish
themes are often depicted in her work. This March Kindle celebrates International
Among other things, Kahlo has also been
a feminist icon - regarded as an
Women’s Day by paying homage to
individual, constantly experimenting 25 exceptional women - women warriors who’ve
with the notions of self and gender,
Kahlo’s work and memory will be
constantly made a difference, shaping the Indian
inextricably linked to the quest of the mindset - for better or for worse.
modern woman’s true identity.
High Command
s the mudslinging matches plumb
A new depths of impropriety in the
Parliament, she sits quietly beside the
Prime Minister maintaining a dignified
silence. If there was a prototype of an
Indian politician, Sonia Gandhi does not
fit the bill at all. Neither is she a great
orator nor does she deliver fiery, rabble
rousing speeches. Yet she is currently the
most influential politician of the country.
Coming from a diametrically opposite
culture, to being wife to the charismatic
but the political greenhorn Rajiv Gandhi
to suffering his tragic death, she has seen it
all. Emulating Indira Gandhi’s elegant
charm but without her autocratic
ruthlessness, Sonia Gandhi is the chief
architect of the re-emergence of the
Congress as the single largest party.
Manmohan Singh may be the PM all right
but it is an open secret that it is Sonia who
runs the show from behind. It’s not just
this list of women but probably every such
“To remain a saint in list which will feature her for her grit,
intelligence and her political acumen.
politics is the most

difficult task.”
Sonia Gandhi
“A Stubborn
chink of light”
hen words more powerful than ideas fly on the

W wings of an idealism - purer and stronger than
imagination, the skies light up!
Writer and activist Arundhati Roy has strong opinions,
stronger ideals and their strongest possible expression,
and that’s a lot of force to reckon with! Although her
last work of fiction, Booker prize winning ‘God of small
things’ came out quite some time ago, she herself has
been at the forefront of Indian progressive thought –
voicing impassioned opinions against globalization, war,
U.S foreign policies, the Narmada Dam project, India’s
nuclear policies and many other such crucial issues.
Writing against the nuclear bomb in her essay –‘The
end of imagination’, she writes, “If protesting against
having a nuclear bomb implanted in my brain is anti-
Hindu and anti-national, then I secede. I hereby declare
myself an independent, mobile republic. I am a citizen
of the earth. I own no territory. I have no flag. I'm
female, but have nothing against eunuchs. My policies
are simple. I'm willing to sign any nuclear non-
proliferation treaty or nuclear test ban treaty that's
going. Immigrants are welcome. You can help me
design our flag.” "So stand up and say
That flag of hers is sure to fly high!
something...Take it
Arundhati Roy very personally."

...And Justice for All

ne of the most shining personalities on
O the Kindle list, Indira Jaising’s name is
synonymous with the fight for human rights,
the rights of women and with those of the poor
working class in India. As a lawyer and activist
of enormous repute, Jaising has been on the
insides of some landmark cases in the history
of the Indian legal system – her defence for the
victims of the Bhopal gas tragedy, the
controversial Mary Roy case and the Gita
Hariharan case and her work for the homeless
pavement dwellers of Mumbai are just a few
instances of Jaising’s extraordinary stature.
She also heads the lawyers collective (an
organization dedicated to acquiring legal
funding for the underprivileged sections of
society), is a fellow of the Institute for
Advanced Legal Studies (at London) and is a
visiting scholar at the Columbia University,
New York – but Indira is much more than all
these glorious epithets – her constant
commitment to the cause of the periphery in
Indian society and her courage in taking up
“An average woman must first cudgels against the powers that be, makes her
an icon – not just for women but for the
sensitive, self-aware individual anywhere.
of all remember that she has a
right to be free from violence.
This itself is empowering.”
Indira Jaising
The buck stops here
ery seldom does a profession

V become synonymous with a
name. Mainstream Indian journalism
today, despite the mushrooming of
media and journalists, still throws up
one name more often than any other
and that is of Barkha Dutt – the
swash-buckling woman journalist
reporting live from war fronts, riot
torn by-lanes, taking on the biggest
politicians, debating every issue with
intelligence and intensity…she is
every young journalist’s aspiration.
Functioning within the usual traps of
mainstream media, she has shown
sparks of courage and honesty that
never fail to inspire.
They often call her India’s Christiane
Amanpour, to be honest we didn’t
know of Christiane before Barkha
happened. For most of us, she is “It is journalism’s eternal
quite original and rare!
riddle - that one question we
ask constantly but are never
Barkha Dutt able to answer simply…”
The dream-weaver
ne of the architects of the modern
O fashion machinery in India, Ritu
Kumar is the perfect example of
applying refined western fashion
concepts and using the vast reservoir of
superior Indian craftsmanship in
creating art that is unique and stately.
Kumar’s work with folk artisans and her
sifting eye for traditional beauty has
made her bridal work and Indo-Western
creations globally superlative, always
maintaining a rooted Indian ethos.
Having put not only the Indian woman
but India on the world fashion
consciousness, Ritu Kumar has been
hailed a creative genius by supermodels
and celebrities; to name a few: Princess
Diana, Jemima Goldsmith, Aishwarya
Rai, Sushmita Sen and Priyanka
Chopra. More than the glamour,
entertainment and global recognition, it
is Kumar’s work as a creative
“I am trying to take the basic entrepreneur nurturing folk artisans and
craftsmen is what puts her on this list.
ethnicity as well as the roots

and give it a modern kind
of feeling.” Ritu Kumar
The Mistress of the Arts
ira Nair’s films are an eclectic mix – the early

M documentaries and the first films see a
common motif – exploring the underside of urban
India, understanding it’s complex socio-economic
dimensions and chasing characters, people and
personalities living on the periphery of accepted
everyday life; the second and more recent period
(post the grand success of ‘Monsoon Wedding’) is the
one lived out on the global platform – bigger, larger
canvases, Hollywood A-listers for casts and new, epic-
scale projects.
Without a shadow of doubt Nair is one of India’s
most admired exports to the West and one of her
more gifted directors; But what makes Mira stand
out, is her steadfast determination, to carve her own
road. Unlike many other film-makers, Mira’s cinema
may or may not be worthy of praise or acclaim but at
no point in her career, has she compromised or ‘toe’d
any common, massy, accepted line – in film after
film, she has chased her private commitment to her
craft, making movies, telling stories with flair,
building narratives that mirror the human experience
and all its mixture of emotion, intercourse, irony and
fate – Mira’s current work may not have found the
"I'm diseased. I'm permanently
expected response, but her stature as a global
filmmaker of repute and value is indelible. afflicted by cinema. I could not
imagine life without making
Mira Nair my work."
The pen of swords

f I were to list the number of awards which
I Mahasweta Devi got in her already hyper-
kinetic lifetime, it would fill up reams of pages.
But Mahasweta Devi is not just a writer-activist or
an activist-writer. She has stood up to the
challenges of time and wielded pen like a rapier.
Mahasweta gave us alternative parables of Birsa, of
Puran Sahai, of Basai Tudu, of the photographer
in her searing work Choli Ke Peeche, of Shanichari
in Rudaali, of Broti’s memories in Hazaar
Churashir Ma, of an imaginary conversation with
the Rani of Jhansi, of softer childhood memory of
Shantiniketan, of a harsher unforgiving portrait
of a breast giver, of those who are the margins as
the fire died in Kuruskshetra...
Mahasweta is a firebrand. Her words purge you.
Plumb you to depths of despair and from those
inner silences you have to scoop out hope. From
1956 to now, the pen is getting sharper. Each
writing is an incubator of dissenting ideas. Be it
the political dissent of Agnigarbho or the historical
dissent of Titu Meer.
Mahasweta was born on January 14, 1926 and
she is incapable of dying. Because true fire does
not die. They flicker, reignite, reignite, flicker
“Language is a weapon, its not And whispers: That art is a weapon, not a clever
use of concealed metaphors.
for shaving your armpits.”

Mahasweta Devi
Beyond the woman

entrepreneur
ou may not know her as a civic activist, who was one

Y of the first to hail the Bangalore Agenda Task Force,
which has been constituted to make Bangalore one of
the top three cities of Asia. You may also not know her
as an author and art collector who has published a coffee
table book called ‘Ale and Arty ‘ which is all about
brewing beer and is interspersed with paintings by some
of India’s best known artists. You know her as India’s
richest woman – CEO of Biocon India – Kiran
Mazumdar Shaw.
A shy, academically inclined youngster, Kiran completed
her Zoology honours from Bangalore University. A
chance meeting with the founder of Biocon
Biochemicals, an Irish Biotech company, who wanted to
start a venture in India, resulted in the formation of
Biocon India. This was the year 1978, when banks and
financial institutions had no concept of Biotechnology
as a growing sector. Add to this, the fact that the
entrepreneur was a woman and try to imagine the
challenges faced by BIOCON at that time. Today, the
company is the largest bio-pharmaceutical firm of India
and the confidence of investors can be proved by a 30
times oversubscribed Initial Public Offering (IPO) in
2004. The list of awards and accolades is endless, most
notable amongst them being a Lifetime achievement
Award by The Indian Chamber Of Commerce and the
“Let's face it, women in
Padma Bhushan in 2005. A visionary, a go-getter and
most importantly, a responsible citizen.
business get noticed much
more than men!”
Kiran Mazumdar Shaw
In Search of the
Whispering Brown Eyes...
he recounts Modigliani, Vincent Van
S Gogh, Amrita Shergill and the
expressionist school of art in her list of major
influences – her work has travelled far and
wide, well beyond India’s borders and is
stored in many of the world’s major art
galleries – her use of oil, masonite,
watercolors, glass and her preference for
murals, has woven together an awe-inspiring
body of work – a sensuous, languorous, blend
of line, depth, visual splendor, form and soul
– Anjolie Ela Menon is arguably India’s
leading contemporary woman artist.
Having worked at length outside India,
studying the traditions of Byzantine and
Romanesque art, Anjolie’s work always
possesses a deep melancholic tone, a hushed
sense of pathos and silence, yet radiating hope
and beauty. As Anjolie’s art continues to
blossom finding new utterances ( the brown
eyes of her men and women open to reveal a
riot of blue and green) and newer shapes and
ideas, she will keep re-defining or extending
“I hardly draw. I think I color and paint the notion of the modern Indian aesthetic –
a style that seeps in so many flavours and yet
lines in reverse. Color is everything. It is somewhere hides an Indian soul – probably
much like her.
with color that one sings; with color that
one plummets to the depths of sorrow
and pain.” Anjolie Ela Menon
‘Down to Earth’
he Indian knight of sustainable
T development and ‘green thought’,
Iron Sunita Narain is one of the
strongest voices in Indian environmental
activism. Environmentalists have a lot to
complain about in India and Sunita
Narain does her fair share. She can be
caustic and populist but there's no
doubting that she draws attention to
issues that need it.
The Delhi-based Centre for Science and
Environment (CSE), which she heads,
monitors air pollution levels around
India and studies the effects of climate.
But it is her criticism of international
soft drink makers that has won Narain
most attention. Over the past few years
the CSE has regularly alleged that soft
drinks sold in India contain high level
of pesticides: a charge both Coke and
Pepsi reject. But a little publicity goes a
long way: Narain’s pesticide charges
spurred some Indian states to ban the “You can't take pesticides
sales of Coke and Pepsi last year. Now,
she's taking on river polluters. out of apples, but you can
clean up colas."
Sunita Narain
Spin Queen
aving spent years in Africa,
H Ibiza, Turkey, Israel, London
and India, Ma Faiza brings to the
‘table’ the most cutting-edge
concepts in sound, vision and
experience. Faiza has developed a
new sound, which encompasses the
roots of Indian to an orchestral
context, in attempt to translate the
essence of Indian music into the 21st
century expression of electronica.
The innocence of this ‘spin doctor’
has a magical quality and deeply
touches the heart of the listener,
transcending any artificialness that is
found too often in electronic music,
and allowing an experience of pure
emotion and sensuality. Her attitude
and towering stature has over the
years, shown the world of high-
rollers and revelers that an Indian
woman is not someone who spends
an underachieved quaint family life
“Music for me is all about with a regressive outlook.
cultural eccentricities.”
Ma Faiza
The queen of pawns

he youngest woman to have
T become a ‘grandmaster’ (not
merely ‘woman grandmaster’), the
current world number two deserves
far more media and public attention
than she’s ever got. Koneru Humpy
is the second highest ranked player in
Women’s Chess history but even that
distinction didn’t exclude her from
facing the ugly side of bureaucracy in
Indian sports administration.
Humpy has been the recipient of the
Arjuna, Padma Shri and Raja-
Lakshmi Awards but one hardly sees
her in the public fore not because she
chooses a reclusive life but for
irresponsible journalism and
advertising convenience. With
several records, awards and
achievements in the bag, the silent
queen of India continues to make the
nation proud in the world of chess
inspite of being treated as a pawn on
the pop-culture consciousness board
of India. “I would prefer to play
in men’s chess only."
Koneru Humpy
Friend of the river

aising activism from mere
R tokenism to the level of lifetime
dedication, intimate everyday
involvement and relentless struggle,
Medha Patkar has given her sweat
and blood to her cause. Synonymous
to the Narmada Bachao Andolan,
Medha has stood in waist deep waters
for 12 hours at a stretch, fasted for
many many days, walked long
solidarity marches, fought longer
legal battles – to emerge as the
symbol of struggle for sustainable
development.
Her voice is not just a voice against a
big dam, it’s a strong voice of reason
that brings to the fore the complex
socio-political economics behind
such projects, rooted in the
fundamental flaws of globalization
and neo-imperialism.
“Water is nobody’s And this ‘friend of the river’ is indeed

a friend in need, who will definitely
protect her river till death!
business, water is no
business.”
Medha Patkar
An Actress of Substance
o many, some of the most iconic moments in

T cinema in the last thirty years are the scenes
from ‘Ankur’ or ‘Arth’, ‘Masoom’ or ‘Sparsh’ or ‘Fire’
– scenes of incredible dramatic intensity, pregnant
with angst, pain, longing, emotion or pathos, carved
to perfection by a performer/actor arguably
unparalleled in Indian cinema – Shabana Azmi.
Born to a family, seeped in the arts and letters and
committed to the cause of the revolution, Shabana
Azmi has built a glorious career for herself – her role
in the parallel cinema movement of the 70’s and 80’s
is legendary, her abilities to ‘become’ a character and
add a tangible sense of empathy, passion and
incandescence to the part, is the stuff that classics
are made of and her involvement with causes, her
fearless, steadfast, bold belief in activism, not just
for the heck of it, but with a purpose – Shabana
Azmi is the quintessential woman of substance.
No list of India’s first women would ever be
complete without Shabana, as much for her
spectacular acting credentials as also for the person
that she is and what she means to the notion of
Indian womanhood – in so many ways she defines, "I am a daughter, a wife, a mother,
the image of the independent, spirited woman,
unflinching in her exploration of identity. a woman, an actress, an Indian
and a Muslim - each of those
Shabana Azmi identities is important to me."
The collective strength
ince almost three decades, Saheli Women’s

S Resource Center, an autonomous organization
based in New Delhi has been championing for
women’s rights. As a crisis center as well as a campaign
group, Saheli is run solely on basis of personal
donations of supporters.
Saheli exemplifies possibilities around women’s
solidarity movements. From raising awareness about
domestic violence issues to female reproductive health
rights, from highlighting sexual minority struggles to
demanding equal economic opportunities, Saheli has
remained at the center of feminist activism in India.
Saheli remains a non-hierarchical and progressive
women’s collective that has raised serious concerns
over systematic violations of women’s rights. It has
steadfastly opposed communalization of Indian
society, and subsequently prevailing dual oppressions
of women. Saheli has succeeded in forcing National
Commission for Women to withdraw its regressive
analysis of women subjugation emanating from
foreign invasions. It also notably highlighted
communal stereotypes and anti-Muslim biases
existing at highest forms of administration following
the Gujarat carnage.
Saheli Women’s
Resource Centre
The Historian defying historicity

s one of the world’s foremost experts on ancient
A Indian history, Romila Thapar refused to glorify it as
a series of political and dynastic events. At a time when
nationalistic euphoria engulfed India, Thapar focused on
working class history, one that emphasized collective
human labor. Rejecting academic orthodoxy, Thapar
committed “momentary dislocations from historicity” in
order to present to us the most comprehensive,
authoritative and progressive history of India.
Thapar’s deconstruction of Buddhism as a force of social
protest amidst caste-ridden Hindu society has been as
pioneering as her complicating of dominant narratives
around the attack on Somanatha temple. Thapar has
exposed Hindu India’s tendency to depict Muslims as
uniformly evil and oppressive, a stance justified around
the mythical raids of Ghazni’s Mahmud.
Refusing to remain neutral or be silenced, Thapar has
continually criticized social elites, and vehemently
opposed communalization of history textbooks by Hindu
fundamentalists. Naturally enough she has persistently
earned reactionary protests - especially among the Indian
diaspora - one of which was targeted at her, following her
appointment at Washington DC as the first holder of the
Kluge Chair in Countries and Cultures of the South. Not
only has she remained unruffled at such distractions, she
“History as a discipline transcends boundaries
has also set an example by refusing to accept state
patronage as an academician in her declining of the
because every subject has a history. And
Padma Bhushan award. colonial administrators working in India were
Romila Thapar
dead right when they said that if you know the
history of a subject then you can control it!”
Against the wave

n academician, a wife, a feminist, a writer, and
A a woman - various social locations of Sarojini
Sahoo refuse to be trapped by pedantic literary
theories or feminism waves. Flatly refusing to be
considered as the “other”, Sahoo’s understanding
of woman follows a personal narrative, one in
which she grew up akin to a son for her parents,
until her first menstrual bleeding. “After that I was
taught that I am a girl, a woman, and I am
different from others and a censorship was
imposed on my movement, my speech, my dress.”
Identification with such imposed bans on women
in Indian society did not silence Sarojini. They
transformed her into an emancipatory female
writer from Orissa who would court controversies
because of her views on sexuality - something she
found natural, and critics found outspoken.
In her writings, Sarojini denounces the potentially
conflicting gender divisions reinforced by second
wave feminists. In her quest for gender-neutral
society, she recognizes women inherently
possessing physical, behavioral, emotional, and
psychological uniqueness that must be affirmed
“As a feminist I think I am and celebrated as wonderful and complementary
to those of the men.
more a writer, and as a
writer I think I am more a
feminist.” Sarojini Sahoo
Iron Woman
he relevance of Irom Sharmila’s fast against the
T Armed forces Special Power Act, that began as
a response to the Malom massacre on November 2,
2000 (when security forces killed 10 innocent
civilians, 12 kms away from the heart of Imphal)
lies in bringing about a change in the culture of
violence in north-east.
Sharmila’s fast is an open act of political dissent
against an entire culture of trying to shove a
viewpoint through the barrel of the gun. Both by
the establishment and also by the separatists.
Caught between this culture of misplaced assertion
and historically frightening mode of dominance,
Sharmila had no resort but to go back to the most
proven and the most misused (in a convenient
way) Gandhian tactic of fast-unto-death.
So, let us not reduce Sharmila to this typical
textbook example of courage under adversity type
of nonsense, but realize that the churnings that she
has triggered off are far deeper. A Gandhian
churning of slow burn where the deeper cause of
unrest is more important than hammering out a
violent and temporary solution.
A decade is knocking by and Sharmila with the
hint of a white cotton wrapped around the nose
still walks the real talk.
"It is my bounden duty."
Irom Sharmila
‘Soul’ strung blues
here haven’t been too many woman

T singer/guitarist/songwriters in the
past from India and Tipriti or ‘Tips’ of
rock band ‘Soulmate’ makes the cut with
flying colours. She has a sense of sweet
seduction in her ‘black’ voice and
honesty in her style of ‘documentative’
songwriting. Her personal hushed power
has turned an electric blues quartet from
Shillong into the number one blues rock
outfit in the country. ‘Tips’ along with
her band created history by being the
first and only blues band ever to
represent India at the 23rd International
Blues Challenge in Memphis, Tennessee,
USA, in February 2007; they were semi-
finalists with over 150 bands from across
the globe. She represents that Indian
woman who is hardly ever shown as
Indian; one who goes to church, sings in
a gospel choir as a child and is mostly
“The blues is my teacher stubbed out by the two bigger religious
communities of our nation.
The blues is my friend

The blues never hurts me
It just heals me in the end” Tipriti Kharbhangar
Proud Mary keep on burnin’!
angte Chungneijang Merykom, a

M mother of two, came back from a
two-year sabbatical to clinch her fourth
World Amateur boxing gold in 2008, a feat
that prompted the Association Internationale
de Boxe Amateur to describe her as
‘Magnificent Mary’ and she was still not
even considered for the Khel Ratna award.
The otherwise fun-loving pugilist is a trifle
sad that pre-championship promises made
by corporate houses were not kept.
When it comes to placement, the best
Mary got offered was that of a head
constable. With due respect to police
constabulary, considering her
achievements, here’s another case of
offering too little to a world champion.
Some expectations still remain dreams and
dreams die fast in her slippery world of
amateur boxing. Her living conditions are
far from comfortable. But the devout
Christian draws solace from Habakkuk
3:17, 19, “Although the fig tree shall not “I have won the World Championship
blossom…The fields yield no meat…I will
rejoice in the Lord…the Lord is my four times on the trot. Dhoni gets a
strength.”
Khel Ratna for winning just one 20-20
World Cup; I fail to understand why I’m
Mary Kom being ignored then.”
Beauty Incorporated
he imagery of the Indian beauty is now a global
T phenomenon – supermodels, actors, starlets, reality
show participants and beauticians have taken the image
of the doe-eyed, dusky, alternative beauty to new and
unparalleled heights – but years ago, when India’s
Beauty Inc. was still a baby looking for ways to move
out of its cradle, Shahnaz Hussain laid the foundations
of a cosmetic and beauty-care empire, an entire gallery
of products, treatments and services that won
appreciation and absolute loyalty from women across
the world; her clients included a veritable who’s who of
international icons, stars and media personalities – her
creams, potions and tonics, were supposed to be as good
as any other international designer brand – only with
the added edge of Indian exotica – herbal bases,
enhanced by the goodness of Ayurveda.
Although today Shahnaz may not be as magnificent a
name as she once used to be (what with the constant
invasion of almost every international brand in India),
Hussain continues to command a respect and place
within the industry that’s completely matchless – her
personal style, attitude and get-up is also the stuff of
legend – she remains one of India’s pioneering women
entrepreneurs, who managed to forge an identity, a
“If it bears my name, it global niche and footprint for herself that cannot
be forgotten.
catches on…”
Shahnaz Hussain
The ego has landed.

ome slam her as corrupt to the core, a
S megalomaniac politician, while others hail her
as the Dalit icon. The response to Mayawati is
always extreme – on either end of the spectrum. As
the Chief Minister of the most populous state of
the country, Uttar Pradesh, Mayawati is the most
important face of caste based politics in India.
Introduced to the world of politics by Kanshi Ram,
Mayawati has come a long way – four wins at the
polls, an almost iron grip on her state, a short-lived
but feared attempt at the national crown and of
course, her forté – a host of ugly statues, ready to
enshrine her memory forever.
If Manmohan Singh represents the urban, genteel
and erudite political class, Mayawati is the raw,
visceral, uneducated but massy face of the Hindi
hinterland.
In the last assembly elections of Uttar Pradesh in
2007 she expanded her traditional votebase of the
historically oppressed Dalits and made inroads into
the Brahmin and Muslim vote bank as well
virtually reducing the national parties to a non-
entity. She brooks no dissent and trenchantly rules
her Party but there is no denying that she is the “To spite these opposition parties and
most popular face of Dalit aspiration. It maybe a
cliché, but the fact remains that you may hate her to strengthen me further, my party
or love her but you cannot ignore her.
men have gathered twice the amount
Mayawati of donations acquired every year on

my birthday.”
The Goddess of small things
ith a history of being the

W stereotypical regressive domestic
cook and nanny who worships her
husband and in-laws and caters to their
every whim, the Indian housewife has
not quite broken those shackles yet but
has definitely created a stronger, more
liberated individual. Even though certain
saas-bahu TV shows are trying their level
best in contributing towards further
regression, the average Sunita and Farha
are slowly finding a voice and place in a
growing India Inc. Much like the role of
the housewife of the 50’s ‘baby-boomer’
generation in building American and
British societies, the modern Indian
housewife is making an indispensable
contribution to a brighter Indian future.
The same housewife drives a car, is a
working professional while being the
A portrait by Raja Ravi Verma
traditional ‘Grihini’, all with clockwork
‘professional’ efficiency, putting together
the jigsaw edges of the complex Indian
“One is not born a woman family. And yes, she requires no mild
euphemistic tag of ‘homemaker’ to make
her feel better!
but becomes one.”
- Simone de Beauvoir The Indian housewife
Banking Upon Women

In 1984, when banks and financial institutes
recruited only toppers from colleges, Mr K V
Kamath, and Mr S S Nadkarni who were the
chairman and Managing Director of ICICI bank
at that time, interviewed the top rank student
from Jamnalal Bajaj Institue of Management
Studies (JBIMS) – Chanda Advani. After 25
years of stellar performance, the same Mr K V
Kamath, handed over to her the reins of ICICI
Bank as MD and CEO of the bank. Over the
years, Chanda Kocchar has been awarded many
titles, most prominent amongst them being
placed 20th on Forbes list of 100 most powerful
women in the world in 2009.
Work is her passion as well as her relaxation. Says
Mrs Kocchar “So far as the financial sector is
concerned, I feel women are always better with
managing finance.” ICICI Bank is an excellent
example of equal opportunities as it employs
over 10000 women. Once dubbed ‘The Petticoat
Brigade’ by the chauvinistic banking fraternity
of Mumbai, these highly competitive women at
ICICI have led the bank from a bureaucratic
development into an aggressive market leader.
Under Ms Kocchar’s able leadership, the ‘Hum
Hai Na’ assurance of ICICI bank continues to “If you want equal
give millions of customers confidence in the
institution. opportunity, you have
Chanda Kochhar to perform equally.”
She walks in beauty...

ince 1994 ( the year she won her
S Miss World crown) Aishwarya has
always enjoyed the cream of the lime-
light – her career in popular Hindi
cinema, her enormous fan base, the
massive endorsement deals, the headline
making relationships, the wooing of the
West and the grand marriage to the
scion of Bollywood’s first family – it’s
been an exceptional ride so far.
While one may hold reservations against
the value or genuine substance behind
her achievements, it would probably be
too easy to write her off, as just a
beautiful girl – her part in contemporary
history is undeniable – Aishwarya
arrived at the scene at a time, when India
was rapidly changing, throwing away the
graying cloth of the past for newer,
shinier garbs.
While the rest of her career may be a
questionable curve of highs and lows,
good breaks and bad decisions,
Aishwarya remains a phenomenal pop-
“I always knew I would be cultural icon – a woman who did what
it took to graft her position as the pre-
eminent Bollywood beauty and super-
successful. So there was celebrity for this generation.
no element of surprise.” Aishwarya Rai Bachhan

Making The Cut
The Many Lists Behind The Final 25

by Chiradeep Basumallick
It’s been a difficult month at the office: the cream; or did we?
trials, trauma, tribulations, occasional No list is ever a done thing – there are
bursts of energy and sense and finally the names I know I’ll remember months
uncertainty of choice – if you’re reading later, somewhere in the early hours and
this page you’ve probably seen the I’ll feel there were things we should have
Kindle MINDSET WOMEN 25 and done to make this a little better… so for
you’re a little curious as to why we put the record here are some of the names,
in another article at the back; we we wanted to include, some people who,
thought we should let you know what in all honesty deserve mention in any list
happened while we made this issue and you can dream up of extraordinary
give you a peek into the general insanity Indians, who will continue to matter, no
of managing a monthly magazine. matter what Kindle does or doesn’t do:
Four weeks ago, on a dreary Monday Kiran Bedi = Jumpa Lahiri = Krishna
afternoon, peppered by coffee and Sobti = Kiran Desai = Mamta Banerjee
cigarettes, we thought up a dream-list of = Tejaswini Niranjana = Chandra
India’s finest women. At first cut, the list Mohanty = Vandana Shiva = Aparna
was a large, healthy body of 50 Sen = Sania Mirza = Saina Nehawal
exceptional personalities. But obviously, = Falu = Saakshi Centre For Violence
space, as always was a constraint-almost Against Women & manymore.
never enough, for all that we had to say.
So try and store this collector’s book
So this is where the fights of opinions somewhere special in your room – we
broke out, but happily in the end couldn’t do all that we hoped but I think
everybody won – the editor found her we found a voice in the issue – a voice of
thin red “alternative” line, the guys on protest and strength, a voice that says, it
the team found adequate representation doesn’t matter who I am or what is my
and the list, moved from scribbles, gender, I will and I can become anything
endless word docs and general I choose to - after all the only mindset
unfinished-ness to a complete, tidy, that matters is the one that changes,
toned down shape of 25 – we took away evolves and questions, ever so gently,
the flab, screened the chaff and gave you with a smile and a bit of silence.

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20 pages book, Kindle (133 X 200):Layout 1 2/24/2010 8:25 PM Page 1

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On the cover: A Self - portrait by Frida Kahlo

Frida Kahlo (born July 6, 1907 – July 13,

politics is the most

hen words more powerful than ideas ﬂy on the

Arundhati Roy very personally."

...And Justice for All

The buck stops here

ery seldom does a profession

ethnicity as well as the roots

The Mistress of the Arts

ira Nair’s ﬁlms are an eclectic mix – the early

The pen of swords

for shaving your armpits.”

Beyond the woman

ou may not know her as a civic activist, who was one

The queen of pawns

Friend of the river

“Water is nobody’s And this ‘friend of the river’ is indeed

o many, some of the most iconic moments in

The collective strength

ince almost three decades, Saheli Women’s

The Historian defying historicity

Against the wave

‘Soul’ strung blues

here haven’t been too many woman

The blues is my friend

Proud Mary keep on burnin’!

angte Chungneijang Merykom, a

The ego has landed.

Mayawati of donations acquired every year on

The Goddess of small things

ith a history of being the

Banking Upon Women

She walks in beauty...

successful. So there was celebrity for this generation.

no element of surprise.” Aishwarya Rai Bachhan

Making The Cut

The Many Lists Behind The Final 25

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