Celebrating ‘Naari Shakti’, the 38th edition of the Devi Awards honoured 11 exceptional women achievers from diverse fields. These changemakers, who have broken barriers and redefined possibilities in their domains, are icons of inspiration for the coming generations. Here are the Devis:
Teacher terrific
The founder principal and former director of Hari Sri Vidya Nidhi in Thrissur, Nalini Chandran brought wonder back into the classroom. Today, her school, which she found in 1978 with her husband Lt Col Chandran, grooms students into global citizens. A trained kathakali dancer, Nalini has also choreographed several outstanding programmes.
Champion of conservation
Dr Sosamma Iype is known for her seminal work in animal conservation, especially the endangered Vechur Cow. By using Multiple Ovulation and Embryo Transfer technique to breed the cows, she was able to sell them to farmers. Trained at UC College, Veterinary College, Mannuthy, and the National Dairy Research Institute, Haryana, she also spearheaded efforts to revive the slightly larger Kasaragod Dwarf breed.
Steering lives
Radhamani is an expert driver, holding licences for 12 types of vehicles, including heavy machinery. Better known as Mani Amma, she is the founder and owner of A2Z Driving Institute, Kerala’s first heavy vehicle driving school which played a pioneering role in making heavy vehicle driving training accessible within the state, encouraging many, especially women, to gain confidence, skill and independence.
Shaping force
Inspired by her own childhood experiences as a sister to three brothers with autism, Dr P Bhanumathi dedicated decades of her life to the welfare of the intellectually impaired community, stepping in where family and society stopped short. She has been providing succour to the mentally challenged through her Association for Mentally Handicapped Adults.
Gamechanger
A Seema, a scientist at Centre for Materials for Electronics Technology, is the mind behind the wearable device for breast cancer screening, a life-saving invention selected as one of the 10 best innovations for the Prime Minister’s Award for Excellence in Public Administration. Seema is currently working in the area of 2D materials, sensors, actuators and energy storage.
Creative challenger
Artist P S Jalaja known for socially committed and politically probing works with humanist strokes.
An alumna of RLV College, Tripunithura, and recipient of state honours, her works have featured at national and global events, including the Kochi-Muziris Biennale, Prague Biennale, Art Gwangju (South Korea) and Biennale Arte Dolomiti (Italy).
Preserve & protect
Litty Chacko has made a name preserving ancient manuscripts, and spent decades researching and writing about 14th-century mathematician and astronomer Sangamagrama Madhava, who is considered the father of Kerala School of Astronomy and Mathematics. She also founded Manuscript Research & Preservation Centre at St Joseph’s College in Irinjalakuda, and designed India’s first BVoc course in Malayalam and Manuscript Management.
Culinary techie
A biomedical engineer with over a decade of experience, Reshma Suresh helped connect home chefs to market with Tocco, a tech-enabled delivery platform. By integrating farmers, rural micro-production hubs and technology-driven quality systems, she is building a scalable alternative to industrial food supply chains while also enabling women in their 50s to achieve financial independence.
Global sway
For over two decades now, Kapila Venu has been travelling the world, performing, teaching and giving workshops on koodiyattam. Having studied with Japanese avant-garde dancer Min Tanaka, Kapila has performed in two of his choreographies, and has also had long collaborations with internationally acclaimed artists and scholars such as Dr Eberhard Fischer, Peter Oskarson and Wally Cardona.
Performance smarts
The director of MAATR Arts Foundation and curator of contemporary dance community BOHO, Paris Laxmi started Bharatanatyam training in France under Armelle Choquard. She continued learning in Pune under Dr Sucheta Chapekar, and under Dominique Delorme, and later in Chennai at Dr Subrahmanyam’s Nrithyodaya School of Dance. She is also a familiar face in cinema and TV.
A-list vocalist
Her distinctive music, the basics of which she learnt from her mother and uncle, and her unique voice make Abhaya Hiranmayi stand out in a crowd. She burst into the spotlight with the title track of 2014 Malayalam film ‘Naku Penta Naku Taka’, and transitioned into acting with ‘Pani’.
‘No Foolakking’, ‘Thanne Thanne’, and ‘Eninna Enithenna’ are her other notable songs.