Red is the colour of passion; white a symbol of purity and completeness, while black stands for power. All three colours were present in abundance both in reality and in spirit at The Sunday Standard Devi awards in New Delhi last Monday.
The awards were given to 15 super-achievers from across the country, each a proverbial woman of substance. They came from different backgrounds and very different parts of the country, but they were identical in their determination to make their own life and the lives of those around them richer through their work. The black carpet, the red and white flowers on the tables, and the black, red and white signage on the banners, the stage, even the invites, seemed to point to the winners’ passion and purity of spirit and the power of their endeavours.
The Sunday Standard began its Devi initiative in New Delhi in December 2014, when it honoured 20 women from across India with the awards. It then moved on to appreciate the efforts of women achievers from Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka and Uttar Pradesh. On January 11, the fifth edition of the awards was unveiled in the capital by a super-Devi herself, Union Minister for External Affairs Sushma Swaraj. In his introduction, the Editorial Director of The New Indian Express Group, Prabhu Chawla, took pride in the fact that a woman represents India in its external affairs and said there’s no better way to showcase female empowerment to the world. About the awards initiative, he called it a humble effort to realise the great Ramnath Goenka’s vision for women empowerment.
As the awardees came up on stage to collect their trophies from the minister, compere Richa Anirudh engaged them in conversation about their unique journeys. Swaraj addressed the audience only after all the awardees had spoken. To the audience’s amazement and the Devis’ sheer delight, she remembered every detail of each winner’s achievements and touched upon them with grace and profundity. Likening herself to environmentalist Basanti Devi, who had declared herself a “woman of the grassroots” and delivered her acceptance address in Hindi, the minister said she too liked to speak in Hindi, particularly at foreign conventions where representatives of other countries spoke in their mother tongue. She made an interesting link between water conservationist Amla Ruia, the saviour of the Kosi Basanti Devi and open water swimmer Bhakti Sharma, pointing out how one had saved a river, the second was saving water while the third was conquering the seas. She highlighted how Durga Bai’s contribution to contemporary art through her innovative Gond paintings was as necessary to recognise as Pooja Sood’s effort in developing interactive spaces, which allow artists to both thrive and fail.
“These women are not greedy for publicity or profit; they are silently and tirelessly working towards their noble goals. The Devi Awards initiative has discovered diamonds in the rough,” she said. Pointing to textile revivalist Vidhi Singhania and social reformer Namita Gautam, who belong to privileged backgrounds, she said, “Charity isn’t merely about sharing wealth, it's about sharing time and passion too.”
The minister was also impressed by the way dental surgeon Ritu Biyani had fought cancer head on and how Chennai’s Patricia Narayan had single-handedly taken her business from a tiny coffee stall to a restaurant chain called Sandeepha after her deceased daughter. Having learnt that Narayan set up an ambulance service on a highway so that “no other parent has to see their child’s body left unattended on the road”, Swaraj said, “To be inspired by one's own hardships and ensure that nobody else faces them is indeed one of the noblest virtues."
Swaraj lauded the awardees for following their heart, for making excellent use of the chances they had been provided, and fighting for those they had been denied. She closed her address by saying the awardees’ stories of struggle and success had indeed re-energised her spirit.
Once off stage, the minister was seen obliging selfie requests from the audience that was left mesmerised by her words and by the moving tales of the Devis.
The function ended with a lucky draw with audience-members walking away with a Hero cycle, Nokia cameras, Canali ties, candles from Illuminati, and bottles of Chandon. But they weren’t the only ones to go home happy. Beauty player VLCC gave away goodie bags of skincare to each ‘Devi’ who attended the event.
As the evening proceeded, Delhi’s glitterati paired white and red wine with ITC’s spicy-smoky offerings. Some were seen holding glasses of single malt and forking into the moving trays of kebabs. The hotel’s signature dal makhni and saffron-fragrant biryani added flavour. Mutual admiration, happy tears and fresh waves of feminism transcended the hotel’s air.
Along with great food in their belly and snazzy prizes in their kitty, the audience went home with the life lesson that what seems divine in a Devi is actually real and imitable.