An Ode to Womanhood on International Women’s Day

Sunday March 08, 2009 , 4 min Read

Through years, women have been proving themselves in directions hard to believe. On International Women’s day, we salute the wonderful existence of the fairer sex.

Enough songs have been sung about their importance and numerous prose as well as poems published

about their roles. And they haven’t been able to do justice to a woman’s life and thoughts. It would be a cliché to say that today women are seen everywhere, facing challenges with courage, breaking the social shackles, rising through thick and thin. Be it the corporate ladder, facing their lives all alone, carving a niche in the art world or transforming the though process of people, women have been successful in doing it all.

We talk to some of those who have dared to take the road less traveled and chase their dreams.

Coming from a Royal Rajputana family, **Gayatri Singh**, **CEO of Sterling Hospitals** wasn’t sure that she would be able to gather courage to go against her family and study. She says, “In our family, girls are put into convent school only for the initial years of their life and then they are got married. But when I completed my schooling, I had an urge to study more. My family wasn’t supportive when I chose to study and then work independently but today they are proud of me. I have managed Honest food restaurant, and Sterling Biotech before I finally joinedin here. My family is now happy with my decisions. Being a woman, there are some struggles but we women are also equipped to handle them better!”

If for some, it is the family that they have marched ahead against,there are few who believe in fighting with their own self and conquering their fears. Vibhuti Bhatt, CEO of One Advertising is one such person. “It is all about respecting the woman inside you. If you think you are weak and cannot match up to your male colleagues, you will never be able to.

But once you have the bar raised for your self, everyone else will fall in place. I have been managing both work and my home for years. They are two different lives that any working woman lives and I am glad I balance them well,” adds Vibhuti.

They say if one dares to dream for the stars, quite possible she might get one. Quite true for the young and beautiful **Shruti Pathak.**

For those who don’t know her by name, her unique texture of voice in “Mar jawa” ( Fashion) and “Payaliya” (Dev D) might get her back in your mind. She is the perfect example of small town girls making it big in the Tinsel Town but Shruti too has faced her own share of challenges,

“For a single young girl, Mumbai is not the easiest place to live in.I have stuck in here and kept my hopes high. It feels great when I look back and realize that I haven’t lost my values and ethics in life, which, if you are living in a city like Mumbai and working in Bollywood is tough to retain,” says the singer.

If there has to be one parallel story to Shruti’s, it has to be that of another woman with a beautiful voice, **Shilpa Rao** who mesmerized everyone through her beautiful rendering in **“Javeda Zindagi”** and **“ Khuda Jaaney”.**

She adds, “Life never comes easy especially if you earn to be an artist”

But when you look back, the journey is most satisfying. There have been good times and bad times, it took a few years for me to carve a niche for myself but now that I have, I feel it is all worth it.”

When you are traveling alone, the path looks more dangerous and rocky, but for **Amita Dave**, **Deputy Manager of a corporate firm, it is a challenge.**

Walking the path of life all alone even at the age of thirty six, having survived two broken marriages, she is the perfect example of strong, empowered women of the 21st century who doesn’t think twice before getting rid of the wrong male elements if they are creating trouble.

She says, “Being alone is not a curse, its a challenge. I have to handle all my social, financial, professional, personal work all alone.

I am of the opinion that being woman one has to be multitasking to do all your daily work. I believe that struggles are a part of every one’s life but being a single the troubles amplify but one has to overcome them.”

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