Orion Mall Aims High with a Special Woman's Day Festival

Orion Mall at Brigade Gateway concluded the first ever edition of Wempower, on 8th March, celebrated as International Women’s Day. Against the backdrop of rising crimes against women, with statistics from the National Crime Records Bureau India, reporting an increase in the rates, escalating 6.4% during 2012. Wempower sought to address a multitude of issues pertinent to modern day feminism, such as women’s safety, single parenting, moral policing, female stereotypes and reclaiming individual identity.

With Women’s Day mostly reduced to mere tokenism, amidst a bevy of discount vouchers and bumper sales, Wempower – the women’s day festival aimed to reflect on celebrating acts of grit and courage by real life trailblazers from diverse domains who have dared to challenge and change the script and transform feminism into a more gender neutral and inclusively sustainable dialogue.

Acclaimed journalist, columnist on gender and sexuality and best-selling, feminist author Sreemoyee Piu Kundu was the curator of this festival. ‘The game changer in this festival were real life crusaders who walked their talk and not just so-called, Page three celebrities who are on magazine covers. The thrust of Wempower lay on its strong speakers. Explosive themes. Inspiring performances. And our belief that the fight of feminism is a human rights struggle,’ added Kundu.

The festival begun with the ceremonial lighting of the lamp ceremony accompanied by rousing key note speeches by Roopa D, the first lady Kannadiga IPS officer, currently serving as Inspector General of Police in Bengaluru, All India Mahila Congress, General-Secretary, celebrated journalist and transgender and child rights activist, Apsara Reddy and Sruthi Hariharan, leading Kannada film actress and producer, also the proud recipient of several accolades, including, the Karnataka State Film Award, three Filmfare Awards (South), a SIIMA award, and, a special mention at the 66th National film awards for her performance in Nathicharami.

Joining them on stage was Pavitra Shankar, Executive Director, Brigade Group. “From the very onset, we had a concrete vision of what we wanted this festival to be. The focus was placed on breaking the mould and scripting a different narrative. Conversations included all genders to bring about quantitative as well as qualitative changes and thought leadership. Using our influence as a leading brand that supports and values our female employees, we aspired that this festival become a platform and a convergence point for those who believe in equality, fairness and kindness for all,” added Shankar.

This was followed by an evocative dance performance by STEM (Space.Time.Energy. Movement) Dance Kampni, the performing wing of Natya Institute of Kathak and Choreography, helmed by Indian classical, contemporary dancer and choreographer, Madhu Nataraj.

The event featured three, riveting panel discussions based on the collective themes of women empowerment, gender diversity and equality. The first of which explored burning topics, such as, women’s safety, sexual abuse, moral policing, gender politics and patriarchy.

The panel comprised former civil servant, well-known advocate and social activist, Abha Singh, political satirist and leading stand-up comedian, Sanjay Rajoura, Sandhya Menon, the country’s top journalists, who was one of the first and most forceful voices of the #MeToo campaign, whose Twitter handle @TheRestlessQuil remains the go-to place for everything related to the #MeToo movement in India and Pragya Prasun Singh, acid attack survivor turned activist and social worker who’s has been fighting for providing relief and rehabilitation to her fellow acid attack and burn survivors from past 6 years now. Pragya is also the founder and Secretary of ‘Atijeevan Foundation,’ an NGO that apart from facilitating free of cost surgeries, also provides avenues for income generation to several acid Attack and burn survivors by training them to create handicraft products.

The session was moderated by Shreya Krishnan.

Focussing on the inspiring lives of four dynamic mothers who defy gender norms and stereotypes associated with motherhood, the second session, featured celebrated disability activist, Jeeja Ghosh Nag, single mother, writer, marketing maverick and solopreneur, Supriya Jain, general physician and adopted parent, Dr. Aloma Lobo and Aditya Tiwari, India’s youngest single father to raise a boy with Down’s Syndrome.

The session was moderated by Dipika Trehan.

This was followed by a twenty minute stand up comedy act by writer and disability rights activist, Pune-based, Sweta Mantrii who took to stand-up to have a conversation about her disability and the issues that come with it. Born with spinal bifida, Mantrii now finds people calling her “inspirational”.

The final panel was centred on why women are traditionally stereotyped according to the roles they are cast into, thanks to their limited gender identity, what it takes to shatter convention and why the tightrope of being a woman means taking on and tackling patriarchy, head on. Featuring Anita Ratnam, Indian classical, contemporary dancer, choreographer & arts entrepreneur, Vandana Suri, investment banker turned founder, Taxshe, and, Reeth Abraham, celebrated athlete from Bengaluru, India and former Asian medallist in long jump and 100 meters hurdles and a former national champion in heptathlon. Reeth won the Arjuna Award in 1997 and the Rajyotsava Award in 1983.

The session was moderated by Jacintha Jayachandran.

Setting an example in the space of Women’s Day celebrations, Wempower in its debut edition paved the way for diverse conversations around gender and building an inclusive society, built on the foundations of empathy, compassion and an all-round awareness.

Binge on Super Content Over the Holi Weekend on Airtel Xstream

Highlights

* Airtel customers can choose from 10,000+ Indian and global movies, shows as part of their exclusive Thanks benefits
* Enjoy your favorite digital content over Smartphone, TV or PC only with Airtel Xstream     

This year’s Holi celebrations bring the added benefit of an extended weekend and Airtel customers can make the most of it with some super digital entertainment on Airtel Xstream.

Airtel Xstream, which is one of its kind converged entertainment platform, offers access to over 10,000 movies, shows and documentaries along with LIVE TV. This massive catalogue that includes content in English, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Marathi and even Bhojpuri is available to Airtel Thanks customers for FREE as part of their Platinum, Gold and Silver benefits.

Airtel customers can access this exciting content on any screen if their choice:

Stream or Download over Smartphone/Tablet on the go with Airtel Xstream app
At home enjoy it on large screen TV with Airtel Xstream Hybrid STB and Smart Stick
Even get it on your PC by logging into airtelxstream.com

Some of the latest movies and shows to binge on Airtel Xstream:

Knives Out - A modern whodunit, the film follows a family gathering gone awry, after the family patriarch's death leads a master detective to investigate. Knives Out is an American black comedy mystery film written and directed by Rian Johnson, and produced by Johnson and Ram Bergman.

Wonder Woman - When a pilot crashes and tells of the conflict in the outside world, Diana the princess of the Amazons leaves her home to fight a war; convinced that she can stop the threat. Fighting alongside men she discovers her full powers and true destiny.

The Coronavirus Epidemic: The coronavirus disease is spreading at frightening speeds from Wuhan, China, to the rest of the world. How did this virus develop, and how close are we to finding an effective vaccine?

Karenjit Kaur - The series captures the journey of former pornstar-turned-actor Sunny Leone, born as Karenjit Kaur in a middle-class Sikh family, and her makeover from being an innocent girl to an adult film actress and eventually a Bollywood star. The ten-episode biopic is available in multiple languages, including Bengali, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Marathi

SkyFire- Skyfire, starring Prateik Babbar, Sonal Chauhan, Jisshu Sengupta, Jatin Goswami and Shtaf Figar, is about a boy from slum who disappears and his search leads a historian and a journalist to strange and seemingly unrelated incidents, including warmings of natural calamities. This one is India’s first-of-its kind sci-fi thriller series.

Once Upon a Crime- A series starring the Rajat Kapoor, a gifted screenwriter, film-maker, theatre director and actor, and Paayel Sarkar; is about the darkness of a writer’s creations turning into reality. Can the past come alive or is it all just imagination?

So what are you waiting for? Get Airtel Xstream app now to get started.  

Manipal Hospitals Jayanagar Unveils Post Pregnancy Fitness Plans on International Women's Day

Manipal Hospitals Jayanagar in an endeavour to offer post pregnancy fitness regime unveiled a unique “Fitness Plan” for new moms on account of “World International Women’s Day.”

The special package was unveiled by Dr. Rohini Katoch Sepat, IPS, DCP, South Division Bengaluru in the presence of Ms. Shobha Raghavan, COO, Sahaas Zero waste and Ms. Gayathri Gopalkrishnan, President JP Nagar Apartment Association and Medical Director of Manipal Hospitals Jayanagar.

Several informative programme was held during the event to celebrate the spirit of womanhood to celebrate International Woman’s Day. Talk on women safety, gender equality and quiz competition was organised.

Dr. Rohini Katoch Sepat, IPS, DCP – South Division, Bengaluru City said, “Maintaining fitness  post pregnancy is important as it is connected to a lot of health benefits, including prevention of post-delivery depression,  restoring muscle strength and even boosting energy levels. However, most of the women tend to neglect fitness during post pregnancy. I am extremely glad that Manipal Hospital Jaynagar has taken this initiative on International Women’s Day to create awareness on this and  breaking stereotypes of the society.”

Sharing his thoughts, Mr. Mohan Hariharan, Hospital Director, Manipal Hospitals Jayanagar said, “Manipal Hospitals Jayanagar is always at the forefront when it comes to creating awareness on public issues. Pregnancy is a very important phase in woman’s life and therefore to have fitness and healthy lifestyle is extremely important. Women are the backbone of our families and it is our duty to keep them fit both mentally and physically. I thanks all the chief guests for lending their support on this special initiative. “

Stop Child Marriages: CRY Organizes a Wedding Ceremony in B'lore

Child Rights and You (CRY) a leading ‘rights’ based organization working in the domain of child rights for the last 40 years organized a unique campaign to sensitize the netizens of Bangalore on the prevalence of child marriage. The event called ‘Not Yet’ saw a ceremonial wedding procession where people were asked to attend the marriage of a young girl representing the truth of 653131 married girl child in the state of Karnataka.

The latest Census figure shows the percentage of married children increase steeply with increasing age, and the increase is much more for girls than boys. At the age of 15 only 2.2% of the married population are boys while 8.6% are girls; this for the boys in the age of 18 becomes 3.6% and for girls is 27.45 % indicating the steep rise. Today’s girls are tomorrow’s women. Young girls who get married at an early age face several health related problems and lie at a greater risk of infant and maternal mortality.

The event marked by the presence of around 20 CRY volunteers and staff dressed up as attendees of a wedding procession escorted a Palki signifying a bride sitting in it. Mock invitations were given out asking people to join the ceremony. The invitation contained information on child marriage sensitizing people on the ground reality and also provided information on how common people can support the cause.

“The surprise factor was very impactful. It reminds us of the sad truth about the society that we don’t give importance to. The manner in which the complexity of the issue was sensitized to us motivated us to be part of CRY’s effort in its work towards to bring a sustained change in the lives of children,” said one of the onlookers, Arkadeb Ghosh, working in an analytical firm.

“Through this event we wanted to inform the general public and draw their attention to some of the serious threats the girls of our country are facing. The importance of school for a girl child is much more than education as being there for the prescribed period also and averts them from instances of child marriage and child labor,” said Karthik Narayanan, Regional Director CRY (South).

CRY:
Child Rights and You is an Indian NGO that believes in every child’s right to a childhood - to live, learn, grow and play. For 4 decades, CRY and its 850 initiatives have worked with parents and communities to ensure Lasting Change in the lives of more than 2,000,000 underprivileged children, across 23 states in India. 

Toyota Kirloskar Motor Employees Come Together to Create a Better Tomorrow for the Differently Abled

Highlights

* Marking Toyota’s 12th ICARE initiative, TKM collaborates with NGO – ‘Sandesh’ to spread the message of love and equality for all human beings
* As part of the ICARE initiative, over 100 TKM employees (ICARE Champions) volunteer to create products for differently abled children from Sandesh
* Toyota’s ICARE intervention engages its employees to contribute to a bigger social cause in the fields of Health, Road safety, Education and Environment

Continuing its relentless efforts to motivate and encourage employees to partake in social causes, Toyota Kirloskar Motor, today, conducted its 12th ICARE activity in Bangalore, spreading the message of love and equality for all human beings. This time around, TKM associated with NGO – ‘Sandesh’ that works for the differently abled. More than 100 ICARE Champions (TKM employees) came together to build an inventory of products to raise funds for the NGO, benefitting the differently abled children associated with Sandesh.

As part of this activity, TKM volunteers participated in a workshop making products including: lampshades, books, photo frames, paper Mache bowls, clay pots, paper bags and many more under the guidance of the differently abled children from the NGO. It acted as a platform for the volunteers to engage with the children from Sandesh, bringing a smile to their faces and uplifting their spirits. This activity also helped TKM volunteers to empower the differently abled children, and celebrate the essential togetherness of humanity. Additionally, employees were also sensitized in dealing with differently abled children.

‘ICARE’– an employee voluntary initiative, is an effort aligned with the company’s commitment to sustained community development. This drive actively involves the employees and strives to enhance their understanding on various societal issues, contributing to address vital needs within TKM’s CSR framework. Since its launch in 2017, ICARE has grown manifold and managed to create a large impact in the society. The volunteers have addressed various societal issues under thematic areas like Education, Environment, Road Safety, and Health thereby impacting lives. Currently, around 700 employees have been registered under TKM’s ICARE initiative.

A Prasad Kumar, ICARE Champion, participating in the cause said, “I am very happy to participate in this activity as it gives me an opportunity for driving the message of equality for all and spreading love and joy in the lives of the differently abled children from Sandesh. I am thankful to TKM for creating a platform for its employees to come together and make a difference in the community. Being a part of the ICARE initiatives has always motivated us to serve the community and work towards the betterment of the society. Such activities not only benefit the society but also help us become better human beings. I am delighted to spend my time to make such wonderful impact in the lives of the needy people.”

Sharing his thoughts on the activity, Mr. Vikram Gulati, Country Head & Senior Vice President, External Affairs, Public Relations, Corporate Social Responsibility & Corporate Governance, Toyota Kirloskar Motor said, “At Toyota, we have always believed in putting our collaborative efforts to bring about a positive change in the society and achieve long-term sustainability. Through ICARE, we inspire our employees to get actively involved in noble causes and empower them to be the change creators in the society, helping them grow as a responsible citizen. For this activity, we have collaborated with NGO – Sandesh, to engage with the differently abled children, create a wholesome environment for them, and leave a positive impact on their overall growth.”

“We are happy to see the active participation of our employees as ‘ICARE Champions’ in each of the ICARE activity. This platform helps the bonding amongst the Toyota family and also enables employees to understand the company’s commitment towards enriching lives of communities. We will continue to focus our efforts on issues that need our intervention and strive to make a key contribution to the society”, he added.

Established in 2008, Sandesh has been working with differently abled children, providing daycare centers, vocational training and skill development training for them. Since its inception, Sandesh has reached out to more than 200 families. Each of them has received hope and courage to face the life with dignity and smile.

Under ICARE, Toyota employees have earlier restored a Government School, facilitated specialized health camps, conducted recreational day with orphan children, initiated eco-campaign amongst school children through eco-painting of school premises, built playground with recycled material, installed road safety structures for smooth traffic flow, took part in the restoration and maintenance of Bannerghatta National Park and extended support to families affected by cyclone in Odisha.

Toyota will further continue its various CSR interventions from a long term development perspective of socio-economic stature of the society, touching many more people’s lives to make a difference in each one’s well-being.

Women's Day Remarks from Popular Brands Across the Tech, Market Research and Hospitality Sectors

1) Aditya Agarwal, Co-Founder, Wealthy 
"The theme for International Women's Day 2020 -- #EachforEqual -- draws attention to the fact that gender inequality poses not just societal issues but also economic ones. In our culture, women are still breaking the mould and realizing that financial independence is a key element for gender equality.
According to the Women in Financial Services 2020 report, the financial services industry is missing out on $700 Billion a year by not meeting the financial needs and expectations of women. This is a huge gap and there is a vast scope to meet the growing financial needs of women in our economy. Our experience with the female wealth managers at Wealthy validates this as they perform better than their male counterparts. Therefore, it also makes business sense for us to support and encourage women to earn on their own terms. Our platform is dedicated to providing an inclusive approach and our Wealth Managers are playing a vital role in providing sound financial counsel for clients' financial growth and well-being."

2) Neha Sanjay, Head of Marketing, Esper
"Around the world and through the decades, we have all shared the struggles of Gender Equality. Gender Equality is an apt theme for IWD 2020 and is particularly relevant for a country like India. Gender inequality is not a woman's issue, but an economic one. It is crucial in ensuring the smooth progress of every industry and sector.
According to the Zinnov-Intel India Gender Diversity Benchmark report released last year, India has merely 26% female representation in technical roles at corporates across the country. This statistic may be a reminder of the gender disparity in the industry, however, it is also indicative of the scope of opportunities for women disruptors in this space. Brands and workplaces need to focus on taking on the role of an enabler in this regard.
At Esper, we believe that Gender Equality has to be designed deliberately at the workplace. Keeping this in mind, we are making efforts to ensure gender diversity through initiatives like hiring more women at all levels, and offering them upskilling and leadership programmes as well as flexibility at work."

3) Sahiba Singh, Chief People Officer, Acuver Consulting Private Limited.
"The technological era is ultimately about maximizing human potential. In these ultra- competitive times, a culture of bias repels true talent and compromises all scope of organizational growth. At Acuver, we truly believe that we stand invincible on the foundation of equality. Here true equality is not just an idea but everyday actions of providing for everyone’s unique needs and trusting everyone with the freedom to design their own success roadmap. In serving as a springboard for every employee’s professional development, whether men or women, we ensure a win-win for our people as well as the organization." 

4) Rachan K, Associate Director – HR, Markelytics Solutions
“Balancing work and personal life can have its hardships, mistakes can be inevitable but there is always a success and we also need to understand that failure is a part of your success. Although we relatively lead a steady life, work or life can become overbearing and when a feeling of being overwhelmed hits us, we may not make the right decision. Having a form of guide or a mentor in life skills helps you to understand your inner morals and allows you to think and compete in a rapidly challenging world.

We, at Markelytics, have always realized the importance of work-life balance for all our employees and have regularly conducted sessions for the same. Work-life balance becomes more challenging for women given the society that we live in, where more impetus is on women to ensure proper functioning both at home and at work. There is no dedicated day, but the realization is more now since women’s day is around and we’ve invited a renowned life skills coach to give a talk on this subject to all our women employees sometime next week. She will be joined by a few senior female employees as well, who will share their inputs to inspire and engage with our people.”

5) Sunaina Sharma Menerkar, General Manager, Grand Mercure Mysore -

'Having come a long way within the Hospitality industry, I have seen the glass ceiling break that existed where the women had to work harder or give up working due to their family commitments. For me this has been a long and fulfilling journey.  We are living in a changing world where more women are following their dreams with passion, desire, and spirit to lead. The Hospitality industry has started to acknowledge and appreciate the commitment shown by women to create a safe culture and opening up numerous opportunities for them'. 

Tata Nexon EV Stages ‘The Grand Electric Tour’ for Customers and Enthusiasts in Bengaluru

To accelerate mainstream adoption of EVs in India, Tata Motors today announced an exciting new initiative called ‘The Grand Electric Tour’ - an immersive drive experience of India’s own Electric SUV – the Tata Nexon EV. The premium set-up is designed for customers to get a first-hand experience of the Nexon EV’s capabilities. Customers will get an opportunity to test the limits of the Nexon EV by driving it on various courses comprising - Acceleration, Slalom, Autocross, and Lane Change. Each of these activities are planned to test the power, stability and the driving experience of the Nexon EV. Adding further excitement, visitors can also experience the Nexon EV, at the hands of a professional race driver.

With the first Grand Electric Tour kicking off in Bengaluru, the two-day fun filled event will reach out to customers, inviting them to experience and indulge in a host of electrifying experiences. Customers will also get a chance to experience advanced connected car features offered by Tata Motors’ ZConnect App, such as remote commands, remote diagnostics, location-based services and safety & security alerts. Customers also have the opportunity to book the vehicle at the venue. Similar set-up are being planned in other metros and towns like Hyderabad, New Delhi/NCR, Mumbai and Pune, serving as an exclusive platform for visitors and enthusiasts.

Slots for experiencing the Grand Electric Tour can be booked by logging in to https://nexonev.tatamotors.com/

Commenting on the occasion Mr. Ashesh Dhar, Head – Sales, Marketing and Customer Care, Electric Mobility Business Unit (EVBU), Tata Motors Ltd. said, “Ever since its launch the Tata Nexon EV has generated a great amount of interest and excitement, resulting in an encouraging response for bookings across our dealerships. To accelerate mainstream adoption of EVs in India, we are building on our customer engagement initiatives by augmenting the ultimate electric experience of Nexon EV through ‘The Grand Electric Tour’. One of the first cities to have dedicated policy for electric vehicles, Bangalore sets the perfect platform to kick start our experiential drive tour, enabling our potential customers and enthusiasts to get up, close and personal with the feature loaded Nexon EV.  We are eager for our guests to experience the various elements of driving Nexon EV and behold the amazing.”

The Tata Nexon EV is an aspirational SUV for personal car buyers looking for a thrilling, connected drive experience with zero emissions. Powered by the cutting-edge Ziptron technology, this vehicle promises zippy performance, an ARAI certified anxiety-free range of 312 km on a single charge, an efficient high voltage system, fast charging capability, extended battery life and class leading safety features. The Nexon EV will be available in three trim levels across 60 plus authorized dealerships in over 22 cities. It will be available in three exciting colour options – Signature Teal Blue colour, Moonlit Silver and Glacier White.

In order to accelerate the adoption of EVs in India, Tata Motors is closely working with other Tata Group companies including Tata Power, Tata Chemicals, Tata Autocomp, Tata Motors Finance and Croma, to create an e-mobility ecosystem, Tata uniEVerse. Powered by Tata uniEVerse, consumers will have access to a suite of e-mobility offerings including charging solutions, innovative retail experiences and easy financing options.