Women are no more bounded by the four walls of her kitchen nor they are born for household jobs or baby sitting they have bought forward an entirely different dimension to the world on what a women can do. Be it be going to space or be it sending satellites to space or be it to manage the biggest companies, women has already proved what she is capable of and she has really fought so hard to break the stereotypes and evolve into what she is now. Mad Garage want to share few of such success story about women who swam across all odds and achieved what they wished for .
Archy Jay (The snake Charmer)
Archy Jay aka ‘The Snake Charmer’,the amazing talent from Delhi who can very well be called as the first independent Bagpiper from Indian subcontinent. The only way our people have heard Bagpipes in our country is in Hollywood movies and western music shows. Same was the case with Archy, all her life she pictured herself as someone who would end up being a vocalist as she had a big inclination towards singing since her childhood. But it was until 2011, when she first came across a Swiss folk metal band Eluveitie where for the first time she saw a different dimension being given to Bagpipes by incorporating it into a completely different set up that she had never heard before. That was her “gotta wanna” moment and she knew this is what she wanted to do, to be. Her works have been featured in leading portals like edm.com, metalhammer.com, ultimateguitar.com, Rolling Stone India, M TV Indies, Huffing post etc. Her r works were shared by legends like The chain smokers, Chris Adler (Lamb of God), Bear McCreary (The walking dead) etc. She just crossed the magical 10,000 subscriber mark on her YouTube channel. Archy is now one of the busiest artists with a lot of shows lined up and she is definitely a Super Woman. All the best Archy, for the path ahead.
Divya Doraiswamy
Divyaa Doraiswamy , an 35 year old women from Bangalore quit her well salaried job with the mission of teaching young kids shlokas. Divyaa started an institution called ‘Gurukulam’.
Lets know what made her do this. Divyaa Doraiswamy , A few years ago, when she was fighting a long drawn out personal battle, and found her not being satisfied with her professional life, Doraiswamy started reciting the “Runa vimochana stotram” and the Hanuman Chalisa, which she learnt from her mom growing up. When she found solace through reciting shlokas, Divya decided to consult with her mom and gained knowledge regarding the shlokas from internet and gathered maximum information. For Divya shloka chanting helps to control her anger and frustrations. Divya says “It changed the way I look at life; I understood much truth about life and felt relaxed like never before. But at at the same time I also felt why I was not aware about the power of this shlokas or why it’s not been thought to our generation” It’s this question that started her voyage to start the project Shlokapreneur. In October 2014, as a pilot project, she started a “fast-track shloka programme” at home, Initialy she got very light response as many of them considered it as religious but She started selling her concept through word-of-mouth and sticking posters on billboards in and around Koramangala. What started with six children two years ago grew into 50 students. As per Divya the course has nothing to do with religion,. “Many parents come in and complain that their children don’t have focus, can’t sit in one place, and are anxious and violent. But simply some disciplined chanting, and they are transformed children,” she says.
At present Divya is conducting classes of (30 and 60 minute slots) in apartments, pre-schools, dance-schools and studios, and also does one-on-one classes for kids at their residences. Recently she started to give Skype lessons too for those who are far away from her reach. Divya is now a very contended woman as she could spread what she learned to a young generation which will definitely build a better and smarter generation.
Anjali Rajan
Anjaly Shyla Rajan who rode from Thiruvanathapuram to Ahmadabad on her Harley Davidson covering 2231 Kilometres in 11 days making only road as her companion.
She considers her to be blessed as at her young age itself she got an opportunity to ride many motorcycles. Riding across many different motorcycles actually helped her to be a rider. She started her riding expedition on her Super Splendor 125cc at the age of 19. Then she owned an Avenger, named as Aserah when she was 22 . It’s the bike which she travelled the most. When she turned 27 she took it up to next level and got herself a Harley Davidson Super Low, named it as Aura.
Anjaly said “There is always an emotional bonding between me and my bike during rides. For me my only companion during that time will be my motorcycles and the road. I talk with me motorcycle during the ride. It’s always connected during or after ride. My bikes are part of my life. I cannot think a life without my Aserah”. From these words it’s very clear that the emotional bond she is having over her motor cycles.
She started her 2231 KM journey from Trivandrum but took multiple detours and took a disjointed route through the state of Kerala as there were places she wanted to see and people she needed to meet. Thereafter, she went to Cochin and the stay there was three days. Moving onwards to Tamil Nadu, she went to Kottarakara, Allepey in between. Then she took the Chennai-Salem-Bangalore route and the highway till Ahmadabad through Nipani. Anjali always advices young riders to be updated regarding the safety gadgets. Jackets, boots, and gloves should always be used. Using good gear is very important as it could be lifesaving.
“Lot of men and women tells me I’m so lucky that I get time to ride and I’m living my dream. Yes I’m living my dream because my only aim is to live and fulfill my dreams. Motorcycling is one of my dreams. I work towards each and every dream to make it happen. You yourself, your mind will only be the hindrances for not making your dreams come true. Nothing is impossible in this work if you believe each and every letter of it. Also, people give free advices based on their experience. But it’s always good to listen. But, you have to keep in mind one thing; every individual in this world is different and unique. The way they brought up, the way they think, the way they talk the way they dream and the way the work towards their goal. So always choose wisely whether to follow the advises of other or follow your heart.” This is what Anjali wanted to say to all those who want to chase their dreams and also said “If I can do then why not you?”
Nutan Manohar
Through her firm, Me Met Me, Nuthan invites you to rediscover yourself through yoga, food and fun. She is an MBA in Marketing and Strategy. She was in Brand Consulting and Advertising for global brands like Kraft (Oreo, Chips Ahoy, Kraft Cheese etc.), Bausch and Lomb; national brands like Titan, Reliance, Mahindra, Nilgiris, Coffee Day. Her marketing tenure included top notch firms like Ogilvy, Draftfcb etc. Till 2010 she was handling the Asia Pacific brand strategy and advertising operations for key global clients spanning over 11 countries such as Australia, China, Thailand, Vietnam, India, Indonesia etc. She started her Meditation practice in 2001, and her Yoga Asana practice 2004. Stress relief was the main reason. Soon Yoga became the best part of her day and since 2010 its ALL OF HER DAY. Nutan started teaching Yoga in 2008 as part time and now it’s the only choice of how she spend her day. In 2010 December she acquired her first international trainer certification from Sivananda.
She has worked as a researcher and strategist in the social sector dealing with waste management, urban planning, education, women empowerment for projects funded by Ford Foundation, UNDP, Care etc. She was awarded for innovation by National Geographic Channel. She was the coordinator for the largest yoga conference in Asia – Evolution Asia Yoga Conference.
She continues to gain the knowledge of yoga, psychology, anatomy, alternate healing through various internationally renowned teachers like Sadie Nardini, Bo Forbes, Janet Lau etc. She started her yoga career at the premium yoga chain Pure Yoga, Hong Kong.
She works extensively on bridging modern research and ancient wisdom to create tools and treatment modules. She has conducted sessions for Miss Kerala, Miss South India, Celebrity Cricket League, Midukki, Times of India, Manorama, Gov of Kerala, Rotary, Chamber of Commerce (N. Malabar), Tata (Top Management of various verticals), Visual IQ, Berger, Apollo Tyres, Aster Medicity, Kerala State Business Excellence Awards, The Goa Project etc. She writes with various newspapers and magazines and has appeared on over 100 TV episodes regarding wellness, leadership and women empowerment. Since 2013 she is based in India. Nutan Said “Earlier it was mostly people who were unwell, who came for Yoga. Yoga Practice recommended for those with illness is gentle and soothing. Now youngsters have started finding the benefits of yoga , be it for improving strength or combating stress or increasing productivity. The classes meant for youngsters is rather challenging and you will sweat a lot. I have also been training models and sports teams to improve their performance.” “The more a teacher teaches, the less time the teacher gets to practice. So in short your own practice suffers.” This is what she said has her major challenge so far as a teacher.
Her firm, Me Met Me was adjudged best yoga center in Kerala since inception and has won various national and international awards. The opportunity to teach a group of 1000 students and that too two such batches, back to back – for the Southern Naval Command and the student group included the Chief of the Indian Navy, Mr Sunil Lanba, is what she consider as her biggest achievement as a teacher. Recently she were selected by the Kerala tourism on their prestigious project Kerala Blog express, where she was a part of a group of bloggers from all around the globe and they went for a 15 day trip exploring Kerala.
Minu Pauline
Four years ago Minu quit a fairly good job in a reputed bank and decided to chase her dream of doing something different, And that is how ‘Pappadavada’ was born. The concept became a huge hit among the residents of Kochin and the restaurant got itself a spot in one of the must visit restaurant in Kerala. The tasty food and unbelievable price made the favourite amongst the food freaks. The restaurant which was started in 2013 at M.G Road in Kochi in a single room recently opened its second branch at Kaloor in the same city. And this time she just didn’t opened a restaurant but she opened a new revolution of love and care to the people around her. She kept a fridge in front of her restaurant and named it “Nanma Maram” –Free food wending machine. She says she “isn’t particularly fond of playing safe and being comfortable.” Nanma Maram is an extension of that philosophy. It’s partly a way for her to do her bit for the hungry and homeless, but she’s also taking a chance on the kindness of others. She says that this project isn’t about her doing something as an individual; she wants it to trigger a movement across the city. From home to hotels, wherever there is a chance of surplus food being wasted, she hopes people will consider sharing instead. The initiative of “Nanma Maram” created a massive response from all over the world she got featured in many leading Indian and International journals across the planet.
What Minu says to her customers and people of Kochi is “If you have extra food at home, or if you eat out and you find that you have extra food, come and drop it in this refrigerator,”
Mohini Dey
Mohini Dey, 20 year old bass guitarist, has been seen as a talented musician since she was 11; she has played with some revered musicians and music composers from an age when most girls and boys were busy basking with friends she was spending her time with world class musicians around the world. Mohini was introduced to the world of music and guitar at the age of three by her father Sujoy Dey, who himself is a bassist. After completing her schooling, Mohini gave up academics finding it difficult to balance music and studies. Her prodigious talent was noticed and honed by her father’s friend Ranjit Barot, one of the country’s foremost drummers. She began to tour as part of his band and was member of the team behind Bada Boom (Barot’s album). She also was part of Ranjit’s band on MTV Unplugged. Her music has influences from guitarists like Victor Wooten, Jaco Pastorius, Abraham Laboriel, Mark King, Tom Kennedy and Marcus Miller. She also draws from percussion instruments such as the drums and the tabla. She has shared stage with Hariharan, Ranjit Barot and A.R Rahman at various events. She has also performed with Taufiq Qureshi, Naveen Kumar, Stephen Devassy, Sivamani, Aditya Kalyanpur and Suchismita. Mohini dey, who has been endorsed by Markbass, the Italy-based manufacturer of high-quality bass amplifiers.
Famous American singer Cher once said ” Women are the real architects of the society” and yes they are really building the world into a better place, Together lets support them, Lets make our mothers and sisters feel secured in this country. The International Women’s Day is celebrated on 8th March all over the world. But lets not celebrate it on a single day, lets take the step to appreciate and give respect to all the women who are the essence of our life. Lets honour the life, grit and determination of women. These words of Charles Malik, former President of United Nations General Assembly aptly sum up the role of women “The fastest way to change society is to mobilise women of the world.”
