MILPITAS, CA: India Community Center (ICC) in Milpitas was converted into a hub of women on Sunday, March 25 for FemFest 2018, a celebration of womanhood organized by Radio Zindagi.
The afternoon long event featured both traditional and modern dance performances, a fashion show and had Bay Area stand-up comedian, Dhaya Lakshminarayanan, as one of the hosts.
Fourteen women entrepreneurs, activists and pioneers – or ‘She heroes’, as they were called – were felicitated. The function was emceed by Miss Silicon Valley, Sabina Chaudhuri.
Some had channeled their passion for the arts into vehicles for social empowerment while some had started organizations to specifically help women in dire situations, such as victims of domestic abuse.
Some held public office while others were political activists or therapists. This was an eclectic group of women – each an achiever in her own right, from different age groups, socio-economic, religious and national backgrounds.
Those felicitated were: Anu Natarajan – Former Councilwoman, City of Fremont; Rennu Dhillon – Founder, Genius Kids Franchise; Sonya Pelia – President, Maitri Board of Governance; Shefali Razdan Duggal – Political Activist; Sherry Higgs – Founder, “Drivers for Survivors”; Sindu Singh – Founder, Bay Area Drama Company; Dr. Nilima Sabharwal – Founder, “Home for Hope”; Usha Srinivasan – Founder, Sangam Arts; Vinita Belani – Founder – Enacte Arts; Anitha Chakravarty – President, “Narika”; Shakila Omar – Lead, Shelter Program Assistance – SAVE; Shalini Dayal – Co-founder, Basant; Alisha Shaik – National Co-chair, “March for our future” and Founder, “Interfaith for Youth” and Diana Rohini LaVigne, Chief Communications Officer and Public Information Officer, San Mateo County Health.
Alisha Shaik, just 17 years old, was one of the honorees. She narrated a touching anecdote from her own life when she was visiting India with her parents as a little girl (her parents are immigrants from India); her grandfather sat her on his knee and said, “Alisha, you are going to be the next President of the United States.”
She added, “When I see all these women up here, it not only gives me hope for the future…it also shows we have come such a long way, and it makes me more motivated to keep fighting this battle.”
Many of the honorees had to overcome major setbacks and difficulties in their own lives. Shakila Omar came to the United States from Afghanistan during the Afghan war at a very young age. She always had a passion to help women and children and that is precisely what she has done with her work with SAVE for the victims of domestic violence.
Shefali Razdan Duggal, a pro-choice political activist for the Democratic Party, revealed her unusual upbringing. Her father left her mother when Shefali was very young and she was able to see firsthand the resilience of a woman as her mother took up two minimum wage jobs to support both of them. Shefali cited her own self-doubt as an obstacle, which resulted in her making a delayed entry into her field.
Sherry Higgs was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer – Inflammatory Breast Cancer, and doctors gave her only a few months to live. She started “Drivers for Survivors” to provide transportation services to cancer patients.
Rennu Dhillon, one of the keynote speakers, made a great impact with her words and stage presence. Divorced with kids at a young age, she faced feeling left out in an “unforgiving” Indian immigrant community in the US. Today, she is a successful businesswoman –
founder and owner of the thriving play school/after-school franchise, Genius Kids.
She said that what sets a woman apart is her confidence. In her inspiring speech on her favorite subject, “How to Dare to Dream and Achieve Anything You Want”, Ms. Dhillon offered a few tips to women: find your personal calling and do what you love, weed out negativity from your life, help to raise other women rather than pull them down with gossip, enjoy your own company, be your own person and like yourself the way you are instead of comparing oneself with others.
Usha Srinivasan was an engineer before she started learning Bharatnatyam with her daughter. She went on to start Sangam Arts with the aim to reach non-Indian communities with the knowledge of this traditional art. She told the audience not to limit themselves.
Like Shefali, Usha acknowledged the greatness of America and that it is now no longer a melting pot, but a mosaic, and the importance of relating to other communities besides one’s own Indian one.
Sindu Singh, who founded Bay Area Drama Company, talked about bringing about a more just and equitable society through art. She said, “Whether we do that through our poems, our songs, our dances, our plays or our novels, as women artists, we are that voice of hope that will usher in a brighter future for ourselves as well as our daughters.”
Shalini Dayal, founder of the therapists’ group Basant, talked about the importance of self-defense skills for women. She herself holds advanced belts in martial arts.
The afternoon had a wonderful fashion show presented by Diva Moms, headed by Bay Area filmmaker, Archita Mandal Fallini. Archita had directed a music video called “Diva Mom”, which was released last year.
The models sashayed on the ramp carrying placards with messages such as “#MeToo” and “My Body My Choice”.
Outside in the lobby, vendors selling clothing, jewelry and artistic home décor had a lively crowd of potential buyers.
Lakshmi Iyer
India Post News Service
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