When the Vice President of India makes a suggestion with 75 people surrounding you, asking you to translate the book you’ve just compiled and edited, you do a quiet whoopee (inside your mind, because you are at his residence, drinking his tea, and eating his sandwiches, and you must act the adult you are). Later, you go home and look back at the year that was, thankful for the journey. That’s pretty much what Aparna Samuel Balasundaram and Jyotika Mehta Bedi did on this Women’s Day.
“Awaken the Magic: Real Stories of Love, Hope and Inspiration”, with a foreword by Salma Ansari, was unveiled by Mohammad Hamid Ansari amidst a number of the 41 women from around the world, who had contributed to the book. The foreword that begins lithely, with “If we forget to dance we would fall out of grace,” ends on a sparkle: “May the force be with you.” It’s almost a projection of what to expect from the pages that follow, with voices as varied as Neeti Palta, the comedienne and Heather Ferreira, who overcame a disability and an abusive marriage and now works with girls and women.
Here, Aparna and Jyotika talk of the making of the book and how they hope it will empower and inspire.
What compelled you to put together the book?
As women, we are born empowered—it is a fact that girl babies survive better at birth than boys, in adverse conditions. But the harsh reality is that that there are things that hold us back from realising our innate potential. The book is our attempt to identify the road blocks and then reflect on overcoming them. Though it may not be called out, each story hints at tools that we can draw upon, depending on what our core strengths are. For some it may be spirituality, for others it may be family, but if you are going through a challenging time, it may help you identify your own strength and use it to overcome adversity. There are our own stories, of dealing with a near-death situation with a child and coming out of an abusive marriage. We have laid bare ourselves.
What is the thread that runs through?
The book distils the essence of us as human beings. So while we do hope women will read it, we also think men should read it too. There are stories in there for all of us.
While there are a few recognizable names like Shahnaz Husain, Sonam Kalra, and Ishi Khosla, most are women who lead lives where they take the metro to work, help kids with homework, cook a meal. There’s the story of Garima Avtar, the race-car driver that talks of the power in believing in yourself; that of Hazel Siromani of changing stereotypes, with her going out to work and her husband opting to work from home and look after the kids; Renelle Andrea Snelleksz that shows how forgiveness takes you a long way even if does take a long time – Renelle went through sexual abuse as a child and she now helps other young people with it. There’s also the theme of loving the way you have been created with Kavitha Emmanuel speaking about the Dark is Beautiful campaign; and loving your own belief system with Natasha Mascarenhas on living with the decision to not give in to campus pressure on being a virgin.
What’s a good way of reading the book?
Give yourself time, even if it’s just 15-20 minutes. The stories have been put into sections, but you could simply open any one and take it in. The idea is that you connect it back to yourself or someone you may know, so you can share it with them.
What’s next?
Translating the book, because you’ve got to do what the Vice President says! The idea of it being accessible to the grassroot level does appeal to us. Plus, we hope to create a think tank, a resource centre, and a digital space where women can share stories – we must build each other up. I must feel heard, know that I am not alone, and then reach out and support another.
