The fifth Sakthi awards, instituted by Puthiya Thalaimurai were conferred on Friday on women who had excelled in different fields. Malini Parthasarathy, co-chairperson, THG Publishing Private Limited, was given the award for leadership. The other awardees included Bhagirathi Ramamurthy, who runs the Anandam old age home, for benevolence; cricketer Thirush Kamini for talent, and Udumalpet Kausalya Shankar, who is leading the crusade against honour killing, for courage. Eminent gynaecologist Kamala Selvaraj was given the life time achievement award and singer Vani Jayaram, was conferred the award in the knowledge category.
In her acceptance speech, Dr. Parthasarathy said: “Leadership is not just about empowerment and positions. It also means taking stands for principles, values even if they are unpopular and against the tide.”
Stating that it was a happy development to see women coming in large numbers and being active in reporting and newsrooms, Dr. Parthasarathy hoped the award would inspire them to take up more leadership positions in newsrooms.
The awards were given by Tamil Nadu Health secretary J. Radhakrishnan and P. Sathyanarayanan, managing director of Puthiya Thalaimurai.
