Jennifer Winget
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
August 2017 Vol 1 Issue 2 THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING Jennifer Winget MONSOON CHASING THE LADY BOSS NORTHEAST FEAST Why would a woman Meet Revathy Ashok, the Seven traditional recipes drive across India first Indian woman CFO from India’s seven during the rains? of a NASDAQ-listed firm northeastern sister states FOR PRIVATE CIRCULATION ONLY CONTENTS | 3 contents My House Caught Fire 12 A moving story of love, fear, loss and grief Secrets About Zanzibar 19 There’s a lot more going on than you think Being Jennifer Winget 22 Our cover girl on TV, fame and betrayal Wind Beneath His Wings 27 Sweta Chhabria and Aditya Kripalani Lady Boss: Revathy Ashok 29 The personal life of a corporate honcho Her Cup of Tea 36 Shikha Puri and her boutique Teacupsfull The Fashion Ethic 38 Popular Ahmedabad designer Jigna Shah New-Gen Way to Shop 50 These tips will save you time and money! : Return to Roots S O Karishma Shahani Khan on T 40 Feast from the Northeast HO upcycled Indian fashion P 54 Seven recipes from the seven sister states AUGUST 2017 4 | CONTRIBUTORS EDITOR’S NOTE | 5 contributors A FINE BALANCE RITU GOYAL HARISH was a freelance journalist for 17 years and s a work-from-home mom, I can barely is currently reinventing herself as a recall moments when I have ‘nothing to travelpreneur with her Pune-based do’. At any given time, my mind whizzes travel company Ease India Travel. with thoughts of work, meetings, house- 08 Ahold needs, family demands, husband’s travel sched- ule, my community commitments, and the general SHILLPI A SINGH is a freelance need to ‘be there’ for everyone and everything. journalist who loves to write about So it does not surprise me that most of the wom- cinema, theatre, fashion, lifestyle, en I interact with in the course of compiling my wellness, food, travel, books, anything magazine share similar narratives – of balancing that tickles her grey matter. family and career, and of making difficult deci- 16 sions. Revathy Ashok, for instance, who was India’s first woman CFO of a NASDAQ-listed firm and a SMRITI SAWHNEY JOSHI is mother of two, had to give up her job at the peak one of the first certified telemental when her dad’s health began deteriorating rapidly health providers in India. She’s a (p.29). Our cover girl this month Jennifer Winget clinical psychologist with 15+ years learnt to balance her personal and professional life. of experience in mental health. 34 Despite the media onslaught after her divorce, she Aekta Kapoor continued to rise in her career to become one of Founder Editor, eShe India’s best paid TV actors (p.22). ANUPAM DABRAL is a Delhi-based But perhaps there is a reason we are given these writer on a mission to capture challenges. Gayatri Jayaraman wrote a book after different aspects of fashion and to her travails as a part of India’s poor-rich educated understand the creative energies that middle class led to deep insight into urban soci- transform a label into a brand. ety (p.32). Advertising honcho Shikha Puri started 40 her own boutique tea company after the demands of motherhood forced her to quit her hectic job Editor: Aekta Kapoor All rights reserved throughout the world. Delhi 110057. Phone: +91 9818166621. (p.36). I started eShe. Reproduction in any manner is prohibited. To subscribe to the digital edition, visit Design: Arushi Vohra Founder editor: Aekta Kapoor. Printed eShe.in and sign up with your email, or Perhaps, as they say, the obstacle is the path. Sales: Saurabh Manchanda and published by Aekta Kapoor on behalf email [email protected]. Contributors: Purabi Shridhar, of the owner Coral Content. Printed at To advertise in the print edition or on Sanghita Singh, Versha Modest Graphics (P) Ltd, C-53 DDA Shed, the website, call Saurabh Manchanda at Okhla Industrial Area Phase 1, New Delhi. 9810024424. Malhotra, Argha Kashyap Published at C3/1 GF, Vasant Vihar, New Visit eShe.in for more. [email protected] AUGUST 2017 AUGUST 2017 6 | NEWS NEWS | 7 AROUND THE WORLD RISE IN Adoption BY SINGLE WOMEN While we’re on the subject of single women, A spotlight on women in the news and news of interest to women estimates from the Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA) under the Compiled by Argha Kashyap Women and Children Development ministry have found that more single women have SHe-BOX been coming forward to adopt children in India. The 2015 adoption guidelines made In a proactive move by the Women and Children Development Ministry, online registration mandatory for parents women working in the central government can now file complaints against wanting to adopt. It was observed that sexual harassment at their workplace there were 412 single women registered through the new SHe-box (Sexual with CARA of which 75 adopted in 2015, which grew to 93 in 2016, even Harassment electronic) online portal. though the total number of kids went down from 2903 in 2015 to 2671 in According to Union minister Maneka 2016. In addition, the ministry has decided that single Indian women over Gandhi, public-sector employees will the age of 40, with the financial wherewithal to bring up an adopted child, soon be able to avail of the facility as will be given preference in the adoption process. well. The WCD says this is an effort towards “effective implementation” of the Sexual Harassment of Women Act PERIOD LEAVE 2013. The idea is to find a solution in such cases before they escalate to legal action. Soon, a national survey will also be conducted to understand First, the Mumbai-based digital the nature and magnitude of harassment at the workplace. media company Culture Machine Media announced a “First Day of Period Leave Policy” for all its ALL EYES ON TAAPSEE PANNU 75 women employees. They also put up a Change.org petition to This is definitely Taapsee Pannu’s year. After the the Minister of Women and Child success of her film Pink, co-starring Amitabh Development Maneka Gandhi Bachchan, she was named Woman of the Year and Minister of Human Resource at IIFA 2017 last month. The 2016 film, which Development Prakash Javadekar to appeal for a similar leave policy in highlighted the problems faced by independent companies across the country, which has got over 30,000 signatures so single women, was directed by Aniruddha Roy far. Following their footsteps, Kerala-based media house Mathrubhumi Chowdhury. Taapsee did full justice to the role initiated a similar policy, saying, “This is not empowering women despite the controversial social issue. Taapsee but understanding their needs. It is an attempt to remove the taboo : PIXABAY S 0 got her first breakthrough after signing up for T surrounding the biological cycle.” Debates soon took over social media HO Channel V’s Get Gorgeous Pageant, after which P and the Internet whether or not women need a leave during their period. acting offers began pouring in. She was recently PAGE At eShe, we believe any step towards inclusivity is welcome, and we hope S HI seen at a store launch in Gurgaon. T the next steps are those that consider the needs of the differently abled. AUGUST 2017 8 | ADVENTURE ADVENTURE | 9 ning, would lash the city (Kochi), rential rain a little after midnight. night and day. This was the kind of I was about nine. The car broke rain that uprooted trees and caused down in the middle of the highway WHY I CHASED power outages for days! and its electrical circuitry gave way. My fondest memory of that time It was raining so heavily my father THE MONSOON is going up to the terrace with pa- couldn’t get out of the car. Later, Childhood experiences can leave a deep impact on you, sometimes urging per boats my mother would help us we were rescued by a lorry driv- make, and sailing them in a puddle, er who recognised the registration you towards unknown journeys, or chasing torrential clouds across India sitting on our haunches, protect- number of the car (my father con- By Ritu Goyal Harish ed by an umbrella. I also harbour a ducted business with the owners) deep love for road trips – a legacy and towed us to Kollam, the nearest from my father, who’d pack us all town. in his Fiat Padmini and drive across As a kid, I didn’t know (and nei- Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. ther did my parents) that all these Most of these trips were impromp- experiences were having an im- tu – my siblings pact on me and and I would re- “It was raining so that as an adult, I turn from school would seek sim- and find our bags heavily we couldn’t ilar experiences. packed and the car So two years ago, ready, to go away get out of the car. when I decided to for the weekend. We were rescued by drive from Pune We had numer- to Kasaragod in ous adventures a lorry driver later” Kerala, no one was on our trips– our surprised. car would break down or we’d lose To me, there was no better way to our way. This was in the late 1970s combine my love for the road and and early ‘80s, a time before paper the rains than on a trip chasing the maps were popular and no one had monsoon! I longed for the heav- imagined Google Maps. All my fa- ens-coming-down kind of down- ther had for directions were vague pours, and had also heard a great recollections of routes from friends deal about the highway from Goa ’ve had a long love affair with neatly wrapped in brown paper – it and instructions from drivers he to Kerala and that it traversed along the monsoon that started when would rain like there was to be no spoke to.