Category: Women / Girls

** Who is Anita Anand, Canada’s new defence minister?

Anita Anand, an Indian-origin Canadian, will replace Harjit Sajjan and take oath as the 43rd Defence Minister of Canada.

She is only the second woman to hold the position. She is preceded only by former Canadian Prime Minister Kim Campbell, who held the Defence Minister’s post for five months in 1993.

Who is Anita Anand?

The 54-year-old minister was born in the coastal Canadian province of Nova Scotia to Indian parents hailing from Punjab and Tamil Nadu. She has two sisters — Dr. Sonia Anand and lawyer Gita Anand — who have been with her on the campaign trail.

** Isha Ambani appointed on the Board of Trustees of the prestigious Smithsonian’s National Museum of Asian Art

In 2019, Nita Ambani, wife of Reliance Industries’ Chairman and Managing Director Mukesh Ambani, was elected to the board of New York’s The Metropolitan Museum of Art

** Meet Savita Singh, the ‘camera ma’am’

Savita Singh’s film not only won the National Award for Best Cinematography, it is also India’s short film entry for the Oscars

If cinematography is the art of making the invisible visible, then Savita Singh has mastered it. Her short film Sonsi is not only winner of this year’s National Award for Best Cinematography, it is India’s entry for the Oscars in the short film category.

Savita, who hails from a family of farmers in Hisar and is the first female graduate from her village, has gradually emerged as an ambassador of the growing tribe of women cinematographers in the country.

** ‘Znehazandram’ award presented

Honour for display of inspirational talent despite odds

Cherupuzha native Elizabeth S. Mathew was presented with the maiden Znehazandram Excellence Award instituted by the Kozhikode-based Zmart Foundation for inspiring personalities.

Ms. Mathew was chosen for the honour comprising a purse of ₹50,000 and memento considering her inspirational musical talent despite her continuing struggle to overcome the neurological disorder Tourette syndrome.

Kerala

** Indian-origin Anita Anand is Canada’s new Defence Minister as PM Trudeau reshuffles Cabinet

Ms. Anand will replace long-time Defence Minister Indian-origin Harjit Sajjan, whose handling of the military sexual misconduct crisis has been under criticism

Indian-origin Canadian politician Anita Anand was on October 26 appointed as the country’s new Defence Minister in a Cabinet reshuffle by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, over a month after his Liberal Party returned power in the snap polls and amid calls for major military reforms.

** Nivetha Thomas scales Mount Kilimanjaro, is game for more expeditions

“My eyes welled up when I reached the summit. It took me three hours to hike the last 50 metres,” says actor Nivetha Thomas, who scaled Mount Kilimanjaro a few days ago. At 5895 metres above sea level, Mt Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, East Africa, is the highest single free-standing mountain in the world.

Nivetha was accompanied by Telangana mountaineer Poorna Malavath, her coach Shekhar Babu Bachinepally and 15 crew members.

** No Hems or Haws

Meet Bengaluru make-up artist Durga Venkatesh, who can drape a saree in 155 styles in two hours .

In a time where inspiration and endurance is wearing thin, Durga Venkatesh, a make-up artist and bespoke fashion designer, has chosen to take life by the hems. Venkatesh, who has lived in Bengaluru since her childhood, currently holds the world record for the fastest number of saree styles draped, having been attested by the Limca Book of Records, India Book of Records, Asia Book of Records, Asian World Records, British World Records, and, most recently, the Kalam’s World Records in August.

In addition to this, she also won the Divalicious Mrs South India Universe title for 2019, and manages her own make-up salon and academy, Durga Makeup Studio & Academy in JP Nagar.

** Professor Sharada Srinivasan gets Woman Engineer of the Year award

Padma Shri awardee Professor Sharada Srinivasan has added yet another accolade to her expansive list of accomplishments by being one of three women to be chosen for the Indian National Academy of Engineering’s Woman Engineer of the Year award in 2021.

The title is awarded by the academy to women who have made breakthrough contributions to the fields of technology and engineering in India. She is a professor at the National Institute of Advanced Studies, Bengaluru.

** Lifetime achievement award for author Anita Desai

Anita Desai, one of India’s best-known authors, has been conferred with the Tata Literature Live! Lifetime Achievement Award for 2021.

Desai’s authorship has spanned more than 50 years, with memorable works such as ‘Fire On The Mountain’, ‘Cry The Peacock’, ‘A Village By The Sea’, ‘The Clear Light Of Day’, ‘Baumgartner’s Bombay’, and ‘In Custody’, which was made into a Merchant Ivory film starring Shashi Kapoor, Shabana Azmi, and Amrish Puri.

Desai’s blend of lyrical style, ease with different cultures, and a clear-eyed examination and confrontation of realistic truths about society and relationships, made for a unique reading experience that fast led her to occupy a leading place among her peers.

** Navy’s Offshore Sailing Regatta to set the stage for global solo circumnavigation

38 personnel will be engaged in readying six Indian Naval Sailing Vessels (INSVs) for the 700-km “Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav”

Saturday saw brisk activity at the Southern Naval Command here, with 38 personnel – including eight women, engaged in readying six Indian Naval Sailing Vessels (INSVs) for the 700-km “Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav” Offshore Sailing Regatta to Goa from Sunday.

They include women personnel who circumnavigated the globe in one such vessel in an all-women group in 2017 and have fixed their eyes on doing it solo in a year’s time. Powered by wind, they intend to cover the distance in less than five days. The regatta under the aegis of Indian Naval Sailing Association (INSA), is aimed at fostering the spirit of adventure and ocean sailing.