Past Events

The Ladies Study Group began a fresh new year under the most capable leadership of Mrs Sumita Roy with a Fireside Chat with the illustrious former diplomat and Founder of The South Asian Symphony Orchestra, Mrs Nirupama Rao.

Nirupama Rao spoke about her efforts towards building bridges of peace and integration through the harmony of music.

Corporate relations icon, Mrs Rita Bhimani, very admirably guided the conversation as we glimpsed through four decades of Mrs Rao’s career as a diplomat. We heard about her experiences in the midst of an ethnic strife and later the Tsunami strike in Sri Lanka. She established the Indian culture centres at Beijing and Washington.

“It is a project about music as a definition of the human spirit.” - Mrs Nirupama Rao

We were privileged to listen to a talk between two highly successful businessmen, icons in their own fields, throwing light on all aspects of the culture and ethics of business.

Mr Murthy stressed on the importance of providing incentives to working mothers and addressed issues related to the disadvantages women face in the work field.

He very clearly explained that AI, robotics and technology are the need of the hour and by proper training the problem of redundancy could be addressed.

In these troubled times the wise insights into how we can develop a better India and thereby a better world were very valuable and reassuring.

“The road to success is through discipline, good work, ethics and honesty.” - Mr Narayana Murthy

“Understand from Mr Murthy the evolving role of woman in our society, particularly in business. Mr Murthy has seen the increasing role of women in the IT sector and his wife, Sudha Murthy, is herself a very accomplished social entrepreneur.” - Mr Harsh Neotia

It was a true celebration of women's power and their tenacity and valour!

Hearing about the meticulous and rigorous training they underwent to fly solo was motivating and enriching. Flt Lt Avani Chaturvedi and Flt Lt Bhawna Kant shared their personal stories, their early aspiration to fly and journey to realise their dream and join the combat forces.

We all enjoyed the training anecdotes shared by Air Marshal Padma Bandopadhyay.

The Air Force has evolved and fierce and fearless women like Flt Lt Avani Chaturvedi and Flt Lt Bhawna Kanth are shaping history and paving the path for more girls to follow.

“Air force for me was always about fighter jets.” - Flight Lieutenant Bhawana Kanth

“Kalpana Chawla was my idol growing up.” - Flight Lieutenant Avani Chaturvedi

“The Indian Air force is my family. It is a privilege and honour to wear the uniform.” - Air Marshal (veteran) Padma Bandopadhyay

The interaction between Laila Tyabji, the co-founder and Chairperson of Dastkar from India, Bibi Russell, the iconic haute couture gamcha designer from Bangladesh and Sonali Dharmawardena, the batik artist from Sri Lanka, was exquisitely embroidered by the moderator Malavika Banerjee, Director, Kolkata Lit Fest.

The three voices joined in unison in support of the folk craft artisans and their struggle to excel beyond pandemic times. When the international markets for slow fashion shrunk, the domestic markets came to their rescue.

Laila Tyabji spoke volumes for the uniqueness of our crafts people who can contribute value-added products to international markets. That is the key to unlock new avenues of income and employment.

Bibi Russel spoke about the opportunities available and highlighted the need to educate and familiarise the younger generations. Sonali however relied on the need of uniqueness in designs to create fashion statements for them.

“Through these international designers, the magical weaves have stayed alive on the pillars of fashion, sustainability and survival.” - Mrs Malavika Banerjee

Mr Sanjoy Roy, entrepreneur, litterateur, curator of the Jaipur Literature Festival and Managing Director of Teamwork Films, spoke about the need to explore the economic, social and cultural potential of India’s immense cultural heritage.

The conversation highlighted his foray into the knowledge space of arts and of his abiding love for theatre that helped conceive the Mahindra Excellence in Theatre Awards.

Mr Roy reflects on the economic potential of Durga Puja and the importance of tapping into the state’s sharp sense of design. He also pointed out the political importance of representing artistic traditions internationally. But most importantly, he passionately spoke about a right he has been facilitating through his long association with the Salaam Baalak Trust - the right to dream.

“Art can create wealth and is a viable economic proposition” - Mr. Sanjoy Roy

“Music happens in life! My biggest inspirations for my songs are people’s stories - they are my palette, my sur and my taal,” said Shantanu Moitra.

Shantanu Moitra, National Award winning music composer, traveller and storyteller, shared his life realisations and travel adventures, in conversation with LSG President, Sumita Roy.

The celebrated creator of some of the most memorable music for films like Parineeta, Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi, Munnabhai, 3 Idiots, Pink, October and Gulabo Sitabo, measures life in travel and music.

“Art will cease to exist if it doesn’t change its form and shape”- Shantanu Moitra

Durga Pujo, in the tradition of community celebrations, was started by the Shobabazar Rajbari in 1757 and has evolved over the generations.

Eminent contemporary artist, Shuvaprasanna and scenographer, designer and installation artist, Sumant Jayakrishnan were in conversation with contemporary artist, Jayasri Burman, about how the spiritual, aesthetic and gender sensibilities are celebrated during this festive season.

Durga had a big influence on his personal creative journey too, said artist Shuvaprasanna. Sumant Jaykrishnan spoke about contemporary style and about his presentations. He believes, that the simple act of adorning ornaments is a celebration of womanhood.

“I am strongly influenced by the power, feminine energy and the victory of good over evil that Durga represents.” - Sumant Jayakrishnan

“Durga Puja is also an occasion for reunion and rejuvenation, and a celebration of traditional culture, customs and sensitivity.” - Shuvaprasanna

Former Deputy Governor, Reserve Bank of India, Ms Usha Thorat and Dr Anup Sinha, Chairman, Bandhan Bank and former Dean of IIM Calcutta, discussed the advantages and disadvantages of using or investing in digital currencies and on the ongoing debate of whether it should be regulated or banned.

Thorat pointed out the volatility of the currency, as it has no governmental backing, is mined using complicated algorithms and its value is defined by the acceptance of its users.

The invigorating session shed immense light on a topic that has created a serious buzz in the financial markets world over and cleared many of our doubts and misconceptions.

“The challenges of regulating crypto currency is equally daunting as it is for banning it.” - Usha Thorat

“We are now looking at a situation that is a dilemma to policy makers and regulators across the world, whether to ban or regulate cryptocurrency.” - Dr Anup Sinha

It was indeed a privilege to have had Anik Dutta, the creator of the highly successful and critically acclaimed Bengali film Aparajito (2022), talk about his work, vision and views.

In conversation with filmmaker and actor, Rajesh Shinde, and script writer and creative producer, Pallavi Biswas, the film director pointed out that in his view film making is no different from handling any other project. He said that he involves himself in every detail of his project and stressed that there is no alternative to hard work in this field.

The film maker-producer duo of Rajesh and Pallavi who know how he operates, pointed out his eye for detail, his thoroughness in preparation and his very relatable dialogues.

The grandson of the founder of the United Bank of India, Shri Narendra Dutta, Anik Dutta, started his career with advertising films and is self taught.This he says has helped him at the populist (read commercial) level and even got recognition at the National level. He confessed that he doesn't believe that he is a good writer and writes only under compulsion.

Starting with his block buster success of Bhooter Bhobishot - which even got a Hindi remake - Anik Dutta has been moving forward with great conviction.

“The old adage that there is no substitute for hard work remains true, regardless of your diligence, intelligence or talent.” - Anik Dutta

A Fistful of Films - a short filmmaking workshop

Although the workshop started on a note of competitive zeal amongst the participating groups, it soon turned out to be an engaging, insightful, interactive and fun-filled learning experience. The process of film making was discussed during the well coordinated workshop conducted by Rajesh Shinde, filmmaker and Assistant Professor, The Heritage Academy and Pallavi Biswas, creative producer.

The trainers helped the participants explore the basics of camera, light, script, direction and editing during the four weekend-sessions of this workshop. Rajesh and Pallavi did a commendable job of trying to introduce such a vast subject to total novices.

Members gathered many valuable tips and felt confident and inspired to try their hands at this newly acquired skill.

Funny Side Up was a much-needed winter evening event that was fun-filled and sometimes hillarious. Obviously, because our guest speaker was Cyrus Broacha.

Yezdi Karai, our moderator - a script writer, producer and theater actor - very efficiently maneuvered the event with Cyrus's constant quirky interruptions that kept the light-hearted tempo going on. Best known for his show 'Bakra' on MTV, Cyrus gave us behind the scene stories about this show and also about 'The Week that Wasn't', in his own satire flavoured version.

Questions from our members and a quick rapid fire round, were dealt with similar elan by Cyrus. It was a wholesome evening, well spent laughing and truly enjoying ourselves.

“It's taken me a long time to reach this far. All the teachers in my school, my sister, my neighbours, asked me to stop talking... and then I started getting work just by talking? - Cyrus Broacha

It is daunting to try to capture in a few words the essence of the session we had with the eminent economist Dr Kaushik Basu, Carl Marks Professor of International Studies and Professor of Economics, Cornell University.

The former Chief Economist with the World Bank, began on a very positive note, pointing out that India is a global pioneer in data management. In his conversation with Dr Anup Kumar Sinha, Chairman, Bandhan Bank, Dr Basu shared some very insightful information on how India has emerged as a learned and respected nation globally and is looked up to in International summits like G20. The session generated a lot of queries by panelists, which were answered by him with masterly precision.

Dr Basu shared that it was his enthusiasm to understand the logical puzzles of economics, of prices, poverty and other issues, that drove him deeper into the subject and ensured his greater involvement with it. In 2009, he was appointed the Chief Advisor to the Government of India. Here he began maintaining a diary to record his objective view of Indian bureaucracy. The aim was to make the best policies possible.

The interaction was made more interesting and intellectually engaging with the participation of ICC President Pradeep Sureka and Past Presidents Rudra Chatterjee and Siddhant Kaul.

It is always a great learning experience to interact with eminent personalities like Dr Basu, who has worked with the 'movers and shakers' of the world.

“I was an obsessive researcher. It was the logical puzzles of the economy that fascinated me.” - Dr. Kaushik Basu