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fountainhead of excellence
1 MAY 2022
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MAY 2022
BUSINESS MANDATE
fountainhead of excellence
MMA conducted the MMA Women Managers’ Convention 2022 on the theme, ‘Marching Ahead: Inspire Change in Humankind,’ in March this year.
M
MA conducted the MMA Women Managers’ Convention 2022 at MMA Management Center, Chennai. In the inaugural session
on the theme, ‘Right Here, Right Now,’ Ranjini Manian,
Aruna, which is harder: to be Viswanathan Anand's manager or Anand's spouse?
Aruna: Definitely, Anand's spouse. As a manager, it is a 9 to 5 job. As a wife, it’s a 24 hour job!
Founder-Chairperson, Global Adjustments Foundation led the conversation with Indian Chess Grandmaster and former World Chess Champion Viswanathan Anand, Aruna Anand and Sairee Chahal, Founder, Sheroes & Mahila Money. Excerpts from the panel discussion:
Chess is more of a mind game and does not require physical strength. Then, why do we need a Woman Chess Championship and why haven't anyone from India made it there?
Anand: Historically, there was a huge gender gap in chess. The gender gap in the university is now closed
Ranjini: Anand, you became a chess champion only after your marriage. Any comments on that?
Anand: When we were married, Aruna did not know anything about Chess. But she is a very good and quick learner. Soon, we came to an understanding and she said, "I will take care of the external things and you can a focus a lot more on your chess.” She is a big support for me.
or even slightly reversed. The chess gap continues. In the top 100, now there is no woman. Only Judit Polgar managed to achieve that earlier and she was exceptional. I support having a separate championship for women because sometimes you need a stepping stone. In chess, we don't have men's championship. We have the open championship and the women's championship. The difference in participation is one of the reasons for this gap to continue.
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Sairee, how did you manage to build Sheroes, which is a platform—a sort of Facebook for women—and engage with 24 million women?
out to hang around, for seeking any help, to look for work or to start a digital storefront. We wanted to build a safe space for women, where their own aspirations
Sairee: It was very slow to start with and then it
can become the centre stage.
went up all of a sudden. To tell you my background, I went to JNU. The funniest thing that happened was, I built a company when I was still in college. It was a tech
You also give loans for women. Can you tell us about that?
startup. Lucky enough, it got sold. What I learnt there
Sairee: Yes, we give micro credit for women who
was the power of technology. We built the world's first
need money to take their next step -
newspaper for mariners. Before we did that, there was
education, learning something, buying equipment for
no way for the merchant navy community to connect
a parlour, buying a vehicle for higher productivity, a
with each other. Two thirds of the shipping industry
laptop or whatever is their personal pursuit in life. If
became our customers. Twenty years ago, I took the
they need money to enable that, we bring hundred
help of computer science students to create my email
percent digital loan without collaterals. You don’t need
ID. I come from a very small town and the barriers for
to bring your family for getting the loan. We do the
women were very different. On the other side, I saw the
underwriting. We trust the women. What it does is, it
Silicon Valley phenomenon. When I started, there were
reaches women in all parts of the country. It
just 10 million women online. Today, it is 300 million.
democratises access to the capital.
it could be
India has seen amazing women-only communities like Amul, Asha workers and Anganwadi workers. We created a giant tech space where you can come 32
MAY 2022
Aruna: What are your three tips to balance personal and professional life?
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If they need money to enable
Sairee: You can have it all, but just not at the same
that, we bring hundred percent
time. Life is like going in a car. You have to shift gears.
digital loan without collaterals.
Take a long term view of things. Career is a marathon.
You don’t need to bring your
We have to remain sane for a long time. Do what works
family for getting the loan. We
for you. Lastly keep learning. The barriers to learning
do the underwriting. We trust
have all gone away today.
the women. What it does is, it reaches women in all parts of
Do you have plans to scale up or go public?
the country.
Sairee: We do have plans to scale as a company. We have plans to get 100 million women on our platform.
~ Sairee Chahal, Founder, Sheroes & Mahila Money
We are a venture backed company. Going public is an Normally,
option but we are not in a hurry.
in
Indian
households,
when
this
customary question is asked, we say, 'No, no. I don't Ranjini: Anand, what is the role played by your mother?
want.' But Anand was so brave and he asked, 'Can I have another cup?' When I saw my mother's expression,
Anand: My mother was responsible for my playing
I knew I was going to get married to this man (laughter).
chess. I was very lucky to have a family member who
You must understand that I got married- not for my
knew how to play chess. My parents were very relaxed
looks, not for his chess or how handsome he was but
about my playing chess. I had played tournaments
for my mother's coffee! The third day after we got
when exams were going on. My mother travelled with
married, I went to a chess tournament and that was our
me till I was 16 or 17. In Manila, when we lived, my
honeymoon! I had no idea about chess and no idea
mother and I used to solve some chess puzzles
about the importance of the person whom I had
broadcast over TV alongside a tournament, sent in our
married to and had never travelled abroad. It was the
solutions and won many chess books as prizes.
huge auditorium. It was very dark but very comfortable. I would sit in the last row and happily sleep. One hour
Ranjini: Can you tell us about how your marriage was finalised?
later, everybody would clap and I got up to see what was happening. Anand would get up from the stage and go. I did not even know if Anand won or lost. We agreed
Aruna: Ours was a typical arranged marriage. For
that if he won, he would show a thumbs-up sign after
the girl seeing ceremony, as advised by my mother, I
every tournament. That was my introduction to chess.
agreed to keep my mouth shut but refused to dress up in traditional attire. When Anand came, what stood out was that he was such a simple person. My mother had prepared all the bajji, bonda, coffee stuff and I refused to be part of that. After serving them, my mom asked Anand, “Would you like another cup of coffee?”
Ranjini: Tell us about Aruna’s pet advice to you—Go, Play! Anand: Aruna is ultra-pragmatic and ultra-common sense character. On the verge of going to one of the tournaments, as we were travelling in the car, I forgot
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a line from the steps I had rehearsed. I tried to contact
youngsters’ game. Earlier, it used to be a Russian and
the coach for help but I couldn't. I turned to Aruna and
within Russia, a Ukrainian game. Now it has become
she coolly said, “You can’t do anything now. Just go
global. Of course, computers have changed the game
and play.”
completely.
Sometimes, the best sporting strategy is to show up and play.
average age of players coming down. Ranjini: What does success mean to all three of you? Aruna: It is taking each day at a time, being happy
Sairee: What is there in your playbook, as Anand’s manager? Aruna: Being his wife and manager, he trusts me fully. He signs contracts if I have vetted it. That puts a
for yourself and feeling accomplished for what you do each day. Be kind to yourself. Sairee: It means keeping well and just enjoying the
lot of responsibility on me. A lot of what I decide as Anand's manager is based on empathy. I would ask
gifts that the world has given us.
myself, ‘If Anand were to take this decision, what would he do, under these conditions?’ and then decide. Sairee: What has changed in the game of chess?
Chess has also got younger, with the
Anand: Success is achieving things that you set out to do, including the difficult things that you set out for the long term. Success is also about appreciating many
Anand: Its DNA is still the same and it is still a
little things.
Our Voices, Our Stories
T
he panel discussion on the theme, ‘Our Voices,
and International Sailing Athlete, Ms Shraddha Trivedi,
Our Stories’ was moderated by Sharanya Modi,
Wall Mural Artist & Graphic Designer, Pune participated
Head HR, Expo Freight Pvt Ltd (EFL). Suhasini
in the discussions. Dr Rohini Rau spoke about the
Maniratnam, Actor & Director, Dr Rohini Rau, Doctor
challenges she faced as an international sailing athlete.
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‘My parents are my inspiration,’ she said. Suhasini Mani
cinematographer. Later, I embraced acting,” Suhasini
Ratnam who hails from a family of big achievers
said. There is always a challenge in balancing what you
including her uncle Padmashri Kamal Hassan said that
do out of passion and what you receive as the pay
for her, the inspiration came from within. “I wanted to
check, she added.
be a cinematographer and did a three years course for that. I worked as an assistant for a few films but couldn’t make a mark. Then I got a chance to act in films and my movies did well. So I consciously chose to switch to acting but at that time, deeply felt for moving away from my dream of becoming a
Shraddha Trivedi who has done murals throughout India including in Prime Minister Modi’s residence, took the audience through her journey of making breathtaking murals. She said she has no reservation, as a woman, in working at heights for her paintings.
The Power of Us/Better Together
T
he panel discussion on the theme, ‘The Power of Us / Better together’ was moderated by
Vinaya Karthik Rajan gave a soulful rendition of songs
under
the
theme,
‘Invocation-Music
for
Rohini Manian, CEO, Global Adjustments. Gautam
Awakening.’ Akshyalakshmi, Sound Therapist, Zen &
Sarogi, CEO, Go Colours; Rajoshi Ghosh, COO, Co-
Sound demonstrated the power of sound therapy on
founder, First woman founder of a Unicorn startup-
the theme, ‘Sound is a medicine of future – Gong
Hasura; and Tanmai Gopal, CEO, Co-Founder, Hasura
Healing Live.’
participated in the discussions. BUSINESS MANDATE
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35 MAY 2022