AWARDS

A C H I E V E M E N T S

Deepti Potnis Dtm

Thatwhichwecallarose/Byanyothernamewouldsmellas sweet.”SaidShakespere’sJuliet.Butdoyoureallyagreethat namesarejustnames?

Thatwhichwecallarose/Byanyothernamewouldsmellas sweet” Said Shakespere’s Juliet But do you really agree that namesarejustnames?

Before I start a story from Mahabharat, I would like to pose a question Has anyone heard name of Gandhari? I am sure many of you have surely heard it. Gandhari was the princess of the kingdom of Gandhar. Mighty kingdom of Hastinapur had a blind king named Dhrutrashtra Hastinapur sent a proposalofalliancetoGandharforGandhari.Gandharihadto compromise and accept the proposal To show her devotion towards her husband she decided to blindfold herself for the rest of her life They both produced 100 children Imagine what kind of children a blind father and blindfolded mother must have raised. All of them drifted away from the path of righteousness and the entire dynasty got destroyed in the warofKurukshetra.

Well I don’t I feel our names carry some aesthetic force To explain my point today I will tell you two tales One from the epicofMahabharatandotherfromtheepicofRamayan. W H A T ' S I N A N A M E ?

My second story is from the epic of Ramayana. Ramayana was written by sage Valmiki Before obtaining the title of sage Valmiki, hewasaPoirotinthewoodsnamedValya.Heusedtorobthetrace passers and provide for family Once Sage Narad was passing from thatjungleandheaskedValya,whyareyoucommittingsomuchof sin? Have you ever thought how are you going to repay your sins? Valya said, I do this to provide for my family, so I am not the only stakeholderinmysins.Myfamilywillsharemysins.SageNaradsaid, “why don’t you once verify before assuming?” Valya confidently went home and asked his wife if she would share his sins? Valya’s wife said my duty is to manage the household in whatever my husband provides me; I am doing it with all my conviction and righteousness. Your duty is to provide for your family but how you do it is your choice Neither I nor my children will be stakeholders in your sin. Her stand wide opened Valya’s eyes and he became Sage Valmiki

Now let’s think of the aesthetic force. Today also we see so many Gandharis around us We see so many ladies just to show their devotion to their husband give up on so many things. I know a lady whoneverusedhairoilafterhermarriagejustbecauseherhusband has an antipathy towards hair oil I know many ladies who carry the samesocialandpoliticalopinionastheirhusbandnotbecausethey agree or have any understanding of the subject but just because theirhusbandthinksso.ArethesenotthemodernGandharis?

This women’s day think what kind of women we want to raise Women like Gandhari? Or women like Valmiki’s wife? Are we not missingtheaestheticforceofValmiki’swife’sname?

If name Juliet has an aesthetic force of love and romance on us, if Gandhari has an aesthetic force of blindness on us, don’t we need anaestheticforceofbeingopinionatedlikeValmiki’swife?

-DeeptiPotnisDTM

Uncertainty, altered daily routines, financial pressures and social isolation – the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic was mammoth. I was scared, anxious, agitated and confused. MyfamilylifewascrumblingandIwasconstantlylosingmy temper. Exercise, eating healthy, sleeping enough, I tried it all.

But the stress level was sky rocketing! And then, I stumbled uponToastmasters.Ijoinedanonlineclub–ClubToastEd.

The name fascinated me. I was curious to see learn more aboutit.Andafterattendingonemeeting,IknewthatIhad found my coping mechanism. Preparing and delivering speeches, interacting with like-minded individuals and most of all the sense of belonging saved me! Now it is almost a year that I have been a Toastmaster, I’ve found a mentor who empowers me and encourages me to pursue my goals! If the pandemic taught me fear, Toastmasters taughtmetoembracemyfears.Thankyou,Toastmasters!

ROSHANSUKHEJA

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