SAILING AT MUMBAI

 
 

Get onboard for an engaging sailing experience, powered by Aquasail, specially curated for ELSAs.

Now sold out, and watch our social media handles for updates on the event!

 

ELSA
POST-DIWALI BAZAAR

 
 

The Bazaar has been timed to get an early start on shoppers who want to prep for year-end celebrations and holidays. This time, Bikaner House is holding its own Sunday Bazaar alongside. There will be a cultural show by ELSAs and a drum jam as part of the program. Join up ladies, message Ashima Aggarwal on +91.98107.76823.
   

ANURADHA LAL

A graduate of the 1995 batch of LSR, Anuradha Lal is the Chief Marketing Officer of Digilah, which was recognized for its impact in the world of tech and digital media via a nomination in the “Most Impactful Initiative Award Category” of the Women In Tech APAC Awards 2022. Anuradha shared her delight with the netizens through her social media handle, raising a cheer to all #WomenInTech out there. Keep it up Anuradha!

 
   

PUSHKALA GOPAL

Pushkala Gopal, ELSA (1974, Maths (Hons.), has been selected for the Member of British Empire (MBE) in the category of dance, announced in the Queen’s Birthday Honors list 2020. Her experience in education and training is highly respected internationally. A lecturer, leader at dance school workshops and mentor, Pushkala has garnered accolades across the globe for her work. The award, Member of the British Empire, is given for ‘Outstanding and exemplary service to the community. How awesome is this! Hats off!
   
 

RAMMA SHIV KUMAR

Ramma, a B.Com graduate from the LSR batch of 1991, was recognized for her efforts in creating a better workplace at the Top Employer’s Day celebration in the London office of Tata Consultancy Services. She is currently the P&L Head for BFSI accounts at TCS, UK and aims to take on the world with thought leadership.
You make us proud, Ramma!
   
 

RANJANA CLARK

A graduate from the 1980 batch of LSR, Ranjana Clark has earned herself a position on the 2022 list of “25 Most Powerful Women in Banking”. She is currently the head of transaction banking at MUFG Union Bank North America. As a result of her initiative, Ranjana and her team have recently obtained clearance to raise more than $1 billion of deposits from select businesses in the financial institution's category.
Way to go Ranjana!
   
   

ROZI SIDDIQUI

Rozi, a young ELSA from the 2022 batch of LSR secures 2nd place in the Kolhapur All India Half Marathon, covering 21kms. An athlete by passion, Rozi has garnered several National-level accolades.

This talented, driven, dynamic ELSA does us alumnae and the college proud! Go forth and conquer, Rozi!

 
   

SUJATA SETIA

Sujata Setia’s photograph series “Changing the Conversation”, has been selected for exhibition at the prestigious Head on Photo Fest in Sydney, Australia, to be held on 4th November 2022. The series challenges the conservative notions of body standards and binaries while reshaping the concept of beauty and humanity. The Festival will have a grand opening at the newly reopened Bondi Pavilion.
   
 

TANVI SRIVASTAVA

ELSA Tanvi Srivastava has translated into English "The War Diary of Asha-san" written by Lt Bharati ‘Asha’ Sahay Choudhry, and HarperCollins India has just published this translated book. The War Diary of Asha-san is a memoir of courage, honour and love, by a young girl who finds she must grow up quickly in the midst of war.

As a creative person, Tanvi also writes fiction and was a member of the 2021 cohort of the Write Beyond Borders program funded by the British Council. Get yourself a copy of the book at Amazon.
   
 

TARINI AGARWAL

A 1986 LSR graduate, Tarini is a self-taught abstract painter who defines her work as a process that allows her to bring freedom into a sketchbook and an exploratory work into art. Tarini showed her work at the Iconic Jehangir Art Gallery of Mumbai through the show "Vibrations" which was held from 6 to 12 September 2022. Congratulations to you on this milestone achievement Tarini!
   

ELSAS FROM 1972 GATHER

ELSA CONNECT
     
 

The ELSA batch of 1972 gathered on the 21st of September at the Civil Services Officers Institute in Delhi to celebrate 50 years of their graduation!

Close to 30 alumni, meeting after years, had a joyous time seeking and identifying their batchmates. Viji Venkatesh from English Honors shares,

"Most of us meeting one another after 50- yes 50 years and totally having a ball trying to place one another, looking for those younger faces in the more lined and greying visages of today and letting out whoops of recognition and exchanging hugs of the bone-crushing variety"

  
     
     
 

Abha Adams is the person all parents would want to know well! After all, she’s a well-established authority on education, parenting and careers, and has introduced innovative practices in inclusive education for differently abled students.

She is the founder and director of The Shri Ram School and Advisor to Education at Step by Step. Abha joined the college in 1970 and spent the next five years gaining both graduate and postgraduate degrees in English; she also taught there for six years. Two decades later, in 2004, Abha was awarded the Most Distinguished Alumni Award by our college.

A speaker at World Economic Forum and FICCI, and columnist on education in HT, Mint, India Today and others, Abha has also authored the book, “Parenting in the Age of Anxiety” coming out later this year. At ELSAConnect, alumni had the opportunity to hear Abha speak on the above as well as her love of theatre, music, dance, film, reading and travelling. Curated by

Rashmi Misra Live YouTube link: https://bit.ly/ELSAblrYT

  

 
 
 

THE 9TH ELSA ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
CONCLUDED

ELSAs met on 10th September 2022, virtually for the 9th Annual General Meeting hosted by the ELSA Executive Committee to present the annual growth, achievements, upcoming ventures, accounts and more.

The minutes and discussions of the meeting are available for all members on the lsralumna.org website.

 

VIRTUAL BOOKCLUB MEET

Some of our ELSAs in Delhi NCR got together on Google meet for their first Book Club meeting that’s open to all Elsas. Working through so many suggestions, finally the team picked up “The woman in the white kimono” by Ana Johns. One participant shared, "It is the female lens that tells a story of a search, of loss, of love in a culture that protects itself fiercely from 'alien' dilution, a culture of a beautiful but harsh discipline, of patriarchy. The book is a quick read, slower at the core, we all agreed, where the focus is on a cruel custom of disposing of halfblood babies. It is visual, almost cinematic and we are sure (though we don't know!) it is being made into a movie. A simple yet heartbreaking tale" Arpita Chowdhury (batch 2022) helped host and manage the virtual platform, which brought them all together, from across different batches.
 
 

MUMBAI BOOK CLUB MEET

ELSAs from the Mumbai book club had a lovely and insightful time discussing the book "Forty rules of love" on 2nd October 2022. The ELSAs met for the session at Bandra Fort. Surrounded by aesthetic greenery and a pleasant atmosphere, the ladies shared the read and discussed their perspectives.
 
 
 
 

A lagging world where bra straps and periods continue to be treated as social stigmas and hidden from the public eye makes it tough for women to open up about many major problems, not just societal but also physical. We know how it's awkward for a lot of people when they hear the word 'breast' in public. We can’t really blame them because their behaviour is just a byproduct of their learning from the environment they exist in. How the hushed looks make one feel about the word “breast” let alone its existence, which is always sexualized and treated as a part of one’s body that should be properly covered and treated as non-existent, in conversations as well.

 
 

Women hide and compromise, especially the conversations related to their private parts like breasts and pubic areas, as a result of the stigma surrounding it. When it comes to health issues associated with these, not just hesitation but also the notion of " Shame" overrides and conceals the urgency to voice up or express. It is disheartening to imagine the predicament of women suffering from health concerns as grave as breast cancer in a patriarchal society that stigmatizes the body part itself. Breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer, surpassing that of the lungs. According to Cancer.net and WHO, an estimated 2,261,419 new cases of breast cancer were diagnosed in women across the world in 2020.

 
 
 

Terrifyingly, studies report that half of breast cancers develop in women who have no identifiable breast cancer risk factor other than gender and age (over 40 years). The risk of breast cancer can be reduced by incorporating healthy behavioral choices such as

  • Prolonged breastfeeding
  • Regular physical activity
  • Weight control
  • Avoidance of harmful use of alcohol
  • Avoidance of exposure to tobacco smoke
  • Avoidance of prolonged use of hormones
  • Avoidance of excessive radiation exposure.
 

If all the modifiable risk factors could be controlled, it would only reduce the risk of developing breast cancer by at most 30%. The key to battling breast cancer is early detection. According to WHO, survival of breast cancer for at least 5 years after diagnosis ranges from more than 90% in high-income countries, to 66% in India and 40% in South Africa. This proves that early detection of this disease can assure better chances of survival and speedy recovery. All these points call for awareness and education among the masses to make breast cancer more acceptable and curable in the general population. Hence this gives us a very obvious and strong reason for the observation of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, celebrated for the entire month of October.
By conducting various events, including rallies, talks, and sharing information related to healthy lifestyles, such events target fundraising and spreading awareness among people about breast cancer. The funds are directly used to help patients fight breast cancer.
A lot more awareness at the root level is required to remove the taboo and help people without shaming those dealing with the complications. As aware and sensitive citizen of the 21st century, it should be our responsibility to make sure that women can voice their needs and problems comfortably.


Share your Stories
Please share your stories with us...our community gets closer as we get to know each other better and share in the joys and successes of our alum...!

Volunteering
ELSA will have two networking events over the next four months, and we would love for many of you to join us in organizing these. You may wish to join the organizing committees of an ELSA Bazaar, and ELSA Reunion - Jashne E ELSA. Some of you may want to involve in enrolling new members. Pl email ec@lsralumna.org, and we would love to welcome you on board the committees of volunteers.

We need social media practitioners, nutritionists, mental health professionals, financial planning ones, and language support experts ( Hindi to English). If you have the interest and the time and can run a program for us, or lead or be part of a team, please do email us at ec@lsralumna.org

Social Media
And please visit ELSA handles and share your stories, insights, achievements, blog/sub-stack writing...we'd love to hear more and amplify the lives of our vibrant community! Join now/Follow: Join now/Follow:

LinkedIn - bit.ly/LSRAlumni_LinkedIn

Twitter - twitter.com/LSR_Alumni

Instagram - instagram.com/lsr.alumna

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/groups/LSR.alumnae

(P.S. Please note that only Chapters are allowed to use the ELSA name and logo in their SM and communication and such use by individuals or personal groups {unless they are amplifying an official message} is not permitted as per the Association ByeLaws)
   

Till next month!
Comms Team