Women’s day celebrations rang loud across the city with a multitude of events this week. I celebrated with Young Indians, the Chennai Chapter, getting to be part of a panel discussion on Empowering Women: Stories of Leadership and Triumph. The event, which took place at the atrium of Phoenix MarketCity, saw not just ladies in attendance. A fact that I was happy to note. My fellow panelists included Dr Prithika Chary, Dr Srimathy Kesan and Meena Chabbria, quite diverse in terms of professions but it made for an even more interesting chat. The talk covered everything from struggles the previous generation of women faced in the years gone by, to funny anecdotes from across the board.
Meanwhile, at the same venue, things were being kicked into high gear, literally, with a Women’s Day bike rally featuring over 60 women bikers, who took to the streets. The diverse array of participants showcased an impressive collection of bikes, including racer bikes, adventure models, and electric vehicles by BNC Motors and other prominent sports brands. At Naturals, it was a different type of celebration with the launch of music video Women of Power, crafted by an all-female team. The project features Sterlin Nithya in charge of music and direction, Khatija Rahman as singer, and Lavita Lobo as lyricist. The anthem highlights a woman’s journey from financial struggles to entrepreneurship and the empowering music video aims to inspire women, reflecting their resilience and determination to overcome career breaks, pursue entrepreneurship, and achieve success.
This weekend also saw one of my favourite pop ups — Elemental Stories — yet another girl heavy event. We did discover soon enough though that there were offerings for the gentlemen as well. The Park was buzzing as droves of shoppers made their way inside. Shopping was accompanied by Sangrias and the live vocals by Aishvarrya Suresh. While I stopped in for a ‘quick peek’, I couldn’t resist the accessories and left with quite a few bags in hand. Popular favourites included easy sets, beachy silhouettes and travel-friendly pieces. Aru and Shweta showed us around, helping us pick and choose.
Topping off the week was an invite to a night of style and splendour, and a chance to witness a revamped Wink Salon and Spa. It was an enjoyable evening with lots of pretty faces, everyone happy to look around the space, “which is looking fab”, according to more than one person. Adding to the glam was a showcase of the latest trends in hair colour, tempting all of us to get in a chair and demand a new look. Sarayu played host, showing everyone around, and it was great to be able to catch up with Jammy Fernando, one of the OGs in the Chennai hair scene.