Saluting the Devis of excellence

After a glittering and high-voltage debut in Kolkata in 2019 and equally successful runs in 2022, and 2023, where 15 and 12 women respectively were awarded for their path-breaking contributions to their profession and impacting society positively, the Devi Awards was back again this year at ITC Royal Bengal to felicitate 13 more such dynamic women.

Devi Awards was started in 2014 with the vision to recognise the contributions of women from all walks of life who have triumphed in their respective fields and uplifted fellow women and men in their respective journeys. After 23 chapters in Mumbai, Delhi, Kochi, Lucknow, Bengaluru, Bhubaneswar and Chennai, the Devi Awards came to Kolkata for the first time on August 31, 2019 to celebrate women achievers from Kolkata, and Eastern India in general.

This year, the event had former union minister Smriti Irani as the chief guest and the show was moderated by author and senior journalist Kaveree Bamzai of The New Indian Express Group.

Talking about hope and achievement in trying times, she mentions, “I think that not every battle can be won. But what you can do is walk away from a battle with a human heart throbbing and your values intact. When you walk away from the battle and your competitor still has the respect, that’s an achievement.”

The 13 awardees of the evening were actors Subhashree Ganguly and Preeti Panigrahi; actor and trainer Daminee Benny Basu; filmmaker Sarmistha Maiti; singer Barnali Chattopadhyay; fashion designer, Pallavi Singhee; dancer, Priti Patel; artist, Sanhita; idol maker Mala Paul; heritage conservationist Mukul Agarwal; animal welfare activist Titas Mukherjee; alternative medicine practitioner, Dr Pritee Ganatra; and mental health advocate Dr Minu Budhia.

We salute the Devis!