MCM celebrates the indefatigable women power with ‘Veerangana’

Chandigarh: Saluting the inimitable essence of womanhood, Mehr Chand Mahajan DAV College for Women, under the aegis of Department of Higher Education, Chandigarh Administration and in collaboration with Yuvsatta, organised ‘Veerangana: The Indefatigable Women Power’ to mark the celebration of International Women’s Day. Illustrious alumna of the college Prof. Nishtha Jaswal, Vice Chancellor, Himachal Pradesh National Law University, Shimla, graced the event as the Chief Guest. Ms.Somya Thakur, Ms. Wheelchair India 2022 was the Special Guest on this occasion. Mr. Deepak Dhiman, Channel Head (Punjab, Himachal, Haryana, Chandigarh), Zee Media Corp. Ltd. and Mr. Pramod Sharma, Founder, Yuvsatta NGO were also present on this occasion as the collaborating partners. Inaugurating the event, Principal Dr. Nisha Bhargava drew attention to the fact that women enjoyed position of reverence in the Indian society during the ancient times but years of British rule destroyed the indigenous social fabric, leading to assigning of secondary role to women. She exhorted the women to recognise their inherent power and asserted that this imbalance can be reversed by bringing about change in the mindsets of the people. In her energising address, Prof. Nishtha Jaswal said that a single day dedicated to women is not enough as each day of the year is a celebration of womanhood for the way she touches different lives with her quintessential compassion, love and care. Pointing out the way Shiva and Shakti are one, Prof. Jaswal said that men and women are one and they should complement each other instead of competing with each other. Her rendition of a self composed poem on women left the audience spellbound. Mr. Deepak Dhiman said that women are in no way inferior to anyone and they themselves need to believe in their innate abilities, and empower themselves through knowledge. Ms. Somya spoke about the importance of small steps in making women empowered and said that education holds the key to empowerment and liberation.
The event was a befitting tribute to the indomitable spirit of womanhood as a total of 54 underprivileged girl students with exceptional performance in the field of sports/academics/community outreach/creative arts/music from across the tricity were felicitated with cash prizes. A booklet titled ‘Veerangana’ comprising the accomplishments of these 54 students was released in this occasion. The audience’s emotions reached a crescendo as the faculty and students of the college’s Music Department rendered a stimulating song based on Principal Dr. Nisha Bhargava’s poem ‘Nari Shakti’ which echoes the theme of Veerangana and calls upon women folk to realise their innate strength. A thought-provoking skit by the Women Development Cell of the college highlighted various issues like child marriage, gender discrimination, sexual harrasment, domestic violence, etc. and drew a thunderous applause as it closed with the motivating lines ‘bekhauf, azaad hai rehna tujhe’- summoning the women to fearlessly break all the shackles that hold them back. A lecture on ‘Contribution of Women in Framing Constitution’ by Dr. Manisha Pandey Tiwari, Assistant Professor of History at the college, enlightened the audience about illustrious women like Hansa Mehta, Sarojini Naidu, Leela Roy, Vijay Laxmi Pandit, Sucheta Kriplani and many more who played an instrumental role in laying the foundation of a strong India. Displaying their entrepreneurial spirit, the young student entrepreneurs of the college put up different stalls of their products. Amazing cultural performances enthralled the audience.