New Delhi, March 8: On the occasion of International Women’s Day, a national conference titled “Bharati: Nari Se Narayani” was held at Vigyan Bhawan. The event featured a panel discussion on various issues related to women’s development.
The panel included former Rajya Sabha MP Rakesh Sinha, Dr. Sandhya Purecha, President of the Sangeet Natak Akademi, and Dr. S. Mahesh, a Kalari Payattu guru and founder of the Augustyam Foundation.
Rakesh Sinha highlighted the progress made for women over the years. He referred to shocking statistics from the 1921 census regarding child widows, which prompted Swami Shraddhanand to conduct extensive research. At that time, 597 girls aged zero to one were declared widows, and 494 girls aged two to four were also categorized as such. Sinha emphasized that today’s generation has become more rational and urged that girls should learn martial arts while also focusing on the power of logic to awaken their consciousness.
Dr. Sandhya Purecha stated, “The eternal truth is that good people, society, and art are all incomplete without the strength of women. Our tradition expresses this sentiment in the phrase ‘Nari, Tum Narayani Ho.’ Our aim is not just to teach art as a technique but to instill sensitivity in people. It is essential for the upcoming generation to learn to respect art and culture.”
Dr. S. Mahesh discussed the transformation of women into Narayani. He posed a question about the differences between the images of women and Narayani. He noted that all deities wield weapons, symbolizing the strength of a warrior. However, he lamented that the hidden power of women has been overshadowed by fear in contemporary times. He reminded the audience of the many queens in history who forced enemies to retreat on the battlefield.
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P.S./Piyush
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