Excerpts…

Star of Mysore (SOM): Being a Ph.D scholar you had an opportunity to choose a career in Science. Why politics?Dr. Pushpa: I had never perceived of being a political leader. In fact, even during my college days, I hadn’t contested for the student elections. All I wanted to be was a KAS officer, for which I tried twice, but couldn’t succeed. It so happened that when the Zilla Panchayat elections were announced, my constituency was reserved for a SC (Women) candidate. People of my constituency approached me and asked me to contest. Initially, I hesitated as I was never interested in entering poll fray. I took a week’s time before deciding to give it a try.SOM: Reactions from family members of your decision to enter the field?Dr. Pushpa: Initially, there was objection from my family including my husband. They all wanted me to continue with my post-doctoral research. Then, my husband was convinced and he in turn convinced the whole family. My father-in-law H.N. Premkumar is my true political inspiration.

SOM: Have you ever felt that entering politics was a bad decision?

Dr. Pushpa: Never, I never felt that entering politics was a bad decision or a mistake. In fact, many of my friends and relatives have asked the same question. I believe that educated women should enter politics to empower themselves and others. So far my political journey has been good and I have been received well in my constituency. I am also being guided well by my party leaders, especially my brother-in-law, MLA H.P. Manjunath.

SOM: Your take on women empowerment in our country?

Dr. Pushpa: Women should be empowered socially, educationally and financially so that she can take independent decisions. Personally, I feel that ours will be a developed country only when there is real empowerment of women. Given a chance, women can do better in all fields. But, for them to excel in any field, education is the key factor as it can help them overcome any problem. There has to be equal representation for women in the Parliament which I feel will be a reality soon.

SOM: Are women of our country insecure?

Dr. Pushpa: Nobody will come forward, offering security to a woman or for that matter even a man. It is we who have to manage ourselves. Women should enter mainstream society and learn to protect themselves for which the family support plays an important role.

SOM: How do you see your future in politics?

Dr. Pushpa: Currently, I am happy in whatever I am doing. If given an opportunity, I am ready to the take up any challenge. I have entered politics to work for people as we are the mediators between the Government and the public.

SOM: Tell us something about your ‘Go Green Club’

Dr. Pushpa: ‘Go Green Club’ was stared in Hunsur basically to create awareness among the school children and youngsters on protecting trees and saving environment and nature. It is important for us to protect our nature to be able to lead a good life. We have been organising several awareness programmes in Hunsur and surrounding areas to promote the ‘Go Green’ initiative. Whenever I meet guests at such programmes, I give them saplings to encourage the eco-friendly initiative.

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She is the majority shareholder of Software Paradigms International Inc. She has several years of experience in the IT industry. She founded SPI with Sid Mookerji in 1994. She also heads SPI Foundation – the Corporate Social Responsibility arm of SPI. Meet Sophie Mookerji, Chairperson SPI Group LLC and CEO of Circle Technologies.

SOM: Why aren’t women given a fair representation in top leadership?

Sophie Mookerji: Historically, women have not been represented in leadership because of well documented reasons of stereotype skills being assumed for each of the sexes. However, that is changing rapidly today. I am a senior leader in a fast growing software company and I am not alone. Many of the top banks in India, today, are led by women — Indra Nooyi is the CEO of Pepsico, one of the largest companies in the world, Chanda Kochhar, CEO and MD, ICICI and many other such great achievers.

SOM: Challenges faced by women of today?

Sophie: Societal expectations of being primarily responsible for the household make it difficult for women to have a smoothly upward professional career. If the child is going to day care, people usually look askance – at only the mother. Women also fight the stereotypes of being the ‘weaker sex.’ A lot of work needs to be done.

SOM: Women have come a long way in their quest for gender equality in the corporate world. There are still barriers to overcome. How to break the glass ceiling?

Sophie: Continued education of society of what women can do will go a long way in making opportunities available to women. That and availability of high quality resources to support women who would like to work in corporate India will help in breaking the ‘glass ceiling.’

SOM: Any advice to women who aspire to have a blooming career along with a good family life?

Sophie: I have mostly kudos for such women. I have known strong women who have overcome many obstacles and become successful in their own right! There are many role models all around us. Each one of them helps pave the way for the further growth of women professionally.

SOM: What significance does international Women’s Day hold for you?

Sophie: India stands out as one of the first nations in the world with a woman premier. That by itself gives me and other Indian women the responsibility of furthering the cause of women professionally and otherwise. There have been many strong women in my life — my mother, my mother-in-law, my sister and so on that have overcome many obstacles and made themselves and people around them successful. I celebrate each one of them on the occasion of Women’s Day.

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Passers-by on the roads in city used to watch with awe the KSRTC city bus service Route No. 85 ply on the roads. The reason was, it was being driven by Ningamma, the first women bus driver in city.

After serving for 8 years as an efficient driver, Ningamma now is incapacitated in her right leg after undergoing a spinal cord surgery about two years ago.

Ningamma began her career as a conductor in Bellary District in 2001 before moving to Gundlupet. She obtained the driving licence for heavy transport vehicle and proved her mettle at the wheels driving buses between Humnabad and Hyderabad. However she continued as a conductor before getting posted to Kuvempunagar Depot in city in 2005 as a driver.

Speaking to Star of Mysore, Ningamma said, “I loved the job but developed backache over a course of time. I got medical treatment at several hospitals in city, but proved futile, on doctor’s advice, I underwent a surgery on my spinal cord at NIMHANS, Bangalore in 2011 but I was advised by the doctors there not to lift weights and drive a bus. I was offered the Ramp work at the depot shuttling the buses for minor repairs within the depot.”

Continuing, she said that she has a blemish-less service as a driver but added that after the surgery she could not put stress on her right leg, the most-needed part of the body to operate the brake and accelerator in a bus. Hence she has opted for an office job in KSRTC now.

Valour in pain

Three-weeks ago, a bus parked at the depot began to move all of a sudden. Ningamma who was standing nearby despite the nagging pain in her back managed to hop into the driver’s seat in the bus injuring her hand and leg. A mechanic also managed to get into the bus and pull the hand brake. The bus came to a halt with a wild jerk with Ningamma getting jolted and injuring her leg and head. She took treatment at K.R. Hospital for 15 days and got discharged on Wednesday to report for duty yesterday.

Ningamma has appealed to all women to work in any sector with diligence. However she opines that it needs a good support of menfolk which should not be confined to just one day, on International Women’s Day.

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Dr. Renu Agrawal is working as Chief Scientist in the Food Microbiology Department and is also a CSIR-CFTRI 800 programme co-ordinator at CFTRI, Mysore. After completing her education in Jaipur, Rajasthan, Renu got married to Susheel Kumar,Vice-President of Apollo Distilleries, Chennai. She has two children — son Nikhil Agarwal, an engineer, who is settled in Virginia, USA and daughter Divya Agarwal, an expert in Satellite Communication settled in Florida. Dr. Renu Agarwal is in research since last 30 years. She has also developed many innovative functional foods oriented towards improving health by natural means. She has been guiding students for M.Sc, M.Phil and Ph.D degrees in Biotechnology and Microbiology. She has presented more than 160 papers in various national and international conferences and has 20 patents to her credit which has been transferred to more than 64 industries.

She has been honored as Fellow of Association of Microbiologists of India, Fellow member of International Society of Biotechnology, Fellow of National Academy of Biological Sciences and Fellow Society of Applied Biotechnology. She has bagged the Women Achievers Award- 2008 by the International Guild of Women Achievers and India International Friendship Society, 2010. She has been selected as the “Best Woman Scientist” by National Academy of Biological Sciences, 2010. Star of Mysore spoke to Dr. Renu Agarwal on the occasion of International Women’s Day. Excerpts…

SOM: Why did you choose research field?

Dr. Renu: From my childhood days I was interested in the research field, including development, as I wanted to serve the society. I did my Ph.D with specialisation in biotransformation of inexpensive and readily available precursor compounds into high valued, high cost bioactive molecules, microbial physiology, fermentation and probiotics from the University of Rajasthan, Jaipur. After my marriage, I came to Mysore in the year 1980 and came to know about CFTRI. I applied for a job and I got it.

SOM: Is there scope for research in the country?

Dr. Renu: Yes, there is, but everything depends on ones mental ability and interest in the field of research.

SOM: Your thoughts on women empowerment in India.

Dr. Renu: In my opinion women empowerment is necessary. Though women have progressed in a number of spheres, yet, looking from a wider perspective, the situation remains grim. India needs to do much more to improve the position of women. Persistent health, education and economic participation gaps are acting as main deterrents to the growth.

SOM: Is India a safe place for women?

Dr. Renu: A difficult question. It depends on how one look upon a woman and also how a woman projects herself in the society.

SOM: Your message on Women’s Day.

Dr. Renu: Every woman should be courageous, be herself and earn respect by giving respect.

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One has to be tough to work in the Police Department. The Police Department is known to have produced able women officers who have been working hand-in-hand with their male colleagues to build a better society. B.T. Kavita, Assistant Commissioner of Police, Krishnaraja Sub-Division, Mysore, is one such woman officer. Having completed her Master of Arts in Kannada Literature from University of Mysore, Kavita worked as a Primary School teacher in her native Chitradurga and FDA in Police Department before being selected as a Karnataka State Police Service (KSPS) officer. Kavita, who is also a poet, has also come out with a book ‘Kaledu Hoguva Munna,’ a collection of poems. She is also pursuing her Ph.D. from Hampi University in Kannada Literature. ACP Kavita is married to R. Nayashayana, Deputy Superintendent of Excise, Hunsur Sub-Division. SOM spoke to B.T. Kavita on the occasion of International Women’s Day. Excerpts…

SOM: It is believed that for a woman it is tough being a Police officer. Why did you choose to join Police department when you had other choices?

Kavita: As a youngster, I was interested in both administrative jobs and Police department. In fact, my first choice was to be an Assistant Commissioner (Revenue) but I got selected from KSPS. Now, since I have joined the department I am enjoying my work.

SOM: Like the society, even the Police Department is said to be dominated by menfolk. As a woman officer, how do you deal with it?

Kavita: It is just an assumption that ours is a male dominated society. If women show interest, they can work in any department efficiently. For me it has been a good experience so far. The department has encouraged me throughout by timely guidance and support.

SOM: As a woman do you find it difficult to act in tough situation?

Kavita: No situation is tough. We are trained equally as men during our two years of training on how to act in different situations. We are exposed both physical and practical training. We need to apply our mind before taking any action. And of course, we should be ready to work for long hours and irregular timings.

SOM: How did your family react when you decided to join the Police department?

Kavita: Police department is no different from other departments. In fact my family members were very happy when I decided to join Police Department. I was active in sports and held responsibilities as a leader in school. Having known this, my family did not object my decision to join the department.

SOM: Being an ACP, how do you manage professional and personal life?

Kavita: My husband has been very co-operative and encouraging. He understands the work scenario of our department since he also does similar work. Sometimes I wait for him at home or it is the other way round. So far there has been no problem for me, both professionally and personally.

SOM: Have you set any goal in your career as Police officer and what it takes to be woman Police officer?

Kavita: I have set no such goal. My aim is to work efficiently and be able to solve the issues brought to me by the public. For a woman to be a Police officer it needs administrative skills and one should know how to handle difficult situations.

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Like other professions, medical profession too needs a lot of dedication and devotion. Mysore city has seen number of women doctors who have earned a good name and fame as professionals. Normally, women doctors are associated with Obstetrics and Gynaecology, but they rarely opt for General Surgery as their specialisation. One such woman who has been successful in her career as General Surgeon is Dr. Lavanya Shenoy. After completing her MBBS from Mahadevappa Rampure Medical College (MRMC) in Gulburga in 1985, Dr. Lavanya pursued her M.S (General Surgery) from Mysore Medical College in 1988. It has been more than 25 years since Dr. Lavanya started her medical practice and till date there is no single complaint. Dr. Lavanya is married to Dr. K. Manjunath Shenoy, also a General Surgeon and Professor at JSS Medical College, Mysore. Star of Mysore of spoke Dr. Lavanya Shenoy on the occasion of International Women’s Day. Excerpts…

SOM: Normally, women in medical profession choose Gynaecology as their specialty. What made you choose General Surgery?

Dr. Lavanya: Right from the beginning I was never interested in Gynaecology as I always wanted be a General Surgeon. More over there is nothing like man and female department in medical profession. Women are equally capable of doing good work similar to that of men. In recent years, we have witnessed women taking up Cardio Thoracic surgery and other complicated specialties which have proved our abilities. General Surgery is much simpler than Gynaecology as one can plan their day and life.

SOM: Both you and your husband are in the same specialty. Do you consult him for guidance?

Dr. Lavanya: Of course. My husband has been very supportive when it comes to helping in my profession. We both consult each other when there is a complicated procedure. Both of us being General Surgeons has helped us a lot as we both attend to the surgery together and return home together.

SOM: As a doctor, your advice for women?

Dr. Lavanya: In present era, breast cancer has become a major concern for women. Around 10 percent of woman across the world are diagnosed for breast cancer. Women must get their breast checked from a general surgeon once in every year. Breast cancer could be detected at least two years earlier before it is clinically detected through mammography. Earlier, women aged above 40 years had the risk for being diagnosed for breast cancer. But, now anybody can be diagnosed for the disease.

SOM: How have you been managing your family amidst your busy schedule?

Dr. Lavanya: During my initial days, my kids never knew that I was practicing. My working hours was 10.30 am to 3 pm. I used to be at home before my children returned home from school. I only started my work after my husband and kids left home.

SOM: Do you feel India is safe for women?

Dr. Lavanya: Unfortunately, I don’t think India is a safe country for women. I feel scared to go even for a walk as there is a lot of chain-snatching being reported form city. Even when I am driving there is a sense of insecurity. Fortunately, the same insecurity is not there in my professional life.

SOM: Your message on the occasion of International Women’s Day.

Dr. Lavanya: Women have strength and capacity to do anything. They play a major role in society by managing both family and professional life. But, it is important for women to understand their responsibilities. They should not neglect their health because of their career priorities. There is every chance for women to grow as an individual provided there is family support.

source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home>  Feature Articles /March 08th, 2014