Goodbyes are hard but they are a part of our reality. With mixed emotions as we bring down the curtains on the S01 of this podcast, our host Shamoly Khera takes a walk down the memory lane for the moments cherished and the lessons imbibed for life.
[00:00:00] Hi, I'm Shamoly Khera and welcome to my podcast, Daughters of Tomorrow. In this podcast,
[00:00:08] we feature some phenomenal women who are writing the new norms or may I say rewriting
[00:00:14] the new norms. These are also women who are raising the Daughters of Tomorrow, who are
[00:00:19] not just empowered themselves but are paving a unique way for our empowered Daughters.
[00:00:25] These women are way ahead of their times and have been spying journeys to share.
[00:00:29] I can't believe we are already at the final episode of season 1, and my God or a journey
[00:00:37] this has been. I had the opportunity to chat with some fantastic women from various fields
[00:00:43] and it has been an enriching experience to say the least. I want to also thank you for
[00:00:49] your immense support and encouragement that drove me to create such stimulating conversations
[00:00:54] for you. Today, I just want to go down the memory lane with you and reflect on some
[00:00:59] of the best takeaways from some of our most memorable chats.
[00:01:05] I cannot forget interviewing Dr. Qutris, Urf Tanaia who has so simply changed the narrative
[00:01:11] for practicing women in the field of fertility, talking openly about intimate subjects on
[00:01:17] a public platform. I loved her audacity to approach a profession with a new dimension
[00:01:23] so fearlessly while turning a deaf ear to trolls and continuing her way upwards.
[00:01:30] Talking about Samara Mahindra, founder of Care of her Cancer, she is truly an exemplary example
[00:01:36] of how one can use one's circumstances for or against ourselves and that's completely
[00:01:43] up to us. Her personal experience with her late mother's cancer inspired her to start
[00:01:48] her venture. In spite of coming from privilege, she was adamant on making it on her own terms
[00:01:55] and I really have immense respect for that. Now chatting with Kiran Manral, an author and
[00:02:01] a podcaster. Her very apt observations expressed in such articulate manner enthralled me. She
[00:02:09] says that being a woman author is like tap dancing in a minefield. She shed light on how
[00:02:14] women authors are most often been associated with chicklit and being a business journalist
[00:02:20] herself in the past, she felt like she had to constantly wake people up to her genre of
[00:02:25] non-chiclit writing. Perhaps one of the most interesting observations she made is women
[00:02:30] read across genders while male readers tend to pick only male authors. Wow and that's
[00:02:37] a barrier that needs to be broken at some point. Her message for the daughters of tomorrow
[00:02:42] was be selfish and make your own money and honestly I couldn't agree more.
[00:02:49] Speaking with Swati Nathani, marketing head of team Pumpkin opened a plethora of male
[00:02:54] biases in the field of media which I myself have faced at some point. From witnessing all
[00:03:00] male panels also known as manals to facing doubt when you are the only woman on the panel
[00:03:07] wondering if you were picked just to balance the gender monopoly or truly on your own merit.
[00:03:13] From facing imposter syndrome to the guilt of leaving your kids behind while working, Swati's
[00:03:18] entire conversation resonated with a lot of working women and made me realise that while
[00:03:23] there might have been some progress, there is still so much to be done to bring equal opportunities
[00:03:29] to the fore for the gender that's taking so long to rise.
[00:03:34] We saved the laughs for the last, a recent episode had stand up comedian Harpreya Benz open
[00:03:39] up about her journey for starting stand up comedy at 39 and reaching her peak at 44. And
[00:03:46] age when most people start making retirement plans, Harpreya found her footing and is set
[00:03:51] on making stand up comedy a successful career. When I asked her what motivated her to pursue
[00:03:57] it, I loved her response. She said that since the rise of stand up comedy in India, she has
[00:04:03] noticed only male comedians giving their point of view on marriage and the wife. No one
[00:04:09] presented the woman's perspective. The wife's perspective, the mother's point of view
[00:04:14] and she finally reached a point where she realised that she had to stand up and be the voice
[00:04:19] for them even if in humour. A wife and a mother to two daughters,
[00:04:24] Harpreya's chat is an open book on her life and the everyday humdrum of a woman homemaker
[00:04:30] and I love her for simply putting those anecdotes out there. She's truly an inspiration
[00:04:36] for finding yourself and your calling irrespective of your age or marital status, and I think
[00:04:42] a lot of women are going to draw inspiration from that. Her message to daughters of tomorrow
[00:04:48] was that all girls should learn their life skills and not use the tag of feminism to not
[00:04:53] learn things like cooking. She shared that even if she had sons, she would have encouraged
[00:04:58] them to have the same life skills, beat cooking, cleaning or driving a car or even doing
[00:05:03] solo trips because she believes those are the things that made her independent early in
[00:05:08] life and prepared her for all kinds of life situations. Honestly that's such simple advice
[00:05:15] but in short sums up everything that we are trying to fight for the daughters of tomorrow
[00:05:20] that each girl should have the opportunity to be independent and lead life on her own
[00:05:26] terms.
[00:05:27] Well that brings us to the end of season 1 of Daughters of Tomorrow. I have loved being on
[00:05:33] this journey with you and bringing to you these thought provoking conversations. Thank you
[00:05:37] again for your support, you've been wonderful listeners and I will forever be thankful
[00:05:42] for sharing this experience with you. Wishing you and your family a very happy Diwali
[00:05:47] and a prosperous New Year and remember never let anyone dim your shine. This is Shambhali
[00:05:53] Kheera Siding Off.