The Golden Sparrows of Chennai
Apart from being a daughter, wife, to mother and family matriarch, a woman has to overcome many challenges in her personal and professional life, said Chennai mayor Priya Rajan at the inaugural of Golden Sparrow, a one-day women’s carnival in Chennai, organised by RID 3233 led by DG Mahaveer Bothra. “Women should be celebrated in society; we have got innate capabilities to succeed in life despite odds and pitfalls.”
Men should be made aware of women’s potential to climb heights and set new milestones in different fields, said Priya. “Gone are the days when education was denied to women and she couldn’t even come out of her house and participate in any public meeting or discourse.” Now is the time to come out, “flap your wings to soar high for setting new benchmarks and expand your horizon,” she said, praising DG Bothra and his team for conceiving the event as it will open up a platform for women to showcase their diverse skills.
Motivational speaker Parveen Sultana, Tamil professor at the SIET College for Women, recalled the historical struggles of women for “equal rights and parity with men. Now we can compete with men on equal terms, thanks to the generational struggle; the Rotary world is one such example, as women can aspire to become district governors.”
A popular YouTuber who is also known for corporate training programmes, Parveen advised women Rotarians that “instead of living in a gilded cage, explore freedom and liberty to become achievers in society.” Parveen, mayor Priya and retired IPS officer V Vanitha were presented with Rotary Women Achiever Awards.
“We can do better if more women join and participate in our community efforts. At RID 3233, women constitute 19 per cent of our members, and this maiden carnival through its series of fun programmes, games and light entertainment will attract more women to our clubs,” said Bothra
Recalling his breakfast meetings with club presidents, members and their spouses, he said, “at these 65 special sessions we discussed about growing membership.” After the brainstorming sessions, the district hosted Kalangarai Vilakku (Lighthouse) in which around 500 past presidents were felicitated and motivated to guide their clubs. PRID A S Venkatesh was the main speaker. The next event was Valarpirai (Crescent Moon) in which 800 new members were given a special talk by RIDE M Murugandandam at an orientation event.
RC Chennai Icons with 225 members was chartered as the third event in the innovative series, and “now Golden Sparrow as a women’s carnival, the fourth in the series, is made possible, thanks to the joint efforts of PDGs I S A K Nazar, R Srinvasan and my wife Jayashree,” he explained.
He added that Project Pink Auto has provided livelihood to over 100 women in the last three years, and “during inspection each year, we provide cash vouchers and pink uniforms to women auto drivers. This year, 100 women are being trained under the guidance of PDG Chandramohan.” Likewise, Orange Eye Vision, the brainchild of PDG Muthu Palaniappan, has employed 120 women at eye clinics across Chennai, he said.
Women being ignored
During his interaction with club presidents, Bothra found that women Rotarians “are not invited or given much attention during governor’s official visits (GOVs).” This carnival aimed to “give due recognition and pride of place to women.” Sujatha Srinivasan was the event chair.
PDG Nazar announ- ced the formation of RC Golden Sparrow, an all-women’s club with 155 members, drawn from various professions, led by charter president Sujatha and secretary Lalitha Sriram. He will be the club’s advisor. “We want to raise women’s membership from 19 to 30 per cent by June 30, 2026,” said Nazar.
Event advisor PDG A P Kanna, its co-chair Anees Begam, DGE D Devendran, DGN Shriram Duvvuri, DGND Ganapathy Suresh, and PDGs of Chennai region were present. Wellness sessions, fun games and entertainment regaled 950 women Rotarians, Anns and Annets from RID 3233; 50 Rotaractors as special invitees; and 100 delegates from other RI districts across South India.
