STREE SHAKTI MAHOTSAVA honoured the contributions of women on India's 75th anniversary of independence. In addition to notable Hindi author Chitra Mudgal and other dignitaries, Chief Guest Hon. Dr. Karan Singh and eminent writer Alka Saraogi were present on this occasion.
Alka Saraogi, a renowned Hindi author, has won the twenty-first Dayawati Modi Stree Shakti Samman (instituted in 1998) prize. Dr. Karan Singh launched her edited book, "Terah Halfaname," which is a collection of short stories by well-known women writers of Independent India.
Anita Desai, Mahashweta Devi, Qurratulain Hyder, Indra Goswami, Ismat Chugtai, Krishna Sobti, Chitra Mudgal, Vishwapriya Iyengar, Anjali Khandwala, Kamla Das, T. Janki Rani, Urmila Pawar, and Vedihi are among the women whose tales are given here for the first time in Hindi.
The first book by Alka Saraogi, "Kalikatha via Bypass," was released by Editions Gallimard in French, Insel Verlag in German, Neri Pozza in Italian, and Siruela in Spanish. It was awarded the coveted Sahitya Akademi Award in 2001. She has published six books to far. She quoted, “Each award given to her has given credential to her journey as a writer and motivated her. Women can be the epitome of Shakti in every field they venture into, and utopian harmony is only possible when society will realise this.”
Who is the real Author? Viddyottama Vidusi or Mahakavi Kalidas? The cover of this ground-breaking study, which Stree Shakti commissioned, was written by Dr. Kamal K. Mishra and included a forward by Dr. Karan Singh, an introduction by Dr. Satyavrat Shastri, a preface by Dr. Satyavrat Shastri, support from Rekha Mody, and an English translation by Dr. Shovana Narayan. Motilal Banarsidass Publishing House will release the research in Hindi and English in 2023.
Young Devansh Saraf received the first Gender Influencer Award for his short film X or Y.
The founder and president of Stree Shakti - The Parallel Force, Rekha Mody, stated: “Empowerment of women is the panacea for all universal ills. Women’s literature is the key to understand the concerns, challenges and ambitions of women.In the twenty first century, the works of Mahakavi Kālidāsa are being looked at from a gender perspective.”
