The spring meet of the 580-member strong DNS Calcutta held on March 19 saw the doctors wearing the nine yards of elegance in pastel hues, adorned with embroidery, shine and shimmer, teamed with stone jewellery, matching leather bags and footwear. The looks of almost all the ladies had been fine-tuned individually over almost two months by Dr Rupali Basu, chairperson, DNS Kolkata, and managing director and CEO of Woodlands Multispeciality Hospital Kolkata.
Formed in 2019, the Doctors and Sarees group has 40,000 doctor members worldwide who are passionate about saris. DNS Kolkata, which has 580 members, is a part of the main group and holds meaningful meets around the year with strong messages on environmental conservation, the cause of unity in diversity and other social issues. A strong impetus of the group is to popularise the sari, especially among GenNext, and lead by example to show that one can do everyday chores, go to work and let their hair down equally gracefully in a sari.Each doctor recorded a short message capturing their thoughts on womanhood and the true meaning of ‘embrace equity’, this year’s theme for International Women’s Day, where many a poignant thought came across. Some thoughtful messages included: “Let each one of us teach and raise a needy girl child and embrace equity”, “The strength of women is the empathy we have towards everything”, and “Every day I try to make just one woman believe in herself to realise that she has a potential” and “Women are the largest untapped reservoir of talents in the world. I just love being a woman”. The afternoon gathering over a sumptuous and delectable lunch at The Brass Room at ITC Royal Bengal also saw a lot of frolic, fun selfies and a photo shoot where all 53 doctors present posed together holding cards with their names printed.
“We serve as doctors as the community needs us. But we also love, promote, and wear saris like we are doing today. We will continue to wear saris and serve. In endorsing and popularising the sari, we also give a push in the arm to the commerce of saris, something that benefits the weavers and artisans who craft saris,” said Dr Rupali Basu, chairperson of DNS Kolkata, and managing director and CEO of Woodlands Multispeciality Hospital Kolkata.
(L-R) Dr Karali Baral, Dr Jayati Sengupta and Dr Sanghamitra Mukherjee.
(L-R) Dr Madhurima Khanabis, Dr Promita Das and Dr Farhat Fatima posed together in beautiful sequinned saris.
The daughter-mother duo of Dr Srijita Mohor Ghosh and Dr Sharmistha Biswas posed together in front of the backdrop designed with 5,000 roses in pastel shades, matching the saris at the meet. The flowers were sourced two days in advance from Delhi and Bangalore.
