The Lady Brabourne College Alumni Association celebrated the strength, creativity and resilience of women with Tumi Ananya. Held at a packed Kala Mandir auditorium, on August 11, the fundraising event saw six accomplished women, who have made a difference in the world around them, through their immense involvement and contributions, being felicitated at the venue.
The evening started off with the auspicious rendering of the college song — Ek shutre bandhiyachhi shohosro ti mon — an inspiration to the Brabournites over the decades. A group of ex-Brabournites took the stage to present a beautiful rendition of this iconic song and the audience wholeheartedly joined them.
The awardees included Arundhuti Bhattacharya, an alumnus and former chairperson of the State Bank of India and the current chairperson and CEO of Salesforce India. She urged all women who have “a voice”, to come forward and help the thousands of others who don’t have a voice, to find their own. Rezwana Choudhury Bannya, a legendary exponent of Rabindrasangeet and recipient of the highest civilian award of Bangladesh, the Swadhinata Padak, was also among the recipient apart from Minu Budhia, psychotherapist and counsellor, and founder of Caring Minds; Prof. Manoshi Roychowdhury, the co-chairperson of Techno India Group; and Siuli Sarkar, principal of Lady Brabourne College, recipient of the Shiksha Ratna award from the government of West Bengal.
There was also a special felicitation for Bela Bose, an educationist, who has dedicated her life to empowerment of women, through education and social service, and is the chairperson of Khelaghar, a residential institution and a vocational training centre for girls from marginalised communities. She is the guiding spirit of Kolkata Ekatma. A cheque for Rs 1 lakh was handed over to Bose for taking forward education of the girl child and was sponsored by one of the CSR partners of the alumni association.
Apart from the award ceremony, the two biggest draws of the evening that had the audience mesmerised were two performances. Rezwana Choudhury Bannya held the audience captive with her mellifluous voice that left the audience wanting for more. Superstar Rituparna Sengupta, a Brabournite, and her group made the evening special with her dance drama. A surprise duet between Rituparna and Rezwana was a bonus for the attendees and fans of both the artistes.
Rezwana Choudhury Bannya gifted the audience a memory of a lifetime. Despite being under the weather, she enthralled the audience with her mellifluous renditions of Tagore’s songs.