MANISHA SINHA- ELSA EAST COAST
Manisha Sinha - the Draper Chair in American History at the University of Connecticut, won the prestigious 2022-23 Guggenheim Fellowship - her research will be on the Reconstruction of American Democracy. Kudos, Manisha!

SANDHYA KUMAR- ELSA BANGALORE
Filmmaker Sandhya Kumar presented two films on dance at the India International Centre Diamond Jubilee Film Screenings- Culture and Creativity. Screened on 20 April 2022 at 07:00 pm, the films: Light Falling on White Flowers , and O Friend, This Waiting! were introduced at the IIC Physical Program by Justin McCarthy, a well-known Bharatnatyam dancer and Guru. Discussions were initiated post the screening. Awesome as always, Sandhya!

SAKSHI VARMA
Senior Operation Officer at International Finance Corporation, Sakshi Varma and the team worked tirelessly with the National Bank of Kyrgyz Republic, the Ministry of Economy and other stakeholders for the last 2.5 years to launch the Kyrgyz Republic’s National Financial Inclusion Strategy which will make it easier for individuals and smaller businesses to access financial services. Sakshi shared, “Financial Inclusion has become even more important in a fast changing world where shocks such as the pandemic and the Ukraine-Russia conflict are impacting the vulnerable even more.” Wow, Sakshi...way to go...

SUCHITRA CHITALE
Suchitra Chitale, an ELSA from the batch of 1983 (and an EC member) is the managing partner of the Legal firm Chitale and Chitale Partners that has been enlisted in the Legal Power list 2021 presented by Forbes as one of the top law firms with above 10 years of experience. The panel consisted of experts and dignitaries from the law field Congratulations, Suchitra!

CHHAVI MOODGAL

Chhavi Moodgal, an ELSA from the 2001 Batch of Economic Honors, is the dignified CEO of the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad's Endowment Fund. Elucidating the objectives of the endowment fund put in the perspective of philanthropy and a culture of giving back to the Institute, Chhavi writes: "The COVID-19 pandemic has positively transformed the philanthropic thought process of individuals as well as institutions. A reflection of the change shaped the idea of solidifying India’s premier B-School – IIMA’s academic renown globally by enabling philanthropy for Higher Education.

A thought that if fortified with financial independence- an academic institute can last till perpetuity, brought 10 like-minded alumni of IIMA together in the mid-2020s to set up a first-of-its-kind BSchool Endowment Fund in India.

I transitioned from the mainstream financial services to the role of CEO of the Endowment Fund at my alma mater to motivate a positive impact on Indian Education. The vision of the IIMA endowment fund is to solidify the Institute’s prominence in Thought Leadership, Research, and Academic Excellence internationally, by creating a long-term and self-replenishing corpus similar to global endowments. The office also facilitates specific initiatives in supporting research centers, faculty chairs, scholarships, or building or restoring the infrastructure at the Institute through proposed donations.

For instance, The IIMA Endowment Fund has facilitated setting up a new Center and Chair for research on ESG – one of the most concurrent topics. In just a year’s time, more alumni joined the endowment fund as Founders or Co-Founders, and 10 batches of alumni have extended support through batch donations and corporate / CSR connections.

Endowments are a unique sub-sector within philanthropy with several grass-root factors that compete for donor contributions. Building a culture of gratitude or paying the experience forward, is pivotal to the success of an endowment. Hence, alumni contributions are usually the main source of endowment funds- particularly for management schools and higher education. It is also interesting to see private universities and other technical universities in India receiving funds from non-alumni sources such as Corporate CSR for education.

I believe we are merely scratching the surface of organized philanthropy as a sector in India by developing professionally-run means to enhance social entrepreneurship and make the culture of giving back, including crowdfunding, more mainstream. My aspiration is to see the not-for-profit sector grow by attracting the right talent, setting robust governance frameworks, having a strategic vision and receiving the backing of like-minded and well-meaning contributors, as well as the government in tax exemptions or the policies that enable the giving ecosystem.

Giving can be transformative. Both for the donor and the recipient. May this tribe grow!!”

ELSA CONNECT - AN ELSA BANGALORE INITIATIVE

Date: 23rd April 2022

Alankrita Shrivastava is visible to all of us through her path breaking films that look at the interior world of women. For us ELSAs, she’s from the batch of 2000 (Journalism). Making her directorial debut with Turning 30 in 2011, Alankrita’s films and drama series include Bombay Begums, Dolly Kitty Aur Woh Chamakte Sitare, Made in Heaven, Lipstick Under my Burkha and others. A graduate of Mass Communication at Jamia Millia Islamia, Alankrita’s work is regularly featured at film festivals around the world. She has picked up over 18 international awards in Tokyo, New York, London, France and more. The characters in Alankrita’s work speak for the unheard voices of women and expose the deep patriarchy that lies just beneath the surface of Indian society. ELSAConnect with Alankrita Shrivastava was curated by Sandhya Kumar. You can watch the recording of this session on ELSA Bangalore's YouTube channel:

https://youtu.be/96iEYrPNRXA

ELSA HEALTH

Date: 16th April 2022

In partnership with Sukoon Health, ELSA Health ran its first session on how social media can impact mental health, signs to watch for overuse, and what we can do about it – for all and especially for youth.

It was a hugely insightful session, superbly moderated by ELSA Shruti Agarwal, an NLP practitioner in her own right, as she took Dr Sameer Kalani and Ms Kamna Sarin through the data and insights around this very topical issue.

Click on this link in case you missed the event :

https://youtu.be/n2ADH7xae4k

Sargam- Music Baithak - April 24

When you get a group of Alumni from across the decades under one roof, and with musical instruments- this is what happens! - Byline: Vinita Sethi, Bulbul Dhar-James

Music Baithak- literally Sargam. ELSA Kusum Awasthy Gupta has been hosting several musical get-togethers for alumni at her place for the last two years and as soon as they could meet again - they did! Thanks, Kusum - for hosting yet another Music Baithak for Elsas, your special touch & warmth is irreplaceable- an impeccable arrangement & sumptuous goodies!

Delhi NCR ELSAs had a perfect evening of melodies & nostalgia on 24th April 2022. Kusum’s lovely home was transformed into a haven of timeless, riveting music - classical, semi classical, western, contemporary to songs from a forgotten era!

Pictures give us serious get-together goals! What fun to see them all - our seniors, peers & Gen Z, all letting their hair down as they played the harmonium, sang and chaperoned each other! Their marathon medley had many asking for more! Music gets us going, and what better than to look forward to the next musical soirée soon! And ones who couldn’t make it this time, here’s to the next time!

FURTHER SUPPORT FOR LSR STUDENTS AND GRADUATES

ELSAs united in an unconventional way during the COVID-19 pandemic, launching the Digital Inclusion and Dil Se initiatives, and providing over 200 LSR students with laptops to support their online studies and exams. Here’s a glimpse of the stories of LSR students (names changed) who need support from the ELSA community:

Sharmin Khan is a sportsperson in the final year of college. With five children to support, her family could barely afford food. To be able to buy additional protein, sports shoes and pay college fees, Sharmin works part-time, which makes it tough for her to concentrate adequately on sports and studies. She hopes to do a B.Ed in Physical Education - BPed, and become a sports teacher. The course offered by the Indira Gandhi Open University costs about 15,000, which she is not in a position to pay.

Parvinder Kaur graduated and took a job outside Delhi, where she faced sexual harassment. She resigned and lives on the money she has saved, which will last for a few months. She wants to study for competitive exams, but cannot afford the fee for the coaching classes. Even if she decides to study on her own, she cannot afford the money for the books for these exams

Pooja graduated with Hindi Honours in 2021. She has joined an MA in Hindi and stays in the hostel at Delhi University. She can barely afford the fees and the hostel costs. She wants to study for BEd, and the tuitions for the entrance exams cost 20,000, which she cannot afford.

Many students and graduates of LSR, who are from low-income households are unable to achieve their career goals due to lack of resources for further training, whether it is for competitive exams, sports, or further education.

We estimate that 100-200 students and graduates need continued support, in the range of Rs. 20 to 30 Lakhs for this financial year.

ELSA community, please do come forward and contribute towards the future of these bright young women. You can send your contributions to the Dil Se fund. The donations will have the benefit of 80G tax exemption. Currently, the Association is able to take donations only from Indian nationals

Many many new members have joined the Association between December 2021 and April 2022. Given the response to the invitation for memberships, the special fee offers will be continued till 15th July 2022.

The fees will be as follows:

• Graduates of the past three years (2020, 2021, 2022) will be able to take a 3-year membership at no membership fee. They will pay a processing fee of Rs. 500, which will give them membership for 3 years from graduation (up to June 2023, 2024 and 2025 respectively). At the end of this period, they would need to pay the full membership fee and join the Association.


• Life memberships: The 50% discounted fee for life memberships are extended up to July 15, 2022.


• Membership is also now open to all foreign national ELSAs.

Please share the above message and link with all your fellow ELSAs and batch mates and encourage them to become a part of this amazing community! And to avail of the many benefits the Association offers. We are geared up to issue new memberships within a week of applying for it!

The link for membership:
http://www.lsralumna.org/elsa-joinus.php

For any questions, please email members@lsralumna.org
Ashima Aggarwal, Membership Committee Lead