It is that time of the year when old gives way to new and there is a sense of celebration in the air. It is also time to reflect on the year gone with gratitude and look ahead with hope and optimism. What we have accomplished together is remarkable- each of you encapsulates the spirit with which we took on the agenda of "We Can. We Will." And the journey continues....

As we step into 2019, we thank you once again and look forward to strengthening our work in the coming months.

We are continuing with several initiatives and have started some new projects- ELSA Basant bazaar in collabiration with Dastkar on Feb 16 & 17 is a humble step to promote women entrepreneurship, immersed with a confluence of cultural programs. Post the launch of Legal resource Platform, ELSA is collaborating with LSR to start a legal Course as ECA from next month.

We are now over 600 registered members of ELSA and as days roll on, we keenly look forward to your continued support. Lets keep innovating to get better, together! Heartfelt wishes for the best year!

The Global Mentor Network is growing! Thank you to our new mentors: Raksha Kumar, Rashmi Bhargava, Rakhee Gupta Bhandari Laxmana Dalmia, Ramma Shiv Kumar, Ragini Ahuja and Megha Bahree.

BA (Honours) in Economics, class of 1977

Kishwar Desai is an award winning author and columnist.Her fifth book,‘Jallianwala Bagh , 1919, The Real Story’ has just been published. She is the Chair of The Arts And Cultural Heritage Trust that set up the world’s first Partition Museum, at Town Hall, Amritsar. She also helped to set up the statue of Mahatma Gandhi outside Westminster in the UK. Her first novel ‘Witness the Night’ won the Costa First Novel Award in the UK, and her play “Manto!” had won the Omega-TAG award, in India. She worked in television as an anchor/producer for over twenty years before becoming a writer . She is presently working on a historical period play, as well as a novel and a book on Indian cinema.

Several ELSAs supported and lead their organisations at the launch of The Women Entrepreneurship Platform (WEP)- NITI Aayog Ayog's initiative. Hon Vice President of India graced the occassion. The program highlighted Women power all the way and our accomplished alumni added to its strength!

Keep adding to the ELSA strength.. Mentorship Network.. programs.. and register as Elsa members.

ELSA and FICCI FLO collaborated to bring a vibrant discussion on Boardroom Diversity. Elsa Vinita Bali shared her insights on the panel and said "Efficiency and performance define a CEO in a boardroom rather than the gender of a person."

The last session of ELSA Talks for the year 2018 was held on December 2 in the elegant Orchid Hall of The Oberoi, Bengaluru. The theme was Embracing Diversity and the Panelists included Laila Tyabji, Founder of Dastkar, Priya Chetty Rajgopal, Managing Partner, Multiversal Advisory and Ajay Cadambi, Teacher and music aficionado. The session was moderated by ELSA Yumna Hari Singh and touched upon many aspects of the theme. Diversity was discussed from the point of view of gender, religion, region and class and the challenges of definition and inclusion were discussed. There was an animated interaction in the second half of the session, clearly indicating an attentive and engaged audience. The session ended with a vote of thanks for our Gold sponsor, The Canadian School and our Silver sponsor Anand Dhwani Music Trust. A special thanks was given to our very supportive ELSA for making this series such a success.

Laila Tyabji
5 December 2018
"I had a great time in Bangalore speaking on EMBRACING DIVERSITY to a warm and receptive audience. They not only got the point about diversity being a fabulous strength we’d be crazy to lose, but also laughed at all the jokes. Priya Chetty Rajagopal and Ajay Cadambi brought interesting perspectives from the corporate and LGBTQ world, moderated by sparky Yumna Hari Singh. The Bangalore chapter of ELSA, the Lady Sri Ram College alumni association, were wonderful hosts, throwing in personalised airport drops and pickups full of lively chat. We had a delicious glimpse of colonial India at the grandiosely pillared and porticoed Bangalore Club, (complete with caramel custard and a glimpse of a young Winston Churchill’s still pending Mess dues of 13 rupees). The Oberoi’s generous hospitality and impeccable service gave me a wonderful place to crash. The lush green view from my balcony mercifully hid the noisy traffic jams just outside. "

The ELSA Mumbai Annual Dinner on Dec 7th, 2018 was one big party! It was an evening of love and cheer, positivity and dancing! Perfect to cap a year full of charitable endeavours, networking and plain old fashioned fun! The venue for this year's event was fashionable Bandra( 12 Union Park to be precise) and the turnout crossed the half century mark.

The ice breaker comprised of sassy answers to wicked questions. Sample this-
Q) Name your 3 celebrity crushes.
A) Baba Ramdev, Yogi Adityanath, Rahul Gandhi.

Q)What's the one thing you don't have but want?
A) %$#@

See more coverage on Facebook here

Welcome DEHRADUN ELSAS
Rohini Manucha Puri (batch of 2002) started the ELSA chapter in Dehradun by personally calling everyone to inform them about the group.

Sustained meetings every month saw the strength of the ladies growing. They became each other's support system and helped new members to settle in Dehradun smoothly. Together they organised the Doon Nature Photography Exhibition, which showcased local talent as young as 10 yrs. The chapter ELSAs also volunteered and walked the ramp for supporting the Bajaj Institute for Deaf, also run by Elsa Radha Bajaj.

Age is just a number ! The pictures speak for itself !! It was attended by Shabnam Suri , Shraddha Vasan , Surabhi Gupta , Bhavna Kapoor , Rupa Chadha , Anchal Sondhi , Shashwati Talukdar , Shobha Deewan and Rohini M. Puri.

Elsa UK hosted a stimulating talk by erudite and eloquent author Hindol Sengupta on his book #SardarPatel: The Man who saved India. The map of India wouldn’t have existed without Sardar Patel the author said and spoke so passionately and what a session it was, followed by dinner where discussion continued with the award-winning scholar from Oxford.

MAPPING MEHRAULI

The Heritage Walk conducted by ELSA in collaboration with Beyond Delhi on 16th December 2018 was a walk down memory lane of an era bygone. The photo below is a juxtaposition of today and yesterday in The dilapidated Zafar Mahal where the last Mughal Emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar wanted to be buried but he died in exile in Rangoon and his famous lines still echo..." Do Gaz Damien na mili kuchaeye yaar mein..."

This walk takes you through the forlorn grave of Adam Khan the foster brother of Akbar the Great who was killed as a traitor through Gandhak ki Baoli a stepwell filled with sulphur water to the burial place of the famous seer Bhakhtiar "Kaki" a Sufi saint to Zafar Mahal the summer palace of Bahadur Shah Zafar.

Thank you Elsa family for joining in.

ELSA Dastkar

Badami Aihole and Pattadakal with Dr Chithra Madhavan
Sometimes, in a moment of time all the babble of noises and languages recede into a world of silence. Universally understood and momentarily experienced. Such is the wonder of the World Heritage Sites of Badami, Aihole and Pattadakal. Travelsa is happy to unveil these UNESCO protected monuments from the Chalukyan period , with Dr. Chithra Madhavan, a brilliant historian and scholar in the area of temple architecture .

The trip starts aboard the Gol Gumbaz express from Bangalore on Friday 18th January 2019 to arrive the following morning in Badami. This travelsa trip is partnered with Beyond Boundaries, as Dr. Chithra collaborates with them exclusively. The trip ends with return to Bangalore on the morning of the 22nd of January, 2019.

On behalf of the ELSA family we warmly welcome our new members