An exclusive Indian Women’s Conference was hosted by Chicago Telugu Association (CTA) on May 8th, at the Balaji Temple auditorium on the eve of Mother’s Day, was truly a celebration - a celebration of the contributions women make in every aspect of life - in the home, on the job, in their communities, as mothers, wives, sisters, daughters, learners, workers, and leaders. This conference was truly one of a kind.
Over 200 people including several dignitaries such as Dr.Surinder Nand, President of Apna Ghar, Dr.Sarada Purna Sonty, a prominent literary figure in the community and founder of Sri Annamacharya Project of North America, and Dr.Hemalatha Burra, Retired Dean and Principal of Sri Sathya Sai University, India, attended the event.
The event effectively organized by Mrs.Vijaya Koduru, Mrs.Usha Pariti and Mrs.Shree Gurusamy, provided an excellent forum for art workshops as well as network and exchange information by distinguished speakers about Technology, Preventive Healthcare, Diet & Nutrition, Money Management, and Social Problems facing teenagers.
Fruit and Vegetable Carving, a very important aspect of culinary Art was efficiently demonstrated by Mrs.Roopa Karri, Mrs.Aparna Tata and Mrs.Priya Gandhi. The techniques of One Stroke Painting, an innovative style of decorative painting devised by Donna Dewberry was demonstrated by Lorraine Bauer, a certified instructor for One stroke painting with the help of volunteers.
Mihir Boddupalli, a high school student, efficiently coordinated a Bone Marrow Drive.
CTA Vice-president, Mrs.Vijaya Koduru, welcomed the Chief Guest, Key note speakers, expert panelists and attendees to the conference. The Master of Ceremonies for the evening, Mrs. Usha Pariti, did a marvelous job compering and moderating the conference and kept the interest of the audience sustained throughout.
Speaking on the occasion, conference panelist, Mrs.Meena Rama Mohan, Registered Dietician with the North Western Memorial Hospital stressed the importance of Diet and Nutrition especially in Indian food. Dr.Suma RajaShankar, an associate professor with Northern Illinois University, who has been actively networking with the Society of Women Engineers in obtaining grants for outreach programs at the college, re-iterated the importance of Engineering and Technology for women and girls, through her presentation.
The Chief Guest for the event, President of Apna Ghar, Dr.Surinder Nand, who is a professor of Clinical Psychiatry and Associate Training Director for Psychiatry Residency program at the University of Illinois at Chicago, addressed the attendees with an inspirational topic stressing the need for community service. Speaking on the occasion, prominent literary figure, Dr.Sarada Purna Sonty, re-iterated the fact that ‘Music is Divine’ and stressed its importance in her key note address.
The need and importance of “Value based Education” especially in our current education system was enforced with such vigor that it touched the audience’s heart, by the key note address delivered by Dr.Hemalatha Burra, an eminent Sanskrit scholar well versed in Hindu scriptures.
An accomplished physician, Dr.Krisha Sarada Bathina, enforced the importance of Preventive health care and screening exams for women through her powerful and effective presentation. Mrs.Rathika Pathy, a chartered accountant and a professional financial advisor stressed the fact that financial planning, especially for women is all about security and how it protects lives in a financial way.
The final panelist for the event, Dr.Vijayalakshmi Susarla, a clinical Psychologist, addressed the issues of Family and Parenting and the various aspects of social and teenage issues. Through her educative and inspiring presentation she proved to the attendees that it is indeed a life time learning, experience and enjoyment to watch children grow.
An enchanting musical night dedicated to all the mothers on the eve of Mother’s Day concluded the event. Performances by Praveen Jaligama, Shailaja Iyer, Padmaja Kanala and Parimala Prasad with beautiful song selection about Mother, entertained the audience.
Smt.Shree Gurusamy presented the Vote of Thanks and recognized all the volunteers who made the conference successful. The event concluded with the rendition of the Indian National Anthem.
For all the attendees, this exclusive Indian Women’s Conference stressed the importance of women empowerment and provided a forum to learn, share and celebrate the success of Women in various fields.
The speakers and attendees commended Chicago Telugu Association for their vision to promote a different type of programming for Telugu people here in USA.
The conference was co-sponsored by Balaji Temple and NATS. Delicious dinner, sponsored by Priya restaurant was served to all the guests. Conference Banner was sponsored by Product Space Solutions and the raffle give away was sponsored by Edible arrangements.
