Chennai college honours under-35 female achievers

The second edition of Yuva Sammaan Awards was held on Saturday evening with pomp and show at the MOP Vaishnav College for Women.

The awardees were given a citation and `1 lakh each  D Sampathkumar
The awardees were given a citation and `1 lakh each  D Sampathkumar

Chennai :

The second edition of Yuva Sammaan Awards was held on Saturday evening with pomp and show at the MOP Vaishnav College for Women. The Awards were initiated last year by the college to recognise and appreciate female achievers under the age of 35 in the fields of performing arts, sports and entrepreneurship. The awardees were given a citation and Rs 1 lakh each.

College principal, Lalitha Balakrishnan delivered the welcome address. Kumaravel, founder of Naturals Salons; Rohini Rao, a competitive sailor, and Priyadarsini Govind, a classical dancer, were the chief guests. “I have not only empowered women, but I have been benefitted because of it. I believe that the ability to think differently is the essence of good entrepreneurship. I want all of you to look at every problem as an opportunity to provide a solution,” said Kumaravel.

The jury comprised Ranjini Manian, CEO of Global Adjustments; S Venkatraman, senior consultant in the education sector of UNESCO; S Vaishya Subramaniam, writer; and Thangam Meghanathan, chairperson of the Rajalakshmi Education Trust. Thirty-five nominations were received by the college. Sruti Harihara Subramaniam, director of ‘Harmony with AR Rahman’, founder of Goli Soda and MOP alumna, won the award in the Entrepreneurship category. The other nominees in this category were Varthika Neethi Mohan of Farm@Home; Barkha V Mehta, specialising in advertising and marketing; Mathanghi Kumar, chef and partner at the Summerhouse Eatery; Savitha Chandrasekaran, specialising in robotics and product development; and Prasitha Sridhar, founder of Shopzters.

In the sports category, squash player Deepika Pallikal Karthik bagged the award. She is the first Indian to break into the top 10 in the PSA Women’s ranking. The other nominees in this category were Anitha P, basketball player and gold medalist; K Shamini, table tennis player; Sai Samhitha, tennis player; and MD Thirushkamini, cricketer.

Charumathi Raghuraman, carnatic music violinist, won the award in the performing arts category. In her acceptance speech, she thanked her family ‘for being a support system’. Carnatic vocalist and playback singer Saindhavi Prakash, Bharatanatyam dancer Vaidhevi Harish, and playback singer S Mahasri were the other nominees. Three MOP alumni — Janani Hamsini, carnatic singer; Kavyalakshmi Muralidaran, dancer, and Sudha RS Iyer, violinist/vocalist, — were also nominated.
Super Singer Junior 3 finalist Anu AP performed two songs, The band ‘One Note Stand’ rendered a mash-up of AR Rahman songs.

Performances by students
As part of the event, MOP students performed garba, a contemporary dance performance to the remix of the Pirates of the Caribbean soundtrack, and a thillana.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Chennai / by Express News Service / February 25th, 2019