Chandigarh
17 March 2018
DIVYA AZAD
Believing in the universality and authenticity of the idea- ‘Beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder’ and maintaining synchronization with International Women’s Day celebrations, Royal Aura Events, I Am Still Human & GID Planners with the support of Mr. Rakesh Kumar Rekhi, organised ‘Kadam Ek Pehal- Women of Worth Awards’. ‘Kadam Ek Pehal’ witnessed Chandigarh’s first ever Acid attack survivor’s ramp walk and World’s first Poetry Fashion Walk. Keeping it different from conventional forms of fashion shows, the walk witnessed five acid attack survivors’ from Lucknow & Agra sashay down the ramp on not high decibel music but meaningful ‘poetry’.
On the sidelines of the unique event, a media interaction with the brave acid attack survivors’ was held. From Lucknow Acid attack survivors- Farah & Kunti were there and from Agra Ruqaiya participated. A woman achiever, Mrs. Punjaban 2017 Gurleen Puri was present to honour the Acid attack survivors for their courage. Organisers Vivek Mehra from ‘I am Still Human’, Anmol Harpuneet Kaur & Abhishek Sood from ‘Royal Aura Events’, and Hemant Malik from ‘GID Planners’ attended the press meet.
Farah, an acid attack survivor from Lucknow shared the story of her life with the media. She quoted ,”After the incident I was able to resurrect my life due to the love that I received from my near and dear ones. I gradually developed confidence and realised that outer beauty is not the only aspect that symbolises a woman. There are more facets of a lady.” Ruqaiya, another survivor from Agra said, “It hardly takes more than two seconds for someone to cause such an irreparable loss to a girl, but I believe, the trust I embody in myself has made me face life squarely.”
Mrs. Punjaban 2017 Gurleen Puri applauded, “I always knew beauty is what we store inside us and not the outside appearance and our dear ladies have proved the same. I really appreciate this commendable work done by the organisers.”
Strongly believing in the dictum,” Everyone has beauty, but not everyone sees it”, Hemant Malik from GID Planners urges the society not to shun acid attack victims because they look different. He feels that they represent India at the same level as any other international beauty pageant.
Vivek Mehra, Founder, I Am Still Human quoted,” The event was conceptualized three years ago and the outcome has been great. These girls have always fought for acceptance in the society and working with these girls in the past has indeed proven to be a blissful experience. I take this as a great opportunity that I could contribute anything in their journey.
“We honoured these women of substance during the event, as these ladies have presented real life stories, which ensure that woman power is here to stay and that women need to be respected in our society”, said Anmol Harpuneet Kaur, Royal Aura Events.
In order to personally present a cordial invitation to acid attack survivors, we sent a bike rally on 14th March from Panchkula to Agra. The event was a tribute to womanhood and celebrated the victory of women who overcame all odds despite being subjected to the most heinous crime of acid attack.
The Acid attack survivors walked the ramp with élan on heart touching poetry by a budding poetess of Chandigarh, Soumya Joshi. This new concept caught the attention of the entire audience. The beauty embodied by the confident ladies on ramp was well presented in the ethnic wears chosen to be worn. All the survivors were honoured as an effort to celebrate the contribution of women to the society. For the entertainment of the viewers and the guests, an energetic and enthusiastic performance was given by singer Sunny Dollar, who set the stage ablaze with his melodious voice.
The event was highly appreciated by the visitors and was attended by people of all generations. The event marked the importance of women in our society & the underlined the need of respecting them. The acid attack survivors through their sheer grit have proved that they are the real celebrities & heroines of today.
