Sivakumar R - Nightingales - 2.0: How Eleven Women Showed Grit, Guts, And Gumption

INSIDE

MESSAGES

CA C V RAMAN

DR M REVATHY SRIRAM

FOREWORD

BY: SHALINI WARRIER

WHATS INSIDE

A quick look at the eleven stories that you will read.

BY: R SIVAKUMAR & V PATTABHI RAM

01. SARIKA JAIN

She grew up in an environment that discouraged the girl child from studying beyond a point and placed social restrictions on their movement. Her polio-afflicted leg, added to the discomfort. The determined young lady is the first woman-CA to get into IRS.

BY: V PATTABHI RAM

02. RIMA DHAWAN

At 44, she became a single mother. Instead of buckling before the mounting troubles, she raised the bar. One-year shy of her 50th birthday, the spirited lady did a motor rally from St. Petersburg to Tehran. Forever swimming against the current, she epitomizes the adage, Yes We Can.

BY: SIDDHARTH RANJAN

03. VIDYA LAKSHMI

When her parents moved to Africa, a curious six-year-old ran out of school, scared of the new environment. Since then, her life has been one of besting fears to balance an internationally oriented professional and personal life. How did she manage? Tenacity!

BY: BALAJI SRIDHARAN

04. RAJANI GOPAL KRISHNA

A Stevens-Johnson victim seeks a corporate career, does transformative social work, and wins a national award. Who says she doesnt have a vision? This is the inspiring story of a woman who struggled hard.

BY: SUDHA ATHREYA

05. PETCHI THANGAVEL

A Diwali-born daughter of a vegetable vendor, progressively realizes the importance of education. She graduates and then cracks the CA-code. Starting her career with Deloitte, she has now set up a private practice. Where can she reach?

BY: GEETHA RANGANATHAN

06. SRIDEVI BALASUBRAMANIAN (CHEF SHRI BALA)

She tutored the king of chefs, Gordon Ramsay. Sridevi was bowled over when Adi Godrej skipped his lunch to taste the food she cooked. From CA to Chef-in-chief, the spirited lady has shown that a second inning can be as successful as the first.

BY: V PATTABHI RAM

07. ANNAPOORNA VENKATARAMANAN

A middle-class girl with a trailblazing academic record mounts the higher stratum in the banking sector. First at ICICI, and later in Standard Chartered, she shows she is made of sterner stuff. The girl-next-door in 2000 is now a managing director.

BY: SHIVANAND PANDIT

08. SEETHALAKSHMI SUBRAMANIAN

A Bharatanatyam dancer and trainer, tutored by former film actress Dr. Shobana Pillai, manages both her corporate life and performing arts passion with aplomb. She is part of a joint family where every second person is a CA.

BY: SUDHA ATHREYA

09. SUDHA SURESH

The Queen of multiple trades has worked her way up to the upper echelons of the microfinance industry. With willpower and conviction to back her, she gave it up at her peak to dabble in her next calling.

BY: VALAMBAL SUBRAMANIAN

10. VIDYA SUBRAMANIAN

An MBA from the US, she cut short a corporate stint abroad to teach music in India. The Kalaimamani who aced it all: from her Mechanical Notes in Accountancy to her Mellifluous Notes in Music!

BY: BALAJI SWAMINATHAN

11. PRAGNYA MOHAN

God willing, she will run for India in the 2024 Olympics in Paris. And again, God willing, she might see a podium finish, even as billion hearts beat. To do that, she will have to first swim, cycle, and race.

BY: V PATTABHI R AM

FOUR LESSONS FROM THEIR LIVES

What lessons do the lives of these eleven outstanding women offer us?

BY: V PATTABHI RAM AND VENKATESH ATHREYA

MESSAGE FROM CA. G V RAMAN

T he second of the eleven Nightingales is here before us. Please notice that I have not said the second eleven!

This book captures the life and achievements of eleven ladies from different walks of life thanks to the authors, R Sivakumar and V Pattabhi Ram. I am of the firm opinion that there are thousands of nightingale-elevens in our country.

Many of us may not be aware that four persons have won Rs One crore in the 12th Season of Kaun Banega Crorepati, and all of them are women.

The current edition covers women from various walks of life an IRS officer, a dancer, a chef, an athlete, bankers and others all of them, by sheer hard work and determination, achieved their goals. Very few amongst the general public aware of them, and we are thankful to the authors to have made them known to us.

What is the secret behind their success? Like Ajinkya Rahanes eleven, they had self-belief, which took them to where they are. I salute every one of these Nightingales. May God bless each one of them and their families with long life, good health, great prosperity, and happiness.

G V RAMAN

G V Raman is President of the D Rangaswamy Academy for Fiscal Research.

MESSAGE FROM DR. M REVATHY SRIRAM

N ightingales 2.0 is yet another inspiring and motivating publication. The biography of eleven lady chartered accountants, who have excelled in different areas of interest, has been meticulously drawn up.

Many of these women have come up fighting formidable hurdles. But all of them achieved their dreams, epitomizing the words, Some people want it to happen; some wish it would happen; others make it happen.

There is Petchi Thangavel from humble beginnings, Sarika Jain, physically disabled, and Rajani Gopal Krishna with vision issues, scaling great heights. Rima Dhawan is a sports enthusiast, while Pragnya Mohan is busy reaching goals even as goals are moving forward. Vidya Lakshmi, Sudha Suresh, and Annapoorna Venkataramanan have risen to be managing directors, while Sridevi Balasubramanian has emerged as a top chef. Seethalakshmi Subramanian is a well-known Bharatanatyam dancer, and Vidya Subramanian is an outstanding music teacher running a globally famous music institute.