Women Writers’ Fest 2017 Enthrals City’s Literati

August 19, 2017

“Remember, you’re a human being and you can do anything! Don’t be restricted by cultural messages,” states noted philanthropist Anu Aga at the Women Writers’ Fest ( Digital Media Partner : Pune365 ) that was organised yesterday by SheThePeople.TV.

This day-long event held at ‘Teatro Bond’ in Sohrab Hall was attended by several women who got to meet prolific authors like Kiran Manral, Sudha Menon, Gouri Dange, Kavita Kane, Saaz Aggarwal and many more.

The event started with a workshop on blogging to the right audience. The panel consisted of fashion and lifestyle bloggers like Protima Tiwary, Reema Sathe, Aashna Bhagwani and Richa Singh who gave the audience insights on how to use social media platforms to reach out to a wider audience. “Before I started blogging, I made sure to learn all about coding and SEO from tutorials. It was really helpful. As I’m a fashion blogger now, I use Instagram the most. It is the platform through which I can reach maximum number of people,” explains Bhagwani.

The first panel discussion was moderated by author Sudha Menon who spoke to Commissioner of Police, Pune, Rashmi Shukla and Anu Aga about the legacy for our daughters. “I was brought up in a very gender-neutral way by my grandmother in Allahabad. My grandfather was a freedom fighter and my grandmother was a teacher. Now, I have a daughter and a son. I have taught my daughter to fight her problems and be independent. Through our efforts, we have tried to make the city a safe place for women through Buddy Cop and City Safe.

We must change our mindset to leave a legacy,” explains CP Shukla.

The next panel saw the woman editors of some of Pune’s most popular magazines who are now in tough competition with several other in the digital age. “In India, print still retains a high position and readership. Newspapers are still known for their credibility. We get a lot of mixed information from WhatsApp forwards and social media but fake news is a reality. We will still go back to newspapers to check for the true story,” elaborates Sunanda Mehta, Ex-Resident Editor, Indian Express, Pune who was present along with Corina B Manuel, Sucharita Dutta Asane and Archana Pai Kulkarni.

The post-lunch session was a power packed one where Vandana Saxena along with Gouri Dange and Garima Gupta gave budding women writers tips on how they can write their own novel. “The initial process is very important. You shouldn’t be in a hurry. Don’t show your idea to everybody. You must try and bring your unique talent and perspective. Don’t listen to your inner critic or your inner cheerleader. Before anything, you must know the synopsis of your book within 60 to 70 words. Ask yourself, why are you the best person to write this book?” said renowned Pune author Gouri Dange whereas Garima Gupta added, “If a publisher rejects your book and responds to you saying that, you must always respond, without getting offended, and ask them about the market of the genre of your book. You never know how things turned out. Build friendships and create a network for yourself.”

Snehal Pradhan, Shraddha Satav, Saaz Aggarwal and Melanie Lobo discussed the differences and commonalities between a writer and an author. “I have self-published my book. I’ve learnt how to design it, illustrate it and get it printed from a reliable source. As a writer and an author, you’ve to have high standards for yourself. You must read a lot and your influences show in your writing.

The last session brought out an important topic like the need for strong female characters in literature. This panel saw authors like Sujata Sabnis, Tanusree Podder, Kavita Kane bring out the complexities with Tara Khandelwal while writing about women. “A strong character is someone who has flaws and not necessarily fiery. It entirely depends upon the story itself. Even a weak character plays an important part in the story which helps to portray her challenges,” states Kane.

Said Radhika Sharma from SheThePeople.Tv
We were so glad to have our event at Teatro BOND, a new space in Pune which combines food, lifestyle, art and fashion into one space. It’s theatre style appearance worked great for the fest. The space is pretty unconventionally conceptualised and fosters creativity! Our audience and speakers felt enthused at this first edition and we hope to make the 2.0 version even bigger!”

The Women Writers’ Festival 2017 ended with an open mic that was curated by the Pune Poetry Slam. The festival was attended by several aspiring women writers, bloggers and enthusiasts.

Here’s hoping that the 2018 edition comes our way sooner.

This was a #Pune365 Partner Event.