As women, we are usually caught up balancing home and work. In the process, we lose touch with who we really are," says education specialist Reeta Passi. Her sentiment is echoed by women across the country who crave for those precious moments when they can get in touch with their core being. It is to address this very need that two forums, Gurgaon Moms and Mums At Work, have come up in the National Capital Region that help women to reach a stage of fulfilled existence.
Both the forums are young ventures, driven by dynamic women. Neela Kaushik, the driving force behind Gurgaon Moms, started this as a Facebook group two-and-a-half years ago. "The idea was to create a platform that allowed women to make friends, network and also garner information about the city," says Kaushik. When she moved to Gurgaon from the US, she hardly had any friends. The need to connect with like-minded people and know more about the bustling Gurgaon city motivated her to start the group. Gurgaon Moms, which now boasts of 2,700 members - from a new mother to a 65-year-old grandmother - is a closed community. Access to it is regulated by Kaushik.
Whether it is details about the best homeopathic clinic in Gurgaon's plush DLF Golf Links, self-defence workshops or catering services in South City II, one can get all the answers on this network. Apart from the Facebook group, Gurgaon Moms is also about offline events that allow members to connect. "We recently organised a flash mob in Sahara mall to protest against the Delhi gangrape. Then there are the monthly meets themed around a state hosted by the members hailing from that region," says Kaushik. Participation at these meets can number up to around 150.
Interior designer Bhavna Bhat recalls the Kashmir meet held six months ago where she even got her mother to help. "Soon she was involved in every aspect of the celebration, be it welcoming guests or showing the dance moves," laughs Bhat.
The members also serve as a source of inspiration to one another. "A lot of mothers within the group have become entrepreneurs. They realised that here is a network where they can spread their wings and also showcase their products," says Kaushik. Suman Dash, for example, got motivated to start her own line of art and fashion jewellery, Vastradi, after joining the group one-and-a-half years ago. "I saw ladies going that extra mile and that really inspired me," she says.
Mums at Work, meanwhile, merely uses Facebook as a channel of communication. The scope of most of its activities lies in interpersonal interactions. Jyoti Gulati, whose vision led to the creation of the group, spent 15 years with companies like Citigroup and American Express before hanging up her corporate boots in 2011. A mother of two, she realised that women needed a forum where they could just 'be'. "Mums at Work is a women's network where they can experience freedom, create a pathway to transform their lives and understand what it means to be a woman," says Gulati.
What started as a community programme in 2008 has grown into a full-fledged venture with 100 members and 400 friends. One can become a member by paying an annual fee and avail of the various programmes. One of these is 'Freedom' that creates partner programmes with corporates to bring about flexible work opportunities for women. Then there is 'Expand', a platform for personal training, growth and development. Mums at Work also has business coaching programmes as part of 'Realise Your Dreams' module that convert a creative idea into a successful entrepreneurial setup. The most popular, however, is 'Joy of Living', a programme that allows women that one hour of rediscovery, be it through music, gardening or books. "As a child I was very fond of singing but somehow while growing up, I became very conscious. The music club helped me shed my inhibitions and gave me a sense of immense happiness," says Passi.
By the end of the year, Mums at Work is hoping to go national by creating communities in Bangalore, Chennai, Delhi and Noida.
Both the forums are young ventures, driven by dynamic women. Neela Kaushik, the driving force behind Gurgaon Moms, started this as a Facebook group two-and-a-half years ago. "The idea was to create a platform that allowed women to make friends, network and also garner information about the city," says Kaushik. When she moved to Gurgaon from the US, she hardly had any friends. The need to connect with like-minded people and know more about the bustling Gurgaon city motivated her to start the group. Gurgaon Moms, which now boasts of 2,700 members - from a new mother to a 65-year-old grandmother - is a closed community. Access to it is regulated by Kaushik.
Whether it is details about the best homeopathic clinic in Gurgaon's plush DLF Golf Links, self-defence workshops or catering services in South City II, one can get all the answers on this network. Apart from the Facebook group, Gurgaon Moms is also about offline events that allow members to connect. "We recently organised a flash mob in Sahara mall to protest against the Delhi gangrape. Then there are the monthly meets themed around a state hosted by the members hailing from that region," says Kaushik. Participation at these meets can number up to around 150.
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The members also serve as a source of inspiration to one another. "A lot of mothers within the group have become entrepreneurs. They realised that here is a network where they can spread their wings and also showcase their products," says Kaushik. Suman Dash, for example, got motivated to start her own line of art and fashion jewellery, Vastradi, after joining the group one-and-a-half years ago. "I saw ladies going that extra mile and that really inspired me," she says.
Mums at Work, meanwhile, merely uses Facebook as a channel of communication. The scope of most of its activities lies in interpersonal interactions. Jyoti Gulati, whose vision led to the creation of the group, spent 15 years with companies like Citigroup and American Express before hanging up her corporate boots in 2011. A mother of two, she realised that women needed a forum where they could just 'be'. "Mums at Work is a women's network where they can experience freedom, create a pathway to transform their lives and understand what it means to be a woman," says Gulati.
What started as a community programme in 2008 has grown into a full-fledged venture with 100 members and 400 friends. One can become a member by paying an annual fee and avail of the various programmes. One of these is 'Freedom' that creates partner programmes with corporates to bring about flexible work opportunities for women. Then there is 'Expand', a platform for personal training, growth and development. Mums at Work also has business coaching programmes as part of 'Realise Your Dreams' module that convert a creative idea into a successful entrepreneurial setup. The most popular, however, is 'Joy of Living', a programme that allows women that one hour of rediscovery, be it through music, gardening or books. "As a child I was very fond of singing but somehow while growing up, I became very conscious. The music club helped me shed my inhibitions and gave me a sense of immense happiness," says Passi.
By the end of the year, Mums at Work is hoping to go national by creating communities in Bangalore, Chennai, Delhi and Noida.