'She walks, She Leads': Celebrating Indian women achievers

From Sudha, then not Murthy, shooting off an acidic missive to JRD Tata, telling him to desist from advertising jobs with 'not for ladies' tag, to Priyanka Chopra saving '45 minutes' of her day for family, a book chronicles myriad aspects of India's women achievers.

Author Gunjan Jain, in her book 'She walks, She Leads', celebrates the lives of some of India's most inspirational women be it in sports, art, fashion, media, entertainment, corporate, banking or law.

The women, in the book, have fought hard against prejudices, pre-conceived notions and subtle discrimination in a society where patriarchy is just as explicit as it is deeply entrenched.
 

"I did not write the book because I wanted to be an author. I became an author because I was compelled to write this book," Jain, a trained investment banker, told PTI.

Whittling down from an initial selection of 200 names, Jain finally zeroed on to 24 women, but it is an eclectic mix.

Narrating the enduring tales of Olympic medalist Mary Kom, Actress Kareena Kapoor Khan, MD Biocon Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, Media Baron Shobana Bhartia and others, the book invites the reader to become a part of the ongoing conversation about women in India.

'She Walks, She Leads' is liberally peppered with interesting anecdotes about people who played small and big roles in the lives of these iconic women.

Though talking about "women inhabiting a largely patriarchal workplace" and prevailing "gender discrimination" in the very introduction of the book, the author makes it clear that not once in her book does she compare men and women, or tries to establish who plays a significant role.

"I think what my book proves through the lives of these women is: the point of co-existence and interdependence. The lives of the women featured in the book prove that it is okay to ask for help and depend on the people around you, men and/or women.

"And, that their near and dear ones have played a significant role in their success," said Jain.