Passion, Performance and Purse

Updated on: Friday, September 11, 2009

Kolkata: Fair and Lovely Scholarships held its Kolkata audition interviews for its seventh year on September 10.

The jury comprised fashion designer Agnimitra Paul, actress Alaknanda Ray and theatre personality Biplab Dasgupta. Aiming to provide a foundation for education of women in need of financial aid, the interview attracted 44 individuals.

Agnimitra Paul, speaking in favour of the scholarship, said, “Such efforts are important, especially in a country where female inequity is rife. Women have become more vocal about their needs and all of them dream of existing as an individual entity in this world. We are here to help dreams come true, by pushing their confidence through financial aid.”

Alaknanda Ray opined, “Education is the foundation for any kind of development. With education a woman is armed with awareness of her rights and can thereby achieve self-dependence.”

Biplab Dasgupta, speaking requirements for the winners, said, “We are looking for the 3 P’s: Passion, Performance and Purse, rather the lack of it. We are looking for girls who have talent to back their dreams up and do not have the funds to attain them.”

As the jury carefully selected the rightful candidates for the scholarship, Dasgupta said, “A criterion that is very important is the level of necessity of funds for a candidate. The scholarship will be as per one’s needs.”

Speaking of the participants, Ray and Paul averred, “While most of them had dreams, some, due to lack of exposure need to be counselled. However, all of them had a fire to stand independently on their own feet.”

Namita Singh, who hails from Bihar, said, “In Gaya, there is an idea that women are meant to be wives and mothers. I want to change that. Being lucky to have had family support, I want to create a selection system based on merit. I want to pursue an MBA in HR and I am concentrating on that as my aim.”

With the ensuing interviews going on, Manisha Patil, a previous Fair and Lovely scholar, said, “In the Indian scenario. We find that women are determined and passionate but don’t have the means to fight against the societal pressures, primarily due to financial reasons. Fair and Lovely Scholarships have a unique criteria that an applicant has to be a woman with a dream. Our aim is not about the scholarship only, but also about teaching women to stay focused about their career and choose the right path.” Hailing from Malegaon, Patil signed off saying, “I never had support to live my life. After I studied Social Work at TISS, I have been working to eradicate the evils that I faced in my struggle.”

Passion, Performance and Purse

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