Kiran Bedi Speaks at Great Lakes Institute of Management

Kiran Bedi Speaks at Great Lakes Institute of Management

Women and Men working together to make India a Superpower! This was the thought discussed by esteemed women honchos of corporate world with the dynamic Dr. Kiran Bedi taking the lead on the second year of SWIM here. SWIM (Successful Women in Management) is an initiative by Great Lakes Institute of Management, Chennai to celebrate empowerment and

success of women in leadership and management roles in various walks of life. As the second edition of this initiative, SWIM 2007-08 was held amidst much fanfare in Chennai on August 25, 2007 at the Tidel Park Auditorium.

This initiative is the brain-child of Dr. Bala. V. Balachandran, Founder Director and Honorary Dean of Great Lakes who in his life was deeply influenced by three important women - his birth Mother, Mother Teresa and Mata Amritanandamayi. He started SWIM last year to pay homage to womanhood and gave a forum to accomplished women from various walks of life to inspire and motivate future managers of the country, especially women. And in its second year, SWIM is beginning to realize the vision of Dr. Bala, as this year itself, it had 41 teams coming from various parts of the country to participate in the event.

The event comprised of power talks from eminent personalities like Dr. Kiran Bedi, Director General, Bureau of Police Research and Development, Ms. Mallika Srinivasan, Director, TAFE, India, Ms. Jayashree Ravi, Proprietor, Sri Paalam Silk Sarees, Chennai and daughter of the Silk King of India, Mr. Nalli Kuppusamy Chetty, and Ms. Indra Subramanyam, Managing Director, Ehlrich Laboratories, Chennai.

Dr. Kiran Bedi mentioned the need for synergy between men and women. She came out with 3Ms and 3Hs theory, which is about innate strengths of Men and Women. Addressing future women managers of Great Lakes, she said, "In a man's world, you have to acquire money, muscle power and mobility if you want to succeed like men. At the age of 12, I acquired mobility with my tennis racket as I travelled all over India to take part in competitions. I had short hair and used to wear slacks, so that I could pass off for a boy." She came out with strengths of women which men need to posses and described them as 3Hs - Humanity, Healing touch and Heart.

Dressed in a chic, peach-coloured churidar, she said, "We must never lose our feminity or our humaneness. I find it highly humorous that men in the corporate world attend classes and spend lots of money on courses to acquire the required 'soft skills' or humaneness, instead of imitating the womenfolk in their homes, who are born with that quality."

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Contributed by -
Nihit Nirmal,
Class of 2008,
Great Lakes Institute of Management, Chennai.