Unravelling the interlaced strands of creativity, passion, perseverance, and perspectives
Winning Minds – A Year in Review
• 30 exceptional guests – inspiring women in India authors, content creators and curators
• Mix of fiction and nonfiction genres
• Mix of literary, audiovisual, performing and visual arts
• Multiplicities of identities. stories. ideas. integrations. schisms. confluences.
• Connected with Millions of audiences across multiple channels and platforms
Cognition builds upon itself in a complex mesh of thoughts and narratives. We chance upon new ideas while interconnecting and interlinking stories and imagination. And a lot of this happens organically – through serendipitous moments and interactive conversations, on virtual women networking events.
This is why it has been a fantastic year of learning by doing something I love – conversing with thinkers from different fields of arts and philosophy to understand their creative explorations, and through them better understand the world around me.
Locked up as we were, the past year could have been lonely. Instead, it offered a moment in time to transform my home into a salon and invite exceptional women creators, who are further inspiring women in India, into a virtual room. Through the year, 30 women from the fields of literary, audiovisual, performing and visual arts have been featured in Winning Minds in a series of intimate and insightful conversations.
It has been a fantastic partnership with Stuti Jalan, the Founder of Women Inspiring Network. We have collaborated with various media platforms to define, design, produce and showcase the Winning Minds events. This is reflective of a wider trend in the literary and creative circles, with established events, festivals, and venues going digital, to continue – and even expand – their outreach.
The Arts sector has been forever fragile in terms of access and aid. It continues to grow, evolve, pivot, and flourish due to the passion and tenacity of individuals. Winning Minds aims to uncover the journeys and motivational drivers of these content creators, and examine deeply their ideas and tenets. We have delved into spheres as wide as consumer marketing and branding to algorithmic art and digital museums to mythology and comedy and cooking. We have spoken deeply about the female psyche and struggles for expression – from ancient times to the past centuries to the current lived moment. We have seen how our speakers – trailblazing women in business, fashion, science, arts, or entrepreneurship – have created their own space. Whilst each conversation has been unique, what has stood out – across every speaker – is the deep commitment and clarity of thought they have for their area of interest and the personal agency and commitment they exhibit in getting their voice across the table.
But at a very personal level, I have derived a lot of satisfaction. The pursuit of creativity has been a driving force that has shaped my life choices. It has pervaded and permeated into the way I have approached my business and entrepreneurial journey. Crafting the Winning Minds platform, therefore, has given me the sheer joy of remaining connected with the creative sphere, and engaging with old friends while making new ones. It has given me an expansive view into different ideas and issues that are impacting our world, and a chance to connect with people across cities and continents. It has brought smiles and sparkles to my life and given me a way to balance out my professional life with personal moments that have stretched my imagination and, in turn, brought inspiration back to my work sphere.
WinningMinds is a pay-it-forward movement, and as we look at the next year of the platform, we remain committed to bringing out more stories that motivate young minds.