Saree no 40/100 has had a long day and lived up to its reputation and matched all expectations I had from it .
A printed Tussar Silk. it won over my favourite white and purple ikkat cotton because I was sure the latter would not manage to remain un crushed and keep its fall all day . Even though it was going to be 40 degrees in Delhi and I did not want the Delhi types to think I was some kind of ganwaar wearing Silk , I mean SILK ??? In the summer .
On top of it, a saree on the flight ? Been a long time since I did that , what with my Glaucoma making all those escalators and steps up to the aircraft quite hazardous .
Yes, I had this day trip to make to Delhi early this morning to attend and speak at an event which was like an hour after I landed and so no time to change into the saree in Delhi. And this event merited a saree . Besides even though I wear western stuff , for me formals can never be anything other than a saree . So come 5:45 am I was all set draped in the silk one and off to the airport . Decision taken , the six yards in place , black danglers in my ears , a bright green blouse to bring relief to the severity of the black and white and an indulgence in the “matching” handbag.

As you can see from the pictures , the saree made it alright , aided of course a bit by that marvel of our time , Air-conditioning !!!

From checking in and boarding at the Bombay airport ( which included posing for a Selfie with poor , dear helpless Gandhji) to alighting in Delhi and riding the bus into the terminal , the taxi ride to India Habitat Centre , lighting the Lamp, sitting in on a Panel Discussion and making my speech , Lunch and networking to a quick dash to see my Mom and brother , take pictures and Selfies (of course ) and the long ride back to the airport and catching up with the day’s work and e mails over a cup of Starbucks Cold Coffee…persuaded some young girls at the next table to take these last pictures and they were intrigued and impressed by the 100 Saree Pactwhen I told them that was what I needed the pictures for ,

I think I will also tell you a bit about the event I had to attend .
This was the launch of the campaign VEER 2 : a joint effort backed by Being Human , Thums and CNN IBN for the betterment of youth who are differently abled in our country . The main thrust is to provide training to the youngsters , identify and provide support to the trainers to do so, encourage employers to look beyond their disabilities and see their abilities instead and provide suitable employment . Veer 1 launched about 15 months ago has seen a thousand such youngsters receive training and over 670 of these find placements with reputed concerns . These youngsters could be visually impaired or physically challenged or deaf/mute . It was so gratifying to see these youngsters , their trainers and their employers come together and share their success stories . Representing Being Human ( I am one of the Trustees) I was happy to share inputs of our involvements and plans for Veer 2. It was heartening also to know that the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment and its Department of Disability Affairs announce its support this year. as we all “sang ” the National Anthem in Sign Language at the end of the event I must say it was a great feeling to know we were involved in a truly change making endeavour