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Sushmita Sen was crowned Miss Universe 1994 and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan was Miss World the same year, it indeed is one of the many feathers in Sathya Saran’s cap. Saran joined editor Femina in 1993. There has not been a single moment throughout that has been uneventful. Be it her books, her articles, her understanding of women, she is always into it. She merges yet retains herself, a true woman to the core... That is Sathya Saran, a complete woman who creates, nurtures, nourishes, shapes and motivates… 1:Your experiences as an editor with Femina and the pageants. I am sure you have plenty to share with us. I would like some details. Has life changed a lot for you after Femina? As editor Femina, I found ways to connect with the Indian woman and give her direction in a fast changing cultural and social milieu. Life after Femina has not changed much I am still blazing new trails that continue where I left off at Femina. My magazine ME is a new benchmark in journalism, and is quietly influencing the way stories are now written. 2:How challenging it is to be a leading women's magazine that also gave us Miss Universe and Miss Worlds? Today Femina is quite different, and I don’t know what they make of the association. The winning streak is seen as part of the magazine’s past, not its present. 3: Indian women have made an impact globally, in the field of beauty, business and literature. What is her secret? Her broad based education system, which, despite politicians, encompasses almost everything of value to form a background of information across genres. Her ability to change her role and walk ahead in the work place. Her multitasking abilities, and her capability to stay both in tradition and modernity. 4: Your opinions on women's mental and emotional health. How can she stay fit? By living close to her center and value systems. 5: Being a nurturer, she has the power to empower her family, friends with her being. But when it comes to her, she tends to forget that at times, she needs to be there for herself. Your views. Agree, but this is changing, sometimes too drastically. But the swing is good. Only it needs to also include health care and not just beauty and fun! 6: What are your views on immigrant women. I suppose you mean those who migrate out of India. I think they do enjoy many fulfilling opportunities if they are career women, but the stay at home wife suffers. Also, the issue of bringing up children as dual citizens is a tough one, and then there is the need to go back to roots at the autumn of life, once the excitement is over. At that point there is little they can go back to that is familiar, and yet they have no interest in the country they have lived in for so long. That I see as the real dilemma of the migrant, men as well as women, but more so women. 7: Is she making any difference to the society or just following her husband and living choices made by him? She could if she wished to, but had to lift herself out of the feeling of being somewhere against her will, or where she feels alien. There is always someone who needs help, either as a friend and comforter or in a professional capacity. 8 Your views on Indian food going global, and this time, it is not just North Indian cuisine but dosa and idly is making waves all over too. Indian food has all the variety any taste bud can want, and with the number of Indians from across the country overseas. It is but natural that the entire spectrum of Indian food will find favor. One fact in the small university town of Uterecth in the Netherlands, I met the guide who told us she also held classes on Indian cooking for the locals, as she was married to an Indian! 9: Something on vegetarianism and its benefits. Cleaner eating fresh vegetables and fruits than dead animals and birds, also less chance of food poisoning. But one needs to ensure a balanced diet to make up for deficiencies in B Complex, iron and some minerals that meats provide in abundance. 10: What should we all do to take care of our mother earth? We can see she is aging and now she needs her children to take good care of her. We need to stop abusing and start caring. Think before we dig, or build, or cut, use only what is necessary of oil, water, etc. Find substitutes for natural dwindling resources; respect every tree, leaf, flower, and animal. In fact go back to the pagan belief that everything that helps us live in nature, is sacred, and treat it as such. 11: What is your next book on? It is a novel, set in a family mansion. Very different from Ten Years With Guru Dutt: Abrar Alvi’s Journey, which is a biography. I hope the novel will be as loved as the biography is! |
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