The celebrity actress and yoga enthusiast Shilpa Shetty recognized women and their accomplishments at a colorful evening in Edison, New Jersey
The temperatures have been see-sawing from mild to biting cold and spring-like weather is appearing and disappearing on the East Coast. The evening of March 5th, though, turned out to be one of those chilly ones. But that did not deter hundreds of women from New Jersey and other surrounding areas to come and celebrate “women power” at a glitzy and colorful evening. Along came the men in full support of the women achievers, to attend the event, Women Empowerment Gala. The event’s key speakers included thespian Shilpa Shetty, Dr Kavita Gupta (AIF) and Shruti Devi (Manavi).
Shilpa Shetty was the cynosure of all eyes and extolled the gathering to recognize the critical role of women in every sphere of life. “The hand that rocks the cradle can surely rule the world,” Shetty said. “The key to achieving this is the woman being empowered.”
Dr. Kavita Gupta was one of the women recognized on the occasion. She talked about her involvement with the philanthropic entity the American India Foundation. “It gives me immense pride to be associated with AIF and work with like-minded people to make a difference to the under-served communities in India.”
Dr. Gupta chairs the Philadelphia Chapter of AIF, which is committed to catalysing social and economic change in India, and building a lasting bridge between the United States and India through high-impact interventions in education, livelihoods, public health, and leadership development. She also highlighted the other causes that were a part of the evening’s program including SKN Foundation, CRY and Manavi.
Another speaker of the evening Shruti Devi, President of the Board of Manavi, said, “It is inspiring to see the successes of several women and to realize you are not in this alone. We feel honored to be part of this event to celebrate the spirit of International Women’s Day with other leading non-profit organizations in the local community.”
Manavi is a New Jersey-based organization serving the South Asian community and working towards ending violence against South Asian women living in the US. Manavi is celebrating its Annual Gala on April 22nd.
Dr. Naveen Mehrotra, the visionary behind SKN Foundation, said on the sidelines of the occasion, “Woman is the omnipresent core strength of the community and she brings the much needed support in all aspects of life. We at SKN believe in the process of empowerment is a daily responsibility and not meant for one particular day.”
The other women who were recognized during the event were media personality Kiran Chetry, Patricia Stark, Fox News, Dr. Janhavi Rane, Rane Dental Group; Tirusha Dave, Editor in chief Bravura Magazine; Jolly Amatya, youth chain UN; Dr Mamta Gupta, Pediatrician; Javeria Khan, Entrepreneur; Rashmi Gupta, Health & Human Services; Dr Anju Madnani, Medical Director, Kaaya; Rashmee Sharma & Mani Kamboj; Pratibha Katariya, Allstate, Seema Jagtiani of Farmers Insurance; Shobhana Patel, former FIA President; and USHA Krishnakumar, NY Life.
Dr. Sanjay Gupta, a well-known leader of the community, and Kiran Chetry moderated the evening’s program. Miss New Jersey 2016 Brenna Weick was a honoree at the event.
The event was organized by Royal Events under the leadership of Priyanka Shah.
(This story has been updated.)