Ladies first

In its third edition, the Bombaywaali summit partners with mid-day, to see women who have built the city engage in meaningful gupshup

Ladies first

Shaili Chopra and Kiran Manral. Pic/ Rane Ashish

Kalki Koechlin

Kiran Manral, ideas editor of the channel, was born here. She expands on how this is a liberating city for women — you can have wide roads and cleanliness elsewhere, but have to think twice about walking down the road in the middle of the night. "Mumbai doesn't judge you. Here, it is about who you are and not about 'Tera baap kaun hai?' You've seen it in Bollywood, where you do have a bit of nepotism, but you also have actors like Shah Rukh Khan who have made it on their own," she elaborates.

Mridul Sandhya

The event began as a salon concept but gradually turned into an annual summit. In its third edition, it partners with mid-day to feature three panels — Digital Bombaywaalis: The Movers and Shakers of the Influencer Space; Bombaywaalis of Our Screens and Bombaywaalis of Culture. Chopra will be moderating the first one, followed by actor Shruti Seth and Rolling Stone India's executive editor Nirmika Singh. The speakers include fashion blogger Aanam Chasmawala, mid-day executive editor Tinaz Nooshian, actor Sandhya Mridul and singers Shalmali Kholgade and Harshdeep Kaur. To end the evening, Kalki Koechlin will be in conversation with writer Sukanya Venkatraghavan on how a performing artiste from Pondicherry navigated the city.

Shruti Seth

Manral hopes that by listening to the panelists, attendees will gain some direction towards their own lives. Chopra adds, "It has to trigger some thinking. Cities are made of people and they are the ones who will keep it going. Mumbai has enough problems around infrastructure, pollution challenges, as well as issues of trying to find jobs. Sometimes, coming together and talking about them gives you not just a sense of shared problems, but also the hope of shared solutions."

On September 21, 4 pm to 7 pm
At Fun Republic Social, Fun Republic Mall, 3rd floor, opposite New Link Road, Andheri West.
Log on to shethepeople.tv/events/bombaywaali-summit-celebrating-women-of-mumbai (to register)

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