On a mission to Stand up for what is Right. Travelling across conducting the session on Combating Violence against Women with the youth of the country, we reached the city of Kanpur (Uttar Pradesh) after successfully conducting sessions in Pune (Maharashtra), and Purnea (Bihar). Even though the temperatures were soaring and the city was just about recovering from a riot over the weekend, our enthusiasm was fuelled by the fulfilment that often accompanies meaningful escapades.
The session was scheduled for the 7th of June Tuesday, just after the weekend when Kanpur city had experienced violent religious riots. We arrived via what is called an ATR, replete with propellors. A small aircraft that just needed a couple of steps to board it, the kind where the steps themselves fold inside the plane. It does tend to sway through the flight giving a rush in the gut akin to a roller coaster ride. Vanshika (an intern with JOSH who has been my companion through these escapades), was already woozy with the Delhi heat, and finally threw up with the added plunges that the plane made.
The Bombardier Q400 (the fancy name for it) landed and immediately swung around to move towards the spot where we were to deboard and realise why Spice Jet put us through this ride on the small craft. Our arrival, as we deboarded was into what looked like a makeshift tent, manned by the army. The runway too was small and given the facilities, the Kanpur airport couldn’t manage a larger plane. This, in fact, was the only flight that came in from Delhi and it would be the same one that took us back the next day.
The net played truant all through the stay in Kanpur but we managed our way around in e rickshaws when the cabs couldn’t be booked. The session itself was well received by over 300 B Pharma students of the Kanpur Institute of Technology (KIT). In a packed hall after the 90-minute interactive session, there emerged two heroes. Pooja and Kajol shared their individual stories on standing up for what’s right and combating violence against women! It takes courage to share a personal saga in front of an audience of peers! But this stands as testimony to the safe space and confidence that the session instils in young adults.’
These sessions are a part of the series conducted by JOSH TALKS on behalf of their client TVS Motor Company. Aniruddha Haldar, Senior Vice President Marketing, TVS commented on this unique marketing campaign saying ‘We felt that we needed to walk the talk and not opportunistically take a moralistic stance and give Gyan on one day, hence the entire push behind JOSH. To have the WICKED generation that respects women we need to work with the young boys!’
Links for further study
To read about the Purnea, Bihar Chapter click here>>
To read about the Pune experience click here>>
To know more about the online session experience read here >>
PS: if you stand for what is right – team SABERA is looking for you Register here>>
To support our initiative contribute here.
