Team Verve Salutes The Women Who’ve Stood By Them: Here’s To ‘The Confidante’

A revolution long in the making has been reignited in a new avatar only recently. A time when women are looking men squarely in the eyes as if to say ‘bring it on’. A year that saw #MeToo and #TimesUp morph from ordinary words to statements that will go down in history. Closer to home, live-in relationships have been legalised as of April and the triple talaq has been banned, emancipating women of these problematic societal shackles. The Chinese Zodiac might as well give up their twelve-year cyclical calendar and, going forward, call every year the Year of the Woman. In our (Em)Power Issue next month, we will be lauding women whose stories of breaking barriers are inspiring and empowering  — a former FBI agent-turned-teacher, a skier and a firefighter being a few — alongside recognising a new generation of fearless, driven women.

As relationships between women become even more important and necessary, Team Verve takes this opportunity to honour the #WomenWithVerve in their own lives who have impacted and encouraged them even if in the humblest of ways — a best friend that stayed by their side during their wedding, a yoga teacher who healed more than just their body, an aunt who goes beyond the call of duty for her niece.

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Shraddha Jahagirdar-Saxena, 55 – Executive Editor

Our association goes back to over three decades ago. Bound by a common love for the Queen’s English we completed our Master’s in the language, and thank god for destiny, our paths stayed intertwined. Her generosity of spirit and gentleness is, in my experience, unparalleled. I have never forgotten how just a day before my BA examination, realising that my notes were damaged, in the dead of night, she gave me hers. She has seen me through my best and worst times, her counsel but a phone call away. Years ago, she was the first one I called when I thought I had found my soul mate. And just two years ago, early in the morning on my daughter’s wedding day, I rapped at the door of her room in the hotel, and at 5.30 am we walked out to the mandap under the open sky, rewinding to shared memories of our dads, marriages and life. Through all the ups and downs, the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, she sees the positive side of it all. And puts things completely in perspective. She does lose her cool, she’s human after all, but even when she chides someone – I have been on the receiving end a couple of times – it’s never an irrational outburst. My mother has often told me I should be more like her… But since impatience and blunt speak is my middle name I have many lessons still to learn and miles to go before I can be even a little like her. As long as she’s around, I know that my sanity is intact. Asmita Mehta, this one is for you!

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