51 women. 51 stories. One Oitijhyo.
Oitijhyo Sarbojonin Cultural Association is inviting women from Hinjewadi Phase 2, Hinjewadi Phase 3, Maan, Marunji and nearby communities to share the stories that rarely make it to a stage, but shape families, workplaces and neighbourhoods every day.
Some women lead from a stage. Others lead from a kitchen table, balancing a career, a home, ageing parents and a hundred invisible responsibilities before the day has properly begun.
Some rebuild after a setback. Some find their voice late. Some carry an entire family through a difficult year and never call what they did extraordinary.
This Durga Puja, Oitijhyo Sarbojonin Cultural Association wants to bring those women into the light, not as symbols or background contributors, but as people whose journeys deserve to be heard.
"Do not just worship Shakti. Recognise her."
Why 51 stories?
Durga is remembered through many forms, but Shakti cannot be contained in a single image. It lives in the entrepreneur who began again after failure, the mother who returned to work after years away, the teacher who shaped hundreds of children, and the homemaker whose labour holds a family together.
It is also present in the young woman building a life in a new city, the daughter caring for her parents, the senior citizen beginning something new, and the girl who is still learning to believe in her own voice.
51 Nari Shakti will document and celebrate 51 women from the communities around us. Each story will be different. Together, they will create a portrait of modern womanhood in a neighbourhood built by people who arrived from different cities, cultures and circumstances to make a new home in Pune.
Strength rarely looks dramatic
We are not looking only for award winners, founders, senior executives or public personalities. Success is one form of strength, but it is not the only one.
A woman may have changed careers at forty, raised a child alone, started a small business from home, returned to education, learned to drive after years of hesitation, or moved to Hinjewadi without knowing anyone. She may have recovered from a setback, protected another woman, created art in the middle of an ordinary life, or simply refused to give up.
The story does not have to be dramatic. It only has to be honest.
From being visible to being heard
Women are visible everywhere during Durga Puja. They organise cultural programmes, coordinate children, manage costumes, prepare bhog, welcome visitors, decorate the venue and keep the celebration moving. Yet visibility is not always the same as recognition.
At Oitijhyo Sarbojonin Cultural Association, Nari Shakti is not meant to remain a decorative theme beside the idol. It should be reflected in who speaks, who decides, who leads and whose experiences are remembered.
The 51 stories will create space for women to speak in their own words. Some may talk about ambition. Others may speak about sacrifice, reinvention, friendship, motherhood, identity, courage or the difficult choice to begin again. No two journeys will be the same, and that is precisely the point.
A growing neighbourhood needs shared stories
Hinjewadi Phase 2 and Phase 3 are full of people who arrived here to begin something: a job, a marriage, a business, a family or a second chance. Behind apartment doors and office entrances are women carrying stories that their neighbours may never know.
One may lead a corporate team by day and care for an elderly parent at night. Another may have left a successful career to raise a child and now be preparing to return. Someone may be building a business from her dining table. Someone else may be experiencing her first Durga Puja away from home.
In a fast-growing locality, people can live close to one another without truly knowing one another. 51 Nari Shakti is an attempt to change that. It is a celebration of women, but it is also a way of creating connection.
Whose stories are we looking for?
There is no single definition of a Nari Shakti story. We hope to hear from women across generations, professions and backgrounds, including:
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Some stories may be joyful. Some may be uncomfortable or quiet. Some may inspire another woman to take the first step she has postponed for years.
More than a festival campaign
The purpose of 51 Nari Shakti is not to collect photographs and publish flattering introductions. It is to create a living record of women who are shaping this community.
Their journeys may be presented through written profiles, short videos, social media features, stage conversations or a special installation during Durga Puja. A visitor should be able to encounter not only the image of the goddess, but also the voices of the women living around us: the neighbour who helped someone through a crisis, the colleague we never truly asked about, the mother whose dreams did not disappear when her responsibilities increased, or the girl preparing to become the first person in her family to enter a new profession.
This is Shakti in its most human form.
Every community has powerful women. It is time we learned their names.
51 is only the beginning
There are far more than 51 stories around us. The number is not a limit. It is a starting point. Fifty-one women will stand for hundreds more whose experiences remain undocumented.
Nari Shakti has no single profession, age, language, appearance or definition. It may be bold or gentle, public or deeply private. What matters is that it is real, and that it deserves recognition.
The word Oitijhyo speaks of heritage. Heritage, however, is not only what we receive from the past. It is also what we choose to create for the future. Through 51 Nari Shakti, Oitijhyo Sarbojonin Cultural Association wants to build a tradition in which women are not worshipped as goddesses for a few festival days and forgotten afterward. They are heard as individuals, respected as decision-makers, remembered as community builders and recognised for the strength they show throughout the year.
Share or nominate a story
A woman may share her own story. A family member, friend, colleague or neighbour may also nominate someone whose journey deserves recognition.
Tell us what she overcame, what she created, what she learned, what she refused to surrender, or what she would tell another woman standing where she once stood.
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Nominate her for 51 Nari Shakti Share her name, contact details and a short description of her journey with Oitijhyo Sarbojonin Cultural Association. Email: contactus@oitijhyosarbojonin.com Open to women from Hinjewadi Phase 2, Hinjewadi Phase 3, Maan, Marunji and nearby communities. |