Dear Friends,

In a very recent report which appeared on daijiworld.com, on the Konkani Women Writer’s Meet which took place at ‘Mulakat’ at Sandesha, Mangalore on Sunday, 20th November 2005 said Mrs. Judy Pinto, Konkani writer& lecturer of St. Aloysius College at the time of the inaugural ceremony ”Women have equal or more creativity than men... In most of the competitions at school they fair better than men... but when it comes to literature they are lacking far behind. The ignorance about their hidden talents, lack of encouragement to express their creativity in writings and probably the responsibility of the family are the causes for women to refrain from creative literature”.

We also read of the young and enthusiastic 23 year old Assumptha D’Souza hailing from a middle class family, and born and brought up in Gantalkatta Parish (Moodubidri Varado) but who is currently specializing in Journalism in London. She has a dream of bringing a 16-odd short stories in the form of a book. So strong is her love for her mother-tongue Konkani that she is still in touch with it and does not feel ashamed to speak it outside her own country like most of the modern women do.
Talent is “God’s Gift” to each one of us. Talent means an ability, a gift, and it also means money. One can make as much money, as one cares to, by using one's talent appropriately, without waste or delay. It is imperative on us that we do use our talent and not just ignore it. 

Generally, people see their talent as something they can enjoy in their leisure time, as a hobby, or something with which they can entertain themselves and others. On the other hand, to make a living, they assume that one has to sweat and toil with dull and dreary tasks. 

The big breakthrough in the search of success comes when one recognizes one's talent. We look at other people and marvel at their success. We are impressed with their talent and their ability. We think they are different from us; that, somehow they belong to another species which we are not a member of. We look everywhere else outside, rather than looking inside ourselves and identifying the assets hiding within us. 

Women Vision brings to you Anandi Rao – a woman ahead of her times, who with her determination, her grit and her genuine concern for women has made use of her time and talent to contribute to the welfare and empowerment of women. Inspite of coming from a traditional Brahmin  background,  she never felt that it was an obstacle for her to pursue her goals and ambitions.
 
Anandi is the daughter of S. Narsappiah, a leading lawyer of his time and an ex MLC, she  was married to an advocate P. Sadashiva Rao and has been blessed with three beautiful and talented daughters (one of them is Ranjani Suresh who was profiled on Women Vision in the month of  July 2005.)  

Right from childhood, Anandi was a different and exceptional person. Says Anandi of herself “Even when I was young I used to be different from other girls growing up in my community. I like to go out a lot and while I knew home keeping is the duty of a woman it did not stop me from other interests like social work and joining associations”. She freely and firmly pursued her literary talents of journalism and poetry and has received a plethora of awards and distinctions for her dual achievements of Social work and promoting literature.

Having served for many years as the Secretary of the Mahila Sabha of Mangalore she is now the President of this very august body which is every Mangalorean woman’s pride to be a member of this association where members and meet and mingle and motivate themselves with the fruitful sessions and activities it provide