Some Eminent Alumnae of Loreto College, Kolkata

AMITA DUTT

Amita Dutt is Professor of Dance in the Uday Shankar Chair at the Rabindra Bharati University and has also been the Head of the Department of Dance, and the Dean of the Faculty Council of Undergraduate and Post Graduate Studies in Fine Arts at Rabindra Bharati University, Kolkata.

ANAMIKA KHANNA

Renowned designer, Anamika Khanna has been instrumental towards the modernization of Indian craft through her modern wear made from Indian textiles. She won the Damania fashion award in 1995 which saw the beginning of her fashion label. In 2006 she was awarded the FICCI Young Woman's Achiever award. She has successfully shown her collections at various Fashion Weeks all over the world and has an exclusive contract with Harrods, London. In 2003 as part of Bridal Asia she was invited to exhibit her bridal collection in Pakistan. In 2007 she was invited to showcase her new international label Ana Mika at the Paris Fashion Week , the first for any Indian designer.

ANASHUA MAJUMDAR

Member of leading Bengali theatre group Bohurupee, and received guidance from the Late Tripti Mitra. She has acted in several films, the first released film being Mrinal Sen's Mahaprithvi, as well as television shows. She has worked with directors such as Buddhadev Dasgupta, Goutam Ghosh and Rituporno Ghosh. She has won two State Academy awards from the West Bengal Government, two BFJA awards and received an individual grant from the US Government. She was awarded an Anondolok award, a Big FM award and a Star Jalsa award for Best Actress in various roles. Her recent films include Gotra and Mukherjee Dar Bou (both 2019).

ANITA BHATIA

Assistant Secretary-General for Resource Management, Sustainability and Partnerships and Deputy Executive Director of the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women).

ANJANA BASU

Advertising consultant and widely published author. Her publications include a book of short stories, several novels including Curses In Ivory, Black Tongue and Chinku and the Wolfboy. She has worked on scripts with director Rituparno Ghosh for Antarmahal and The Last Lear and has subtitled several of his films including Unishe April, Dahan and Chokher Bali. She also recently subtitled the Rahul Bose starrer, Antaheen.

ANJUM KATYAL

Anjum Katyal is a writer, editor and translator. She has been Chief Editor, Seagull Books, as well as Editor, Seagull Theatre Quarterly Calcutta, and Web Editor, Saregama-HMV. She is Consultant Director, Apeejay Kolkata Literary Festival, and Curator, Nabanna Earth Weekend (NEW) festival of arts and ideas.

ANUJA GUPTA

Founder and Executive Director of RAHI Foundation, an NGO in New Delhi working towards prevention and intervention in the area of incest and child sexual abuse. It was set up in 1996 and is the only organization of its kind in India. In recognition for her work, Anuja has been awarded the MacArthur and the Ashoka Fellowships.

ARUNA PAUL

A former student and teacher at Loreto College. Wife of Lord Swraj Paul, she played a key role in setting up the Ambika Paul Foundation in memory of their daughter; its main aim is to promote the well being of children and young people throughout the world through education, culture and health. Lady Paul is a Trustee and chairperson of various organizations including the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan UK, the largest institute for Indian art and culture outside India. She is a Patron of Women's India Association (UK), the longest established Asian charity in Britain.

ASMA KHAN

Asma Khan is the chef and owner of Darjeeling Express. Asma is the first British chef to feature in Netflix’s Emmy nominated Chef’s Table. Her episode also received a 2020 James Beard Award nomination. Business Insider named her number 1 on their list of "100 Coolest People in Food and Drink". The Evening Standard listed her in The Progress 1000 as one of London s most influential people 2019. She has been included in the eighth edition of the GG2 Power List profiling Britain's 101 most influential Asians and she is now the first chef to be featured on Vogue’s list of '25 most influential women of year for 2020.'

BACHI KARKARIA

Veteran journalist, Media Brand-builder and global trainer, Litfest curator, Best-selling authorShe was the first Indian on the board of the World Editors Forum, and a recipient of the US-based Mary Morgan Hewitt Prize for Lifetime Achievement in Journalism and a Jefferson Fellow of the East West Centre, Honolulu. She is on the advisory boards of the National AIDS Control Organisation and the India AIDS Initiative of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Her books include Dare to Dream, which is the best-selling biography of M S Oberoi, Mumbai Masti, Behind The Times, and The Cake That Walked on Calcutta’s heritage confectioners Flurys.

BHARATI MUKHERJEE

An award-winning Indian-born writer in the USA. She was a Professor in the Department of English at the University of California, Berkeley. She and her husband Clarke Blaise co-authored Days and Nights in Calcutta (1977). They also wrote the 1987 work, The Sorrow and the Terror: The Haunting Legacy of the Air India Tragedy. In 1988 Bharati Mukherjee won National Book Critics Circle Award for The Middleman and Other Stories.

DAYITA DATTA

Vice-Principal of Welham Girls’ School from 1997-2017. She received the National Award for Teachers in from President Dr. A P J Kalam in 2003. She is also the recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Varkey/Gems Foundation and was awarded a Summer Fellowship for Teachers at Emory University. She was honoured by the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme in 1992. Dayita was the 1st Indian winner of BBC Mastermind in 1998. She has published Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow (Primary History series). Currently, she is senior history teacher at Assam Valley School.

DURGA SINHA

One of the first Loreto College students to do a Post Graduate Diploma in Management from an Indian Institute of Management i.e. IIM Calcutta. She held top managerial positions at Duncan s Industries, TIL Ltd, Balmer Lawrie as well as several other companies, and was awarded a British Commonwealth Chevening Scholarship. Since 2003 she has been with IBS (the ICFAI Business School), Kolkata, where she is currently Deputy Director- Corporate Relations and Placement Coordinator. She is a Member of the Academic Council- ICFAI University, Jharkhand and on the Board of Management, ICFAI University, Nagaland.

ELIZABETH CHACKO

Former Chair, Dept. Of Geography at George Washington University, where she is currently Professor of Geography and International Affairs as well as Associate Provost for Special Programs and the Mount Vernon Academic Experience. She received the American Society of Women Geographers Award in 1994 and in 2006 she won the U.S. Professor of the Year award from the District of Columbia. In 2013-14, she was a Fulbright Scholar at NUS, Singapore.

GITANJALI AIYAR

News-presenter for AIR and Doordarshan for 31 years, and winner of the best anchor person and newsreader award several times. She represented Taj Palace Inter-continental at various global meets, and was the lead organizer in a large SAARC summit at Bangalore in 1987. She has worked with the Jaipur Literary Festival and the Delhi International Arts Festival. Consultant with CII for 3 years, she was responsible for coordination with state dignitaries visiting India including Princess Anne. She won the Indira Gandhi Priyadarshini Award for Outstanding Women in 1989. Currently, she is Head, Major Donors at WWF-India.

INDRANI MALKANI

Member in the Lok Adalat of the State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, Maharashtra since 2005. She has done pioneering work in improving the life of Mumbai citizens. Instrumental in starting the Municipality s integrated Relay Transport System of segregated waste collection, Indrani was appointed on the committee to monitor the beautification and improvement of the famous Girgaum Chowpatty beach in 2001. In 2002 the Model School Bus System was conceptualized and implemented by her in partnership with the Mumbai Traffic Police and the Cathedral and John Connon School; this was accepted as a model on which the State of Maharashtra based its Policy of Transportation of School Children. Indrani has been associated with the Disaster Management cell of the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai since 2002.

INDU PURI

She was ranked No.1 in India for a record 8 times and was captain of the Indian table tennis team from 1979 to 1984. Winner of the Arjuna Award 1981, the Punjabi Bhushan award, the Kalpana Chawla Excellence Award and the Best Sportsperson of the Year Award. Winner of the National title in Calcutta in 1985. Represented India in six Commonwealth Table Tennis Championships, Six World Table Tennis Championships, eventually holding the runner-up position in the Commonwealth in 1982 and remained as a National level sports coach. Chairperson of the Committee constituted by the Ministry of Sports to select the awardees of the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna 2008 and Dhyanchand Award 2009. She currently works as the Chief Manager of the Union Bank of India, New Delhi.

JAYAPRIYA VASUDEVAN

With over twenty years of experience of working in publishing, she and a partner set up India s first bookstore-cafe in Bangalore. Founded Books@Jacaranda, a literary agency in 1997. Under her leadership Jacaranda has continued to grow its diverse and exciting list of authors. Jayapriya has spoken at literary festivals in Istanbul, India, Manila and Singapore and further afield in London and Frankfurt. She was appointed the Festival Director of the Times of India Literary Festival 2017 and 2018.

JACQUELINE LEWIS

Professor and Chair of the Department of Counseling and Student Personnel at Minnesota State University, Mankato, Minnesota. She has also taught at universities in Australia and Hong Kong.

KAJAL SENGUPTA

The first woman teacher at Presidency College (1959); she remained an integral part of the English Department there till her retirement in 1996.

KAMALINEE MUKHERJEE

Theatre and film actress. She has been a part of a number of Telegu, Hindi, Tamil, Malyalam and Kannada films. She was awarded The Golden Nandi Award For Best Actress in the Telegu film Anand and The ANR Award For Best Actress in the film Godavari. She played a major role in her first Bengali film Aparajita Tumi, directed by Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury.

KRISHNA SEN

Dr Krishna Sen, former Professor and Head of the Department of English, University of Calcutta, and a founder-member of the University s Women s Studies Research Centre, was awarded a National Merit Scholarship, a Commonwealth Educational Fellowship to the University of Kent, and a Fulbright-NEH fellowship to UCLA. She was Leverhulme Visiting Professor at the School of English, University of Leeds in 2008; Visiting Professor at the University of Vermont in 2002; Visiting Fellow at the University of Korea at Seoul in 2005 and at the Centre for Ibsen Studies, University of Oslo, in 2008; as well as Nippon Fellow at the Salzburg Seminar in 2002. She has been invited to lecture or deliver Keynote Addresses at several British universities including SOAS, and at Stanford and Berkeley, and has participated in conferences in many countries. She has several national and international publications to her credit and is on the International Board of Consulting Editors for Feminist Studies in English Literature and Journal of Transnational American Studies.

LEILA SETH

Held a law degree from Lincoln s Inn, London and joined the Bar in 1959 after becoming the first woman to top the London Bar examinations. First woman Chief Justice of a High Court in India, first woman judge in the Delhi High Court. She was the first lady lawyer to be designated as a senior counsel by the Supreme Court of India. She was a member of the 15th Law Commission of India from 1997 to 2000, and was responsible for the amendments to the Hindu Succession Act that gave equal rights to daughters in joint family property. She sat on a number of enquiry commissions and was a part of the three-member bench of the Justice Verma Committee established to overhaul India’s rape laws in the aftermath of the infamous 2012 Delhi gang-rape case. She also authored two books, On Balance and We, the Children of India: The Preamble to Our Constitution.

MOON MOON SEN

She has appeared in Bengali, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Marathi and Kannada films. She has appeared in 60 films and 40 TV serials including Nil Nirjane and Bow Barracks Forever. She made her debut in Andar Baahar. Winner of the Nandi State Award, the Kalakendra Screen Award and the Bharat Nirman Award. Sen learnt drawing from Jamini Roy, one of India’s greatest artists and has taught graphics at Chitrabani, a school teaching film techniques.

NADIRA PATHERYA

She enrolled as an advocate in 1983. She practiced at the Calcutta High Court, the Supreme Court of India, and the High Courts in Orissa, Patna and Jharkhand. She practiced civil, company arbitration and constitutional matters, specializing in Civil and Constitutional Laws. Justice Patherya was elevated to the Bench of the High Court of Calcutta as permanent Judge in 2006 and served till 2018.

NEELUM SAIGAL

Entrepreneur and founder, Bric-A-Brac has since evolved into a well-loved and respected brand captures the essence of Indian style. Her Studio Workshop in Manesar, Gurgaon, skills and employs a small team of craftsmen and women. The team annually exhibits at forums such as the Kala Ghoda Exhibition in Mumbai, India Story in Kolkata, and the Dastkar Design Mela in New Delhi. In recognition of her creativity, Neelum was awarded the UNESCO Seal of Excellence in 2006 for her line of tableware that combined glazed terracotta with cane and wood. In the same year, her products were exhibited at the UNESCO stall at Maison et Objet trade fair in Paris. She is an active member of the Delhi Crafts Council and a volunteer at Kamala, the Delhi outlet of the Crafts Council of India at Connaught Place, New Delhi.

NEHA RUNGTA

Trained and award-winning film maker. Her travels and interactions with artisans and craftspeople made her conscious of our tremendously rich heritage of handicrafts. Neha launched Kopai Paar in 2016, to encourage appreciation of craft and bring sustainable commerce to the artisan communities. The organization works with natural, sustainable and environment friendly materials and uses relevant approaches to design and quality. They have also developed a line of upcycled products which reduce waste. Their products have received widespread press coverage and customer appreciation.

OINDRILLA DUTT

An eminent arts and events curator who has worked with leading artistes and presented events/ son-et-lumieres at heritage venues such as Victoria Memorial, Prinsep Memorial, Town Hall etc. She has been a broadcaster and a freelance writer, having written a book on the Kolkata Police, columns for leading dailies and articles for a variety of publications. She is associated with a number of NGOs, such as IICP (Indian Institute of Cerebral Palsy), Calcutta Samaritans and Crafts Council of West Bengal, has served on the editorial board of Upper Crust magazine and was the first delegate to the Cannes Ad Film Festival from Kolkata. She has served on the POSH related Complaints Committee of the Calcutta Stock Exchange and SEBI as well as that of the Calcutta Cricket and Football Club.

PIALI RAY

Founder-Director of SAMPAD, a leading British agency for the development of South Asian arts, based in Birmingham. She was conferred an OBE (2002), an Honorary Doctorate by University of Central England (2006) and named Outstanding Business Person of the year in 2009 by the Birmingham Chamber of Commerce. Piali has championed a huge range of art forms and cultures and has worked as a choreographer and dance teacher with organisations such as the Birmingham Repertory Theatre, the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, the National Gallery and the National Theatre.

PINKY LILANI

Author, food guru, inspirational and motivational speaker, who uses the theme of food to run diversity and team building for some of the UK s largest corporations She is the author of SPICE MAGIC - An Indian culinary adventure and CORIANDER MAKES THE DIFFERENCE. She was on the Cherie Blair foundation and Patron of the Asian Women s Resource Center in Brent. She was awarded the CBI PWC Life Achievement Award in June 2006, the Lloyds TSB Life time achievement award (2008) and in 2009 she was named one of the 100 most Entrepreneurial women in the UK by the Bank of Scotland. She was awarded the OBE in the 2007 New Years honours.

RAJASHREE BIRLA

Renowned philanthropist Rajashree Birla is the Director on the Board of all the major Aditya Birla Group of Companies: viz., Aditya Birla Nuvo, UltraTech Cement Ltd., Grasim and Hindalco. She is also the Director of the Aditya Group’’s International Companies in Thailand, Egypt, Indonesia and Philippines. Besides, she is the Chairperson of the Aditya Birla Center for Community Initiatives and Rural Development, which oversees the corporate social responsibility programs and projects of the Aditya Birla Group (ABG) across thirty companies.

RAJESWARI VAIDYANATHAN

"Rajeswari is the founder of VR DanceSport, one of the largest Latin Ballroom dance schools in India with a footprint in Dubai. The Indian Ambassador for Freedom to Dance, UK, Rajeswari is also the organizer of one of the most prestigious national level DanceSport competitions in India under the Indian DanceSport Council banner. She was Lead Choreographer for acclaimed director Mira Nair’s BBC One / Netflix mini-series on the adaption of Vikram Seth’s novel "The Suitable Boy" released in 2020. She has also been TEDx speaker on her inspirational journey from 'Corporate Career to Artistic Discipline' in 2017.

RAKHI SARKAR

Founder, CIMA Art Gallery, Kolkata, and introduced the Biennial CIMA Awards Kolkata Art Festival. She is also the moving spirit behind the hugely popular CIMA Art Mela, introduced in 200, to make contemporary art accessible, affordable and to democratize the market.

REENA SEN

A founder member of the West Bengal Spastics Society now Indian Institute of Cerebral Palsy, Dr. Sen joined the organisation in January 1975, a few months after its inception. She served as Executive Director and is currently Secretary of its Governing Body. During 1984-87 she lived in Kochi where she founded Raksha, an NGO that continues to thrive as a nodal centre for disability in Kerala. Her area of specialization is literacy, intervention for specific learning difficulties and all issues related to inclusive education. She was awarded the ABLENET-ISAAC Literacy Award for her work with individuals who have severe speech and physical impairments and use augmentative and alternative communication.

RENU ROY

Well-known cultural personality, writer, actor, film producer and art connoisseur. She is the Executive Director of Spandan, a prominent cultural organization devoted to events and the promotion and presentation of the performing, visual, cinematic and fine arts. She spearheads Spandan s Theatre Wing and is the CEO of Spandan Films and Founder of Spandan Art Gallery. She has won numerous awards, including Woman of the Year 2002 awarded by the International Board of Research of the American Biographical Institute, USA., and the Bharatiya Bhasha Parishad Award 2001. She produced the feature film Unishe April directed by Rituparno Ghosh which won the highest Indian National Film Award, The Golden Lotus. She received the Women Achievers 2011 Award.

RITA BHIMANI

Founder-CEO of Ritam Communications and one of the most recognized persons in the profession of Corporate Public Relations. She was the first Asian woman to be nominated to the Board of Directors of the International Public Relations Association, where she was Chairman of its Education and Research Committee. She is on the board of Hindusthan National Glass & Industries Ltd., Asian Hotels (East) Ltd. and Robust Hotels Pvt. Ltd. She has authored books on Public Relations and served as visiting faculty member in Media Studies at the Pailan School of International Studies. She is currently Vice-President of the Ananda Shankar Centre for Performing Arts.

RUBY PALCHOUDHURI

She has served as Honorary General Secretary and Executive Director, Crafts Council of West Bengal and Vice President, Crafts Council of India. Today, she is advisor and President Emeritus of the Craft Council of West Bengal. She has organized numerous exhibitions all over the world to revive dying craft and to promote Indian folk art and craft. She has held exhibits at museums round the world. She has set up training and production centres and conducted workshops in many areas of rural Bengal to revive crafts.

RUCHIRA GUPTA

Founded Apne Aap after working closely with courageous young women working in the brothels of Mumbai while making an Emmy Award-winning documentary, The Selling of Innocents. She is also a professor at New York University and a Distinguished Scholar at the University of California, Berkeley. Ruchira has worked in the United Nations in various capacities for over ten years and has helped to develop National Action Plans on women s empowerment and laws against human trafficking in many countries. She has been honored with the Clinton Global Citizen Award in 2009 and the UK House of Lords Abolitionist Award in 2007.

RUKMINI MAITRA

Model and actress, Rukmini has worked for a number of regional, national and international brands. She made her debut in Tollywood in 2017. She won the Times Power Women- Most Promising Actor award and the Jio Filmfare East for Best Debut (Female) Award in 2018.

SHABINA OMAR

Prof. Shabina Nishat Omar is Officer on Special Duty (OSD), Directorate of Public Instruction, Department of Higher Education, Government of West Bengal. She has served for 19 years in Milli Al-Ameen College (for girls), affiliated to University of Calcutta, as Professor of English and Head, Department of English out of which she spent 15 years as Principal-in-Charge. She has previously taught in leading colleges and universities of West Bengal, including St. Xavier s College, Presidency University and Aliah University. She was nominated for the International Visitor Program to the USA, sponsored by the US Department of State, in 2003.

SHAISTA SUHRAWARDY IKRAMULLAH

First Muslim and Asian woman to obtain a doctorate from the prestigious University of London. One of the only two female representatives in the first Pakistani Constituent Assembly.

SHREYA SEN HANDLEY

Television journalist and producer for CNBC and MTV, and East India head for Channel [V]. She is the author of two books: a collection of profoundly unsettling and unusual short stories entitled Strange , and the award-winning Memoirs of My Body , (2017), which was a UNESCO Cities of Literature Best Reads of 2017 , Best Non-fiction Book of the Year at the NWS Writing Awards 2018, and an Oxford Bookstores bestseller in India. Shreya is also the first South Asian woman to have written an international opera for the Welsh National Opera. The multicultural opera Migrations was scheduled to go on tour in the UK in 2021. She is working on a second opera. Her short fiction has been published, broadcast, and shortlisted for prizes in Britain, India and Australia. This year she wrote her first ever poems, commissioned by a British national campaign against hate crimes, which were published and broadcast in Britain and India.

SHUKLA BOSE

Founder and CEO of Parikrma Humanity Foundation, a nonprofit organization that runs English-medium schools for under-privileged children in Bangalore, India

SMITA BAJORIA

Successful Entrepreneur, Renowned Business Person, Art Enthusiast, Social Worker & Equestrian. Chairperson of Heritage Insurance Broker & Heritage Health TPA and Hon. Consul General of Denmark, she has been Knighted by the Queen of Denmark.

SMRITI G. MORARKA

Founder of Tantuvi, an initiative to revive weaving traditions of Benares in 1998. She was awarded Nari Shakti Award for the year 2018 by the Government of India in recognition of her contribution in the Handloom-Weaving Industry. Additionally, she is a trustee in Jnana-Pravaha, an organization providing a platform for critical thinking and intellectual rigor in aspiring individuals by creative exchange of ideas.

SUDESHNA ROY

Renowned TV and film personality. Started her career with The Telegraph and shifted to Sananda where she was the assistant editor. She then started a television career and has directed films, including Cross Connection. While on television, she did several award winning shows, including Police Files, Labonyor Sansar and Khunje Berai Kachcher Maanush. Her films with Abhijit Guha, such as Teen Yaari Kotha, Bapi Bari Jaa, Jodi Love Dilena Prane, Benche Thakar Gaan, Sraboner Dhara have won accolades in India and abroad.

SUNANDA BOSE

Former Vice President of Nari Siksha Samity one of the oldest organisations working in the field of disadvantaged women, girls and tribals in Jhargram. She was also the Hon. Joint Secretary of ALL BENGAL WOMEN’S UNION, working in the field of rescue, shelter and rehabilitation of victims of trafficking and sexual abuse. For many years she was a member of the Kolkata High Court Legal Services Committee and acted as a Judge of several Lok Adalats, District Courts and Consumers Forums.

SURJIT MANSINGH

Former Professor of International Politics, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi and Chairperson, Centre for International Politics in the School of International Studies. She was a member of the Indian Foreign Service before joining academia.Surjit Mansingh is the author of numerous academic papers and several books, including Concise Encyclopedia of Indian History ( New Delhi: Vision Books, 2009), India s Search for Power, (New Delhi: Sage, 1984), co-author of Diplomatic History of Modern India ( Delhi: Allied, 1972) and editor of Prospects for India United States Relations (New Delhi: India Habitat Centre, 2000) Indian and Chinese Foreign Policies in Comparative Perspective (New Delhi: Radiant Press, 1998) and Nehru s Foreign Policy.

TILOTTAMA THAROOR

Professor in the Liberal Studies Programme at New York University since 1999. Her research and writing is on British, South Asian & Comparative Literature, Feminist and Postcolonial Theories. She is currently working on a book called "The Empire Within: British Domestic Fiction, Women and Empire."

UMA AHMED

Since 1986 Mrs. Ahmed has been the chairperson of the Indian Institute of Cerebral Palsy. She is deeply committed to the issue of inclusion of children with disabilities into mainstream education. She was ppointed to the West Bengal Human Rights Commission 1995-2000. Some of the institutions she has been involved with are Calcutta Rescue, All Bengal Womens Union and Swayam. She is actively involved in helping teachers of schools for deprived children.