9 eves for the Eve -
GR8! Women Awards – a Hark-back…

God created Eve!
And GR8! created 9 eves for her…
One each year since 2001!

These have been the eves of rare pomp, panache and pageant, totally dedicated to the most substantial creation of Him up there – the Eve. He has bestowed unique powers on this unique species and to Him, she is the focal point of all his creations…

And God & GR8! thought alike!

Like Him, GR8! also felt that the Eve or the Woman is pivotal to Mother Nature’s design of life and hence, must be accorded all the recognitions and honours possible to underscore that.

These were exactly the thoughts criss-crossing the mind of Anu Ranjan way back in 2oo1!

There was also the reality that despite all those attributes, women have been denied their due and oftentimes their achievements are swept under the carpet. Anu was seized of these realities and would often brood over them. But she didn’t have the inkling that she, herself, was destined to do something in this direction that no one had done before!

And then it happened!

It was a rainy Sunday morning and feeling lazy over a steaming cuppa, Anu was leafing through the newspaper listlessly, when suddenly her eyes got fixed on a heading. It had an unfinished story about how a woman was robbed of the credit for some sterling social work she had done and that, too, by her own husband.

That did it!

That was the catalyst which triggered the concept of an all out endeavour to accord recognition to Women achievers. It meant an Event, a Ceremony totally dedicated to Women with the single and signal goal of shaking everybody up from the stupor of indifference towards their accomplishments.

Bas – toh there went the Sunday into the dustbin and there and then Anu was on phone, mail and chat to elicit support for her thoughts that were show balling into an obsession. And in the days following that special Sunday, she was tapping like-minded people for their reaction and support to her mission.

And trust us – it was not easy!

Many smirked at the idea of an all-women Award – ‘There won’t be many takers for that, Anu!’, they cautioned and counselled her, ‘who is interested in ‘Only Women’ Awards? You have to have men in it. Make a mix-let it be achiever women and achiever men as well!’ Phantoms of practicability, viability and acceptability of such Awards were raised before an all fired up and high as a kite, Anu ranjan.

That cut no ice – naturally!

Anu went on sowing the seeds of her mission all across. Armed with the infrastructure and goodwill of her recently launched The Indian Television Academy, she was at a vantage point in the organisational nitty-gritty of the Awards.

And thus with hubby Shashi Ranjan being handy as ever, the team Ranjans thumbed their noses at the doubters and dissenters, while taking the first tentative steps towards their goal.


The beginning…

Anu made a considered decision to soft-pedal the beginning of the journey like-minded celebrities would be brought to a huddle to brain-storm over the shape and substance of the Awards.

And then, the first two eves, each celebrated on the Woman’s day in 2001 and 2002 preoccupied themselves with a high-voltage exchange of ideas, discussing the gravest issues pertaining to women threadbare and putting in philanthropic bits redressing the wrongs done to a few women, chosen randomly through NGO’s… and so on!

The trot had begun for a momentous Event to come!