Sibling trio connect with their favourite city; regale Kolkatans at Tete-a-Tea with Tharoors

Kolkatarsquos winter evening glowed with warmth and wit as siblings Shashi Shobha and Smita Tharoor settled into a freewheeling conversation at a packed Birla Sabhaghar The event lsquoTeteaTea with Tharoorsrsquo presented by Prabha Khaitan Foundation with FICCI Flo Kolkata and Sanskriti Sagar became an intimate tapestry of memory music wisdom sibling chemistry and heartfelt revelationsGuided by conversationalist Nishtha Gautam the hourlong session was a rollercoasterfunny reflective and deeply moving The trio opened up about family fate and the leap of faith that changed their lives foreverIt all began with a motherrsquos fear When a young Shashi Tharoor a diplomat with a gleaming global reputation decided to enter Indian politics his mother Sulekha Menon was heartbrokenldquoPeople will spoil your namerdquoshe warned seeing her son step into what she viewed as a ldquomuddyrdquo and dangerous arenaShobha who managed Tharoorrsquos first campaign recalled the familyrsquos anxietyldquoIt unnerved stressed and disturbed usrdquoshe admitted Their mother was ldquodeeply unhappyrdquoYet Tharoorrsquos conviction was unshakable Having observed world leaders up close at the UN he believed politics was the ultimate platform to change livesldquoIf people like me stayed awayrdquohe reasonedldquoyoung bright caring people who love the country will never joinrdquoHis sister Smita now a Kolkata resident affirmed this lifelong motiveldquoHe joined the UN to make a difference He came back into politics also to make a differencerdquoLooking back Tharoor chuckled at his own ldquosheer ignorancerdquo Having left India at 19hersquodnever even voted let alone understood the gritty reality of elections His plunge was less a calculated move and more a swirl of circumstance and idealismThe affection in the hall was palpable especially among women who lined up for selfies Tharoor credited his comfort with women to the strong women in his lifeldquoGrowing up with women around me made me very sensitivehellip I never absorbed the patriarchy or misogyny I sometimes seerdquohe said also praising his liberal father for fostering a home of free choiceThe session of TeteaTea with Tharoors in Kolkata organized by Prabha Khaitan Foundation in association with FICCI Flo and Sanskriti SagarThe mood turned solemn when a student asked about his private memberrsquos bill to criminalize marital rape Tharoorrsquos bill currently tabled in Parliament seeks to remove the legal exception that shields husbands from prosecution for raping their wivesHe called the existing law a ldquotravestyrdquo rooted in ldquoan outdated assumption that marriage is a sacred sacramentrdquo He expressed dismay that ldquowomen ministers handling this portfoliordquo have defended the exemptionldquoThat to me is unbelievableand we must speak out against itrdquohe stated firmlyldquoMarital rape is not about conjugal rightsrdquo he stressedldquoIt is about violenceAnd violence is rightly criminalized because it violates a personrsquos bodily autonomy agency and fundamental rightsrdquo His bill asserts that marriage cannot negate a womanrsquos right to consentldquoonly yes means yesrdquoFor one evening the politician the writer the diplomat and the brother merged into oneBalancing the seriousness of law and rights were moments of pure warmth and fun that drew the audience even closer to the trio Sisters Shobha and Smita shared anecdotes from their childhood painting a portrait of siblings bound by deep affection goodnatured teasing and a lifetime of shared memoriesThe emotional high point came when iconic singer Usha Uthup encouraged Shashi to sing he obliged with the beloved Hindi song ldquoPhoolon ka taron kardquo dedicating it to his sisters as the hall softly joined in For a few minutes the seasoned parliamentarian and public intellectual disappeared replaced by a brother serenading his siblings under the warm gaze of an adoring audienceThe evening was part of ldquoTeteaTeardquo a signature series of freewheeling interactive sessions with celebs and prominent achievers conceptualized by Kolkatabased culturist and philanthropist Sundeep Bhutoria Organized by the Prabha Khaitan Foundation often in collaboration with likeminded organizations the series aims to create intimate candid spaces where public figures can move beyond speeches and soundbites to share their stories struggles and convictionsDisclaimer The views and opinions expressed in the article are media marketing initiative and do not represent the stand and views of MidDay Group MidDay Group disclaims any and all liability to any party company or product for any direct indirect implied punitive special incidental or consequential damages arising directly or indirectly from the use of this content

Sibling trio connect with their favourite city; regale Kolkatans at Tete-a-Tea with Tharoors

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Sibling trio connect with their favourite city; regale Kolkatans at Tete-a-Tea with Tharoors

Other Articles

Mid-Day Fast