<p class="title">Adventure, travel, fitness and fashion were the talking points at the <em>Deccan Herald</em> and <em>Prajavani</em>-Bhumika Club event presented by IOCL at Indiranagar Club on Saturday.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The club is an initiative to foster a community for women to network and learn from each other. About 150 people turned up. </p>.<p class="bodytext">Vasu Dixit, lead vocalist of folk-rock band Swarathma, opened the event with powerful renditions of ‘Nadiyolage,’ ‘Yeshu, Allah aur Krishna,’ and ‘Ragi Tandira,’ supplementing them with humour and social commentary. The audience broke into a dance at the end of the five song-set.</p>.<p class="bodytext">This was followed by a panel discussion on travel, featuring senior mountaineer Vasumathi Srinivasan, biker and wildlife conservationist Raja Lakshmi, and vlogger and photographer Gloriya Khamrui.</p>.<p class="bodytext">“Family support is important in whatever endeavour you undertake,” Vasumathi said, speaking about the biggest challenge women face while pursuing an outdoor career. At 68, Vasumathi completed a trans-Himalayan expedition of five months this year.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Lakshmi, who is part of organisations like VSakkhi, and Rotary E-Club of Bengaluru Sakhi, spoke of uncertainties endured on the road, especially when the bikes break down. “Sometimes, we wait for an hour to let the wildlife pass,” she added.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Gloriya said planning is key to be a travel vlogger, more so, since she is a full-time working professional and a young mother. She designs her itinerary around the golden hour, which is a good period for photography.</p>.<p class="bodytext">This was followed by a talk on ‘Safe use of LPG’ by Sreeja Dutta, senior sales officer (LPG-Sales) IOCL.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Some tips she shared: Buy certified accessories from authorised vendors; don’t accept cylinders with a broken seal, never keep the cylinder in a horizontal position, keep gas stove higher than cylinder, store cylinder in a well-ventilated area, call 1906 in case of leakage. </p>.<p class="bodytext">The second discussion on winter brought together Khushbu Shetty and Ruchika Choudhary. Both spoke about following their heart. A model, actor and stylist, Khushbu was inspired by the likes of Aishwarya Rai she would she see on TV growing up, while Ruchika left her software job for a career in fitness and nutrition.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Ruchika emphasised on the need for devoting 30 minutes to a physical activity every day - swimming, weight training, walking while talking on the phone or taking five-minute breaks after every hour. On the nutrition front, people must consciously add protein and fibre to their diets, she said.</p>.<p class="bodytext">On winter fashion, Khushbu recommended jackets, leggings, pashmina shawls, and muga silk sarees.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The event, anchored by RJ Nikitha, concluded with two folk dance performances by the troupe of Sudhindra Nritya Kalanikethana, directed by Gururaj Vashisth. </p>
<p class="title">Adventure, travel, fitness and fashion were the talking points at the <em>Deccan Herald</em> and <em>Prajavani</em>-Bhumika Club event presented by IOCL at Indiranagar Club on Saturday.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The club is an initiative to foster a community for women to network and learn from each other. About 150 people turned up. </p>.<p class="bodytext">Vasu Dixit, lead vocalist of folk-rock band Swarathma, opened the event with powerful renditions of ‘Nadiyolage,’ ‘Yeshu, Allah aur Krishna,’ and ‘Ragi Tandira,’ supplementing them with humour and social commentary. The audience broke into a dance at the end of the five song-set.</p>.<p class="bodytext">This was followed by a panel discussion on travel, featuring senior mountaineer Vasumathi Srinivasan, biker and wildlife conservationist Raja Lakshmi, and vlogger and photographer Gloriya Khamrui.</p>.<p class="bodytext">“Family support is important in whatever endeavour you undertake,” Vasumathi said, speaking about the biggest challenge women face while pursuing an outdoor career. At 68, Vasumathi completed a trans-Himalayan expedition of five months this year.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Lakshmi, who is part of organisations like VSakkhi, and Rotary E-Club of Bengaluru Sakhi, spoke of uncertainties endured on the road, especially when the bikes break down. “Sometimes, we wait for an hour to let the wildlife pass,” she added.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Gloriya said planning is key to be a travel vlogger, more so, since she is a full-time working professional and a young mother. She designs her itinerary around the golden hour, which is a good period for photography.</p>.<p class="bodytext">This was followed by a talk on ‘Safe use of LPG’ by Sreeja Dutta, senior sales officer (LPG-Sales) IOCL.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Some tips she shared: Buy certified accessories from authorised vendors; don’t accept cylinders with a broken seal, never keep the cylinder in a horizontal position, keep gas stove higher than cylinder, store cylinder in a well-ventilated area, call 1906 in case of leakage. </p>.<p class="bodytext">The second discussion on winter brought together Khushbu Shetty and Ruchika Choudhary. Both spoke about following their heart. A model, actor and stylist, Khushbu was inspired by the likes of Aishwarya Rai she would she see on TV growing up, while Ruchika left her software job for a career in fitness and nutrition.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Ruchika emphasised on the need for devoting 30 minutes to a physical activity every day - swimming, weight training, walking while talking on the phone or taking five-minute breaks after every hour. On the nutrition front, people must consciously add protein and fibre to their diets, she said.</p>.<p class="bodytext">On winter fashion, Khushbu recommended jackets, leggings, pashmina shawls, and muga silk sarees.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The event, anchored by RJ Nikitha, concluded with two folk dance performances by the troupe of Sudhindra Nritya Kalanikethana, directed by Gururaj Vashisth. </p>