“When I return home, I’ll tell my friends about how the modern and the ancient coexist in Amaravathi,” says Lakshmi Prasanna Kotapati, surrounded by 39 other skittish girls, some almost jumping from their seats, eager to answer questions.
The 15-year-old from Nellore, along with other Scheduled Caste (SC) girls from the 13 districts, on Sunday took part in the Forum on Gender and Empowerment at the Amaravathi Heritage Centre and Museum in the district.
Daughters-in-law of Amaravathi, an informal group, welcomed the girls from various social welfare schools of the A.P. Balayogi Gurukulam to the seminar-cum-workshop.
The women performed kolatam, a local dance form, clutching small sticks and clinking them as they hopped around.
“I am a daughter-in-law of Amaravathi too. I am proud of the city’s Buddhist past which has brought laurels to the State. A silk variety was discovered here. Telugu emerged from here. And the religion reached its peak here,” said Challapalli Swaroopa Rani, director of the Centre for Women’s Studies at the Acharya Nagarjuna University, the chief guest.
Saying society today needed to emancipate itself from patriarchy by looking in the past which was more equal, she added, “Empowerment and development doesn’t just mean scientific progress. A society will grow only if women are happy, content and safe.”
“How is it we have produced achievers like Sunita Williams and Kalpana Chawla and also created conditions for atrocities against women?” she asked the students. “ It is important to understand this contradiction before we fight for our rights”
Vavilala Subba Rao, a retired Telugu teacher, said, “Society is made by both men and women. So everyone has to move together and strive for equality.”
Amareswar Galla, chief curator of the museum, gave a presentation on women empowerment, museum design and inclusivity. “The idea is to make them feel worthwhile, to create a forum where they are honoured. A museum is a civic space and an educative organisation. It is a space for socialisation and engagement,” he added.