Awards, Glitter, and The Lead Star

At a glittering function in Vellore Institute of Technology (VIT) on Wednesday, K Vijay Kumar, IPS (Retd.), Senior Security Adviser, Union Ministry of Home Affairs, presented The Weekend Leader – VIT Person of the Year (2014) trophy to Thinlas Chorol, a Ladakhi woman social entrepreneur.

VIT Chancellor G Viswanathan presented the citation to Thinlas, and Sam Rajappa, Consulting Editor of The Weekend Leader gave away the cash award of Rs.25,000 to her.

(From L to R) Dr. Kalyani Rangarajan, Dr. S Narayanan, Dr. G Viswanathan, Thinlas Chorol, K Vijay Kumar, G V Selvam, Sam Rajappa, P C Vinoj Kumar (Photos: Media Ramu)

“For someone who could not get the job of a trekking guide because travel agencies (in Ladakh) would not recruit women for the job back then, Thinlas not only broke the glass ceiling, but also helped other women follow in her footsteps,” said the citation.

Today, Thinlas operates a travel company that has provided jobs to local women and income generating opportunities to several families through community tourism and home stays.

Chief Guest Vijay Kumar plants a sapling to mark the occasion

She began her career as a freelance guide, taking tourists to monasteries and on cultural tours. In 2009 she founded ‘Ladakhi Women’s Travel Company’, where many local women are employed today as trekking guides and porters.

Lauding her accomplishment, Vijay Kumar making a pun on her name said, “She is looking thin alright, but she has made stout achievements.”

He remarked that he has visited Ladakh many times and said the BSF battalion he had served was posted in the region during the Kargil intrusion.

Vijay Kumar motivated the students to live a life of excellence

The 1500-seater Anna Auditorium, where the function was held, was packed to capacity with students and faculty members of the University.

Motivating the students to live a life of excellence, Vijay Kumar said, “Don’t compete against your neighbour but compete against yourself.”

He cautioned them about the ups and downs and life and said every hill has its valley. He urged them to keep themselves fit and have several role models, so that they could choose the best traits from each of them.

Dr. G Viswanathan launched The Lead Star magazine

Vijay Kumar appreciated the fact that the young audience was attentive and not fiddling with their smart phones.

Thinlas, who spoke after receiving the award, said, “If you wish to see change in the society, you need to be that change.”

Chancellor Viswanathan who launched the first issue of The Lead Star, an annual print magazine from The Lead Star Group, which also publishes The Weekend Leader online magazine, observed that the Indian media was extensively focusing on political news.

Vijay Kumar engrossed in a conversation with GV Selvam

He said The Economist of London once stated that the Indian media dealt “with only 3 Cs – Cinema, Crime and Cricket.”

Viswanathan, a two-time MP, said the media could focus on subjects like Finance, Economics, and Development. Talking about the Parliament he witnessed in 1967-77, he said members never used to disrupt the functioning of the house as they do now.

“I hope the situation changes. We cannot afford to be so indisciplined. Indiscipline and growth cannot go together,” he said. He wished The Lead Star success and said, “It’s a wonderful magazine. I hope it will be a success among the youngsters of the country.

Dr. G Viswanathan addressing the students

G V Selvam, Vice President, VIT University, urged the students to be job creators and not job seekers. Encouraging them to become entrepreneurs, he added, “You should not only be an entrepreneur but be a good human being.”

Addressing the audience on the topic, ‘Journalism Today’, Sam Rajappa said, "The media, particularly the print media, has failed in its duty to inform the people on issues of great public importance.

“For instance a whole generation of young people in Kerala living downstream of the Mullaiperiyar Dam have been brought up on misinformation dished out by local newspapers that they are in imminent danger of drowning as the more than a century old dam could burst any moment.

The Weekend Leader editor P C Vinoj Kumar seeing off Vijay Kumar

“Fear psychosis has gripped them giving them nightmares. The reality is that the dam has been retrofitted periodically and is as good as a new one."

The Weekend Leader’s founder editor P C Vinoj Kumar urged the youth to think good and act good. “You can still be a successful person,” he said.

VIT Vellore Pro Vice Chancellor, Dr. S Narayanan, and Dr. Kalyani Rangarajan, Dean, VIT Business School, were the other dignitaries on the dais. – TWL Bureau