Loreto College, Kolkata

Held a law degree from Lincoln s Inn, London and joined the Bar in 1959 after becoming the first woman to top the London Bar examinations. First woman Chief Justice of a High Court in India, first woman judge in the Delhi High Court. She was the first lady lawyer to be designated as a senior counsel by the Supreme Court of India. She was a member of the 15th Law Commission of India from 1997 to 2000, and was responsible for the amendments to the Hindu Succession Act that gave equal rights to daughters in joint family property. She sat on a number of enquiry commissions and was a part of the three-member bench of the Justice Verma Committee established to overhaul India’s rape laws in the aftermath of the infamous 2012 Delhi gang-rape case. She also authored two books, On Balance and We, the Children of India: The Preamble to Our Constitution.

She has appeared in Bengali, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Marathi and Kannada films. She has appeared in 60 films and 40 TV serials including Nil Nirjane and Bow Barracks Forever. She made her debut in Andar Baahar. Winner of the Nandi State Award, the Kalakendra Screen Award and the Bharat Nirman Award. Sen learnt drawing from Jamini Roy, one of India’s greatest artists and has taught graphics at Chitrabani, a school teaching film techniques.

She enrolled as an advocate in 1983. She practiced at the Calcutta High Court, the Supreme Court of India, and the High Courts in Orissa, Patna and Jharkhand. She practiced civil, company arbitration and constitutional matters, specializing in Civil and Constitutional Laws. Justice Patherya was elevated to the Bench of the High Court of Calcutta as permanent Judge in 2006 and served till 2018.

Entrepreneur and founder, Bric-A-Brac has since evolved into a well-loved and respected brand captures the essence of Indian style. Her Studio Workshop in Manesar, Gurgaon, skills and employs a small team of craftsmen and women. The team annually exhibits at forums such as the Kala Ghoda Exhibition in Mumbai, India Story in Kolkata, and the Dastkar Design Mela in New Delhi. In recognition of her creativity, Neelum was awarded the UNESCO Seal of Excellence in 2006 for her line of tableware that combined glazed terracotta with cane and wood. In the same year, her products were exhibited at the UNESCO stall at Maison et Objet trade fair in Paris. She is an active member of the Delhi Crafts Council and a volunteer at Kamala, the Delhi outlet of the Crafts Council of India at Connaught Place, New Delhi.

Trained and award-winning film maker. Her travels and interactions with artisans and craftspeople made her conscious of our tremendously rich heritage of handicrafts. Neha launched Kopai Paar in 2016, to encourage appreciation of craft and bring sustainable commerce to the artisan communities. The organization works with natural, sustainable and environment friendly materials and uses relevant approaches to design and quality. They have also developed a line of upcycled products which reduce waste. Their products have received widespread press coverage and customer appreciation.

An eminent arts and events curator who has worked with leading artistes and presented events/ son-et-lumieres at heritage venues such as Victoria Memorial, Prinsep Memorial, Town Hall etc. She has been a broadcaster and a freelance writer, having written a book on the Kolkata Police, columns for leading dailies and articles for a variety of publications. She is associated with a number of NGOs, such as IICP (Indian Institute of Cerebral Palsy), Calcutta Samaritans and Crafts Council of West Bengal, has served on the editorial board of Upper Crust magazine and was the first delegate to the Cannes Ad Film Festival from Kolkata. She has served on the POSH related Complaints Committee of the Calcutta Stock Exchange and SEBI as well as that of the Calcutta Cricket and Football Club.

Founder-Director of SAMPAD, a leading British agency for the development of South Asian arts, based in Birmingham. She was conferred an OBE (2002), an Honorary Doctorate by University of Central England (2006) and named Outstanding Business Person of the year in 2009 by the Birmingham Chamber of Commerce. Piali has championed a huge range of art forms and cultures and has worked as a choreographer and dance teacher with organisations such as the Birmingham Repertory Theatre, the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, the National Gallery and the National Theatre.

Author, food guru, inspirational and motivational speaker, who uses the theme of food to run diversity and team building for some of the UK s largest corporations She is the author of SPICE MAGIC - An Indian culinary adventure and CORIANDER MAKES THE DIFFERENCE. She was on the Cherie Blair foundation and Patron of the Asian Women s Resource Center in Brent. She was awarded the CBI PWC Life Achievement Award in June 2006, the Lloyds TSB Life time achievement award (2008) and in 2009 she was named one of the 100 most Entrepreneurial women in the UK by the Bank of Scotland. She was awarded the OBE in the 2007 New Years honours.

Renowned philanthropist Rajashree Birla is the Director on the Board of all the major Aditya Birla Group of Companies: viz., Aditya Birla Nuvo, UltraTech Cement Ltd., Grasim and Hindalco. She is also the Director of the Aditya Group’’s International Companies in Thailand, Egypt, Indonesia and Philippines. Besides, she is the Chairperson of the Aditya Birla Center for Community Initiatives and Rural Development, which oversees the corporate social responsibility programs and projects of the Aditya Birla Group (ABG) across thirty companies.

"Rajeswari is the founder of VR DanceSport, one of the largest Latin Ballroom dance schools in India with a footprint in Dubai. The Indian Ambassador for Freedom to Dance, UK, Rajeswari is also the organizer of one of the most prestigious national level DanceSport competitions in India under the Indian DanceSport Council banner. She was Lead Choreographer for acclaimed director Mira Nair’s BBC One / Netflix mini-series on the adaption of Vikram Seth’s novel "The Suitable Boy" released in 2020. She has also been TEDx speaker on her inspirational journey from 'Corporate Career to Artistic Discipline' in 2017.