Fifty six-year-old Shakuntala Venugopal has been striving relentlessly for the past 12 years to empower women in a different way, bringing a new ray of hope in the lives of hundreds of women. After completing Diploma in Naturopathy and Yogic Sciences, she has taken voluntarily retirement from her bank service and has started educating women in various issues.
Her way of empowerment is through personal counseling and advice. Women of all age groups, from teenagers to elderly, seek her advice on how to lead a peaceful and happy life.
Everyday around six to seven people visit her house seeking her counsel about their personal or family problems. Several married couples who had decided to seek divorce due to marital discord, have changed their decision after meeting Shakuntala.
She even visits schools and colleges giving free counseling to students failed in SSLC and PUC motivating them to come out of depression and face exams. She is often invited by Ladies Clubs and Akashavani to deliver talk on the subject of mind and health and various other women issues.
Every day in the morning she teaches Yoga for women and conducts Satsang and Chinthana on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Every Thursday accompanied with group of women she visits orphanage homes and holds talks with inmates and share their feelings. During Chintana programme, she not only advises women, but also encourages them to share their feelings. On every Full Moon Day she holds a get-together party exclusively for women and holds talks on current issues.
'After certain age women think there is no meaning in living. Women should become self-reliant not only in terms of earning but also by thinking of living life fully and powerfully without losing heart. At any point start your life with zero, don’t count age and past setbacks. Keep learning new things and expand your horizons. Always feel good about yourselves, which helps you to maintain good health,' she advices.
She quotes, Empowering housewives is the need of the hour, as compare to working women more number of housewives go into depression. Due to insecurity feeling they develop possessiveness, which lowers their self esteem resulting in health related issues. Most women indulge in gossips. I request every women who indulge in gossip to stop it and instead spend time productively in different ways', she adds.
67-year-old Yashodhamma who attends Chinthana pogramme regularly says, 'We eagerly look forward every week for Chinthana programme. She interacts with us for about three hours and provide solutions for most of our problems. I don't want to miss it."
'I know her for the past eight years. She is a wonderful woman and am very grateful to have her friendship. I have shared with her many things and have obtained solution for the problems,' says Hema housewife.
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