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Page 26 - The Indian EYE 032026
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    NORTH AMERICAN Newsline                                                MARCH 20, 2026      |  The Indian Eye 26

               Lamp to Legacy — How One March Evening in

                     Illinois Turned Recognition into Revolution

            OUR BUREAU                                                                                            tiles and silhouettes with cutting-edge
                                                                                                                  design, each looking like a manifesto
            Chicago, IL
                                                                                                                  of  identity,  confidence,  and  fearless
               magine a crisp early-spring after-                                                                 self-reclamation. What elevated this
               noon in Downers Grove, Illinois,                                                                   segment into something truly ground-
            Iwhere the March 7, 2026, sky                                                                         breaking was the interactive heartbeat
            stretched wide and clear, carrying the                                                                woven throughout: select audience
            gentle promise of renewal after win-                                                                  members were spontaneously invit-
            ter’s long grip. Temperatures hovered                                                                 ed to the mic to share one sentence
            in the mild 60s°F, unusually warm for                                                                 about what empowerment meant in
            the season  with a soft southeast breeze                                                              their own lives. In those raw, unscript-
            whispering through budding trees and                                                                  ed moments a mother’s quiet pride, a
            carrying the faint, hopeful scent of                                                                  young professional’s bold dream, an
            thawing earth and distant blooming                                                                    elder’s hard-won wisdom, the room
            crocuses. Outside Ashyana Banquets,                                                                   became one shared pulse, electric with
            sunlight glinted off car windshields                                                                  mutual recognition and upliftment.
            and warmed arriving guests’ faces as                                                                      At the emotional core of the
            they stepped from the lingering chill   captured in the theme: “She Matters,  der spark, the evening burst into a   night stood the official launch of “She
            into  anticipation,  coats  slung over   She Doesn’t Chase the Spotlight, She   breathtaking tapestry of creativity and   Matters”, the visionary brainchild of
            arms, smiles already forming in the   Is the Spotlight.”            innovation that kept every guest spell-  Rajkumari  Rathod.  Joined  onstage
            golden late-afternoon light. It felt like   No  longer  shadows  in  someone   bound.                 by her husband Manoj Rathod and
            nature itself was leaning in, offering a   else’s story, the women honored that   Dance performances exploded   collaborator Swati Kukian, Rajkumari
            rare, benevolent pause before the eve-  night — and the hundreds who filled   onto the stage as living tributes to   delivered a keynote that felt less like
            ning’s magic unfolded within.     the room with pride and purpose   Nari Shakti, the divine feminine force.  a speech and more like a rallying cry
                Inside, that same sense of awak-  stood  as  living  constellations,  each   Performers blended classical precision   from the future. She declared with
            ening found its fiercer echo: a room   one already blazing brightly in fam-  with  contemporary  fire,  their  bodies   unwavering clarity: “True empower-
            where every heartbeat pulsed with   ilies, boardrooms, neighborhoods,  telling stories of unbreakable resil-  ment begins when we stop waiting for
            unapologetic power, where the air   and histories being rewritten every   ience,  fierce  love,  quiet  revolutions,  permission and start creating our own
            shimmered  with  the  quiet  fire  of   day. This wasn’t just an event; it was a   and triumphant joy. Each movement   platforms. ‘She Matters’ is committed
            women who had long stopped asking   declaration, a collective exhale of “we   felt like a conversation between gen-  to providing mentorship, resources,
            for permission to shine. Aarush En-  have always belonged here,” wrapped   erations, inviting the audience to see   networking opportunities, and unwav-
            tertainment had orchestrated an un-  in elegance, rhythm, color, and un-  their own strength mirrored in every   ering encouragement so every woman
            forgettable prelude to International   breakable solidarity.        leap and turn. Soulful live music fol-  can step confidently into her potential.
            Women’s Day, a radiant, soul-stirring   The program opened with pro-  lowed, voices rising like prayers and   We are not just celebrating achieve-
            celebration drawing community trail-  found grace: a traditional lamp-light-  anthems, wrapping the venue in waves   ments  today  we  are  investing  in  fu-
            blazers, fearless entrepreneurs, vi-  ing ceremony led by Pinky Thakkar.  of emotion that left few eyes dry and   tures where women lead without bar-
            sionary artists, and relentless change-  As the diya’s flame danced to life, it   many hearts wide open.  riers.” The words landed like sparks
            makers into one electrifying embrace.  carried more than light; it symbolized   Then came the fashion showcase,  on dry grass, igniting applause, nods
            Under the magnetic hosting of Prachi   knowledge conquering ignorance,  a bold, innovative stroke of genius.  of fierce agreement, and a palpable re-
            Jaitly  media luminary, artist, and be-  positivity dissolving doubt, and fresh   Models strode not merely to display   solve among attendees to become ac-
            loved community force the evening   beginnings blooming where old lim-  clothing, but to narrate entire legacies.  tive architects of that promised future.
            ignited around a single, defiant truth   itations once stood. From that ten-  Outfits masterfully fused heritage tex-  --- Asian Media USA

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