Today, I was asked to judge a debate on the theme, “Are Women Truly LIberated?” for the Inner Wheel of one of the Rotary Clubs of Bangalore.

I had a fellow-judge, a lady called Purnima Ranganath, and there were two teams of three speakers each. The moderator was my friend Raji Radhakrishna, who invited me.

Since it was also “Spread Breast Cancer Awareness Day”, every woman had a pink rosette pinned on as a corsage, including the District Governor, who came to attend:

The debate waxed fast and furious, and the “for” team were very positive about women being liberated…however, they did have to cede points to the “against” team when things like female foeticide, and violence against women, were mentioned.

One of the participants, Roopa, was herself a Pink Ribbon Warrior…someone who’s beaten breast cancer. The audience remained very attentive, and participated quite vigorously when it was their turn!

The participants and the judges were all given pink roses, which look lovely here, over several lit lamps:

In all, it was an interesting evening…we unanimously declared the “against” team the winner, and Roopa was the best speaker!

It was nice meeting several old and close friends after a long gap, too….I enjoyed myself thoroughly, and pigged out on the high tea that followed!

Here’s a short video: