Shamim Sharma

[Lakshmi M Puri @lakshmiunwomen]

An evening of poetry, reflection and cultural diplomacy at the Brazilian Official Residence in New Delhi, marking the launch of Quatrains in Quarantine by Manish Chand. Heartiest congratulations to Manish on this evocative collection, born from the silences, anxieties and awakenings of the Covid years.

Centred on the theme “Poetry and Literature in Times of Crises and Conflicts”, the discussion reminded us that literature is not an escape from difficult times, but a way of bearing witness to them. In moments of grief, isolation, pandemic and uncertainty, poetry gives language to what the heart struggles to hold.

As I shared during the discussion, poetry cannot prevent crises, but it prevents suffering from becoming mute. It gives shape to grief when ordinary language fails, transforms pain into reflection, and reminds us that even in our darkest moments, faith, hope, love, imagination and the present moment remain our greatest sources of resilience.

The evening brought together diplomats, authors, academics and lovers of literature in a thoughtful conversation on how words can heal, connect and illuminate. From the wounds of Covid to the wider challenges of our age, the discussion underlined the enduring power of poetry to transform suffering into reflection, silence into meaning and despair into renewal.

Beyond the book launch, it was also a celebration of cultural dialogue and people-to-people ties. Literature, much like diplomacy, builds bridges across nations, languages and memories—reminding us that even in divided times, shared stories can bring us closer.

My sincere appreciation to Ambassador Kenneth da Nóbrega and the Embassy of Brazil for hosting such a memorable evening of ideas, literature and friendship.

@scepticcryptic @BrazilEmbassyIN @PavanK_Varma @MarjeLuup @NewSuriname @anilwad @keatsmat @RaviDammu
#ProfMalashriLal #RukminiBhayaNair #ChandradathSingh #NeelamSabharwal

#QuatrainsInQuarantine #BookLaunch #Poetry #Literature #CulturalDiplomacy #IndiaBrazilRelations #BrazilInIndia #LiteraryDiplomacy #SoftPower #GlobalDialogue

[Hardeep Singh Puri @HardeepSPuri]

On #FathersDay, I remember my father, Sardar Bhagat Singh Ji.
He was a partition refugee who started life afresh under difficult circumstances, he faced every challenge with courage and dignity. He, and my mother Bibi Kundan Kaur Ji, sacrificed their own comforts so that my younger brother and I could receive a good education and build a better future for ourselves.
My father’s strength of character, values, and selfless love remain a constant source of inspiration.

[Shamim Sharma @2016Shamim]

कॉकरोचों पर क्रोध क्यों? उन्हें पैदा किसने किया?

कक्षा में नहीं आए, पास हो गए।
लेक्चर नहीं सुने, अच्छे अंक ले गए।
प्रैक्टिकल किए बिना प्रैक्टिकल में नब्बे परसेंट नंबर।
उपस्थिति पूरी नहीं थी, रजिस्टर में पूरी हो गई।
यह सब किसने किया?
क्या छात्र खुद उपस्थिति लगा लेते हैं?

[Lakshmi M Puri @lakshmiunwomen]

A memorable evening celebrating Quatrains in Quarantine - poetry born in a time of isolation, yet carrying the warmth of hope, resilience and shared humanity. Congratulations to @scepticcryptic / Manish Chand on a deeply moving collection.

[Lakshmi M Puri @lakshmiunwomen]

From diplomacy to storytelling, the journey has always been about one impulse — to tell India’s story with honesty, depth and pride.

Delighted to speak to @TeenaJha on @sansad_tv about #SwallowingtheSun, #TheSariEternal, and the many threads of history, memory, womanhood and nationhood that shape my writing.

Tune in this Thursday at 6 PM.

[Lakshmi M Puri @lakshmiunwomen]

Delighted to see Jairaj singh Solanki son of my friend Ravi Solanki from my UN days, featured in Robb Report India's list of the 100 Indian Masters of Luxury.

In an industry where trends come and go, originality endures. Through Lair and Aabbcc, Jairaj has helped redefine India's cocktail and hospitality culture with creativity, craftsmanship and a distinctive point of view.

Congratulations on this well-deserved recognition.

#IndianMastersOfLuxury #RobbReportIndia #IndianExcellence #HospitalityInnovation

[Lakshmi M Puri @lakshmiunwomen]

Pragya. Ananda. Profound clarity. Supreme joy. Two treasures of India's civilisational wisdom. One extraordinary champion!

In Norway, @rpraggnachess did something the world’s elite rarely manage: he defeated @MagnusCarlsen twice in the same classical tournament — once with White, once with Black.

What stood out was the clarity of his chess and the calmness of his mind. No overawed youngster, no lucky escape — just a 19-year-old Indian Grandmaster meeting greatness across the board and matching it move for move.

Indian chess has travelled a remarkable distance — from producing a world champion to producing a generation that walks into the arena believing it belongs there.

The board may have only 64 squares, but today it feels as though a young Indian has expanded the possibilities of the game itself.♟️🇮🇳

@NorwayChess
#Praggnanandhaa #NorwayChess #IndianChess #MagnusCarlsen #Chess #IndiaRising

[Lakshmi M Puri @lakshmiunwomen]

Na tum humein jaano, na hum tumhein jaane… — yet generations knew that voice by heart.

Today, we remember Suman Kalyanpur ji — Amchi Suman, a beloved daughter of Maharashtra, and a voice that became part of India’s cultural soul.

Her singing had a rare stillness — graceful, pure and deeply evocative. She did not need flourish to leave an imprint; she had the gift of making every song feel intimate, as though it had been sung for one listener alone.

From Na Tum Humein Jaano and Aapko Dil Mein Bitha Loon to Ajhun Na Aaye Balamwa, Mere Mehboob Na Jaa and Dil Gham Se Jal Raha Hai, her melodies carried love, longing, tenderness and hope with effortless simplicity.

A voice so soft that it never demanded attention, yet so beautiful that generations could never forget it.

“Aapko dil mein bitha loon…” — and indeed, India has carried Amchi Suman in its heart for generations.

#SumanKalyanpur #AmchiSuman #GoldenEraOfMusic #TimelessMelodies #HindiCinema #MarathiPride #IndianMusic #LegendsForever

[Lakshmi M Puri @lakshmiunwomen]

दहेज-मृत्यु भारत के सामाजिक व्याकरण में स्त्रीहत्या है।

@पंजाबकेसरी में प्रकाशित अपने लेख में मैंने लिखा है कि दहेज-मृत्यु को केवल “घरेलू मामला” या वैवाहिक अपराध कहकर छोटा नहीं किया जा सकता। यह उस स्त्री की हत्या है — या उसे आत्महत्या तक धकेलना है — जिसे पितृसत्तात्मक सौदेबाज़ी में देय, दंडनीय और बदलने योग्य समझ लिया जाता है।

UN Women में अपने कार्यकाल के दौरान हमने femicide/स्त्रीहत्या की इसी अवधारणा को आगे बढ़ाया था, जिसकी झलक लैटिन अमेरिका के Belém do Pará Convention और Inter-American Model Law on femicide/feminicide में भी मिलती है।

दहेज कोई परम्परा नहीं, हिंसा की एक ���्रृंखला है — मांग से अधिकार-बोध, फिर दबाव, उत्पीड़न, मारपीट, आत्महत्या के लिए उकसाने और हत्या तक। यह स्त्री धन की मूल भावना का भी विकृत रूप है, SDG 5 पर आघात है, और इसके विरुद्ध रोकथाम, संरक्षण, अभियोजन व सहायता — इन Four Ps के साथ शून्य-सहिष्णुता जरूरी है।

दहेज प्रथा स्त्री का अपमान करती है, पुरुष को भी छोटा करती है — और भारत में इसका कोई स्थान नहीं होना चाहिए।

#Dowry #Femicide #NariShakti #GenderEquality #SDG5 #PunjabKesari

[Lakshmi M Puri @lakshmiunwomen]

Dowry death is femicide in India’s social grammar!

In my article for The @IndianExpress, I argue why dowry death must be named not merely as a “domestic issue” or matrimonial crime, but as the killing of women and girls because they are female — a vocabulary we advanced during my years at UN Women, reflected in Latin America’s Belém do Pará Convention and the Inter-American Model Law on femicide/feminicide.

If any crime in India demands that vocabulary, it is dowry death — where a woman is made payable, punishable and replaceable within a patriarchal bargain. Dowry is not merely an old social evil; it is a continuum of violence that begins with demand, grows into entitlement, hardens into coercion, and can morph into harassment, assault, abetment to suicide and murder — cutting across class, caste, religion and region.

The piece also examines dowry’s distortion of stree dhan, its assault on SDG 5, and why India must move from tolerance to zero tolerance through the Four Ps: prevention, protection, prosecution and provision.

The practice of dowry violates women, diminishes men, and has no place in Bharat.

Read my full article in The Indian Express here -:https://t.co/q150o4P4XM

#Dowry #Femicide #UNWomen #GenderEquality #NariShakti #SDG5 #IndianExpress

[Lakshmi M Puri @lakshmiunwomen]

Diya Jalaye Rakhna!

The UNSC must transform — or risk erasure

In my latest op-ed in @SundayGuardian, I argue that
The United Nations was created “to save future generations from the scourge of war”. Yet today, its apex body for peace and security governance stands compromised — caught between “misuse and paralysis”, invoked selectively by powerful states and bypassed when inconvenient. The UNSC, I argue, has too often become “a flag of convenience”, while the world steadily moves towards parallel and unrepresentative architectures outside the UN system itself.

At a time when the UN faces an existential crisis and financial starvation, reform is no longer optional. It is essential if the multilateral system is to retain legitimacy, universality and relevance in an increasingly conflict-prone world.

India’s role, therefore, becomes crucial — not merely for itself, but as a voice of the Global South and as a consequential actor in peace and security governance. For, as I write, “the flame may appear small. But the room would go completely dark without India keeping the fire burning.”
Read the full article here:- https://t.co/MaT7Tvy4GH

@UN @IndiainUN @UN_Women @UNHumanRights @UNDP @IndianDiplomacy @UNGeneva

[Shamim Sharma @2016Shamim]

@lakshmiunwomen @jai_shiven @SujataShiven @AlephBookCo @JagranNews @anantvijay साड़ी को समर्पित यह “प्रेम-पत्र” भारतीय संस्कृति और नारी सौंदर्य के प्रति गहरे स्नेह की अद्भुत अभिव्यक्ति है।
शब्दों में पिरोया यह प्रेम-पत्र सच में परंपरा, भावनाओं और सौंदर्य का मनमोहक संगम है।

[Lakshmi M Puri @lakshmiunwomen]

साड़ी को समर्पित एक प्रेम-पत्र.....

दैनिक जागरण में The Sari Eternal: A Tribute पर प्रकाशित इस सुंदर समीक्षा के लिए सुश्री सुजाता शिवेन जी का हृदय से आभार।

समीक्षा ने पुस्तक की आत्मा को बहुत सुंदर ढंग से पकड़ा है — कि “भारतीय नारी के लिए साड़ी केवल एक परिधान भर नहीं”, बल्कि उसकी “राष्ट्रीय सांस्कृतिक पहचान, शक्ति, अस्मिता और गौरव” का प्रतीक है।

यह पढ़कर विशेष संतोष हुआ कि लेख में साड़ी को “भारतीय संस्कृति का जीवंत प्रतीक” बताते हुए उसकी यात्रा को “लगभग 5000 वर्ष” पुरानी सभ्यतागत स्मृति से जोड़ा गया है — मोहनजो-दड़ो और सिंधु घाटी सभ्यता से लेकर ऋग्वेद, सांची, खजुराहो, कोणर्क और अजंता की मूर्तिकला तक।

समीक्षा में यह भी बहुत सुंदर कहा गया है कि पुस्तक साड़ी को “अखंड भारत के सांस्कृतिक डीएनए” से जोड़ती है और उसे “स्मृतियों, सभ्यतागत निरंतरता, कलात्मक अभिव्यक्ति, धार्मिक प्रतीकवाद और आधुनिक पुनरुत्थान” के माध्यम से समझती है।

मेरे लिए साड़ी सचमुच वही “शाश्वत धागा” है — जो देवियों, माताओं, स्वतंत्रता सेनानियों, कलाकारों, राजनयिकों और आज की नई पीढ़ी को एक सांस्कृतिक सूत्र में पिरोता है।

सुजाता जी का पुनः आभार कि उन्होंने #TheSariEternal को इतनी आत्मीयता, गहराई और संवेदनशीलता से पढ़ा और प्रस्तुत किया। साड़ी शाश्वत है, क���योंकि हर पीढ़ी इसमें अपनी स्मृति, शक्ति और नई कहानी बुनती रहती है।

[Shamim Sharma @2016Shamim]

@lakshmiunwomen @AlephBookCo @TweetsAnup @dlfclub5 @AmbBhaswati1 @JJValaya6 आपके लेखन पर बहुत हैरान और गदगद हूँ ।साड़ी पर इतनी रोचक किताब हो सकती है?अपन�� बचपन को जिस तरह से आपने साड़ी में लपेटा है, यौवन को पूरी दुनिया के साथ साड़ी में समेटा है वह अद्भुत है।आपका पूरा परिवार, विशेष रूप से मालती ��ी साड़ी में लिपटी सशक्त व्यक्तित्व के साथ अडिग नज़र आती हैं ।

[Shamim Sharma @2016Shamim]

@ShalluJindal_ आज के दिन आपके आदरणीय पिताश्री को विनम्र श्रद्धांजलि।
उनके संस्कार और जीवन मूल्यों की छाप उनके परिवार और उन्हें जानने वाले हर व्यक्ति के जीवन में सदैव जीवित रहेगी।

[Shallu Jindal @ShalluJindal_]

Remembering my father, Shri Abhey Oswal Ji, on his punyatithi.

His guidance and values continue to shape my journey and remain a constant source of strength for our family. So much of him lives on, in the choices I make, in the way I see the world, and in the purpose I strive to carry forward.

Miss him every day.

[Sahitya Tak @sahitya_tak]

साड़ी क्या सिर्फ एक परिधान है, या वह अपने ���ीतर भारत की पूरी संस्कृति और पहचान को समेटे हुए है?
क्या एक अनसिला कपड़ा सच में भारतीय स्त्रीत्व का प्रतीक बन सकता है?
आज के Book Cafe में चर्चा है लक्ष्मी मुरदेश्वर पुरी ( @lakshmiunwomen ) की किताब ‘The Sari Eternal’ पर. यह कृति सिंधु घाटी से लेकर आज तक साड़ी के इतिहास, उसकी गरिमा और भारतीय पहचान में उसकी भूमिका को सामने लाती है.
यह किताब साड़ी को सिर्फ एक वस्त्र नहीं, बल्कि एक जीवित परंपरा के रूप में देख��ी है,जो समय के साथ बदलते हुए भी भारतीय आत्मा से जुड़ी रहती है.

Aleph Book Company से प्रकाशित पुस्तक पर वरिष्ठ पत्रकार
@jai_shiven की राय. पूरा वीडियो: https://t.co/aPfm8o7gGl

#thesarieternal #atribute #lakshmimurdeshwarpuri #bookcafe #bookcafeonsahityatak #jaiprakashpandey #sahityatak

[Naveen Jindal @MPNaveenJindal]

Happy birthday mummy 🤗

I always say that it is such a beautiful coincidence that the world celebrates the International Day of Happiness on the same day we celebrate you.

You are the true source of happiness and strength for our entire family. Your selfless heart has always shown us that real joy lies in serving others and living with grace. Wishing you a birthday filled with the same immense love and light you bring into our lives every single day mummy.

May you always stay blessed with good health and peace 🤗 @SavitriJindal

[Parth Jindal @ParthJindal11]

Happy happy birthday to the strongest and softest person i know - someone who personifies strength, character, humility and compassion. Happy happy birthday to the glue of our Jindal family - love you very much dadi @SavitriJindal

[Lakshmi M Puri @lakshmiunwomen]

Six yards. Countless stories. And each one, uniquely our own.

Looking forward to an engaging evening with ChaptersByShibani, reflecting on The Sari Eternal - a journey through heritage, identity, and the quiet power of a garment that has endured and evolved with every generation.
Join us as we celebrate the sari not just as attire, but as expression.

📍 DLF Club 5, Gurugram
🗓 20 March | 5 : 30 PM