BREAKING STEREOTYPES

From being a daughter-in-law of the famed political Dhariwal family to carving a niche for herself through humanitarian and social initiatives and raising the bar for education and sports in Kota, Rajasthan, Dr Ekta Dhariwal is a woman of many pursuits.

- Benaifer J. Mirza

"When life gives you lemons, you don't only make lemonade, but distribute it to the needy as well," believes Dr. Ekta Dhariwal. The daughter-in-law of Shri Shanti Dhariwal, the Urban Development Housing (UDH) Minister of the Rajasthan Government, Dr Dhariwal is fondly known as 'Didi' in Kota, Rajasthan. Her immense contribution in the Hadouti area speaks for itself.

Dr Dhariwal also has a few firsts to her name, including that of being the only female chairperson of sports at Kota University, which comprises 196 affiliated colleges. Since 2013, she has been serving as the trustee of Arihant College of Nursing, Kota, and has introduced several advanced facilities there. Her confidence and passion stems from the fact that she sees life around her in a different way-there are no grey areas for her. "For me, what is correct is correct. I will be the first one to speak up when something wrong happens. People may or may not like it, but I prefer to stay true to myself," she states.

The love of learning

Born and brought up in Agra, Dr Dhariwal went to St Patrick's Junior School and completed her graduation from St Johnson College thereafter. While she wanted to study further, as things were at the time, her parents decided to get her married to a suitable man. She shares, "You could say that I got married at a young age and, as was bound to happen, and got caught up in family life. But once my children-daughter Arsi and son Garvit-grew up and pursued higher education, I decided to study further. Today, I think of those times as a sabbatical. I have now completed my Ph.D. and am pursuing D. Litt. Education is a neverending process, and one can devote his or her entire life to learning-age no bar."

Celebrating womanism