Bloomsbury India and Global Women’s Group (GWG) launched the heart-warming and inspiring new anthology Awaken the Magic Within at the Vice President’s residence in New Delhi on March 8 2017 on the occasion of International Women’s Day. The book was launched by the Honourable Vice President Hamid Ansari in the presence of Salma Ansari who has written the foreword for the book and has also been instrumental in the making of this anthology.

Awaken the Magic Within is a celebration of women; of those who have loved, lived, fought, inspired, have been broken— only to rise stronger, and have thrived in the face of whatever society, life and God have thrown at them. Reflecting on her journey of shepherding the realisation of this book, Salma Ansari emphatically stated that when it comes to the empowerment of Indian women, the time for talk is over, and it is now time for action.

Unveiling the book, Hon Vice-President Hamid Ansari applauded the efforts of this book to challenge the toxic patriarchal mind-set that plagues our society today. ‘There is a lot more work to be done here’, he instructed. Consequently, he encouraged the translation of this book in as many Indian languages as possible, ‘so that we carry these voices and make a meaningful impact at the grassroots level.’

grassroots level.’ The Co-founder of GWG and Editor of AWAKEN, Aparna Samuel Balasundaram, said, ‘I am nervous yet excited to share my transformative experiences with the world today through this book. I hope that my life story and those of the other contributors will awaken all women to believe that they matter.’BLD