CavinKare Ability Awards 2013 Photos

 

 

Achievers with disability honoured

 at the 11^th edition of CavinKare Ability Awards

Chennai, March 10^th 2013: The 11^th CavinKare Ability Awards today honoured four outstanding achievers with disability from across the country as well as one special awardee as an exceptional case, at the Sri Mutha Venkatasubba Rao Auditorium, Chetpet, in a star-studded event that witnessed Chennai’s veritable who’s who applauding the recipients.

CavinKare Ability Awards are jointly instituted by CavinKare Pvt. Ltd., a leading FMCG corporate and Ability Foundation, a national NGO for the empowerment of persons with disabilities. Each year, exceptional achievers from across the country are awarded. Each one of these is a person who has defied conventional, social, attitudinal, physical and emotional barriers to realize his/her dreams.

The Awards come in two categories: Eminence & Mastery. The Eminence Award is a single award given to just one individual, saluting the exemplary achievement of the individual with disability who has not only overcome great odds towards achievement but has also contributed significantly to the society by initiating an organization of his/her own. This award carries a citation, a trophy and a cash prize of Rs. 2 lakh. The Mastery Awards include three awards given to three individuals with disability in recognition of their extraordinary achievement in the field of their choice – be it arts, film, medicine, science, industry, technology, education, community development, human rights, sports or more. These awards carry a citation, a trophy, and a cash prize of Rs. 1 lakh, each.

The CavinKare Ability Awards are announced through a series of advertisements in the print, television and radio media across the country as well as through other organizations.  The nominations thus received are meticulously screened and short listed. The nature of disability, the difficulty level of the work done, triumph over adversity and uniqueness of the tasks accomplished are important parameters considered.

Representatives, accompanied by a cameraperson, are then sent to where the nominees are, to interview them and establish their credibility. The eminent jury then makes their final selection.

This year’s recipients thus are:

EMINENCE AWARD:

RANJAN KUMAR BISWAL.  With the mission to empower the lives of those with visual impairment in Odisha, Biswal founded the Milton Charitable Foundation in 2004. As a person with visual impairment himself, Biswal fought physical, social and personal odds to realize his dream. In the last eight years, the organization has benefitted more than 1,000 people in several ways.

MASTERY AWARDS:

SAMUEL ASHISH MARCUS. Samuel has recently obtained a degree in music and passed his seventh grade Trinity exam in piano. He has also composed over ten songs. As a person with autism who has a formal degree, Samuel has gone beyond his personal interest in music, to excel, get qualified and teach others.

DEEPA MALIK. Taking up paralympic sports at the age of 36, Deepa’s achievements in biking, swimming, rally racing and athletics are phenomenal. She received the Arjuna award last year for her achievements in track and field. All this after she became paralyzed from the chest below, following an operation to remove a tumor on her spine in 1991.

SAYOMDEB MUKHERJEE. Better known as RJ Den, Sayomdeb is an extremely popular RJ, hosting a daily show on an FM station in Kolkata. Den uses his life experience to respond to the problems of listeners. Born with dopa-responsive dystonia, a rare disorder, Sayomdeb has extreme mobility problems, and was non-verbal till age 25. In 2005, when he began to speak, he was able to fulfil a life-long dream.

This year a special recognition award has been conferred on Hridayeshwar Singh Bhati.

Hridayeshwar’s enthusiasm for science and games led him to become the youngest patent holder in India as the inventor of circular chess. At the age of four, Hridayeshwar was diagnosed with Duchenne muscular dystrophy, a degenerative disorder affecting the use of his arms and legs. Today, at just age nine, Hridayeshwar’s out of the box thinking has served to take him places.

Speaking about the awards Mr. CK Ranganathan, Chairman & Managing Director, CavinKare Pvt.Ltd. said, “The Ability Awards are coveted prizes and we set high standards to finalize the recipients. It is an incredible experience, realizing how the recipients, and also many of those shortlisted, have achieved so much through personal efforts and merit. We have also completed ten years of the institution of these prestigious awards, which makes this eleventh year extremely special for everyone involved in creating this milestone.”

  

“There are more role models amongst people with disabilities than anywhere else. The public needs to appreciate and understand the potentials and explore the multitude of possibilities that come from an inclusive society. Our awards showcase a few such magnificent persons every year,” said Ms. Jayshree Raveendran, Founder & Honorary Executive Director, Ability Foundation.

This time, as many as 193  nominations from 21states were received from among which the distinguished jury, including Ms.Gayathri Sriram – Managing Director, Ucal Auto Private Limited, Mr.Sanjeev Kotnala – Vice President, Brand Communication, Dainik Bhaskar Group, Dr.Mariazeena Johnson – Director, Sathyabama University, Mr.G.Dhananjayan – Chief, South Business – Studio ,Disney UTV,  Mr.Radha Mohan – Filmmaker and Mr.BlaaZee – Rap Artist and Playback Singer, chose the recipients.

About CavinKare Pvt. Ltd

CavinKare Pvt. Ltd. is a diversified FMCG major with brands in personal care, foods, dairy and beverage. The brand portfolio consists of Shampoos (Chik, Meera, and Nyle), Hair Wash Powders (Meera & Karthika), Coconut Oil (Meera), Fairness creams (Fairever), Deodorant and Talc (Spinz), Pickles & Snacks (Ruchi, Chinni’s & Garden), Hair Colours (Indica & Raaga Professional), Beverages (Maa), Dairy (Cavin’s), Restaurants (CK’s Foodstaurant and VegNation) and Beauty Salons (Green Trends & Limelite). Most of the brands are clear winners in their respective product categories. A dedicated R&D centre equipped with latest equipment and technologies constantly supports the divisions in their endeavor. Today with a turnover of over 1200 crore, CavinKare has achieved significant milestones and a competitive edge with sound understanding of mass marketing dynamics and has established a firm foothold in the national market. CavinKare’s success is based on it being firmly grounded to its corporate mission- ‘we shall achieve growth by continuously offering unique products and services that would give customers utmost satisfaction and thereby be a role model’.

Ability Foundation

Ability Foundation is a national cross disability organization established in 1995 as a public charitable trust for the empowerment and mainstreaming of persons with disabilities. Based in Chennai, India, Ability Foundation is involved in pioneering activities, ranging from publishing and media, counseling and referral services, advocacy, and training and employment. Over the years, the Foundation has organized several events all of which aim at dispelling stereotypes and changing public attitudes/perceptions towards disabled persons. The organization works towards an inclusive society and equal opportunities and a level playing field for persons with disabilities stressing on the need to have the right opportunities at the right time.