My mother’s guidance led me to success, says Kamala Selvaraj

She said that women may be perceived fragile but they are strong mentally. “My mother had only studied till Class 5 and she was married to my father when she was very young. He was not even a film actor at that time,” said Dr Selvaraj.

“My father agreed for the marriage because his father-in-law promised to send him abroad,” she said.

Speaking about her mother’s contribution in her life, Dr Selvaraj said, “My mother brought up four girls and ensured that we received proper education. In fact, she was so possessive of us that we were rarely let out.” 

She added, “When we went to medical college, all our friends used to miss home but we were glad to be on our own. But now we know that whatever we have achieved today was because she was strict with us.” 

The doctor also spoke about the importance of proper nutrition and on maintain a work-life balance. She also said that excessive exercise can work against women after a certain age.

Life coach and counsellor Saras Bhaskar who spoke at the event, stressed on the importance of maintaining mental hygiene. “Our mind can make and break individual and relationships,” she said. 

“Women are being empowered but men are not keeping up with it,” she said, adding that women have a strong memory but they seem to cling to the negative experience; they should be able to learn from the experience and then let it go.

She also spoke about the importance of communication when it comes to relationships and the power to forgive. “Women tend to put a lot of pressure on themselves while trying to be perfect and this unconsciously seeps into their personal relationships as they expect similar perfection from other people and that’s where problems begin,” Bhaskar said.