FICCI FLO Lucknow organises a virtual tete-a-tete with the dynamic mother daughter duo of Mrs Neerja Birla and Ms. Ananya Birla on 4th of January, 2021

The Lucknow chapter of FICCI Ladies Organisation, organised a virtual tete-a-tete with the dynamic mother daughter duo of Mrs Neerja Birla and Ms. Ananya Birla on 4th of January, 2021

Mrs. Neerja Birla, wife of Indias leading industrialist, came across as a strong willed independent lady who is a humanitarian and constantly endeavours to reach out to various factions of society in order to empower them to lead fulfilling and enriched lives.
During the course of discussion she disclosed that she has founded Mpower, a movement that aims to affect a positive change in the attitudes towards mental health. She is the Chairperson of The Aditya Birla World Academy and has also established the 
Aditya Birla Education Academy. Further, she also works closely with the Make a Wish Foundation.
A proud mother to 3 children, she was accompanied by her eldest, Ms. Ananyashree Birla who is an exceptional young woman in her own right. Ananya is a 26-year-old singer-songwriter, entrepreneur and mental health advocate. Recently Ananya made waves by being the only Indian signed to Maverick Management who manage the likes of U2, G-Eazy, The Weeknd and Miley Cyrus. 
She is the first homegrown artist to go Platinum with an English language track in India. Listed as one of GQ’s Most Influential Young Indians, a Forbes Woman to Watch, and is featured on the Forbes 120 Power List.
She set up her own microfinance business Svatantra, rated A+ by CRISIL which helps women entrepreneurs in rural 
This amazing mother-daughter team spoke at length about their lives in the Birla household, their personal relationships, their their individual journeys 
and their work.

The interaction structured as an interactive questions answer session, was focused around exploring the personal interaction between them. Answering to the question about the role of Mpower during current crisis born out of the pandemic, Mrs Birla said, ” The global pandemic has exacerbated the mental health issues in the country. Mpower has been active engaged in providing aid and advice to people in dire need. We have tied up with the Maharashtra Government and set up an call centre to deal with mental health emergencies and counselling. We hope, we can launch many such initiatives in the future.”
Ananya Birla came across as a strong willed , intelligent and multi faceted individual. When asked about whether the Birla surname was an enabler or a deterrent she said, ” I am extremely grateful to god for being born into this family which has given me unconditional love and support and the means of chasing my vision. However, in the arena of music, I am proud to say that the Birla surname was of little import. I  fact, I was asked to drop it from the first song I cut with Universal. Music is my passion and i 
am proud to have created a niche for myself fueled entirely by my own talent and perseverance.”
The interview conducted by FLO Lucknow Chairperson, Puja Garg and past Chairperson, Anju Narain also included a short but stimulating Rapid Fire round which had several personal questions that regard the audience.
Whilst concluding the session, FLO Lucknow Chairperson, Mrs Puja Garg said, “Mothers are a daughters first and best friends; an unbreakable bond based on love, trust and understanding. Who better to exemplify this than our guests today who prove that compassion, understanding and openness in this relationship, can make children limitless.”