Odanadi Seva Samasthe, an NGO that has been leading the fight against human trafficking over the last three decades, conducted a Women Achievers Rally And Awards Function in Mysore, on 17. 09. 2016. Soulfree founder, Preethi Srinivasan was invited to flag off the rally. She was also one of four women achievers who were honoured at the event, along with renowned Kannada actress and social worker Jaya Mala; India’s first visually challenged woman to complete her Ph.D. Kaavya Sri; and a great village woman who has completed more than 3000 deliveries for victims of rape and unwed mothers.

“In these turbulent times, it was indeed a privilege to be invited from an NGO that is headquartered in Karnataka. Travelling to Mysore by car was not an easy task. While everyone was advising us not to go, Mr Stanly and Mr Parasu, the founders of Odanadi were insistent that they wanted my presence at the event, not only because they valued my work, but because they wanted to show that there is still love and the feeling of oneness between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu and that all the violence was due to anti-national and anti-social elements that are seeking to use sensitive issues for their benefit. I completely agreed with them and decided to take the risk, but as soon as we entered Karnataka, we were given full police protection and the amazingly kind and capable police officers who escorted us throughout, ensured our safety and comfort to the greatest extent possible.

I wish to convey my deepest gratitude to Mr Ravindranath Tagore, ex-DGP; Mr Seemanth Kumar, IG Central Division Karnataka; Mr B. K. Singh, IG Southern Division Karnataka, all the outstanding police officers who escorted us and the entire team of Odanadi Seva Samasthe for making it possible for me to attend this meaningful event. While I feel very sad that I needed police protection in my own country, just because I belong to a certain state, I’m also deeply proud that we have shown that India is one and shall remain so, no matter what.

Women are not commodities to be bought and sold or exploited sexually. People with disability, especially women deserve the same opportunities to lead a life of dignity and purpose as everyone else. Real men do not need to exploit, subjugate or use women to prove their manhood. Instead, they always uplift and show respect to women everywhere. I learnt this through the example of Mr Stanly and Mr Parasu and all the young men who were at the rally in support of Odanadi.

On a personal note, I also wish to express my deepest gratitude to the young volunteers from The Rotaract Club of Thiruvannamalai Vegan, Mr M. U. Balaji, Mr K. Balaji and Mr Kishan Chand of The Rotary Club of Thiruvannamalai Vegan for their valuable assistance on this trip and always. I must also thank Mr Vadivelu, our driver for his extraordinary skill and patience. I strongly believe, ‘When we’re going to do something good, we should not stop doing it due to fear that something bad will happen!’ This is what I kept telling all my friends and family who were dissuading us from travelling to Karnataka. I feel that our trip has served to strongly reassure me of this truth. This world, our nation is filled with goodness, love and light and as long as our cause is true, we will always be protected by the cosmos. Jai Hind!”