As a new day dawned, Whistling Woods International’s (WWI) campus was filled with excitement and cheer. The day witnessed the inaugural session of the 11th season of WWI’s acclaimed 5th Veda cultural hub. Inaugurating the occasion was the Queen of Indian Cinema, Ms. Madhuri Dixit-Nene. Following her introduction to the audience, the honoured guest joined Mr. Subhash Ghai, Founder & Chairman, WWI, Ms. Meghna Ghai Puri, President, WWI, and Mr. Ravi Gupta, Dean, for the traditional lamp-lighting ceremony.
The event began with an insightful AV that depicted the evolution of the 5th Veda cultural hub, followed by an AV highlighting Ms. Madhuri Dixit-Nene’s legendary career. Post the AV presentation, the guest for the evening took to the stage to share her journey and impart words of wisdom to more than 500 eager students seated in the audience. Ms. Madhuri Dixit-Nene described about her love for music and dance, since childhood and the inspiration she drew from performing. Highlighting the importance of passion in one’s work, she said, “I look at acting not as something that’s going to give me fame or money, but as my passion! And when you do something with passion, everything else follows you. Everything else happens. Be consistent, follow your dreams and don’t get disheartened if something doesn’t work, because there was learning through it too.”
When questioned on how she managed her personal and professional lives, Ms. Madhuri Dixit-Nene shared, “I compartmentalise.” She further shared with the students valuable learnings on maintaining a perfect work-life balance. Besides, she mentioned how yoga and meditation help in maintaining a balance between body and mind. As the evening progressed, she shared several interesting anecdotes from her movies. The highlight of the evening was her dance performance with the students, which left everyone in the auditorium exuberant.
