Founder of Mumbai-based Myna Mahila Foundation who attended the royal wedding looks back at dream experience
(From left) Deborah Das, Archana Ambre, Suhani Jalota and Imogen Mansfield were the royal couple's guests
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While the rest of the world remained glued to their screens last week to watch Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's wedding, the Myna Mahila foundation, a Mumbai-based women empowerment group, were in the midst of all the action in the town of Windsor as the couple's guests. mid-day spoke to Suhani Jalota, the founder of Myna Mahila, about the experience she and her colleagues Archana Ambre, Deborah Das and Imogen Mansfield had at the royal wedding.
The foundation - the only non-UK based charity among seven such organizations - was chosen to be one of the guests at the royal wedding. It is based out of Mumbai and focuses on generating employment for women living in slums, improving menstrual health in an affordable manner, and creating a network of young female entrepreneurs.
That special feeling
mid-day spoke with Jalota after her recent arrival back in the city about their experience at Harry and Meghan's big day. "This was definitely a historic moment; it seems ordinary when you realise that at the end of it, it is only a wedding. But the reception, where you meet the other guests, is when you actually realise what you're experiencing is actually something the entire world is currently watching at home on their screens," she said.
"It makes you feel really special. The fact that women who had never stepped on an airplane before had boarded their first flight and that too to attend the royal wedding, means a lot to all of us at the foundation," said Jalota.
'Crazy all over'
When asked about what really stood out for her in the entire experience, Jalota said: "The extent to which the entire town of Windsor was converted into a Harry and Meghan theme was really overwhelming. The entire town, even those who were visiting just for the wedding, took to the streets to celebrate.
You could look at any window and see the couple's posters, people wearing one-piece Meghan and Harry costumes and masks and walking the street - it was crazy all over."
She added: "It was a very homely setup at Windsor castle; all seven charities were present in some form or the other. At the end of it, we were representing what we were there for, which was our work. At the reception, while talking and meeting with other guests, we spoke about the work we're doing in Mumbai."
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