Filmmaker Mira Nair, writer Arvinder Dhaliwal honoured at Phulkari Annual Gala Night in Amritsar

Phulkari-Women Of Amritsar, a women’s collective, hosted its Annual Gala Night, to mark the 10 years of its institution. The organisation that actively supports Cervical Cancer campaign in Punjab and other social initiatives, gave away Women of Substance awards and special honours as it also hosted its Change of Guard ceremony.

Phulkari Women of Substance awards to honour the exceptional women, who have distinguished themselves through their achievements, leadership and commitment in diverse fields were given to eminent filmmaker Mira Nair, who is an Academy award nominee, best known for her visually dense films that pulsate with life. She has won the Camera d’ Or at Cannes for her debut feature, Salaam Bombay (1988) followed by the ground breaking Mississippi Masala (1991), the Golden Globe & Emmy winning Hysterical Blindness (2001) and the International hit Monsoon Wedding ( 2001), for which she was the first woman to win Venice Film Festival’s coveted Golden Line.

The second awardee of the evening was Arvinder Kaur Dhaliwal, eminent Punjabi writer and translator with several published works. She is internationally renowned for literary criticism (Drama and Theatre) and short story collections. “Anna Bhau Sathe’ is her major translation.

Phulkari also honoured three Meri Kahaani Meri Zubani inspiring awardees including entrepreneur Prerna Khurana, Sandhya Sikka and Muskaan Aggarwal, who pioneered women-led businesses in Amritsar. Change of Guard ceremony took place wherein the Managing Committee 2025-26 president Meenakshi Khanna handed over the responsibilities to incoming leadership led by Kavita Kahlon. The evening also saw musical performance by Sudeep Jaipurwale, closely associated with AR Rahman.