Aishwarya Rai honours acheivers of Lavasa Women's Drive 2011

Actress Aishwarya Rai-Bachchan presented awards to winners of the third Lavasa Women's Drive 2011, a car rally that promotes solidarity and creation of social awareness among women.

She honoured recovering cancer patients and other acheivers at a glittering ceremony here last evening.

The Lavasa Women's Drive was about celebration of the different aspects of life with strength, belief and conviction, along with keeping the faith, Ms Rai-Bachchan said.

"Diseases like cancer should not be feared, and the ceremony has been a humbling experience. They (patients) have been an inspiration for their sheer courage to wake up everyday and conquer cancer," she said.

She further said Indian women need to undertake regular tests for cancer.

"Living the life of a celebrity is one filled with moments of joy and pride on a daily basis. I believe in celebrating the gift of life on a daily basis and sharing it with somebody," she added.

Aishwarya honours breast cancer fighter

Actor Aishwarya Rai Bachchan presented special awards to the winners of the Lavasa Women’s Drive at a glittering ceremony here on Friday night.

It was an emotional moment when she handed out a special award to Anisha Oberoi for her continual fight against breast cancer and to Dr. K. Dinshaw, Director of TATA Memorial Hospital for her exemplary work in cancer research.

The third edition of the Lavasa Women’s Drive culminated with a glamorous award night on Friday at The Hyatt Regency.


Lavasa Women’s Drive (LWD) is an all women drive which is an expression of solidarity to unite various social causes and create awareness through friendships and achievements.

After concluding events comprising of the LWD anthem launch and the Mumbai and Pune flag offs, the award night was a celebration to set the momentum for International Womens Day.


Anuradha Paraskar, Sr. Vice President – Marketing, Lavasa Corporation Ltd played a perfect host as she welcomed the participants and briefed them on the agenda for the evening.

Celebrities such as Jackky Bhagnani and his co-star Pooja Gupta handed over a few awards and also spoke about their upcoming film while the suave Arjan Bajwa and Adnam Sami greeted winners.


Bharati of Comedy Circus fame had participants in splits with her performance. Alque Padamsee, Malvika Sanghavi and Suresh Bhojwani paid a visit.

“The third edition of the Lavasa Women’s Drive was a whopping success. The passionate involvement of all the participants was exemplary,” said Paraskar.

Whilst at Lavasa, not only did they all enjoy the events but in fact many cancer survivors came forth and shared their experiences urging all women to be careful and prevent cancer. Lavasa is proud to own this unique concept which is fun filled yet compassionate in nature and looks forward to making it better and better over the years!” said Paraskar.

The participants won awards in various categories including awards for Best Message, Best Dressed, Most Popular Team, Most Spirited Team, and High on Anthem Award etc.

Singer Shweta Pandit mesmerized audience with her rendition of latest bollywood numbers. Her spirited performance had women dancing till wee hours.

In short it was an evening to remember for all the participants who braved the ghats of Sahyadri to reach Lavasa to create awareness about various causes including women’s cancer.