The correct number would be closer to 4,500.There must be as many or more women out there, who deserve to be in here. But since we are celebrating our 45th anniversary this year, we sifted through the young and upwardly mobile to find 45 women, who are making their presence felt on the fast track.

Mind our words, we know how to spot talent. We have done it for 45 years. And today, most of the ones who have stood the test of time, from a Shobhaa De to a Poonam Sinha (nee Chandiramani) to a Madhuri Dixit and a Sushmita Sen will vouch for the fact that they were celebrated by Femina much before they became full-fledged celebs in their own right.

We've scanned various disciplines and scoured the length and breath of the country to shortlist 45 fine young women who will burn bright in the coming years. Whose grit, determination and inner strength, combined with their vision, will shape their destinies and that of their universe too.
More power to them!

Yamini Reddy
Emerging as: A naturally talented Kuchipudi dancer, the next generation from the Reddy 'gharana'.

Lineage: Daughter of Raja and Radha Reddy, virtual institutions in Kuchipudi. But while there are many who shy away from what their parents excel in, Yamini took to it because, "Dance was part of my life, my growing up. I'd come from school and eat my lunch in the practice room and see what they were doing. When I took to it, I never realised I was dancing. To me, it was as natural as eating, drinking...."

Why we think she's special: Young Yamini has drawn applause at major dance festivals including the Parampara National Festival of Music and Dance, 2003, Delhi, and the Elephanta Festival at Pune. She has extensively toured abroad, performing in the UK, Europe, the USA and Dubai. Recently awarded the 'Yuva Ratna Award' for the performing arts, Yamini is also the proud recipient of the Key to the City from the Mayor of Dublin and Fort Lauderdale.

Miles to go: "Art is something that you can never master, you'll have to keep learning, keep practising. I would like to be one of the top dancers and carry my parents' teaching forward."

Ujjwala Raut
Profession: Supermodel, much sought after by international couture and cosmetics houses. Just graced the cover of 'Time' magazine.

In 1996, Femina unleashed the then 17-year-old Ujjwala on an unsuspecting world as the Femina Look of the Year winner. Since then, she has regularly notched up one success after another.

Why we think she's hot: Ujjwala has walked the ramp for names like Emmanuel Ungaro, Roberto Cavalli, John Galliano, Angelo Tarazzi, Paco Rabanne, Veronique Leroy, Chanel, Claude Montana, Hugo Boss, Bally, Michael Kors, Victoria's Secret and was selected the face of YSL cosmetics last year.

Winning attitude: "It's not easy to survive there, but it isn't impossible."

Konkona Sen-Sharma
Family tree: Daughter of filmstar-director Aparna Sen and writer-editor Mukul Sharma. Grandpa is well-known film critic and filmmaker Chidananda Dasgupta.

Profession: Acting
Why Konkona is a hot bargain: She picked up a national award for her very third film, 'Mr & Mrs Iyer'. For this, mommy sent her off to South India to learn the way the Iyer women live their lives, their English accent and the Tamil tongue. The hard toil paid off, though she admits, she was the most scolded person on the set.

Present project: 'Page 3', almost near completion
Life so far: Childhood was spent mainly at school or travelling with mommy to film festivals, reading or hanging around on film sets and being thrown in to act in a scene because the child artiste didn't show up...

Birju Chaudhuri
She's our heroine because: She dreamt of going to school, college and becoming a teacher in a society where child marriages were the norm and where sending girls to school was unheard of.

Her story: Birju was betrothed at the age of four months to a stranger in her village in the Barmer District of West Rajasthan. "All I wanted to do was study. And that was the most difficult," she said. When she came of age and it was time for her to go to her husband's home, she refused. It was at this point that the village panchayat decided to take matters in their hands. Once they did, the entire village turned foe.

"Sometimes, they would threaten to cut off my ears. They even threatened to deface me if I did not stop going to college. In my three years of college, every single day there was the fear of the panchayat. The threats continued unabated. Every single villager thought it their birth right to make lewd comments at me. My only support was my father and brother. Finally, I decided to complain to the police," said Birju. Finally, there was some justice.

Today, Birju wants to work for social reform. She dreams of eradicating the evil of child marriage. She has taken the entrance exam for BEd and hopes that she will one day become a qualified teacher.

Bhargavi Joshi
Why we think she's hot: At 19, she's pursued her passion for photography resulting in several exhibitions of her work. She's also shot for a Canadian documentary on street children which has already received good reviews. Says she, "After my 12th grade, I wasn't sure what I wanted to do. I had to start searching my soul to see what really moved me. I realized that I had to find something which made me feel passionately involved to the point of obsession...

"I met a cinematographer who changed my life. Avishek ("we're going to be engaged soon") asked me to go back to my early days as a kid and relive what made me happy the most. I loved Nature to the point of obsession, a passion I moved away from along the way as I grew up. I did a course in studio and fashion photography. The more I learnt about photography, the more I wanted to know. Though Creating the perfect picture became an obsession, so I starting shooting in the outdoors."


Monica Oswal
Who's she? The extremely low-profile brain of the Rs 2,000-crore Nahar Group who has revolutionised the Monte Carlo brand. If, on hearing 'Monte Carlo', the immediate recall is not the Mediterranean island but the collection of enviable 'generation me' woollens, it's thanks to the marketing strategies of Monica.

From only attractive winter wear, Monica has managed to smoothly expand the company production to cater to every age group beginning with the 'generation me' kids' collection to the adults range. And now, to all- season clothes for all age groups.

Why we think she's got it: After making Monte Carlo a family brand, she has capped that with a one-stop solution retail outlet in one of the Gurgaon malls. There's much more coming from her, including more retail stores. The reclusive Monica, who shies away from all media projections, still finds time for her other loves - books and music. A true blue 'generation now' businesswoman indeed!

Audrey Maben
Get to know her: The only solo woman flier in the three-day Air Race 2003.
Why we think she's va-va-vroom: We love her spirit and soaring ambition. The skies were stormy, the other planes were supersonic, and she had just 176 flying hours under her belt. But 27-year-old Audrey - her own aircraft grounded by a documentation snag - finished the race in a tiny microlight that she was flying for the first time ever! She had planned, practised and waited three years to participate, and the fact that she had to put in 25 hours of flying over five days to get from Bangalore to Nagpur and back, and stop at eight airstrips, some of them barely usable along the way, didn't faze her any.

On the rocket trail: The mother of a five-year-old daughter Amy, who helps her husband, Wing Commander Ashok Mehta, run Bangalore Aerosports Pvt Ltd, is determined to be the first woman microlight flying instructor in India. And to participate in the World Aerobatics championships.

Her take on life: "Nothing is impossible; what you can achieve is all in the mind. I think most of us are capable of a lot, much more than what we think we can do."

B R Lath
She is: India's only 'kanjira' player.
Why we think she has promise: Hear this: "My proudest moment came when I played for a year, for different concerts with M S Subbalakshmi. It was thrilling. My other memorable performance was playing with Dr Balamurali Krishna, who also encouraged me. And of course when we played for both ex-prime ministers P V Narasimha Rao, and Atal Bihari Vajpayee; the latter came up and told me, "Itni choti si ho, lekin itna achha bajati ho?''
And she has plans: She travels abroad for many concerts and is already booked to perform in London next June. Her aim, like her father's, is "to get more women into the field of music. Both my father and I have set up the Karnataka Mahila Laya Madhuri, a platform that promotes women percussion players, and organises performances all over India."

Jhumpa Lahiri
She is: A fiction writer who won the prestigious Pulitzer Prize in 2000 for her first published book of short stories titled, 'Interpreter Of Maladies'.
Work: 'The Namesake', 'India Holy Song', 'Interpreter Of Maladies', 'A Temporary Prayer: What Happens When The Lights Go Out', 'Sexy' and 'The Third And Final Continent'. All published in 'The New Yorker'.
Favourite writers: Many, amongst them who influenced her writings are James Joyce, Virginia Wolfe and Chekov.

Favourite book: 'Midnight's Children' by Salman Rushdie, which as Jhumpa herself states, "Undoubtedly, remains the best book I have read.''
Flashback: "I didn't grow up there (Kolkata), I wasn't a part of things. We visited often but we didn't have a home. We were clutching at a world that was never fully with us. No country is my motherland. I always find myself in exile in whichever country I travel to, that's why I was tempted to write something about those living their lives in exile.''

Last quote: "What used to be a mere pastime seven years ago has metamorphosed into a serious passion, an inseparable part of my life.''


Aparna Popat
She is: The reigning national badminton champion, who is quietly empowering herself to play a mean, tough game at the Olympics this year.

She's a winner because: Like her coach says, "She's got it in her to be a winner.''
Winning attitude: ''My form is quite good. And I've had a couple of good wins the last year over players in the top 20 bracket (Aparna's rank is 23 in the world). But I need to improve my mental stamina. Right now, it's practice and more practice. I'm training to focus my mind in a controlled way. Indians score by using complex wrist movements, and our mental state of mind is more focused on the game. We make for stable, committed players as a race, which is good.''

Honey Kalaria
Who is she: A dance trainer in the UK.
Her journey to fame: At 13, she could perform a plethora of dance styles including Indian classical dance, disco, Latin American, rock 'n roll and belly dancing. She began by starting her own academy out of her garage. Today, she has 11 schools across London, training students in modern Indian dance, There's more: Nominated for the 2003 Asia Businesswoman of the Year Award, Honey also owns and runs an agency, Diva Entertainment, which choreographs the London concerts for Bollywood stars like Shah Rukh Khan, Govinda and others.
Honey has also produced and presented for a programme on the Namaste television channel and worked as on-air presenter for a local radio station.

Nandita Basu
Get To Know Her: A Delhi-based designer; works with Abhishek Gupta.
Why we think she's got it: Her fashion is cutting edge and contemporary with an excellent sense of fabric innovation, detailing and finish. All this is matched with enough marketing savvy that finds her collections release to coincide with global season timelines.
On the rocket trail: A concealed pocket here and an eye-catching feature there - that's her art! This NIFT graduate and student of Central Saint Martins School of Art and Design, London, had a stint with Suneet Verma, one of our design gurus, for a period of five to six years. She later went on to launch her label.
Skirts, T-shirts, shirts, tops, jackets, coats, trousers... You name it and she
has it at her flagship store in Delhi or in other design stores in Bangalore,
Mumbai or Hyderabad. And she would craft them for you in fabrics like denim, lycra, cotton, silk, georgette, and even linen.
Her take on life: "Believe in yourself and the positive energies around you. Don't ever get bogged down by the low phases in life."


Rina Shah
What she does: Owns the designer store 'Rinaldi'.
Why we think she's a champ: Five years after she launched Rinaldi Design (the only label for designer shoes, handbags and belts in India), Rina has a roaring business on her hands. But that's not all that makes it so hot - she's a member of PETA and believes in non-cruelty to animals, so imports leather look-alike material for her designs.
Why she's so hot at her job: Trendy designs, durable quality and attention to detail have won her quite an impressive clientele - Urmila
Matondkar and Sonali Bendre, Salman Khan, Shah Rukh Khan, Saif Ali Khan, and Jackie Shroff. Rina recently opened Rinaldi in Soho, New York. That makes her one of the few Indian designers to have their own store in NY City. And this one's frequented by celebrities like Goldie Hawn and Naomi Campbell.

Monikangkana Dutta
Who's she? The supermodel-in-the-making that everyone is talking about. This half-Assamese, half-Marathi girl called 'Moni' has set the ramps in Paris on fire. After all, not everybody is 5.10" tall; boast a svelte figure, stunning features and a glowing - "I love my dusky complexion" - look.
In the footsteps of: But naturally Ujjwala Raut: "I love Ujjwala, she's my favourite model." Moni has made a right beginning in the same direction. During her short stay in Paris, she's walked the ramp for Chanel and Christian Dior, John Galliano.
What next? "I'd love to shift base to New York, I'd love to do the Milan fashion week."

Shibani Jain
Get to know her: An NID (National Institute of Design) graduate in graphic design, she is the CEO of Craftsbridge India, which designs and markets Indian handicrafts.

Why we think she's va-va-vroom: She turned around her dotcom venture (a victim of the late '90s dotcom bust) into a Rs 2.5 crore company within four years. Thanks to the design (NID and NIFT designers) and marketing (IIM grads) inputs, Craftsbridge is able to provide a contemporary edge to artefacts sourced from artisans at the grassroots level. Online shopping for handicrafts has never looked (and been priced) so good before. Thanks to its tie-ups with about 25 NGOs and its aesthetically designed webpage (www.craftsbridge.com), you can shop for those chic dhurries from your home.

On the rocket trail: Armed with a venture funding tie-up, Shibani plans to expand to other states (right now, it is in Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Gujarat, and Orissa) and export to the US and the UK. "I want to bring to the customer the best artefacts that our Indian artisans have to offer at the best prices, and provide the artisans with round-the-year employment."
She says: "Time is short; do the most you can with what you have."

Rajeshwari Ayyar Karthik
She is: A silversmith-cum-artiste who brings the yin and yang into her jewellery ever so subtly.
Why we think she's got it: She has won prestigious prizes for her design work, and has been finalist at the De Beers India International Jewellery Design Competition of 1998. Now that she's no longer heading the design studio at Carbon, and is an independent designer, she's often called on as consultant for her experience on the domestic and export jewellery markets.

Why her jewellery is special: It's in the texturing, where she uses techniques like granulation, twisting, surface texture creation and metal fusing. Rajeshwari explains that the fusion of sterling silver with 24K gold in her pendant is called 'knitting', which she does herself. She calls her collection, a reflection of her personality, which is mix of trying to make a bold, different statement, yet offering simplicity and grace to the wearer. "My aim is also to go beyond the two-dimensional look of jewellery.''


Anamika Khanna
Get to know her: Kolkata-based fashion designer who carries the she-dares-to-be-different image on her shoulders with flair.
Why we think she has it: From an ingenious blend of Indian and Western wear, she has done it all, in both natural and traditional fabrics.
On the rocket trail: She started with designing for herself and advising her friends. Then came along her Africa-inspired Shoowa line at the Damania Fashion Awards and the Kingfisher Designer Of The Year Award. Both catapulted her to stardom. Her flagship store in Kolkata and the off-the-shelf sales in the metros across the country speak of her success. Sure enough, Boho, a UK company, is offering to market her creations across Europe.
Her take on life: "Whatever you do, give it all you have and it will get you results."