Beautician Jeesa Gupta and actress Kanchana Moitra at the Enamor Sananda Antaranga Katha. Picture by Rashbehari Das

She must be equally at ease in the kitchen and in the boardroom. She must juggle home and office without showing the strain?. But how? For years, Sananda, the women’s magazine, has been helping the city’s female fraternity keep pace with the times.

The two latest instances of its commitment ? Perfect Radiance Sananda Turn Around and Enamor Sananda Antaranga Katha on September 9 and 10.

While the first workshop in Moksh at 22 Camac Street was an interactive session on health, beauty, skincare and make-up, the second session at Hotel Hindusthan International (The HHI) briefed Calcutta women on the basics of lingerie, fitness and more.

The workshop on Friday saw Tollywood actresses Locket Chatterjee and Piu Sarkar, beauty expert Ruby Biswas of Saajo, beautician Vishakha and make-up artiste Aniruddha Chakladar sharing knowledge and ideas.

“Women keep on gathering beauty tips but out of 10 we just might pick one that can be included in our busy schedules. In workshops like these, everything from homemade remedies to the current beauty treatments is talked about. Hence, such events are not only informative but helpful too,” said Locket.

Undeterred by innumerable queries, Piu, Ruby and Vishakha shared their views on beauty and skin care. Locket extolled the virtues of natural ingredients like papaya for skin care and the need for substantial hours of sleep.

Aniruddha enlightened the audience about various make-up modes, demonstrating his skills on Sananda Tilottama winners Susweta Paul Chowdhury, Tanaya Paul and some members of the audience.

The session was punctuated with useful tips on the right ways to do make-up. “You can’t put on make-up just because you want to. One must analyse what looks good, it should define the features and hide flaws rather than be a blind copy of fashion trends,” said Aniruddha.

“Women are often shy about revealing their problems. Sessions like these help them to come out of their shells, as they realise that many women have doubts and questions,” he added.

At the end of the day, participants found themselves richer not only by the bounty of information but by the prizes won during a fun quiz.

Anchored by actress Kanchana Moitra, panelists on Saturday included lingerie expert Suman Nathwani, fashion designer Agnimitra Paul, dansuese Sutapa Talukdar, yoga expert Ratnabali Ghosh and beauty expert Jeesa Gupta.

As Suman gave valuable tips on the choice of lingerie for all age-groups and women of different shapes, Agnimitra pointed out how necessary it is not to compromise on quality where innerwear is concerned. “Knowing your cup size and buying lingerie accordingly is very essential,” said Suman. “Women indulge in extravagant buys where clothes are concerned, but they should not be negligent about lingerie,” added Agnimitra.

Danseuse Sutapa gave her views on the kind of lingerie required for dance and exercise. Ratnabali treated participants to demonstrations of exercises to achieve a firm body, keep at bay extra fat around the bustline and relieve stress. “It is very essential to burn the calories in your body,” she said.

Queries like overcoming double chins and the parameters of a healthy diet were also dealt with.

Everyone was in the mood to share information and it even overflowed into Jeesa’s concluding speech.

While thanking organisers for hosting such an interactive and educative event, Jeesa passed on remedies to keep away wrinkles, stretch marks and patches. “However, the first step to a beautiful body is hygiene,” she stressed.

Long after the session closed, participants were still eagerly exchanging notes over a munch.