Georgians pay tribute to mothers at S2S annual Sari Walk/Run event

The event honored mothers and encouraged women to make healthier lifestyle choices

Women donning colorful saris participated in the event / Saris 2 Suits

Saris To Suits ® (S2S) held their annual Sari Walk in honor of mothers at Webb Bridge park in the Atlanta Metro area earlier this month. Many women donning colourful sarees participated in the event despite the rain.

The one-mile walk aimed to celebrate mothers and encourage women to lead healthier lives. Georgia Republican Congressman Dr. Rich McCormick served as the guest of honor. The congressman cut the ceremonial red ribbon alongside Tanvi Rajiv Ghangrekar of Mindful Mastery Wellness.

Women donning colorful saris participated in the event despite rain / Saris 2 Suits

A former Marine, the congressman stressed on the importance of maintaining a healthy body, mind and spirit and commended the women for coming together as a community to achieve these goals. Ghangrekar also commended the organization for their efforts in empowering women.

S2S founder Pratibha “Patti” Tripathi and the members of the executive board draped empowerment saris in various hues with descriptive words in Hindi and English about all the plethora of roles played by women. “Every sari tells a story. My mom had this sari which had silver strands within - passed down from hers and now to my sister and I. Post her passing, I drape myself in those memories,’Jyothsna Hegde, the S2S chair said.

Congressman Dr. Rich McCormick cut the ceremonial red ribbon alongside Tanvi Rajiv Ghangrekar of Mindful Mastery Wellness. / Saris 2 Suits

"Our mothers, especially the South Asian variety, make huge personal sacrifices for our welfare. Nothing they want more than their children's health and happiness. Mine would be 75, and she passed away 20 years ago,” said Tripathi. “We were like two peas in a pod and spoke several times a day.”

On the significance of the event she added, “The shift from saris to suits (East to West) can be a significant cultural and professional milestone, and that is what the S2S Walk/Run signifies: A cultural exchange and adaptation, professional identity and empowerment, fashion and style evolution and breaking barriers and stereotypes,” said Tripathi, who founded the tax exempt nonprofit in 2012 in Florida partly to honor her Mother and with a vision to empower, inspire, educate, and serve.

Founder Patti Tripathi, with Board members Lakshmi Mandavilli, Jyothsna Hegde and Mary Annamaraju (Missing Shinjini Das) / Saris 2 Suits

“I was so pleased to walk along with Congressman Dr. Richard McCormick, who praises his hard-working and accomplished Indian-American constituents of the 6th District of Georgia,” she said expressing her wish to spread the Sari Walk/Run event to all major U.S. states in the future.

The event also paid tribute 18-year-old students who lost their lives in a car accident in Alpharetta – Anvi Sharma, Sriya Avasarala, and Aryan Joshi. A moment of silence was observed in their memory and in solidarity with their mothers whose lives will never be the same.

18-year-old students who lost their lives in a car accident in Alpharetta – Anvi Sharma, Sriya Avasarala, and Aryan Joshi / Saris 2 Suits

The participants were encouraged by upbeat rhythm of women’s Dhol (drums) and Tasha led by Amruta Phadke of the Nadtal group, As the skies cleared a team of women led by Hetal Mehta, with announcer Bhrushira Vyas presented a bollywood dance performance on the theme “unity in diversity.”

Congressman McCormick and Saris to Souits Founder with women’s NadTal group, which formed and trained, especially for the walk event to provide “upbeat” music in the woods / Saris 2 Suits