 I want to actually share with you today how my sort of personal passions for the environment and for the well-being of the girl child sort of have come together in a rather sort of unique way. You know, I couldn't have designed this actually. It just sort of happened and even if I tried very hard it couldn't have been sort of planned I would say. So really speaking the first lesson that I learned out of this was nothing in life is really truly an accident. And nothing is what it seems at first. Here it was it was a sort of a normal visit to the Golden Temple in June of 2001 and at the end of which I was supposed to meet a friend just outside the temple. You know, Indian extendable time at play, the friend was late and so to sort of, you know, beat time and to escape the searing heat I walked into an adjoining patch of supposedly green patch of land that was adjoining the temple. Well, when I walked in there this patch was rather barren, too many hangers on which was not very desirable and there was hardly any really green to talk about. And yet I said to myself this was adjoining the holiest place for the seats, you know. And surely this could be different. And why can't I then I said to myself take it upon myself to try and keep this place clean and green. And then of course having done that I sort of the tedium of getting government permissions, you know, it is difficult in India to get permission to almost do anything including doing good to maintain the park. It took us six months, but we finally did get the permission. So here I am, imagine that having got the permission when I sort of actually got to going to the park and you can imagine my surprise that when I walked into the park this was not a small patch of green. It was actually a two and a half kilometer long stretch of unkept area. It sort of encircled the entire complex. So I started planning and saying what should I do to beautify this park incidentally which was called the Galiara. Now you know the morning routine of having a shah is hardly the sort of place that you would say the setting for exploring insights. And so during one such Sunday morning shah I sort of thought to myself, you know, this place called the Galiara, surely it should not only be just a place where there are pretty trees. Maybe we can have a greater meaning and the meaning could be around a passion of mine which was the well-being of the girl child. So why not have this place called the Galiara stand up for something which could be symbolic in a way representing the girl child. And so distributing saplings from this park in honor of the girl child to reflect her dignity, her honor, and her well-being was the sort of thought that came to my mind. Then I said to myself, think about it now. Connecting the girl and really connecting the tree was connecting two mothers. One mother to mankind and the other mother earth. So how to bring this two together? Both incidentally also givers, both net net nurturers and both in many ways the very embodiment of what is good in nature. So as I finished my shah, you know, I could already feel the adrenaline rush because this has all sort of come together rather nicely. Having reached that point, I now really needed a name for this mission of mine. And like in many other instances, I sort of turned to my wife and suggested to her if she would give me some ideas. And she suggested a rather nice name which was Nani Chhaya. Now Nani incidentally, the word actually means tender and it is how we endearingly refer to little girls in India. So Nani's. And Chhaya or Chha is the shade from the boughs of a tree. Tender shade was the meaning. Simple and yet in many ways very powerfully. So the second major lesson actually on this journey that I learned was to spread the idea through every sort of means available to me. And yet having done that, finally to just let it go. Now naturally therefore the first stop where I had to sort of get this idea going was, obviously the Golden Temple where it all started and where actually the garden was situated. With just a little bit of caring, you'll see what we did to the garden and it really is quite transformed. Next sort of idea was, you know, each one of us can choose our own path. We can follow a particular faith. But one thing there is no arguing about, that is the gathering power of a religion. It just has a huge, emotive power. So I said to myself, why not use the power of faith to promote and propel the planting of saplings and support of the girl child? And then I said to myself, but why only at the Golden Temple? Why not ask the leadership of all faiths to do the same? We collected all the faith leaders together. When I did that at the first instance, I was a little worried. I said, my God, you know, maybe I've got myself into trouble here getting all of them together in the same room. But my God, were we inspired by the response that these leaders showed? Each one of them representing incidentally all the faiths. So religious leaders of Christians, of Sikhs, of Hindus, of Muslims, of Jens and Jews, incidentally they were all there. In fact, they not only supported, you know, they quoted from scriptures and some, you know, rather sort of inspiringly even wrote poetry in praise. Following that, I sort of spoke to every professional organization and I asked them not to sort of follow my path, but to say, you know, you find your own ways of spreading the idea. Don't get sort of limited by what we are doing. Having said that, you know, we had set up Nani Chan, the foundation, in a rather sort of loosely controlled manner. But that was one part of it. But we also work with schools and educational institutions, with hospitals, with industrial enterprises, with government sort of agencies, industry associations, asking all of them to adopt the idea. And when we let this happen, fantastic things happen. Let me tell you what, some of those things, a few examples of what all happened. Yogi Durlaki in his hospital here set up a Nani Chan distribution counter at the reception of the hospital. And he said that he would give away saplings to young mothers who had sort of just delivered a child and were going home. They would get a sapling as they went home. A 15-year-old boy, three weeks later, walks up to the counter and says, I want a sapling and the hospital guys looked at him and said, you don't look like somebody who's had a kid right now or a little girl. And he says, no, but I want to take it from my grandmother who's now being discharged from the hospital. And that set in a wonderful sort of an idea where now many hospitals give away saplings to all women as they get discharged from hospitals as they go home. You know, schools adopted villages in support of the girl child and are actually pushing the envelope to include programs for educating and teaching livelihood skills to older women in villages. So we've got a huge, as you can see from there, lots of people from rural areas plus other places. And schools have really taken on. They are taking pledges against dowry and are inspiringly committing themselves to pursuing equality and equity between the genders. You know, girls and boys are enacting plays against female feticide and infanticide. And they did this at the national launch of Nannichal by the president of India. And that was a very inspiring sort of moment for us. Now girls from schools, incidentally, adopted by Nannichal in Punjab and Rajasthan spent the whole morning with America's first lady, Michelle Obama, when she was in India. And their entire, entire school so inspired, I tell you it was sort of life changing for the institution. So you know, I think about it, think again now. You know, here's a chance to walk into a park because of a friend who was late incubated an idea that is now, I would say, truly on Gallup mode. So Nannichal might have sort of germinated in my mind but clearly it has taken a life of its own. And you know what? Now the wind has taken over. It's sort of ahead of us, we can't sort of keep pace. So the third major lesson that I learned was that the source of inspiration actually was always within me. It just took me a little time to sort of discover it in a way. So what is it that prompts my concern for women? What is this sort of fundamental sense of equality that I implicitly feel must exist between the genders? You know, I was for a long time the only son between three families, my father and his two younger brothers. And as a consequence, I really had three mothers, each sort of in a very significant and real way contributing to the person I am today. They honed me in ways that none of the fathers could. Four sisters added to the female influence but what was unique about our families at that time, there was absolutely no inequality between me and my sisters. I saw how my set of mothers stood up to the men in matters that were really important. You know, they sort of nurtured and cajoled and these mothers, the three mothers of mine, they sort of nurtured, they cajoled, they supported and most importantly, they took risks for us that I think men would find sort of rather difficult to do. You know, these days, very often, I sort of sleep at night these days. With this sort of distinct feeling that there is actually a little girl in every man as well. Each one of us, each one of us has the spark of an idea that has been left behind in us by those who are dear to us. Each one of us, it doesn't matter who that person is. I for one, I'm very glad that I had the opportunity to ignite that spark that my mother's left for me. When I sort of received a call the other day from an acquaintance who sort of very excitedly asked me to get involved with this very inspiring new initiative he had heard about from a friend. And he says, you know, Harpal, you're just the kind of person you must get involved with this new idea that is called Nannichah, he said. And you know, how could I respond in any other way but to say I would? Beyond all the monetary and business accolades that have come my way in the most sort of public way, actually speaking, it is the thought of a sapling planted in honor of a daughter, a mother, a wife, a sister, or just plain a friend somewhere with no credit to me is what makes me a sort of a happy man today. Little girls and trees remind me every day that good things are worth preserving. Think about it, they represent that very, very essence of what humans are meant to be. And for giving me that insight, you know, I'd like to dedicate this talk to the women in my life. The most sort of endearing new arrivals in the pack, if I may say, are really my three granddaughters. And of course the daughter who made that possible. But most of all, it is for my set of three mothers who left behind that spark. So here's to a more green and a great world dedicated to the women who manage it so well. Thank you.