By women for women

Christmas might be over and the world is readying itself for a new year. However, there is one unlikely place where the joy of Christmas is lingering on — the Facebook page called ‘Pennidam’. The page describes itself as a place where one can pen down or discuss anything that needs to be discussed. What makes this space all the more unique is the presence of nearly 600 Malayali women from around the world as its members.

So what is this ‘Pennidam’ and how did it materialise? Pennidam evolved out of a highly active Facebook closed group called ‘Queens Lounge’. A place where a number of women find their voice and fearlessly discuss topics that concern them personally and socially.

Vineetha Vijayan, a member of the group from day one, says, “The Queens Lounge is a women’s-only group which has been functioning from earlier this year. It was started by a group of people who became friends through Facebook.

The membership grew when requests and suggestions to be a part of the group were sent out by people within the group.”

Since ‘Queens Lounge’ is a closed group, the admins decided to start the page ‘Pennidam’ which would be their window to the world outside. This Christmas season, the group decided that their members from around the world can come up with interesting Christmas celebration videos from wherever they are settled in. This resulted in a number of videos giving the public an insight into Christmas celebrations worldwide. Within days of posting these videos, ‘Pennidam’ became a talk on various social media platforms.

Explaining the objective behind starting Pennidam, Vineetha says, “There are plenty of women who do not have the confidence to write and express their views on social media; lack of encouragement was also a reason. Pennidam was created with the idea of bringing out the creative side of the group members. Currently, we have Malayali women from almost every country as our members and a good number from Kerala. What is published through Pennidam page are the topics discussed in ‘Queens Lounge’ ranging from stories and poems to travelogues, film reviews and book reviews. There is an editorial team monitoring the content as well.”

“Our next step is a bunch of surprise events for New Year. We have been given a number of plans so we need to see the ones that we can pull off. We also have a plan to bring out videos of New Year celebrations from across the world, since the time zones are different we are trying to figure out how to bring them out well in time,” says Vineetha, who is a KSRTC bus conductor by profession.

Sabeena, a home maker at Thodupuzha, a member of group, says that being part of it was life-changing for her. “I’ve been part of the group since the day it was opened. I am someone who has never travelled alone and spends practically all the time at home. Being a part of this group has given me something to look forward to every day. I do not have enough words to explain how much I am in love with this group. Something as simple as how to make a particular dish to the effects of demonetisation are discussed here.”

Nisha, a chemistry teacher settled in UP, whose article on current sensitive issues plaguing the country had gone viral says, “Most of the members are active in the group on a daily basis. This group is a strong support system for all the members. Even though most of us have not met in person, they are all there when in need. I love writing and it is this group and its members that have supported me the most.”