My First TEDx Experience- Courtesy IIM Raipur

What do you feel on hearing about of an event lined up with speakers talking about their life stories? Excitement…Nah!!! But if the event is called TEDx, then you know for sure that there is something worth looking forward to. After all, TEDx celebrates human imagination by bringing in speakers who are achievers in their own way. So the buzz created in IIM Raipur campus over the TEDx event was a given.

TEDxIIMRaipur, organised on 10^th August 2013, had five guest speakers from different walks of life to share their stories. The string connecting each speaker was that they were simple people with brilliant ideas which they converted into actions and also delivered what they had in mind.

The event’s first speaker was Vishnu Tadimeti. I was looking forward to his speech for a very simple reason- his achievements and the way he ideates was far beyond what one would expect out of a seventeen year old and that amazed me. His speech reflected his obliviousness to the amazing feat that he had achieved through his website for students Aspirebest.com.

The next speaker was just as inspirational, Mr. Akash Gautam. His simple yet immensely powerful message “Bunk junk thoughts, take actions and the beyond is for the world to see” made me reflect on my way of life. What he said was so true, that we spend so much time trying to master everything and as a result we are not truly satisfied. Developing thought leadership is an essential part of life and the failures we may face will only bring us closer to our goals. 

The event was turning out to be much better than what I had expected. The next speakers took things up several notches. When Neha Juneja, a young successful entrepreneur, spoke of how she started her own venture, the troubles and failures she faced and how she finally figured her way out through the haze. She narrated a story that spoke of faith in oneself.

That football can change lives is probably a story one would find in movies. But this is the true story of Mr. Vijay Barse, a sports teacher from Nagpur who through his venture ‘Slum Soccer’ taught slum kids more than just the game of football. When he spoke of how he used football as a medium to educate these children on various social issues, it made me realize how simple people with immense conviction in their dreams can change lives. Superman need not be a figure of our imagination after all.

So while we were soaking in the stories of the extraordinary achievements people can accomplish, we witnessed a hand shadowgraphy event which was the icing on the cake. I could never imagine how beautifully stories can be narrated by creating visual imagery using hands. Amar and Sabyasachi Sen left the entire audience amazed. This was evident through the frequent rounds of applause that followed every minute of the act.

As the event was drawing to a close, the final speaker of the day, Pankaj Johar, a financial consultant turned television producer, spoke on how life is about living dreams, by acting on what you truly feel is meant for you. “Brain is a factory of countless thoughts. What we do with it defines what we are.” That was the message he wanted to convey through his words and snippets of his documentaries.

‘Ideas worth spreading’ that is what every TED event aims to achieve. At TEDxIIMRaipur – Thoughts, Actions and Beyond that was a promise delivered. Every speaker left an impression on every mind present in the room. It definitely gave me food for thought. Perhaps it is time for me too to convert my thoughts into actions and beyond.

Contributed By: Anwesha Dasgupta, PGP 2013-15. She can be reached at pgp13067.anwesha@iimraipur.ac.in.

TEDx by IIM Raipur, Get to know the Speakers!

TEDxIIMRaipur presents the first ever TEDx in Chhattisgarh. The event with the theme ‘Thoughts, Actions and Beyond’ will be hosted at Hotel GT Star on 10^th August 2013. It aims to highlight the ideas that have been acted upon, pursued relentlessly and have yielded miraculous results. The event will witness six speakers who will share their thoughts and the subsequent journeys undertaken.  

Akash Gautam, a renowned motivational speaker, enter-trainer and vocabulary enthusiast will share with the audience about his initiative ‘Akash ka Vocab Dhaba’. As a motivator and personality development trainer, he has delivered sessions in reputed educational institutions such as IIMs, IITs, NITs, IIITs, Xaviers, St. Stephens etc.

Neha Juneja, CEO of Greenway Grameen will educate the audience about her venture which aims to create environmental friendly ‘Bottom of the Pyramid’ products for rural consumers at low costs. She has organized community-led projects and need-analysis consulting in a wide array of areas including agro forestry, primary energy supply and water access. She is the CEO of Greenway Grameen.

Usman Shekhani, a grass root level innovator from Kanker, Chhattisgarh will share about his innovation of a specialised device to make incense sticks and toothpicks. He has undertaken several social initiatives at the root level starting from training villagers pertaining to various cottage industries like honey making, animal husbandry etc.

Vishnu Tadimeti, a 17 year old student known for his academic website portal for the student community will be inspirational. He has been constantly honing his skills and developed a knowledge sharing academic portal website for student community - www.AspireBest.com

Pankaj Johar, a chartered accountant by profession but presently directs documentaries, will motivate the audience with his endeavours. He left his Chartered Accountancy and spent the next two years working on political documentaries ranging from subjects as diverse as global warming's impact on Arctic Ice to the Sri Lankan conflict. In 2005, he joined one of India's biggest media groups - NDTV. Pankaj is the director of the documentary, "Still Standing" which has got rave reviews at various festivals and won the Dadasaheb Phalke Chitrnagri award for the best debut film at the Mumbai International Film Festival, 2012.

Vijay Barse, founder of the organization Slum Soccer will impart knowledge about how his organization reaches out to the Indian homeless using football as a tool for social improvement and empowerment. The unbridled joy on the faces of a few street children kicking a broken bucket around a slushy ground in an impromptu game of football, blissfully unaware of the pelting rain in the midst of a sudden rainstorm, prompted the founding of the organization; Slum Soccer by Vijay Barse. The ‘beautiful game’ is a unique and yet, a perfect vehicle that transcends race, religion, language and gender to bring about a change in the lives of street dwellers.

A closed audience of the students, alumni and faculty of IIM Raipur along with the important dignitaries of Raipur city will attend the event.  The event also includes a special performance by two ‘ Hand Shadowgraphers’ Amar Sen & Sabyasachi Sen. They are the sole performers of this art in Pan-Asia.

For more details regarding the entire event please visit http://www.tedxiimraipur.com.

TEDx for Chhattisgarh

TED – Ideas worth spreading, is a global platform given to individuals who want to share their work or views on Technology, Entertainment and Design. It allows the public to come in contact with these achievers who have different ideas and have the courage to speak out about them. With TEDx happening in Raipur, capital of Chhattisgarh, it is a great opportunity for people here to get exposed to these new ideas.

Chhattisgarh, the land of opportunities, is comparatively a new state. Its mineral rich, has a huge forest cover. The population is mainly tribal people. Their dwellings are located in dense forests where it’s difficult to provide even the basic necessities. Illiteracy, poverty, lack of basic infrastructure, poor connectivity, lack of enough urbanisation, unequal distribution of wealth and many such issues have plagued the state. The huge forest cover is a boon as well as a bane. But as can be seen, “Incredible India’s Credible Chhattisgarh” has been developing fast. Development is the goal of the state and its doing a considerable job in that sphere. It is being developed as a hub of many small scale and medium scale industries. It has few of the best educational institutes to boast of. According to the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report on the Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS), tabled in Parliament recently, Chhattisgarh has registered a substantial decrease in the malnourished children in last four years.
The Union Ministry for Women and Child Welfare data used by the CAG show that malnourishment rate in Chhattisgarh has decreased from 54% in 2006-07 to 38% in 2010-11.[1] 

TEDx as an event, shares the spirit of positivity and growing energy with that of the State of Chhattisgarh. This is the time when the state needs thinkers and doers who share the platform of TEDx and express their ideas and thoughts freely. Their innovations and spirit of achieving will be the torch bearing attributes in this march towards reaching the summit of success. The young and dynamic leader Neha Juneja who works to make rural lives more comfortable, a socially and commercially viable idea, will inspire the young women entrepreneurs of the state. Usman Shekhani, a resident of Chhattisgarh will show how the people of this land can take up small and effective steps to bring about a change. His story will inspire entrepreneurs and innovators across age boundaries to take a step ahead and help their state and in return their country to break their shackles of inertia and move towards progress. TEDx as a platform will great exposure to the people here and we can hope that it’s a step towards a more innovative and bright tomorrow.