In the land of
Susegad, here comes an event which celebrates, ‘Rush’. And on the second Sunday of March,
the idea of this “rush” will be on stage, as speakers at this year’s TedX
Panaji, will roll out their power of ideas.
A mom, an orthodontist and a body builder- no they aren’t three
people, but one hero- will be joined by a street artist from Bangalore who
dresses like an astronaut, a serial inventor whose creation will redefine
cancer treatment, a musician whose Indian take in a classical jazz composition
has redefined boundaries, folks from surprising age groups, breaking ceilings
in robotics, waste management, care giving and so on.
Listening to this motley crew of geniuses on a languid Sunday
afternoon may not have quite been the susegad template, but then TedX is all
about that- changing the template.
The event, which is organised annually by a team of volunteers,
is a platform that believes in the power of ideas to change the world. Within
18 minutes, each speaker will present their unique idea in front of an
audience. This year, eleven speakers will deliver talks/performances on diverse
topics such as ‘protest through art’, ‘cancer survivors’, ‘robotics’, ‘waste
management’, ‘body building’, ‘rhythmic gymnastics’, ‘drones’, etc.
The speakers for this
year’s event include:
Baadal Nanjundaswamy,
who gained fame by dressing as an astronaut and walking the streets of
Bengaluru in his role as a street artiste and civic activist.
Dr Rajah Vijay Kumar,
a serial inventor with his invention ‘Cytotron’ acknowledged by the US Food
& Drug Administration as a breakthrough device in treating cancer of the
liver, pancreas, and breast
Karishma Parker,
Goa’s first female professional bodybuilder, is not only an orthodontist and a
single mother to a 6-year-old, she has marked a path all her own. Speaking to
Café, she said, “I took up bodybuilding after my divorce and it has given me
peace of mind and helped me manage my life better.”
Chandana Bala Kalyan,
who has garnered more than 2 million views in a matter of months for her Indian
classical take on the Jazz composition, ‘Take Five’.
Wilma Rodrigues, a
former journalist turned ‘socialpreneur’ is the founder of Saahas Zero Waste,
one of the top social enterprises in India. Wilma’s goal is to implement as
many zero waste campuses as possible.
Ruby Ahluwalia is the
founder of Sanjeevani – Life Beyond Cancer, an organisation that works on
cancer prevention, early detection, counselling and rehabilitation and training
cancer survivors to be care givers
Drones have caught
the fancy of the general public. Prathap N M, known as the Drone Boy of India,
has a drone for every situation. Awarded the Albert Einstein Innovation Medal
from CeBIT, the ‘Young Scientist’ title this young scientist has been invited
to over 87 countries to showcase his inventions.
Saipranav Gandhi is a
child prodigy in an unusual field – LEGO robotics. This ten-year-old conducted
his first workshop on ‘learning from toys’, for kids, at the age of six.
Ignatius Camilo aka
DJ Iggy, a champion of sustainable living, who went from his humble beginnings
at beach shacks to playing his signature music across the world.
Varsha Upadhye, the
first International rhythmic gymnastics judge from India will have her students
perform rhythmic gymnastics live and Suraj Pinge & Group’ will be putting
up a special performance on ghumat aarti, a devotional folk music form in Goa
But
this is all about them talking, and you listening because those on stage have a
lot to talk about, after they have done the hard miles.
