“Have you met Ted?” That’s a phrase that
has steeped in pop culture for the generation of today, stemming from the
popular sitcom ‘How I Met Your Mother’. However, in the recent past, Goa has
been acquainted with another popular TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design).
It began as a one-off event in 1984, and today is a non-profit organisation
devoted to ‘ideas worth spreading’. This is usually achieved in the form of
short, powerful talks, delivered by leading thinkers and doers. Its offshoot,
TEDx, was created in the spirit of TED’s mission, and supports independent
organisers who want to create a TED-like event in their own community. Grasping
this opportunity, Goa College of Engineering, Farmagudi (GEC) has put together
its version of the event, which will be held on August 2, 2017.
TEDxGEC began in 2016 with the
institution’s first event being held on August 17, 2016. Shreegireesh Jalihal is
the first licensee of the event, and is the TEDxGEC’s current organiser. He and
his team have returned a year later, with an even more focused and ambitious
event. The upcoming TEDx event is called ARTiculate and will be held on August
2. It’s a ‘Salon’ event, where, instead of speakers just talking, it will have
open discussions as well. Salons are still very new among the Indian TEDx
community, and there are only a handful of active Salon events in the
subcontinent at this juncture. These events are all about community building,
where TEDx talks and ideas are used to bring together a local community,
enhance the conversation and tailor-make ideas to the convenience of the
student community.
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Being titled ARTiculate, the event has
an evident art angle/theme to it. There are a total of three speakers for the
2017 edition of the event: Anish Sood, the winner of the 2014 ‘MyFav Best House
DJ’ and ‘DJ of the Year’ awards, Aditya Jambhale, Goan director, screenplay
writer and theatre artist, and Dr Subodh Kerkar, the founder of Museum of Goa
and a household name in the Goan art sphere.
“It’s not just their work right now that
will be covered. They’re connected through their backgrounds as well. None of
them are from an ‘arts background’, with all three having graduated from
entirely different fields. Anish Sood graduated as a mechanical engineer, while
Aditya has an Electronics and Telecommunications degree, and Dr Kerkar is from
the medical background. All three of them transitioned from their respective
fields in which they were working, to pursue their passion for more creative
fields. This transition from one field to another, the similarities and
contradictions in the areas, and the obstacles they faced will also be
highlighted,” Shreegireesh shares, speaking about the event.
So what will the event entail then,
exactly? Shreegireesh continues to flesh out the event details, saying, “Anish
will be speaking about his music, the art of deejaying, and the lifestyle that
a high profile DJ like him follows on a day-to-day basis. Dr Kerkar will be
going through his works of art and deciphering the social elements present in
his art. Aditya will then end the show on a personal note, with an
inspirational talk that will cover passion, life, and choices.”
Through the event, the TEDxGEC team’s
goal is to highlight the fact that art and science are inseparable. They aim to
point out that the overlapping of the two fields can only yield mindboggling
results. Whether it’s Anish Sood’s upbeat electronic music that uses modern day
equipment and sophisticated software, or Dr Kerkar’s upcoming project which
involves an app and VR gear that will give its user a chance to experience
Gandhi in 3D, or Aditya’s film which was applauded for its technical prowess at
the recently held National Film Awards, there’s no denying the fact that the
fields create wonders when they intersect.
BOX
Anish Sood is one of the most prolific artistes
to break through on to the Indian dance music scene. His hit single, ‘Superfly’,
peaked at #3 on the iTunes India chart, and his weekly podcast ‘Sunburn on Air’
is wildly popular. He’s also performed alongside some of the biggest names in
dance music, including David Guetta, Dmitri Vegas & Like Mike, Steve Aoki,
Afrojack and Axwell, to name a few.
Aditya Jambhale is the Founder/President of ‘Shree
Mahalasa Productions’. After graduating in Electronic Engineering
(2013/GEC) and working for two years in the IT sector, Aditya quit his job to
pursue a Diploma in Filmmaking, with specialisation in Direction, from Mumbai.
He has been working in Theatre/Drama (Goa/Mumbai/Pune) for the last six years
as writer, director and actor. He entered film direction with a Marathi short
film ‘Aaba Aiktaay Naa?’ (Aaba Are
You Listening?), which won the National Award for Best Direction at the 64th
National Film Awards 2017. ‘Aaba Aiktaay
Naa?’ became the first ever Marathi film to have been mixed in Dolby Atmos
by award winning ‘Baahubali‘ sound
mixer, Justin Jose.
Dr Subodh Kerkar is a visual artist who left his
medical profession to pursue his passion for visual arts, and has created
remarkable works in the field across the world. He’s deeply influenced by the
ocean, and uses it to create art that talks about history and politics. Among a
plethora of works, his more recent endeavour, ‘Carpet of Joy’, created waves
across the state – a creation made from 1,50,000 discarded plastic bottles.
