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 10th
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.
