TEDxIITR

Fortunately, I was one among 120 other students who were the part of first TEDx Event organised by IIT Roorkee under the theme ‘Being and Becoming’ and it was, beyond doubts, an enriching experience. Most of the speakers (to be forthright all except one) had something to share with the pack of the receptive audience. Here is an essence of what truly was a revitalizing experience for your senses, morale and zeal.

#1 . SCALING YOUR START UP FROM A LOCAL PLAYER TO A GLOBAL GIANT

by Mohit Saxena

There is nothing more satisfying and inciting than beholding a successful alumnus. The dying hope within gets resurrected and is replaced by a famous campaign slogan “Yes We Can”.  Mohit talked about entrepreneurship and pertinent challenges in the field and fallacies that we possess and eventually how can we overcome those as he had in his venture InMobi of which he happen to be the VP. 

He called them as 6 commandments of a successful business:

• Set up a goal and your goal should be big. Don’t mistake a milestone with a goal.

•  Success is never easy nor has any shortcuts. It’s a waste searching for any.

•  Failures are your best mentor. Respect them and learn from them.

•   Think big. Don’t strive for local successes make your idea a global.

•    Hire the best no matter what. If you look for average you’ll always be average.

•    Product and Technology can scale much faster than people; so leverage it.

#2. DANCE TO DIGNITY: DANCE FOR HUMANITY

by Nehha Bhatnagar

“Men and Women are equal, it was known to us since the beginning of civilization  Lord Shiva’s incarnation as Ardhnareeshwar symbolizes the significance of this equality for maintaining the balance of this world. But, on our path progress we somewhere lost these values.” 

This was underlying theme of the mesmerizing Bhartnatyam performance by Nehha that left the spectators awestruck for next 20 minutes. I had always avoided classical but this performance has changed my perception for sure. The performance captivated my mind [and so did the beauty of performer :-)]. 

As they say, Nothing can beat a Live Performance.

#3. IF YOU WANT TO MAKE GOD LAUGH, TELL HIM ABOUT YOUR PLANS.

by Harish Natarajan

The Managing Director of Bausch & Lomb, himself, imparted his audience with the light mood they needed to ponder over his philosophy which was delivered diligently coated with humour. His presentation was as intriguing as its name which happens to be a quote by Woody Allen.

The theme was to “LIVE IN PRESENT” because what you plan is not what actually happens. 

“Life is not about planning but doing and experiencing.”  

He suggested that most of the people when encountered by choice spend all the time contemplating what to do and eventually end up doing nothing. He clarified that he was not asking us to make rash decision but he firmly believes that apprehensions of failure or assessment shall not act as a deterrent to any activity.

He also acknowledged that a lot of people worry to make an unorthodox choice, such as changing their streams because they think what they have learnt heretofore will be a waste and they will have to relearn a new set of skills. To such queries his answer was plain and simple,

“This is a dynamic world with several avenues; and trust me you’ll have to go through 4 – 5 sectors before you find your fit. Nothing you do ever will be a waste, everything will be an investment for future. Remember everything you do is a dot. Alone they may seem insignificant; all the same they are needed to make line”

He ended reemphasizing on the power doing,

“There is no recipe for success but there is failure, Never Do Anything.”

#4. IT’S OUR LAND TO CLEAN

by Jodie Underhill

“When we tourists come to India, we realise two things: India is an amazing country; India has garbage problem, I decided to stay back and clean it.”

When you look at Jodie Underhill, CEO of Waste Warriors, the first thing you wonder is “Why a Foreigner decided to clean India?” and when she starts speaking you realise with a satisfactory grin that it’s not about the place, it’s about the person she is.  Throughout the time she shows you with slides of how she is trying to tackle the garbage issue, you can’t help yourself from being fascinated by 'how innocent efforts by an obstinate human being can make all the difference'. The entire auditorium stood, out of reverence, when she disclosed that she had received Amazing Indian Award (it seems after claiming all the Indian origins, we have started claiming everyone who sets foot in this country as ours :P) in spite of being a British citizen.