A scuba diver, a flautist, a stand-up comic and an equal rights activist were among the zany line-up of speakers who inspired B-school students at the prestigious TEDx XLRI talks in Jamshedpur on Sunday.
The third edition of TEDx on XLRI campus, an event organised on the lines of TED (Technology, Entertainment and Design), a set of global talks run by the private non-profit Sapling Foundation under the slogan "Ideas Worth Spreading", had speakers from myriad walks of life.
With the theme of "Soaring High: Ideas Scaling New Heights", the eight speakers for this year's TEDx XLRI speakers shared experiences and anecdotes that inspired and gave food for thought.
The speakers included Anand Pillai, managing director, Leadership Matters Inc.; Rasika Shekhar, vocalist and flautist; Mani Vajipeyajula, founder and CEO of social venture Banyan Nation; equal rights activist Harish Iyer; Archana Sardana, India's first woman civilian BASE jumper and scuba diver; Kunal Rao, a chartered accountant and stand-up comic; Rajiv Jayaraman, founder and CEO of Knolscape; and Meghana Pant, a novelist and financial journalist.
So, if Pillai spoke about entrepreneurship, Iyer shared his experiences when he wanted to place a matrimonial ad for "groom seeking groom".
Musician Shekhar, who is both a vocalist and an instrumentalist, spoke about finding her true self through music.
"I was very shy and introvert. But, life taught me that communication is important. Though I was born in Dubai and raised in the United States, I started learning Carnatic music from the age of 14," said Shekhar, who has earned a fair bit of fan following her appearance in MTV's Coke Studio's Season 2.
"You need not necessarily find your skills initially, you can find them later in life too," she added.
The Father Prabhu Hall at XLRI was chock-a-block with students who listened intently to each speaker, clapped and laughed.
All the eight speakers were chosen by students.
"In today's world where change is the only constants, our speakers shared ideas that herald a new age of optimism and progress," said Sarthak Gupta, secretary of external linkages cell, XLRI.
"The XLRI campus enthusiastically organises unique events," he added.
Akshita Gaur, the lead organiser and curator, TEDx XLRI, added: "The world is so fast-paced today that we hardly have time to sit back and reflect. In a scenario where the rat race threatens to consume us all, through TEDx XLRI, we want to request people to try out something different. We select a theme and the speakers after a lot of research."
