HYDERABAD: The average person has around 60,000 thoughts per day. Not shocking at all, given that the human mind is undeniably the greatest innovation.
Of all the multifarious thoughts, how many are ideas — or better still, how many are action-driven ideas to bring positive change? Although there aren’t any stats on that yet, one thing is for certain — the human race values and thrives on such ideas.
And in Hyderabad’s Shilpakala Vedika, 14 opinion leaders from diverse fields passionately presented their ideas to 1,200 people at the 10th edition of TEDx Hyderabad.
Organised by the non-profit society SAHE, this year’s TEDx followed the theme ‘Serendipity’. Coined by writer Horace Walpole in 1754, the term means making an unplanned yet highly fortunate discovery — simply put, unexpectedly striking gold! Each speaker, in their own unique way, intertwined serendipity into their journeys, ideas, and visions, leaving us all in awe.
Archeologist Dr Emani Sivanagi Reddy, a master of traditional sculpture who has transplanted over 100 historic temples and constructed many new temples, including several in Telangana, gave us a history class unlike any other. He passionately said, “Every stone has a story, let us together make it known to the world.”
Speaking of fearlessness, Director General of Police Shikha Goel took us through her journey in the police force and conveyed to everyone how much progress the Telangana police has made. “The job is strenuous but I draw my energy from every life saved,” she revealed.
Another speaker with such great dedication to work was renowned aerospace scientist Dr Prahlada Ramarao, who credited Dr Abdul Kalam for pushing him into energy research.
Rajya Sabha MP Alla Ayodhya Rami Reddy, a trailblazer in green energy and waste management, stressed on meeting the Net Zero 2070 goal. “For zero waste, we need to ensure climate, resource and economic resilience,” he said.
While there is ‘scientific’ energy, also important is the body’s energy. And that comes from…biryani. Chef Sanjay Thumma aka Vah-Chef took us back 7,000 years and explained the history of biryani. He expressed, “Biryani is not a dish, it is a love story. My last wish is biryani; I would take the handi to heaven.”
For Ravi Prabhu, who has travelled to all 195 countries, heaven is literally a place on Earth. We listened intently as he gave us both the beautiful reality and harsh truths of travel.
And we went into deep introspection as filmmaker Nag Ashwin questioned the ‘comparison culture’ prevalent in every field of life. On a more lighthearted note, Aziz Naser and Mast Ali, the duo who brought Hyderabadi humour to the big screen, made the auditorium continuously echo with laughter.
Laughter is great but we broke into emotional smiles when Rubina Nafees Fatima spoke about how her non-profit, SAFA India, empowers marginalised women and youth. She said, “When women work, they lift the economy.”
Kavita Palancha, co-founder of MAKSPay, explained how her fintech company bridges the gap between financial institutions and underserved communities while Mayur Patnala, founder and CEO of Nirmaan Organisation, emphasised on how remarkable outcomes can be created through volunteering and collaboration, sans the expectation of name, fame or gain.
Dr Shiva aka Tank Bund Shiva — the man who selflessly rescues those attempting to die by suicide and recovers dead bodies from Hussain Sagar Lake — left us shaken when he said, “I challenge the challenge. I am not afraid for my life.”
TEDxHyderabad was not just about the talks. Heartwarmingly beautiful performances in between — by Bharatanatyam dancer Sravya Manasa and her ensemble, violinist Dr DVK Vasudevan, flautist Nagaraju Talluri, and the unique collaboration between tabla player T Harijit Singh and rapper Street Violator (Sai Venkat Vishwabramhana) — turned the day into a fabulous cultural fiesta.
Viiveck Verma, curator and licensee, TEDx Hyderabad, told CE, “The whole idea of TEDx is to really bring out the best ideas. We don’t stop at ideas but rather take these to communities and initiate action to bring about social change. Essentially, TEDx helps translate ideas into action.”