Theme: METAMORPHOSE

Constancy is comfortable. Homeostasis is the norm. Lives wrapped in silk cocoons, living in blissful ignorance of the need of the hour, seem serene, indeed. However, solutions don’t emerge from stagnation, for nothing endures but change.
We, at TEDxICTMumbai, wish to bring to you tales; tales of men and women, who refuted subservience to the status quo and chose to flip the tables. They chose to let fall down the swaddles of security and set out on journeys of innovation and of perseverance; journeys wherein lay the essence of change so terribly needed.
It is through these tales, that we wish to bring to fruition, our end goal: to stimulate a metamorphosis of thought and action.

K.V .auditorium ,Institute of Chemical Technology
Puranmal Singhani Road, Nathalal parekh Marg
Matunga East, Opp. Khalsa College, Near Don Bosco
Mumbai, Maharashtra, 400019
India

Anusua Roy

Classical Dancer

Anusua Roy is a dancer proficient in the Manipuri style of Indian Classical Dance. A talented disciple of Padmashree Darshana Jhaveriji, her performance tries to reflect a neat artistry and discipline. A scholarship holder for four consecutive years 2013-2014, 2014-2015, 2015-2016 and 2016-2017 from Manipuri Nrityakendra (by Guru Darshana Jhaveri), she has been perfecting the art and technique of Manipuri Dance. She is the proud recipient of the Lasya Nritya Bharathi award, the Brahmakumari Award and the Nrithya Bharath award.

Aranya Johar

Poet

Aranya Johar is a young poet who performs to speak about the important issues that engulf the world today. She does not just mince words, she means them. Her performances have garnered love, encouragement and support from viewers across the globe.

Kimaya Deshmukh

Mentalist

Kimaya Deshmukh , the daughter of Mr. Deshmukh is the youngest illusionist & mentalist in the world. Performing for a worldwide platform, she considers magic to be a form of social enrichment, enchanting crowds throughout. Her future endeavors include setting up training projects for the propagation of this ancient art.

Mohammed Zeeshan

Co Founder, The Climber

About three years ago, Mohammed Zeeshan was just an undergraduate trying to pave his way through a course in mechanical engineering. With his passions lying in astrophysics and politics, he found himself caught in a cyclone of utter uncertainty, something which had seen millions of students being forced into taking conventional courses without being able to realize where their actual ambitions and potential lied in. He decided to launch a youth organisation with the help of his parents and some of his closest friends which would help teens make informed career choices, called “The Climber”. Mohammed Zeeshan is the co-founder of The Climber, a youth-run education start-up, currently incubated out of NSRCEL at IIM Bangalore. A profitable start up, the organisation has seen itself climbing towards a mammoth Rs. 5 crores in revenues. His initiative, mycaptain.in, is a youth mentoring network that is officially in support of the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals.

Prakash Koirala

Author of FINLICO/ Financial Advisor

At the age of 26, Prakash Koirala is one of the youngest messengers of sound financial literacy in the global community. His vision of creating an economically active population holds a major grip towards building a financially stable and economically developed households. He is the recipient of the Global Award in Youth Financial Education Awareness by Child and Youth Finance International in the House of Lords, British Parliament in 2015 and the author of FINLICO (Financial Literary Comics). Over his career, he has reached more than 175 institutions to train more than 40,000 children, youth and community about financial education. His work has been lauded internationally, with him being selected to be a member for the US Embassy Youth Council in 2017. Kindled by the struggles of his own childhood, Mr. Koirala has set on a path to seek for a platform that helps in creating financially capable and enterprise-driven youth organisations. He is wholeheartedly working in this sector to

Prof Pankaj Joshi

Theoretical Physicist

Professor Pankaj Joshi, a theoretical physicist at the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR), Mumbai, enjoys deciphering these cosmic puzzles. His recent book, “The Story of Collapsing Stars” (OUP), explores the death of massive stars and the subsequent formation of black holes or naked singularities through gravitational collapse of such stars. The event horizon on a black hole hides the singularity within it, which is a region of extreme conditions of arbitrary large densities and temperatures. However, visible or naked singularities would be observable, not being under the veil of an event horizon. So the existence of naked singularities would provide intriguing signatures of how the gravity and quantum forces work together, which is one of the greatest mysteries in Modern Physics and Cosmology, possibly leading us to the unification of physics.

Rakesh Shukla

Founder, The Voice of Stray Dogs

Mr. Rakesh Shukla, a software engineer by profession is the founder of The Writers Block (TWB), a technology firm which creates content and outsources technical communication to giants like Intel, Oracle and Microsoft among others. But, what truly defines him is his love for our sweet four legged friends, which motivated him to venture into unchartered territories by founding the “Voice of Stray Dogs”, a foundation working on the rescue and rehabilitation of abandoned dogs and strays at a farmhouse on the outskirts of Bengaluru. The path towards a safer living atmosphere for these godly creatures however has not been easy, with Mr. Shukla having to face barriers in the form of continuous protests and complaints to shut this project down. With great resolve and an undying spirit, he has managed to sway all the negativity away and make sure that his love for what he does never dies. It gives us immense pleasure to welcome the “Dog Father”, Mr. Rakesh Shukla as a member of our speaker panel.

Satish Deshmukh

Mentalist

Satish Deshmukh is an illusionist of international acclaim. He has used magic as a tool for motivation, human resource development, crime detection, art therapy, education & corporate training to list a few. He has trained over 20,000 prospective performers, a feat that has been duly mentioned in the Guinness Book of World Records and the Limca Book of Records. As a professional corporate magician, Mr. Deshmukh is a front runner in the corporate race of gaining visibility and marketing punch in a highly competitive business world. After 50 years of crafting his art with great detailing, he has solidified his stance on the existence of magic in our lives. Many new entertainers and veterans have also sought his knowledge and expertise for celebrity impersonation and management as well, wishing to be molded into the image of their character.

Soumya Iyengar

Research Scientist

Dr. Soumya Iyengar is a research scientist and professor in the Systems Neuroscience Department at the National Brain Research Centre (NBRC) located in Manesar, Haryana. With years of experience, she deals with the complexities and intricacies that the brain has to offer. Her principal research interest includes studies on the neural basis of hearing and vocal behaviours during development. Her contribution to the field of neuroscience has been immense with multiple publications under her name, carrying out exemplary work in the development of the human auditory cortex.

Sridhar Rangayan

Film Maker, Queer Activist

Sridhar Rangayan wears many caps-of a filmmaker, writer, activist and festival director. He has consistently strived to give a voice to social issues in India through his films, writings and public speaking for over two decades. His award winning films The Pink Mirror, Yours Emotionally, 68 Pages, Project Bolo, Purple Skies and Breaking Free present hard‐hitting social issues with warmth, compassion and humour; and are at the forefront of India’s emergent queer cinema movement. His latest film Breaking Free won the National Award for Best Editing (non-fiction) and was also selected for the prestigious Indian Panorama by Directorate of Film Festivals, Government of India. He has served as Jury for prestigious film festivals such as Outfest (USA) and Berlinale (Germany). Rangayan was one of the Grand Marshals of Montreal Pride in 2016. He is one of the Founder Trustees of The Humsafar Trust, which was founded in 1994 and still is one of India’s largest community based organization.

Zaaria Patni

Businesswoman

A story of resolve, unfettered.  At the young age of 19 Zaria Patni was married to a man 7 years older than her. She was subjected to inhumane physical and mental abuse causing her to divorce her husband and fight a soul-crushing six year long custody battle against her affluential spouse. However this victory was not the end of Zaaria's troubles. She further struggled as a single mother who couldn't get a passport for her child without the signature of her ex-husband whom she hadn't been in contact with for 8 years.Her undying spirit kept her battling the apathy of the court officials. She filed an online petition and approached the external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj with her plight. She simplified the legal process for documentation for single mothers all over the country.  She now has a flourishing career as a fashion photographer. She hopes that her modern fair princess's valour transforms her into a warrior, inspires more victims to speak up.