Theme: ConnecTED

"No matter what people tell you, words and ideas can change the world."

The world you see today is the way it is because of the power of ideas and its profound impact on the everyday lives of people. Tedx is an event that believes ideas are worth spreading and we at TedxThiruvanmiyur agree. Come see the champions who reside near you, the invisible faces behind the visible work you see. Listen to them as they recount their journey of change lit by one idea and leave the arena carrying that fire within you as you create and spread your own ideas of change.

HOLIDAY INN OMR IT EXPRESSWAY
110, Old Mahabalipuram Rd, PTK nagar, Thiruvanmiyur, Chennai, Tamil Nadu
CHENNAI, Tamil Nadu, 600041
India

Aditya Sushant

Professional Poker Player

Aditya took up playing poker professionally in 2010. A college dropout, he has followed his passion with zeal and is one of the more well known names in the country. While he has numerous titles and accolades, he holds the unique distinction of being the only person from India to have won a bracelet at the World Series of Poker which happens every year in Las Vegas.

Anna Durai

Auto Driver & Customer Satisfaction Expert

A class 12 drop out, Annadurai drives his amazing auto in Chennai. His passion towards his profession combined with the desire to provide the best amenities to his customers has brought him success in good measure. Annadurai drives a ‘share auto’ which can carry five to six people on Old Mahabilpuram Road (OMR), where most of the IT companies are located. His auto is wifi enabled and equipped with a TV set, laptop, tablet and ipad – the last three devices being available for customers who like to do some browsing as they travel. He plays the day’s important news clips on the TV set, which he normally records during the lunch break at home. He also keeps a stock of popular film songs from major Indian languages and plays them for customers from other states who like to listen to songs in their native languages.

Carnatic 2.0

Music / Artists

Mahesh Raghvan is a Carnatic Music Fusion artist who is known for his experiments with Classical Music. He has been trained in Carnatic Vocal Music and Keyboards for more than 15 years. His experiments with Carnatic Music on the iPad have gathered millions of views on YouTube and Facebook and have been featured by plenty of media publishers. Shravan Sridhar has been trained in Indian Carnatic vocals and violin for a combined 19 years, he is equally at ease with a myriad of genres like blues country, rock and roll, electronica,western classical and even metal. He has been part of the famed Airtel Super Singer in which he has performed with legends such as Rajesh Vaidhya, Stephan Devassy, Keba Jeramiah, Karthik Devaraj, Nivas Prasanna. He has played for various bands in both the Chennai and Bangalore independent music scene

Gloria Benny

Social Entrepreneur

Gloria Benny is a social entrepreneur and a champion for vulnerable children. She has over 10 years experience in the social sector with her first non-profit organization being set up while in college - which is now a youth volunteer network spread all across India. Her experiences while working with vulnerable children in orphanages/children’s homes fuelled her resolve that better quality inputs during childhood, result in better adult outcomes, which in turn ensures inclusive socio-economic development. With this vision, she has set up her second social venture - Guardians of Dreams - which aims to transform the quality of childcare provided by children’s homes across the country through a participatory model that mobilizes resources through community based programs. Her organisation has been selected to be incubated by IIM-B’s social incubation program organised in partnership with Michael and Susan Dell Foundation.

Madhumitha Gomathinayagam

Social activist

Ms. Madhumitha Gomathinayagam is a Transgender Woman who has more than a Decade of Corporate Experience in HR, working as Manager – HR & Operations in Avacend Solutions Pvt. Ltd., She holds 16 Post Grad degrees and Other International Professional Certifications. She is Tri-linguistic, Certified Six Sigma Green Belt Professional, Certified Master Practitioner in N.L.P.(USA) and is the winner of many awards such as – Yoga Ratna, Arivukalanjiyam, Pasumai Warrier, Inclusive Champion, Samudhira Kumari Award, Trans Achiever’s Award. She was selected as one amongst 100 Youth of Chennai-2018 for Working Women Achiever’s Award-2018 & Empowered Women Award-2018. Her social services include Blood donation (72 times), Road Safety Awareness, Mime & Street Play for Social Awareness, Tree Plantation, Animal Welfare, Reading for the Visually Challenged & helping as a Scribe, CleanUp of Water Bodies & Forests, Empowering the the differently abled & Women Empowerment, Child Protection & Development.

Malini Jeevarathinam

Filmmaker, Actor and Social Activist

Malini Jeevarathinam is a filmmaker, an actor and a social activist based in Chennai. The key focus areas of her work include working for women and queer rights in the larger structure of social justice. Her own experience with oppression and plight of the members of the LGBTQIA community in the heteronormative world serves as inspiration for all her efforts. She uses the medium of art and cinema to bring down the forefront of her own experience of isolation , oppression and sensitive issues of suicides that is prevalent among many queer women. She debuted as a director with a short film ‘Kanavugalum Virpanaike’ in 2014 which focused on everyday dreams and hopes of underprivileged children. It was awarded ‘Best Film’ for the year in Norway Tamil Film Festival.

Roshan Santosham

Pulmonologist

Born and brought up in Chennai, Dr. Santosham completed most of his education in his native city. He completed MBBS in SRMC Porur, MD in Pulmonology and Critical Care from Pondicherry Institute of Medical Sciences and Critical Care Fellowship from Apollo Hospitals, Greams Road. Throughout medical school he had a keen interest in conducting medical camps and reaching out to people from various backgrounds who are unable or unwilling to seek medical help. He still continues to run free clinics and Pulmonary testing camps all year around. In 2015 Dr. Santosham and his team of doctors received The Mayan awards for medical services during the Chennai floods Governor of Tamil Nadu. In May 2018 he was recognised by the government of Malaysia for Excellence In The Field of Community Service in Malaysia in Pulmonology and Critical care from the Deputy Chief Minister of Kuala Lumpur. He was also invited to sing in London during the Olympics 2012, sung for the Pope in Rome in 2009.

Sindhuja Parthasarathy

Humanitarian Photojournalist

She is an Independent Humanitarian Photojournalist based out of Chennai, India. She has been journeying across the country creating visual narratives of human rights violation so as to influence people and organisations for change. The core of her work explores gender equity, indigenous human rights issues, environment sustainability, keenly highlighting the complex socio-cultural anthropology elements and their interplay with humanitarianism. Her work has been published in various Indian & International publications including VICE, Broadly, The Hindu, Times of India, The Week, India Today, Indian Express, India Times, Scroll, First Post, Wire, Newsminute, Newsweek Pakistan, The Citizen, Sunday Guardian, Pakistan Times, Malay Online, Astro Aswani, Euro news and the Alternative among others. She is also an Executive coach, Psychologist and behavioural analyst specialising in human development psychology.

Sriram Venkatakrishnan

Historian & Writer

Sriram V has an engineering degree and an MBA under his belt but is better known for his passionate interest in Chennai's history and Carnatic Music. He writes frequently on these subjects for The Hindu (where he has two columns – Encore, a monthly, and Hidden Histories, a fortnightly) and Madras Musings. He is a Secretary at the Music Academy, Chennai and the author of over 10 books, among them Carnatic Summer; The Devadasi and The Saint: the Life and Times of Bangalore Nagarathnamma; and Fifty Historic Residences of Chennai. He pioneered the concept of heritage walks in the city in 1999 and his thematic tours of the city, on the third Sunday of each month, have become very popular. In 2014, Sriram launched Chennai Past Forward, a mobile application that makes people aware of the heritage in their surroundings.

Varun Gunaseelan

Mountaineer and Adventure Entrepreneur

Varun Gunaseelan is a mountaineer who has climbed over 60 mountain summits across 6 continents. He has climbed extensively in the Himalayas and the Alps and is a Project Director of the Himalayan Clean Stove Project. He regularly leads treks in the mountains and is also a co-founder of the Wild Warrior Race, an organisation dedicated to building the adventure fitness community by promoting sports such as obstacle course races, triathlons and trail running.