Theme: THE IF IN LIFE

The IF in Life

TEDxChowringhee is an independently organised TED event under the license of Lokesh Nathany. Sharing the same spirit as of TED, the daylong event focuses on bringing together journey of ideas and exploration in the form of short, powerful, thought provoking talks to inspire and build a better community of like-minded citizens. We invite the curious souls who want to engage with ideas and each other.
The IF in Life shapes our future. All of us have faced The IF in Life at sometime or the other. Whether we reacted or acted to The IF in Life defines our tomorrow. The IF in Life will bring you happiness or steal your joy – is upto you. Look after The IF in Life and see how beautiful the life is. Are you looking for answers to your If in Life?

KOLKATA CENTRE FOR CREATIVITY
777, Eastern Metropolitan Bypass, Anandapur, Adarsha Nagar
FIRST FLOOR
KOLKATA, West Bengal, 700107
India

BIKASH AGARWAL

Entrepreneur and Founder – Apni Roti

Bikash believes in doing and not just talking. When most of us show our concern about poor and hungry people on social media, he actually found a way to ensure that they do not stay hungry. Despite owning a very successful business now, he has not forgotten his humble beginnings. His mother always inspired and encouraged him to give back to society. In 2016, he started Shivohum Balaji Seva Trust that provides free accommodation, food and healthcare to the underprivileged in West Bengal and Jharkhand. He extended this further by providing food to over 1500 hungry stomachs daily. His mission is to take his initiative to all parts of India and ensure that no one goes to sleep empty stomach.vikash@sippl.in

Divij Shah

Para Cyclist

Divij is made of stuff that we only read in stories. Imagine losing a very important part of you in your childhood and still not giving up. Divij is an Indian Para Cyclist on a mission to win Gold for our country at the upcoming World Championships and the Summer Paralympics 2020. He was born and brought in Kolkata. He has represented the state of West Bengal for Cricket (Under 16 team) and misses his days of hitting big sixes. Among his many achievements, some of the key ones are the following: #Silver medal for INDIA at 6th Asian Paracycling Championship in Bahrain, Feb, 2017 #Silver medal for INDIA at 7th Asian Paracycling Championship in Myanmar, Feb, 2018 #Manali- Khardung La, Leh, Infinity ride with AMF, 550Km over 10 days reaching an altitude of 18380ft above sea level (world’s highest motorable road) #Audax India Randonneurs, completed 200Km, 300Km, 400Km and 600Km BRM to become the first Indian Para Cyclist Super Randonneur

Leena Kejriwal

The Social Artist

How many of us get to live our passion and yet make a difference to the society. Leena Kejriwal is the change maker with a difference. She is doing some amazing work in tackling one of the biggest challenges of mankind – Human trafficking. She calls herself a Social Artist. Her work on human trafficking has found a new language and is called MISSING. MISSING was launched at the India Art Fair to great national and international reviews and since then she has run successful national and international crowd funding campaign to gather support and spread awareness on the plight of young girls lost into the dark holes of sex trafficking. The campaign uses art and technology to create social change that makes it a game changer in this issue. The MISSING Public art project has evolved since its conception into a four-part project with public engagement being the key purpose of the project.

Major General Vikram Dev Dogra Dogra

RETD. MAJOR GENERAL FROM INDIAN ARMY

He was Awarded Ati Vashisht Seva Medal (AVSM) by the President of India to recognize his "distinguished service of an exceptional order”. He has served the armed forces in various capacities for over 41 years the last as Director General Resettlement. The General is no stranger to sports. Major General Dogra is the only General across the globe to have completed the Ironman Triathlon. An Ironman Triathlon is the most difficult one-day sporting events in the world, with competitors having to complete the events – swimming (3.8 kms), cycling (180.2 kms) and 42.2 km running (full marathon) - in sequence within 17 hours to earn the title of 'Ironman'. Major General Vikram Dogra did it the first time in 14 hours and 21 minutes and became the first serving army officer to do it and once again on 28 July 2019 broke his own record by 41 minutes. He is fond of Reading, Riding, Badminton, Cycling, Squash and Music.

Nathasha AR Kumar

Founder: VAJOR

She is an Entrepreneur and started Vajor, a fashion & lifestyle community focused platform. Starting with nothing, she has managed to take her company to 42 million USD in yearly sales in just 8 years. She achieved all this and more fighting against all odds both personally and professionally. She was recognized with the Franchise India “e-Young Entrepreneur of the Year” award. The tech- savvy entrepreneur is not at all a cubicle worker. She has a creative and intriguingly innovative side too. Ms. Kumar is a multifaceted individual who has a deep connection to the community she lives by. A conscious & mindful lifestyle drives her & she has taken up a personal fight to attain economical & ecological sustainability to its core.

Pawan Kumar Chandana

Scientist & Space Entrepreneur

Pawan is the former scientist of Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, ISRO. He joined the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) as a scientist and worked there for six years on various launch vehicle projects like GSLV-Mark-III and Small Satellite launch vehicle (SSLV). He has contributed on various roles as a System Engineer of world's third largest solid rocket stage and Deputy Project Manager of SSLV project of ISRO. He turned Space Entrepreneur and co-founded Skyroot Aerospace. He is currently building India's first private space launch vehicle company at Skyroot Aerospace. He believes rockets are the most fascinating machinery ever built by humans. Currently he is on a mission, building India's most innovative and globally competitive aerospace company. He is Alumnus of Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur with Bachelors in Mechanical Engineering and Masters in Thermal Science & Engineering.

S M Lateef

Coach and Leadership Development Guru

From a meager Rs.10/- per day job to signing multi million dollar deals in sprawling offices across the globe is the journey of Lateef. He is a very highly passionate and dynamic individual, currently working as a Global leader spearheading many transformational projects and changing the landscape of his function. He has been instrumental in getting his organization win 7 times Global awards. The passion in his eyes – whether in connecting with spirited graduates from premium B-schools or adding fun & learning in the daily lives of thousands of school children – is consuming and contagious! He credits his parents for creating a value system that is pillared on persistence, gratitude and spreading love. His simple motto in life - “live life one moment at a time”. He believes life to be a sum of beautiful and powerful moments!

Sandeep Vyas

Professional Singer & Martial Artist

Sandeep is a Versatile, Livewire Singer and a performer. He developed his interest for music at a very early age. Over the years his passion about music and performance became his way of life. He has sung ,composed for bollywood films ,released music videos and has done live shows all over the world. Sandeep’s repertoire extends from Bollywood, Bhangra, Ultra pop ,retro & Rock. Sandeep has sung for Bollywood films like Kidnap - song Mit jaaye ( starring Sanjay Dutt & Imran Khan ) Besides singing he is very passionate about fitness. He is a trained martial artist and is currently training for 4th Dan Black belt in Shotokan Style karate. He has undergone training at the Shaolin Temple in China for Kung Fu. He does not believe in giving up on anything that he wants.

SHRUTI MOHTA

Her Mantra: Live King Size, Die King Size

Fun-loving, adventurous, and serious - all at the same time - Shruti believes that ‘Living King-size and Dying King-size’ is about living consciously and dying consciously; about making conscious decisions, and is a torchbearer of spreading awareness about how one can contribute not only during, but also after one’s lifetime. Her irrepressible spirit in the face of several medical challenges, most of which were termed by the doctors as rare occurrences, is borne by the fact that she told herself that if the condition was one in ten thousand, she herself was one in a million. These experiences altered her worldview at a fairly young age, making her gutsier, besides instilling a deep desire to give back to Science and humanity. Her passion for the issue of Organ Donation stems from this desire, thus underscoring her mantra about Dying King-size. Her deep involvement with this cause led her to be a Founder Member and Joint Secretary of the Bengal Organ Donation Society.

SOUMYA DABRIWAL

Founder – Project Baala

At a very young age of 23, Soumya has done what many at 50 also haven’t. She initiated Project Baala with the grant received by her from Warwick University. Having travelled across 5 continents extensively - she holds a deep passion for bridging the gap she has seen around the world. She compliments this passion with years of experience on the field in and outside India. Working in rural Haryana and Delhi slums introduced her to the reality of many deep rooted social problems that gained a global perceptive with her work experience in the rural of Ghana and South Africa. Soumya comes from New Delhi and is an Economist from the University of Warwick. Her academic background very ably supports her passion and experience in community development and understanding of the economic development of the girls.

Suman Agarwal

Co-founder & Director, Image Consulting Business Institute

We all have been always told that we need to look and feel good inside out. For a complete personality, both visible and what is invisible is equally important. However turning this into a profession with the mission to change people's lives for the better is what set out Suman Agarwal to start Image Consulting Business Institute. Coming from a family where women entrepreneurs were not encouraged and all they were expected is to look after home or get into traditional careers, Suman has come a long way defying all the stereotypes and not getting stuck with all the IFs in last 20 years. Suman embodies beauty, charm and grace that she professionally upholds. A widely travelled, well- experienced professional, Suman’s mission is to help everyone around her and lead a life with confidence and dignity.