Theme: Jigsaw

Life is often compared to a jigsaw - fragments of a picture waiting to be completed. Life's challenges and obstacles are like the scattered jigsaw pieces, each representing the ambiguity of one's story.

Sometimes, we lose the pieces of the puzzle and need help in finding them, and other times we just do not have all the pieces to complete the puzzle. It is only when we begin to make connections between the things that may have previously seemed unrelated to us; we begin to notice patterns. Finally, as slowly as the jigsaw takes shape, the different parts of our lives start coming together to form a sensible picture. This year, TEDxYouth@VSA invites you to be the jigsaw piece that completes someone's story.

In the words of Conrad Veidt, "So now it is time to disassemble the parts of the jigsaw puzzle or to piece another one together, for I find that, having come to the end of my story, my life is just beginning."

Vidyashilp Academy
42/3, Shivanahalli, After Jakkur Flying Club on International Airport By-pass Ro Yelahanka
Jakkur
Bangalore, Karnataka, 560064
India

Akash Vikram Shroff

Student, Founder of AllPink

Akash Vikram Shroff, 18-year-old studying at Mallya Aditi International School, is a firm believer in young adults sparking social change. Hence, he is heavily involved in some activities he believes strongly, AllPink being one of them. Akash founded AllPink in the year 2018 along with his friends. His family's history with breast cancer inspired its conception. He works with Niramai Health Analytix and conducts free diagnostic camps for the underprivileged. So far, they have screened more than 200 people and reached over 10,000 through social media. He feels the only real way to tackle the lack of information surrounding breast cancer is to be more vocal and attack the stigma surrounding the disease. His other interests include participating in MUNs, collaborating in a group, and tackling seemingly impossible problems that he wholeheartedly enjoys finding creative solutions to. Ultimately, he hopes to push people to combat significant issues and chip away at them one piece at a time.

Chandralekha Shyamsundar

Bharatanatyam Dancer

A very passionate young Bharatanatyam artist, Chandralekha was born with an innate talent for the art form. She could recite all the Samyutha and Asamyutha Hastas at the age of two and a half. As the daughter of a Bharatanatyam dancer, Chandralekha began her training at a young age of four under her mother's guru, Bharatakalamani Shri. C. Radhakrishna. She then pursued the art form under Smt. Veena Shreedar for seven years. She is currently being trained under guru Smt. Anuradha Vikranth from the year 2012, at the renowned DRISHTI ART CENTRE. Chandralekha is an all-rounder. She has won many competitions and awards in various fields of art, music, dance, basketball, throwball, literature, and scholastic scholarships. She also won the title of 'best outgoing classical dancer' in 10th grade. During her school and college days, she has taken part in several Intra and inter-level competitions and has also performed on most occasions in school and college.

Deep Kundu

Professional Tattoo Artist

Deep Kundu, a professional tattoo artist with 14 years of experience, has been on the quest for self-expression through performance and visual arts since childhood. His thirst for acquiring knowledge and new skill sets led him to pursue a degree in Microbiology, and later a diploma in entomology. He was later recruited as a tattoo-apprentice for his talent for sketching that he had upskilled, while doing a course in 2d and 3d animation, before it. It wasn't an easy decision to switch to visual arts from pure science but through his journey into the sacred art of tattooing, he discovered a way to help others identify their life journey, translate their intentions into a visual representation that was healing, the same way he had used dance and theatre to release pent up energy and use movement as a therapy for himself. In this monologue, he speaks about bridging this gap of scientific knowledge with artistic wisdom that led him to the path of self-discovery!

Shilpi Kalwani

Ph.D. Researcher in Mental Health and Wellbeing

Shilpi Kalwani is a Ph.D. Research Scholar at Birla Institute of Technology and Science (BITS Pilani). Her area of research revolves around mental health and well-being. She is a certified Youth Mental Health Advocate by MHFA Australia. She also runs an initiative by the name Project Altruism that works towards spreading awareness about Mental Health. In her leisure time, she likes to pen down her thoughts in the form of poetry. She has been invited as a guest poetry Performer at renowned youth-led events to give a voice to her words. She has also authored an e-book under the teen motivation program, "How to screw up your 20s?". Academically, she has learned from some of the best institutions in the country, which led her journey spread across Pune, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Mumbai, Delhi, and Pilani lately. She continues to do so by adding prestigious awards and scholarships (such as IBSAF Scholarship and University Achiever's Award) to her name.