TEDxDTU "Because Grey Matters"

Delhi Technological University (DTU) is going to organize its second edition of  TEDxDTU on the theme, "Because Grey Matters", on 18^th  March 2017 at B.R. Ambedkar Auditorium from 11:00 am onwards. The theme of the talk "Because Grey Matters" represents the complexity of human lives, minds, and situations. Grey represents a multitude of hues within itself, each succinctly unique in its identity yet inherently similar to its accompanying shades. Similarly, all of us are our own shade and hue but are, nonetheless, deeply connected to each other by the thread of humanity ‘Because Grey Matters’ encourages everyone to express themselves articulately and realize that humanity fundamentally lies in this overlap of colors and regions and not just in polarizing extremes.

Let in the light, witness the extremities fade. We are a contrast of extravagance and subsistence, Ideas are born out of necessity and persistence, Conditions of birth and death fail to decide your fate, Break free from the reigns of stereotype, prejudice, and hate. Observe the world under a new lens, Focus on the grays for black and white hardly make sense. For black and white are hardly pristine, Pristine is their blending, Blend-O-blend, till there are polarities no more, More we absorb, higher the ladder we climb “Because Grey Matters”.  This event is aiming to converge the plethora of wisdom onto a platform, by a series of renowned speakers like:-

·      Ms. Laxmi Agarwal, founder of Stop Acid Attacks. Ms. Laxmi Agarwal was a jovial 7th-grade student when she was attacked with an acid in 2005. Her courage helped her to survive the attack but her scars reminded her of that horrific incident. However, she refused to accept her fate and embarked on a journey of emancipation. Since then, from receiving an award from Former First Lady Michelle Obama to have anchored television shows, she has tasted her well deserved share of accomplishments. Ms. Laxmi led a petition that compelled the Supreme Court to regulate the sale of acid and to make prosecution of attacks easier to pursue. Ms. Laxmi is now the director of Chhanv Foundation and continues to rehabilitate, council and fight for the rights of acid attack victims. She was also named 'Indian of the Year’ by NDTV.

·      Padma Bhushan awardee Dr. Madhav Gadgil Renowned ecologist, academic, writer, and columnist, Dr. Madhav Gadgil’s landmark report on the preservation of the unique ecosystem of the Western Ghats and the inclusion of local committees was integral in positioning him as a leading voice on environmental issues in India. As a fellow of reputed institutions like INSA and NASI and a recipient of the Harvard Centennial Medal from his alma mater, Dr. Gadgil has been an exemplary visionary in his field. Dr. Gadgil is a former member of the Scientific Advisory Council to the Prime Minister of India and the Head of the Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel (WGEEP) of 2010, which is popularly known as the Gadgil Commission. He is a recipient of the Volvo Environment Prize and the Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement, making him the only Indian to win it after M.S. Swaminathan. The Government of India awarded him the Padma Shri in 1981 and subsequently conferred on him the Padma Bhushan in 2006.

·      Mr. Manav Kaul performances in acclaimed movies like 'Kai Po Che', 'Citylights', 'Jolly LLB 2' and many others have been appreciated by critics and fans alike.  Some of the popular ones are “Shakkar ke Paanch Daane”, “Ilhaam” and “Bali aur Shambhu”. He has been awarded the META award for Best Script.

·      Mr. Sanjay Aggarwal, serves as the Managing Director of Finnish-based energy company Fortum, overseeing their Indian endeavors. Together, they are working to reinvent the landscape of renewable energy in India.
He also worked for Tata Power, Wartsila, ABB, and Thermax. He served as a Director of Industrial Energy Limited until February 2014. He is an alumnus of Delhi College of Engineering (DCE).

·      Monica Dogra Rishabh Seen is a singer and one-half of the Mumbai-based electronic duo Shaa'ir and Func. She made her Bollywood acting debut with the film Dhobhi Ghat (2011). She has made a guest appearance in the movie Rock On!! In December 2011, she served as a judge for Rolling Stone's "Never Hide Sounds " musical talent contest. She is the host of The Dewarists. Ms. Dogra has also featured on the covers of Maxim and FHM magazine. Currently, she is one of the judges for the show The Stage. She was nominated by VH1 at the 2015 Europe Music Awards under the Best India Act category, which falls under the Worldwide Act category. Her international docu-series, Woman With Gloria Steinem (based on gender-related violence), was nominated in the Outstanding Documentary or Non-Fiction Series category at 68th Emmy Awards.

·      Mr. Onkar K Khullar, also known as Digital Gandhi. He is currently the Managing Partner of Impact India Partners and Presentation Ink. He is on the board of advisers for various non-profits in India and is the Consulting Director of the UK Based Innovation Firm Chakraviyuh. He is well renowned for introducing a new way of life called 5-year-Old Philosophy through his book '5-year-old Billionaire'.

·      Ms. Rajashree Agrawal dropped out of high school to try and understand the world. Deeply enthused with the idea of learning, she has a keen interest in probabilistic systems, AI, global catastrophic risk, incentive structures, bio-hacking, entrepreneurship, and problem-solving.

·      Dr.Sukant Khurana is a neuroscientist and data scientist who has a keen interest in studying complexity and nuances, brain functioning, drug dependency, statistical tools and analyzing large data sets. He is both experimentally, theoretically and computationally exploring mechanisms of Parkinson's disease, activity-dependent brain development, sub-millisecond timing computation in the brain, and mechanisms of neuronal plasticity. Through data science, he works on causes of sustainable development, where he is exploring issues of mental health, addiction, and AIDS epidemic. He has penned more than three dozen science popularization articles in addition to a similar number of original research papers. He is also an author of several fictions, non-fiction, art and science popularization books.

·      Mr. Rakshan Kalmady, Mr. Prajwal Bhat and Mr. Indranil Sarkar, storytellers at The Rural India Project. On the day that is celebrated only with primary colors, the gray hues of 70 percent of India will be enlivened into a melange of stories. Lamenting the lack of mainstream attention to issues pervading the local sphere, TRIP highlights local issues, fading practices and stories of human interest. TRIP advocates for the opportunities to bring their voices to the forefront of National News.

·      Mr. Rishabh Seen is touted as the youngest classical music player in the country and the world's first Metal Sitar player. The novelty of his music lies in the perfect amalgamation of classical Indian music and metal.  He has performed worldwide and received appreciation and opportunity to play with legends like Ustad Shahid Parvez, Niladri Kumar, Talvin Singh, Pt.Rajan-Sajan Mishra, Pt. Birju Maharaj.

·      Mrs. Premlata Agrawal is the first Indian woman mountaineer to scale the Seven Summits. Recipient of the Padma Shri for her achievements in the field of Mountaineering, she is the oldest Indian woman to have scaled the world's tallest peak, Mount Everest (29,029 ft.), at the age of 48 years. Mrs. Agrawal discovered her passion when shewas 37. She subsequently trained under Mrs. Bachendri Pal. Her feats have earned her a listing in the Limca Book of Records.

·      Ms. Aranyani Bhargav is a dancer, choreographer and Artistic Director of Vyuti Dance company, which does exploratory work in Bharatanatyam by incorporating modernity into tradition. Ms. Aranyani is a dance scholar, researcher, and teacher. She has studied at Oxford University where she wrote a thesis on the multiple modernities of Bharatanatyam. Ms. Aranyani is an empanelled artist with the Indian council for cultural relations, a recipient of the Natya Kala Mani award and has been centrally featured in a PSBT documentary on the evolution of Bharatanatyam titled "From Sadir to Bharatanatyam" directed by Viveka Chauhan.

·      Dr. Nandini Sundaras is a social anthropologist of South Asia who has contributed to the understanding of environmental struggles, the impact of central and state policies on tribal politics, and the moral ambiguities associated with subaltern political movements in contemporary India.  She is currently a Professor in and the Chairperson of the Department of Sociology at the Delhi School of Economics and has held visiting positions at Punjab, Yale, Michigan, Cambridge and Chandigarh Universities. She was awarded the M. N. Srinivas Memorial Prize of the Indian Sociological Society in 2002-03, the L. M. Singhvi Visiting Fellowship at Cambridge in 2003 and the Hughes Visiting Fellowship at Michigan in 2005. She was awarded the Infosys Prize in 2010.

·      Mr. Tanmoy Chakrabarty is the VP of Government Industry Solutions Unit, TCS, one of the largest IT Services MNC in India. He played a pivotal role in the MCA21 project undertaken by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs and APonline, a bilingual portal used in Andhra Pradesh for several services. An avid reader and technocrat, he believes in 'leading by example' and works to improve the IT Service Sector to help in achieving better governance.

TEDx events are locally organised conferences and talks which are licensed under TED, a non-profit body that organises similar talks across the world. The event will have speakers talk about the complexity of human lives, minds, and situations. Speakers will also look into the ongoing humanitarian conflicts and socio-cultural debates in the world. "TEDxDTU" started in 2016 with its extraordinary panel of speakers. This time, we’re innovating at the highest levels to produce an event of global standards which will resonate amongst us all.