TEDxSCAC 2020

Date of the Event: 5th March, 2020
Time: 11:00 am - 04:30 pm
Venue: Symbiosis College of Arts and Commerce,
Vishwabhavan Auditorium, Pune

What is TEDx?

TEDx was created in the spirit of TED's mission, “Ideas Worth Spreading." A TEDx event is organized by volunteers from the local community. The program is designed to help communities, organizations and individuals to spark conversations and connections through local, TED-like experiences.At TEDx events, a screening of TED Talks videos — or a combination of live presenters and TED Talks videos — sparks deep conversation and connections at the local level.


About TED x SCAC

The THIRD edition of the independently organized TED event at the Symbiosis College of Arts & Commerce, dated 5th March, 2020, aimed to bring together notable speakers & captivating performances to enlighten upon the proposed theme, RESILIENCE.

Tests are meant, not to destroy, but to release the fountain of spiritual strength that lies within. Through heartache, experience and sacrifice we can become resilient; take deeper roots; continue our growth and the beautiful cycle of life.

We reckon that the event should be established on the pillars of a multidisciplinary approach that involves drawing discussions from multiple disciplines to redefine problems outside normal boundaries and reach to conclusions based on a new understanding of complex situations.

No. of Speakers: 7
No. of Live Performances: 4


Organizing Members

  • Dr. Hrishikesh Soman, Principal

    Chief Patron

  • Dr. Sharayu Bhakare

    Licensee & Professor In-charge

  • Anya Jamwal and Gautam Ganorkar

    Student Organizers


Our Speakers

Speaker 1: Varsha Rajkhowa

Title of the talk: Kindle your destiny with the spark within

Link of the talk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J_yRxmT8yaolist=PLsRNoUx8w3rN5krzjBDaBgkXZbieLYq5tindex=1

Varsha Rajkhowa is an environmentalist by profession and wears multiple hats of a model, international-grade dancer, choreographer, national level swimmer and a certified scuba diver. She is also India's Ocean Ambassador. She won the title of Miss Scuba International 2016. She is today the proud owner of a fashion company 'Oceanic Diva', and also the National Director of Miss Scuba India.


Speaker 2: Sumaira Abdulali

Title of the talk: Resilience in Environmental Activism

Link of the talk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gIXNIp1JHE8list=PLsRNoUx8w3rN5krzjBDaBgkXZbieLYq5tindex=2

Sumaira Abdulali, an environmental activist, dedicated her life to causes like Sand Mining and Noise Pollution. She is the founder of NGO 'Awaaz Foundation' and the Convenor of MITRA (Movement Against Intimidation, Threat and Revenge Against Activists). She strives to create awareness in the world against harmful environmental pollution and mining practices, and spreading information to thousands of people about wildlife conservation.

Speaker 3: Shyam Konnur

Title of the talk: Being an LGBTQ+ Ally

Link of the talk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KelVjzvk6sclist=PLsRNoUx8w3rN5krzjBDaBgkXZbieLYq5tindex=3

Shyam Konnur is well known for his work towards LGBTQIA+ community and equal rights activism. He recently won the title of Mr. Gay India 2020. Shyam is the founder of Mist, which is an LGBTQIA+ collective that started in Bangalore in 2010. MIST aims to provide a safe and non-judgemental environment for the community, where everyone can be themselves as well as bridge the gap between the queer community and straight allies.

Speaker 4: Komal Rao

Title of the talk: Zen and Mindfulness for Performance

Link of the talk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y8Y1pt_Rr7Ylist=PLsRNoUx8w3rN5krzjBDaBgkXZbieLYq5tindex=4

Komal Rao is an Indian sports model, actress, TEDx speaker and pro Mixed Martial Arts athlete. She is a Full Instructor in Jeet Kune Do, certified by the late Richard Bustillo, an original student of Bruce Lee. She runs a women's safety self-defence series on Times Now and is a published author of 'Art of the Dragon for Women’s Safety'. She is known as the ‘Woman of Steel’ of India. She is the only Indian woman to have bested a male in an MMA cage fight.

Speaker 5: Ramgopal Vallath (RamG Vallath)

Title of the talk: The 4th Step to Building Resilience

Link of the talk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kyarGIqyvEMlist=PLsRNoUx8w3rN5krzjBDaBgkXZbieLYq5tindex=5

Ramgopal Vallath is a keynote speaker from India. He is the co-founder of a tech startup and the founding editor of 'I wonder...', a science magazine for middle school teachers. He is the author of two books, called 'Oops the Mighty Gurgle' and 'From Ouch to Oops'. Today, he is a much sought-after motivational speaker who helps people at all levels with inculcating resilience, growth mindset and positivity.

Speaker 6: Chaitanya Velhal

Title of the talk: Coaching India’s New Breed of Pro Athletes through Scientific Training

Link of the talk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YzGcjfcHkC0list=PLsRNoUx8w3rN5krzjBDaBgkXZbieLYq5tindex=7

Chaitanya Velhal is an Ultra Endurance Cyclist, a Triathlete, a certified Ironman coach and a 3-time Ironman. He is also the founder and head coach of his academy called Power Peaks Athlete Lab. He holds the record for being the fastest Indian Ultra-cyclist. He was also the fastest Indian to qualify for the Race Across America (RAAM). He has earned many prestigious titles like "Deccan Cliffhanger", "Desert 500" and "Enduro". Along with all these titles, he’s also a reputed scientist.

Speaker 7: Milind Chandwani

Title of the talk: Creating Changemakers in the 21st Century

Link of the talk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Adpeizvgc7g

Milind Chandwani started a project called Camp Diaries to enable holistic learning for his students at an NGO. Camp Diaries is an NGO that works towards giving kids from government and/or low-income private schools exposure in different extra-curricular and co-curricular activities. He was able to expand Camp Diaries to 9 cities across India and work with over 10000 volunteers.


Our Performances

Act 1: Bharatanatyam Pushpanjali

Participants: Anuja Zend, Sonali Thakur, Ashwini

Link of the performance: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q6wIbOIXYjYlist=PLsRNoUx8w3rN5krzjBDaBgkXZbieLYq5tindex=6

Pushpanjali is the first item in BharatnatyamMargam and is usually performed at the beginning of any program. It’s a pure dance, i.e Nritta item, and consists 2-3 shlokas of Lord Ganesha, it being the beginning item of the program.

Act 2: Sufi Music

Participants: Shubhankar Shukla, Yash Sharma, Kavya Narayanan, Megha Chakroborty, Shubham Kaushik

Link of the performance: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZAuXTn7uTvYlist=PLsRNoUx8w3rN5krzjBDaBgkXZbieLYq5tindex=8

Sufi music is said to be peaceful and scintillating in nature, due to its melodic vocals in the Urdu language, engulfed in instrumental pieces that leave people in awe.These talented musicians brought their rendition of a few Sufi songs.

Act 3: Kathak

Participant: Shrutika Kumbhar

Kathak is derived from the word Katha which means storytelling. Kathak is distinguished by the tapping footwork that is emphasized because of the ghungroo that the dancer has on her ankle.

Act 4: Poetry (Name of the Poem: Running Out)

Participant: Aditya Narayan

What does it feel like to be surrounded by stories that you cannot undo? Running out is the story of an onlooker who grew up watching insufficiency thrive in his comfortable world.