Ideas rule the world

Countless people the world over are responding to challenges life poses in ways that can inspire many. The learning that emerges from an educator's work in Afghanistan, for instance, can help sow the seeds for uninterrupted education of girls in a remote Indian village. A conduit for the sharing of these ideas has been the TED Talks platform, where experts and change-makers from different walks of life speak of their experiences in the form of short, powerful talks. For the upcoming edition of TEDxGateway 2018, an independently organised TED Conference, over 20 such motivational speakers will share their stories with an audience in Mumbai.

"We search the year round for speakers who can inform, impact and inspire a large set of people. Once confirmed, the team follows it up with extensive sessions with our speakers over a long period of time to refine their core idea and insight from their body of work into 12-minute talks," says Yashraj Akashi, senior ambassador, TEDx India and curator of the conference. "This year, we have in store speakers working towards tackling some of humanity's toughest questions, answering them with break-through innovation, enterprise and enduring optimism. We've changed the way we've been looking at ideas by bringing thoughts that are raw, real and relatable to each one of us," he adds.

Here are some talks to listen to for a stimulating Sunday.

Log on to: TEDxGateway.com/live (for live webcast on December 2)

Ananda Shankar Jayant

When leading Bharatanatyam dancer, choreographer and scholar Dr Ananda Shankar Jayant was diagnosed with breast cancer a decade ago, she decided to treat it as just another page in the book of her life. While undergoing treatment, she continued to dance, teach and perform on tour. A recipient of Padma Shri and the Sangeet Natak Akademi Puraskar, Dr Jayant is also a senior officer of the Indian Railway Traffic Service. Her talk has been included among the greatest TED talks by Indians.

Musical notes

As part of Indian music collective Maati Baani's collaboration with Indian and international artistes, the event will stage an array of performances, which include one by Tao Issaro. The Indian-Australian percussionist, composer and music producer divides his time between Western Australia and Kerala. His acts are a combination of percussion, movement, physical theatre and storytelling. Another performance to look forward to is a tabla recital by child musical prodigy Shayaan Udeshi.

Raghu Rai