Doctor Kinjal Ahir

A very soft and sweet sounding voice answers my call. I was pleasantly surprised that she took the trouble to find out how to properly pronounce my name and throughout the 10 or so minutes that we were on the phone she remained soft spoken and friendly, chatting with me in a way that probably wins over the hearts of her students. Having discovered her liking for Economics in college, she begins her year taking the 40 hours she spends with her students as a challenge to make her favourite subject an interesting and exciting one for them as well. Hard to imagine anyone bunking her lectures.

Apart from teaching Economics, Dr. Ahir also conducts classes in Spoken English and this is not surprising considering how charming she sounded on the phone especially when she spoke about her son Aditya. I, for one, am looking forward to seeing her at TEDxSabarmati and believe that her talk which refers to "You'll See It When You Believe It" a book by Wayne W. Dyer will be worth hearing.

The Countdown

Starting tomorrow, there are exactly 10 days to the 28th of May, to the day that Team Eureka is waiting for, to the day I have been writing about, to TEDxSabarmati.
It was decided at today's meeting at a cafe on Judges Bungalow Road that the next ten days are going to be dedicated to our speakers with interviews, info, photos and an update on what's happening behind the scenes.
One speaker a day until the 28th of May.
That begins tomorrow.
Today, I'm excited to post a talk by physicist Leonard Susskind, a friend of the well known scientist Richard Feynman, a Nobel Laureate  ("Feynman, jointly with Julian Schwinger and Sin-Itiro Tomonaga, received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1965" - Wikipedia)  and the author of one of my favourite books 'Surely You're Joking, Mr.Feynman.'

For All The Time You Spent Scratching Your Head Over Physics

Yes, just one exercise to go... So how annoying is it when you've been working on the first and easiest problem for 10 minutes and it seems like you're getting nowhere? Very? Well, here's what you do. Get up from that table, hop around a bit to rid your feet of that weird tingling sensation ( I just found out it's called Paresthesia), go to your "sleeping" laptop, open Google Chrome and  type http://www.khanacademy.org/ into your address bar. Voila, if all goes well, you're back at your table, ready to face that problem and more in under 20 minutes. Unless, of course you decide to sign into Facebook, which means all other books will have to wait as you grin with anticipation at the sight of 26 notifications only to discover you now have to delete 26 spam videos from your wall.

Anyway, Khan Academy is one of the reasons you should thank God for the Internet. They have videos and exercises covering arithmetic, physics, finance, history and that's not all. Give it a shot. Here's a video on Newton's First Law of Motion..

If you liked that, or even if you didnt, you can watch Salman Khan, the name behind the Academy talk at TED2011...

Look What I Found

Aha! Read Aastha's status update on Facebook. Tune in to 94.3 FM to listen to daily updates on TEDxSabarmati. Sweeeet. The train is racing along..

One Day At A Time

I am glad to be alive. Honestly, today was quite an eye-opener. Ever been trapped with 6 other people in an elevator meant for five with the watchman away on holiday? No? I thought so. Well, that's exactly what happened to me today and boy, did those adrenal glands go into overdrive. Though I was quite calm mentally and was praying, physically, my legs were tingling. Getting out of that lift unharmed and wiser made me realize how much we take for granted our safety. 

If that wasnt enough to make me grateful, I was also witness to a car enveloped in flames. What a day! Anyway, valuable lesson learnt. Even as you count the days to 28 May, I say Hallelujah for every day that was, is and is to come.

Game Time

http://www.seenandshared.com/circle-the-cat.htm
Hmph, you never got back to me on how you liked the previous game. Anyway, here's one more for you to play..

Meltdown

It's summer time and I'm getting more tanned, thirsty and tired each day. But then again, every passing day brings the 28th of May a little closer. I'm pretty much zapped and raise your hand if you become bad tempered and moody when you're exhoausted but I've got everlasting love that keeps me going and stops me from becoming a monster, and yes, I'm talking about the love of Christ here so please keep those imaginations in check.
Anyway, I've just jotted down a few tips to defeat the heat.. Yeah, I know "beat the heat" sounds cooler but it's been so overused..
--- I got one word for you - HYDRATE
--- Go get sunscreen. P.S. - buy the most appropriate one for you.. dont let those rashes remind you how sensitive your skin is.
--- Try to go out more in the evening than in the morning..

Yeah, they're basic and plain common sense and you probably hear it every summer so this is just a little "DO NOT FORGET" note..

Attention! Call to all Language enthusiasts..

If your favourite book of poetry was ever wet with your tears.. Or if you have more than one collection of poems other than your school literature textbooks.. Or even if you have a Literature textbook at all.. This post is for you....

Read this verse by Lewis Carroll. See if you can spot what makes it unusual....

Did its peculiarity elude you? Never mind, now read it "down" instead of across... Clever, yeah?

90s All The Way!

How cool was yesterday's Google page(s)? Yup, they had a different doodle each time you refreshed your page. About 16 different doodles on Mr.Men and Little Miss characters, I think. Anyway, I realized that I had almost forgotten about these and numerous other "favourites" all us 90s kids share..  Thankfully, pages like this one bring back memories of the good ole times..This is something I found on Facebook. Not my work. Just sharing. 
These are the links : 

http://www.wegrewupinindia.com/ http://www.facebook.com/WeGrewUpInIndia Please do read..

Shout Out

I know that it bothers me when I don't get quick replies to my texts. Perhaps worse is not getting a reply when you really want one. That stings a little more than Dettol on a fresh wound. It has happened to me more times than I know. Seriously dude, the only person I can rely on for always listening and replying is Jesus. I can hardly expect such perfection from humans so sometimes I have to check my phone every other second when I'm waiting for a reply from someone. And I know you do it too, not all the time and not for everybody's replies, but it's one of those things that happen to every teen with a cell phone and a SIM, yeah, a free message pack helps too.

Anyway, the point I'm trying to make is that I would like to hear from you reader(s). Feel free to let the world, the part of it that reads this blog, know how you liked one of the talks or a particular post or even the font I'm using. Your literary effort should be published as a comment so we can all read what you want us to know. Hoping for a quick reply.

The Wait

Now that you know exactly how many seconds you're going to be waiting. Here's a fun game I picked out for you to help pass those apparently endless minutes. And yeah, dont let those surprisingly easy 8 rounds in the beginning fool you into relaxing those grey cells. It's pure mental aerobics once you hit level nine. All the best.


Red remover (Puzzle game) | Play more games

Tick Tock

You dont need to cross out the days on your calendar anymore. Thank God for technology.

Ticket to TEDxSabarmati

Haha, yes! The much awaited and talked about ticket to TEDxSabarmati is finally up for you to grab. Here's a sneak peek at what it looks like.

Btw, the hand holding the tickets belongs to the one whose mind is one of the few behind the event. Ladies and gentlemen, Aastha Kankariya.
The face above the tickets is the one you'll be contacting for information about your passes. Put your hands together for Zubeen Agrawal. And yeah, you can also use those hands to dial 08000802125 and book your invites.


Looking forward to being there.

Breaking News

We're in the news!

Yesterday's Ahmedabad Mirror featured an article about Ravi Shekhar (Kumar), one of our speakers. The very one I had written about a few days ago.

Ahmedabad Mirror : May 4 2011

An article introducing you to our distinguished speakers. 

Ahmedabad Mirror : 20 April 2011

Awesome Things

Team Eureka met at Reading Tree today. I wasnt there but "Reading" is what I'm writing about today. Before that, just one more video for you today. An introduction of sorts to the name behind http://1000awesomethings.com.



An awesome website that talks about the little things that make you say AWESOME! (Looks like two 'awesome's in one sentence is one 'awesome' too many to be awesome). Now how awesome was that last sentence? Hehe, raise your hand if you're sick of the word that I better not mention again [in this sentence]. Anyway, 1000awesomethings is a sort of daily pick-me-up, a heartwarming blog that causes the people in the same room as you to tolerantly shake their heads as you quietly chuckle at your screen. I think it's a great (aren't you happy that I didnt say awesome) read. Honestly, Neil Pasricha's blog makes me close my eyes and say a big Thank you to Jesus, the #1 Awesome person in my life.

Goodie Bag/Blog

Yes guys, you can smile now. I'm back and I have a goodie bag, well, blog with fun(ny) and interesting videos hand picked for you.

What are you waiting for then? You know how much time videos take to buffer. Happy watching!

Wasn't that just simply supercalifragilisticexpialidocious? In case you've never heard that word before, here's another video for you.
P.S: Do not watch the video if you dont want the song to play over and over and over again in your head. And yeah, if you find yourself humming this today, don't say I didn't warn you.

Here's another talk for you showcasing some technology that I think is definitely worth the wait and the weightlessness (Typing that word made me feel as if I was making it up) of your pocket after it hits the market. That was just for pun guys (muahahaha), I think it's going to be quite affordable.

Now Im going to gesture what I call the 'Good bye wave'. I wonder if that shuts down the device, hehe.

Well then, borrowing the words of a famous grey bunny, "That's all folks". (No no, dont cry. God willing I will be back tomorrow)

Instant Answer

Hallelujah! All glory to God for whom nothing is impossible. Thanks to our prayer answering God, Ravi Kumar has agreed to come. Team Eureka is definitely relieved. 

Where does my help come from?

"I lift up my eyes to the mountains—
   where does my help come from?
My help comes from the LORD,
   the Maker of heaven and earth."                                                  
This psalm from the Bible reminds me how amazing and overwhelming it is to know that I have a heavenly Father, the creator of the universe and my maker who loves me and is able to help me out when nothing or no one else can. He's the only one who is not only always available but always able to help. Indeed It's because He lives that I am alive today and I know it's because He lives that I can face tomorrow.
This reminder is reassuring when TEDxSabarmati is in situations like the present. It has been quite a tough day today for Team Eureka as they face a potential drop out among the speakers. Getting one of our most anticipated speakers, Ravi Kumar (Lingo Boy) who lives in Mumbai to come to Ahmedabad is a major challenge as there seem to be new hindrances coming up. We are looking forward to hearing him speak. We're doing our best and counting on God to do the rest.

Ahmedabad Mirror, Here we come!

Entered Fadia Chambers for the first time today. For the uninitiated, that's the building that Ahmedabad Mirror calls it's office. I accompanied Aastha Kankariya, Zubeen Agarwal and Keval Hutheesing of the great Team Eureka who were there so AM reporter Dhwani Pathak could interview one of the speakers of TEDxSabarmati, Ravi Kumar, also known as Lingo Boy, a peacock fan selling wonder in Mumbai who can market his fans in around 12 foreign languages. This 17 year old boy who does not have a formal education can speak in French, Chinese, Japanese, Spanish and Russian among other languages to convince tourists to buy his fans. This multi-linguist not only sells fans made by his grandmother in Mumbai but has fans around the globe. Its time for this Bhavnagar boy to get recognition in Aapnu Amdavad and we hope that Ahmedabad Mirror will be just the tool to get him the appreciation for his keen business acumen and quick learning skills. By the way, if this is the first time you are hearing of Lingo boy, you can check out his Youtube videos on this blog (read earlier posts).
Speaking of firsts, another place I walked into for the first time was Metropole Hotel where Team Eureka had gone to make sure that our distinguished speakers would be given some good food and drink just like the delicious Iced Tea they had at the cafe at Natrani today. Accomodation is accounted for, food and drink is being taken care of, looks like the TEDxSabarmati speakers are in for a time as delightful as their talks.

Professor Suresh Lalwani

I pray before I dial the numbers. Pen in hand, recorder open on my mobile. I am ready. No answer even after two calls. Hardly a minute passes before the Professor himself calls back though. He starts speaking and I realize I haven't turned on my recorder yet. Oops, looks like I have to ask him to wait. He very kindly obliges and I accidentally disconnect the call. So far so great. Anyway, I press redial and the interview has begun. Thankfully, there were no (more) mishaps.

Suresh Lalwani is the young 27 year old Chief Mentor for ProED Academy and Navkar Institute of CA & CS Gandhidham. As Assistant Professor at the Tolani Institute of Management Studies, he spoke about how the role of education is not only in helping a person understand technical aspects or simply making a person's career but also in stimulating thought processes and making them think rationally. There certainly is no dearth of education in Prof. Lalwani, he completed his Faculty Development Program from Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad. His excellent performance in Post Graduate Diploma in Management (Finance) was acknowledged by Dr. Kiran Bedi by whose hands he was awarded a Gold Medal. That's not all, he has also completed his Post Graduate Diploma in Human Resource Management and studied Chartered Accountancy (Intermediate), M.Com (Costing) and Honors Diploma in Computer Science. If that weren't impressive enough, he is currently pursuing a Ph.D. from Symbiosis International University of Pune in the area of Diversity in Human Resource Practices.

The intellectual and philosopher in the professor is reflected in his choice of books and movies as well. History, fiction and autobiographical books appeal to him as do thought provoking movies like Deepa Mehta's triology.

Looks like all those expecting food for thought at TEDxSabarmati can take note, Prof. Lalwani is just the person serve you a feast.

All aboard!

Aha, I'm on the train to TEDxSabarmati and it's racing along! I finally got to meet Team Eureka, the core team,  who had a brain storming session yesterday. Around eight lattes were downed and a million ideas came up. Working towards making this event a rewarding experience. The people who are slated to speak at the event are special in their own way and I'm waiting to hear what they have to say. Not just on the mic at TEDxSabarmati but also on their phones during their interview.Yup, I hope to get personal interviews exclusively for TEDxSabarmati! Meanwhile, loads of other work is going on with the lights, stage design, sound and other aspects being worked on. Prateeq Kumar, one of our speakers very kindly agreed to design our passes and website. Woot, everyone's working at full pace!

One Ticket to TEDxSabarmati, Please.

The bottom of my laptop is becoming hotter by the minute. My Facebook chat status has switched to Idle. A quick glance at the clock and some not so quick mental arithmetic tells me that it has been 27 minutes since I sat down in front of my laptop with my right foot tucked under me and a glass of apple juice by my side. The drink is still untouched and my foot is now tingling. I still haven’t figured out what I am supposed to write. Writing an article that will be my ticket to being a modest part of TEDxSabarmati is no trivial task. Contemplating it gives me strange feeling, it’s how most people feel when they are standing first in line, on top of the highest and steepest slide they’ve ever seen.  After all, TED talks feature some very inspired and inspiring people. Besides, I’ll have something to say during those awkward moments when people ask me what I’m doing this vacation. So anyway, I want to give it a shot, what I hope is my best shot, and try to fill in the prestigious position of Blog Manager of TEDxSabarmati. The clock now shows 33 minutes and as I stare at my screen again, I sigh. Crafting article, what on earth is a crafting article? I haven’t the slightest idea. Neither Google nor Collins Dictionary have been able to answer and every time I try to open a chat window to ask Aastha, she goes offline. What am I to do? Except of course, write 297 words to say that the last two lines of her most recent Facebook message have filled me with more anxiety than she knows, until she reads this, of course.


-Adnah Bright

-          

Ravi Kumar (Aka Lingo Boy all over the YouTube)

So This is it. (A Worth Watch)

Watch this video, and tell us about your reaction if we get Ravi Kumar (aka Lingo Boy all over the Youtube) to be one of the speaker at  TEDxSabarmati.

Ravi Kumar a completely uneducated Slum boy who sells Peacock Fan outside Hanging gardens but he can speak in 12 Different Languages to market and sell his product (peacock fans).

"The Awesome Story"

"The 3A's of Awesome"

"Creativity is as important as Literacy in today's Education world"

Do Schools kill creativity?

What is TEDx?

TEDx was created in the spirit of TED's mission, "ideas worth spreading." The program is designed to give communities, organizations and individuals the opportunity to stimulate dialogue through TED-like experiences at the local level.

At TEDx events, a screening of TEDTalks videos -- or a combination of live presenters and TEDTalks videos -- sparks deep conversation and connections. TEDx events are fully planned and coordinated independently, on a community-by-community basis.

What you'll find at every TEDx event:

The content and design of each TEDx event is unique and developed independently, but all TEDx events have several features in common.

•              TED's celebrated format: A suite of short, carefully prepared talks, demonstrations and performances (live, or just TEDTalks videos from TED.com) on a wide range of subjects to foster learning, inspiration and wonder -- and to provoke conversations that matter

•              TEDTalks videos: A minimum of two pre-recorded talks from the acclaimed TEDTalks video series (these talks are available free on TED.com)

Bias-free programming: Lack of any commercial, religious or political agenda

A Flowing River of Ideas

On a sunny afternoon in 1411, on the banks of the river "Sabarmati", Ahmed Shah got his "Eureka Moment" and decided to lay the founding stone of a new establishment after observing a courageous rabbit scaring off a bully dog. That establishment has now turned into the sprawling metropolis called "Ahmedabad".

Over the years, the river Sabarmati has flow parallelly with the flow of ideas on its banks. Beginning with Ahmed Shah, here have been numerous individuals who have had the click of the lightbulb, that is their Eureka moment on the banks of this river. It startedout with the various Jain merchants who had migrated form Rajasthan looking for newer business opportunities. A lot of the businessmen set up their first ventures right on the banks of this city.

Soon came the industrial revolution and the era of the textile industries in Ahmedabad. This textile revolution started out as the brainchild of a few rich merchants while they were strolling on the banks of Sabarmati. Soon this idea grew to such an extent that Ahmedabad was nicknamed "Manchester of India". At a certain point of time in the 20th century, there were over 20 mills on the banks of the Sabarmati.

Talking of Sabarmati, how can one forget the Sabarmati Ashram which was the prime residence of the Mahatma himself. It was in the courtyard of this residence on the banks of the Sabarmati where Mahatma Gandhi planned the Dandi march which is said to be one of the most successful peace protests in the history of mankind. 

Today, the banks of the river Sabarmati are the locations of one of the most modern developments in the city- The Riverfront. It is this idea that will change the face of the city for eternity. From the past to the future, this river has been witness to a truly revolutionary "Flowing River of Ideas".