The Hindu Business Line : TEDIndia: The Future beckons

It has taken 25 long years for TED, a non-profit organisation devoted to ‘Ideas Worth Spreading' to reach India, the land of hoary civilisation, a modern superpower in the making, and a repository of energy that will shape the future.

But as Lakshmi Pratury, TED India Director, believes, TED had to come to India and it was only a matter of time before it did. And if one wonders what caused the community to descend on Indian shores, the answer is not hard to find. “TED is about the expression of the future. It is about bringing ideas and innovation to people who are interested. And you cannot have these conversations without coming to India,” says Chris Anderson, Curator, TED. “We have to listen to the remarkable people here and take their stories to the world,” he adds.

Anderson says the intention of TED is to build a global community of knowledge seekers, interested in having a better future. “We had to come to India because these incredible people here deserve a global platform.”

Diverse fare

But what is the expectation from India? “We want a full gamut. Everything. We want to open up and see what is going around,” says Anderson. “We want to hear about the innovation, the success, the growth, and the problems. It is exhilarating to hear these stories. We want to celebrate the artists, the designers, the musicians and the cultural traditions,” he adds.

And that is exactly what TEDIndia had to offer for three days. It brought together people as diverse as environmental activist Anupam Mishra who is trying to preserve and learn from rural India's traditional rainwater harvesting techniques to vocalist Usha Uthup to activist playwright Eve Ensler, founder of V-Day, a movement to stop violence against women and girls.

When asked how the world would benefit from the talks, Anderson says TED is a community of people with the desire to believe in the possibility of changing the future. “These are people who get excited at this possibility, and I think ideas are an incredibly powerful way of changing the world,” he adds.

Going forward, India can expect stronger ties with TED. Not only are TED Talks being converted into 12 local languages but a number of TEDx (a program of local, self-organised events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience) sessions are being planned across the country.

So what are we waiting for?

eworld@thehindu.co.in

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