Theme: Reversing the Mainstream Notions

"If we look at the world today, lies are mainstream – truth is a fringe phenomenon. Time to reverse this for Human fulfillment."

Remember how it feels to have a different, but surprisingly the right answer in the class? Astonished faces, a sense of satisfaction, and pleasure boosted after the fear of being wrong.
In the journey of our day-to-day lives, progressive and meritorious ideas are often brushed aside. TEDx Vignans BoTree School intends to have the audience question why has the term 'mainstream' ever originated and how to question or challenge those “mainstream notions”. Ideas and principles put into effect in the conventional state may not always be the best ones in the criteria. The unseen advantages of reversing the mainstream notions is what the speakers from diverse fields are going to present on the event.

After the tedious life of usual views, a unique thought might be more stunning and marvelous. And of course, who knows the noteworthy outcome of 'The Road not Taken'. You'll never know how the ideas influence the mind and pave the way for a new kind of journey.

Vignan Bo Tree School
Nizampet
Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, 500090
India

Anusha Reddy

Entrepreneur, Founder of 'The Mayabazar' Studio

Anusha is an Interior designer turned entrepreneur, born in Kadapa & grew up in Hyderabad. After graduating with an Engineering degree, she took her next steps towards Interior Designing. Her learnings from this field helped her build a custom designed studio Mayabazar. Although business was not her major in education, she picked up the skills in no time and aced every venture she started.

Dr. Vinay K Nandicoori

Director, CSIR-CCMB, Hyderabad

Vinay Nandicoori, the current director of CSIR-CCMB, Hyderabad, did his Ph.D in Molecular and Cellular Biology from IISC, Bangalore. He was a Postdoc at Texas A&M University and University of Virginia before returning to India in 2004 to establish his research group at National Institute of Immunology, New Delhi. Vinay Nandicoori is well known Molecular Biologist who has contributed immensely to delineating the signalling networks in Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the causative agent of TB. He has 70 research papers to his name in international journals of high repute. He holds the prestigious JC Bose fellowship and also an elected fellow of Indian Academy of Sciences, Indian National Science Academy and National Academy of Sciences, India.

Dr. Yashoda Thakore

Internationally Acclaimed Kuchipudi and Devadasi Nrityam Artiste

Yashoda Thakore is an exponent of Kuchipudi and Devadasi Nrityam (the repertoire of the hereditary women dancers). She reinforces her repertoire with her understanding and practice of Yoga. After 14 years of training in Kuchipudi under Sobha Naidu, Yashoda began to reclaim the art of her family by training under the Kalavantulu women, particularly Annabattula Mangatayaru and Leelasai. She was awarded a Doctoral degree for her research on the Interrelationship between Yoga and Indian Classical Dances. Yashoda is now Chair, Department of Kuchipudi, University of Silicon Andhra, California where she teaches dance history, theory, and practice to graduate students. She was conferred the Bangalore Nagaratnamma award in 2017 by the Samskruti Organisation, Guntur and the Ugadi Puraskaram by the Government of Andhra Pradesh.

Harika Dronavalli

Professional Chess Player, Grandmaster, Padmashri Awardee and Arjuna Awardee

Harika Dronavalli born on 12th January 1991, is an Indian chess player who holds the FIDE title of Grandmaster. She has won three bronze medals in the Women's World Chess Championship, in 2012, 2015 and 2017. Dronavalli was honored with the Arjuna Award for the year 2007–08 by the government of India. In 2016, she won the FIDE Women's Grand Prix event at Chengdu, China and rose up from world no. 11 to world no. 5 in FIDE women's ranking. Vladimir Kramnik, Judit Polgar and Viswanathan Anand are her chess inspirations. In 2019, she was awarded the Padma Shri for her contributions towards the field of sports.

Laxman Aelay

Internationally Acclaimed Artist, Painter & Actor

Laxman Aelay is an Indian artist, painter, and actor. His works are a representation of his village's culture which brilliantly captures their dilemmas and struggles using his perceptive gaze. He likes doing monochromes. Laxman Aelay, like the mythical Eklavya, learnt the art of drawing a straight line from observing a signboard artist called Gopi in Bhongir when he was in class Xth. His paintings called YAADI and MALLI showcased the traditions of the Telangana region. He is also known for creating the new Telangana logo, which was really unique in style in that it contains iconic imagery of the country as well as the state of Telangana.

Meghana Rao

Co-founder, Kamala Farms

Meghana Rao came across the concept of "green business' during her masters which intrigued her intensely. She realized that entrepreneurs are the solution for a sustainable environment, world and future. She started her entrepreneurial journey in 2017 when she co-founded Kamala Farms, a sustainable Hydroponic company. Since then, her company has actively help deisgn, build and run Hydroponic farms PAN India. Since then the company has trained thousands of enthusiasts in modern farming practises. She initiated various training courses for Women to promote women hydroprenuership. Her key focus areas are rooftop farming, balcony farming and indoor farming to create further entrepreneurial opportunities in this field for women. Her efforts were recently recognized by FTCCI. Last year, she was featured in AIM NITI AAYOG for Agriculture and allied sectors.

Ramesh Naidu

IIT Madras Alumni and a Member of 2019 World Cup Divyang Cricket Winning Team

Ramesh Naidu, an alumnus of IIT Madras & an all-rounder in the Indian physical challenged cricket team. Ramesh spent most of his childhood playing with the tennis ball and simultaneously focused on studies too. He has secured all India rank of 41 in ph category and chose electrical engineering department dual degree admission in IIT Madras. During his stay in IIT Madras, he was selected to play for Institute team in inter university meet and eventually represented a district and then Tamilnadu State, Southzone and India- C teams in coming years. In the year 2019, Ramesh made it to Indian divyaang cricket team. The same year he represented India in the world cup and went into win the tournament.

Sruthi Vetukuri

Entrepreneur, Founder of 'The Mayabazar' Studio

Sruthi Vetukuri is an entrepreneur, who also considers herself a farmer, an adventurer, a designer and a hardworking independent woman. She did her schooling here at Vignan Vidyalaya, before going on to pursue her engineering and MBA. She worked as an HR manager at her family’s firm, before her zeal to become independent and make her own mark in life pushed her to quit the job and build The Mayabazar, a one-of-a-kind studio in Hyderabad.