Ab9's Day Out - TEDxDELFT

This being my first official blog, I wanted to start with something unique about my university TU Delft and the people. I kept pondering for days and wondered how I shall convey my thoughts in a way that people will read and understand. Well, today is your lucky day because I just found out how :)

      On this cold, damp lazy morning, I finally wake up at 10 am after a night long (till 4 am :P) of research. As customary, I log on to my Facebook page and I find a message from my next door neighbor (Yea that’s how we communicate :D). He wanted me to have his ticket for TEDxDELFT event since he had exam that day.. I realize that it had started at 8 in the morning and I was already late. And so I finally walk out of my lil cozy spacebox (totally impressed by the concept :D) and walk out in the cold and windy afternoon.


    I reach the Aula Auditorium to find it swarming with cheery people. That’s a bit odd for Monday mornings. But oh well, I go in and explain to the registration guys about my friend’s ticket and they happily comply without questions (Now that’s something really new to me. No doubts ? Well, wasn’t lying anyway). So I move on to the grand lunch area where I lay my hands on some yummy Soufflé and orange juice. By the time I reach the main course, my friend calls me out for some urgent work and I miss the grand lunch (Sniff.. Sniff.. :( ).

    I do come back in time for the start of the second half of the event and I sit down wondering what TEDx is all about. An old lady comes and sits next to me and she is so full of energy and enthusiasm. Clapping actively and conversing with me. I listen to the talks and the crowd and there is this mysterious aura floating around in the room. After several talks and videos, we had the coffee break and off I went and had a good hot cup of coffee with some really good cookies and muffins. I meet Riccardo whom I had once met during the campus games and he introduced me to a bunch of people and suddenly we were discussing the “talks” and relating them with our own observations and experiences and before I knew it, our talks had become philosophical :D And once again I could feel that mysterious aura in the room only this time, it was starting to surround me too.

    Then something happened that kind of reminded me of my childhood. We were offered lollypops. Some might find this normal and some ridiculous. But this lollypop made my day :D

 

    And so I return to the auditorium all beaming and having conversations with people I don’t know and learning something new every minute. As the show began and the other speakers came on the stage and gave their talks, I finally figured out the cause for this mysterious aura. I noticed that every speaker, no matter what topic they spoke on, brought something unique to the table. They all successfully connected with the crowd and inspired them to do something with their lives. This mutual feeling resonated throughout the crowd and what we had was a group of people who are inspired like never before and brimming with ideas to do something. We had all in a way become connected to one another and become a part of something big and beautiful. 

   

Each one of us today, is taking back with them a unique experience maybe in the form of interaction with people or friendship or knowledge or maybe something else or maybe a combination of these. But one thing is for sure. We all came out as better and more confident individuals with a dream to excel in our respective fields.

    As the day came to an end we moved on to the evening drinks and talks. After a while, as I was about to leave, I come across this odd looking platter of chopped cubes with a black sauce. As a foodie, and imagining it to be cheese, I dig in. Only to realize that it was raw fish (Sushi!!). Even as I write this now, I can relive that moment, trying to get it down my throat as soon as possible. But as they say, you gotta try them at least once and I am glad that Sushi is off that list :D

    On an ending note, I would like to thank the TEDxDelft team and all the organizers and volunteers who made this event possible and in turn ensured its big success. You could see the pain and effort taken to piece this day together and I can only say, kudos to all of you :)

     I would also like to thank the team for their generous Oprah like gesture by giving each participant the lovely SENZ umbrella (Woohoooooooooooo!! :D)

    Last but not the least, I would like to thank my sweet neighbour ‘Hardik Pandya’ who made it possible for me to witness this great day in my life and also for being the reason why people I met kept staring at my name badge (bearing his name) with a puzzled face, trying to figure out why the name I told them sounds so different from the one they read :D

    Anyway, the next time you get a chance to go to events like TEDx, do not hesitate and experience for once how it feels to be a part of something big and unique.

That’s all for now folks. Do take care and we shall next interact when our paths cross once again :)

Until then, it’s nap time for the Foolosopher ;)