TEDxKCT

Speakers

Speakers may not be confirmed. Check the event website for the latest lineup.

• Arvind Sundar

  Arvind Sundar is a contemporary artist exploring geometry, mathematics, and cosmology as systems to understand infinity, order, and uncertainty. Working across drawing, painting, sculpture, and installation, he translates grids, ratios, and sequences into meditative visual forms through rule-based processes balancing control and chance. He holds an MFA in Painting and Drawing from the University of Cincinnati (2018) and completed advanced coursework at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. He was awarded the Wolstein Travel Fellowship to study Renaissance art in Italy. Sundar has exhibited across India, the United States, Europe, and South Korea, including at the Contemporary Art Centre (Cincinnati), Art Dubai, Cholamandal Artists’ Village, and the Busan Art Fair. He has also participated in India Art Fair. His solo exhibitions include COSMOS (2024) and Chasing Infinity (2025), exploring chess, mathematics, and cosmic systems. He has delivered talks at ICTS Bengaluru.

• Narthaki Nataraj

  Dr. Narthaki Nataraj is a distinguished Bharatanatyam dancer and Guru from Tamil Nadu, trained under Guru K.P. Kittappa Pillai in the Thanjavur tradition. With over 15 years of intensive gurukula training, she has presented Bharatanatyam globally, bringing together temple traditions, Tamil literature, and rare choreographic forms. She is the founder of Velliamballam Trust – School of Dance. A pioneering transgender artist, she coined the term “thirunangai,” now officially adopted by the Tamil Nadu Government. She actively supports LGBTQ2S and marginalized communities through dance education and advocacy, and her life story is featured in Tamil Nadu State textbooks. She currently serves on the Tamil Nadu State Development Policy Council. Her accolades include the Padma Shri (2019), Sangeet Natak Akademi Award (2011), Kalaimamani (2007), Nrithya Kalanidhi (2022), ICCR Empanelled Artist, Honorary Doctorate, Vishwa Kala Bharathi, and multiple lifetime achievement honours.

• Nibha Namboodiri

  Nibha Namboodiri is an environmental conservationist and cultural practitioner whose work bridges ecology, tradition, and human systems. With over two decades of experience in wildlife conservation particularly in elephant care. She has worked closely with mahouts and institutions to develop more humane and context-aware practices. Her work spans river rejuvenation efforts and bamboo-based sustainability initiatives exploring ecological building and artisan livelihoods. Her journey extends beyond conservation into a deeper inquiry. Through engagement with traditional systems, ritual practices, and indigenous communities, she has gained a rare vantage point into the inner logic of tradition—as a living intelligence that once guided balance between human life, nature, and the unseen. Her work today reflects this synthesis, bridging outer systems with inner awareness, offering a perspective on boundaries not as walls, but as spaces that shape how we relate, act, and belong.

• Radhika Shapoorjee

  Radhika Shapoorjee is the Founder and CEO of Mediation Mantras, with over 30 years of experience in advertising, public relations, and mediation. An accredited International Mediator from SIMI and a specialist with SIMC, she focuses on workplace conflict resolution and communication. She has advised CEOs, governments, legal experts, and political leaders, managing crises across sectors including employee conflicts, media issues, and organizational challenges. She was Founder President of Hill+Knowlton Strategies, South Asia, leading 150+ employees, and played a key role in its merger and growth. Earlier, she was Chief of Strategic Planning at Genesis Burson-Mastellar and Client Servicing Director at FCB Ulka. Through Mediation Mantras, she promotes mediation as a life skill and has resolved high-level leadership conflicts. She has trained professionals across sectors, taught at MNLU, is an Aspen Fellow, board member at CanSupport, and a jury member for global awards including Cannes.

• Sabari Venkat Sreenivas

  Sabari Venkat is a motivational speaker, national awardee, and disability rights activist from Coimbatore. He is currently pursuing the Young India Fellowship at Ashoka University. He completed his undergraduate studies in Political Science from Kumaraguru College of Liberal Arts and Science and holds a master’s degree in International Studies from Symbiosis International University, Pune. He believes meaningful change comes not only through policy and systems but also at an individual level. A strong advocate for responsible use of technology, he focuses on solving human problems without creating new ones. He is currently building Rizzvision, an app aimed at making fashion accessible for people with visual disabilities, with the potential to impact millions globally. An avid reader, he has received over 40 awards and has been honoured by leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and former President Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam.

• Sanjay Molur

  Dr. Sanjay Molur, an IUCN Dr George Rabb Awardee for Conservation Innovation (2024) and SCB Distinguished Global Service Awardee (2025), has over 32 years of experience in wildlife conservation, ecosystem restoration, climate crisis mitigation, and sustainability. He has led innovative, collaborative efforts in species and habitat conservation, education, capacity building, citizen science, publication, policy advocacy, bridging science and application through both in situ and ex situ approaches. He has played a key role in shaping the IUCN Red List and Conservation Action Planning guidelines, developing strategies for over 10,000 species worldwide. A dedicated mentor, he has trained young biologists globally. Two species — the spider Strigoplus moluri and the freshwater fish Pethia sanjaymoluri — are named after him. He is also a recipient of the IUCN SSC Leadership Award, IUCN SSC Conservation Achievement Award (2008), and the Wildlife Service Award (2020) by Sanctuary Foundation.

• Stanly Johny

  Stanly Johny is the International Affairs Editor at The Hindu, where he anchors the newspaper’s global coverage and contributes editorials, Op-Eds, and reportage. He holds a PhD in International Studies from the Centre for West Asian Studies, JNU, New Delhi, and has been writing on geopolitics and Indian foreign policy for over a decade, with reporting experience from Washington, Moscow, Tehran, and Jerusalem. An IVLP Fellow of the U.S. State Department, India-Australia Youth Dialogue alumnus, and Commonwealth Indo-Pacific Thinkers Programme invitee, he has contributed to institutions such as the Middle East Institute (Washington DC) and MP-IDSA (New Delhi). He is the author of The ISIS Caliphate (2018), co-author of The Comrades and the Mullahs (2022), and Original Sin (2024). His upcoming book will be published by Hachette. Stanly is a Visiting Professor at KREA University and is associated with ACJ, Chennai Institute of Journalism, and Kerala University.