Conference Day 2

Discover Yourself

The Treasure Hunt started with the rush to organize the clues in a given order to reach the “treasure”. This soon turned into a frantic rush that spread through 5 floors of the school. Gone were the shy and composed delegates, organised barazza leaders who led fruitful discussions, as all delegates ran back and forth around staircases and classrooms. Screams of joy were heard once one clue after another were deciphered as each delegate seemed enthralled by their main goal: to finish the treasure hunt.

The treasure hunt had each delegate scrambling for the next clue, through a series of riddles and activities. Each activity posed a different obstacle for the groups. The excitement of the delegates and facilitators and the exhilarations on their faces as they returned to the auditorium, were proof of the bonds the groups formed.

All in good spirit and camaraderie, the air of competition between the barazza groups fuelled each delegate’s race to the proverbial gold at the end of the rainbow. The importance of teamwork, communication, problem solving skills and building conference in each were only some of the few key values everyone walked (or wearily shuffled) away with. In the final analysis, the treasure was the experience that participants would never replicate.

Our Keynote speaker for today, Mr. Akul Tripathi ( or just Akul ), is a maverrick, with a flair for making unconventional choices, be it in his career path or larger issues of everyday life. In keeping with this we chose to turn the so called key note address in to an interactive session with a smaller and later a larger body of students.

He spoke extensively of choosing and following one's passions however off the beaten track they may be and later dealing with the consequences that these choices may throw up. As an avid wanderer, who also anchors a travel show " Ekant" he shared several anecdotes from his advertures around the remote yet historically significant corners of india. Whether it was the heady excitement of filming under dangerous conditions or being deeply moved by the kindness of strangers who once offered haven to hapless strangers, these anecdotes kept the audience enthralled ! expecially notable were his comments on respecting multiple historical narratives and daring to find the truth oneself.

Mr. Tripathi stressed on his lifelong tryst with challenging existing structures and eking one's own path. he believes that established societal norms are often limiting. while he acknowledged that his privileged postion in society helped him to follow his dreams, yet he emphasized that no one should lose sight of their unique goals, however modest or humble they may be.

Mr. Tripathi's casual style of communication and holding up the role of passion in driving one's life, struck a deep chord with the young audience. More importantly, we felt deeply inspired by his success in combining his passion with his profession!