The 2011 Think Fest
Just a little note here that I was at the Think Fest organized by Tehelka & Newsweek in Goa, 1-3 November. The talks which I attended:
- Mani Shankar Aiyar & Pervez Hoodbhoy in conversation with Barkha Dutt : Seven ways to save Pakistan. My favorite session at Think.
- Omar Abdullah with Barkha Dutt: Omar Abdullah has the most difficult job in India.
- Frank Gehry & Thomas Pritzker : Where Frank Gehry spoke about his buildings and was very endearing.
- Arvind Kejriwal & Shekhar Singh : It was all about the Jan Lokpal bill, obviously. Watching them, I felt like I was watching TV.
- Sam Pitroda‘s keynote: Made more significant because of my work for the Karnataka Knowledge Commission,
- Esther Duflo & Abhijit Banerjee: I expected a lot more from the talk having seen Duflo’s TED talk but the conversation was mostly about a chapter from their book, Poor Economics. I did get Poor Economics signed by them though.
- Biophysicist Gregory Stock & cardiologist Naresh Trehan: Where they had quite an argument about the future of genetic engineering.
- Amir Khan & Tarun Tejpal: Fanboy interview with Amir.
- Shukria Barakazai (Afghan MP), William Darlymple & Christopher Dickey (Newsweek Correspondent): Where they spoke about Democracy & Afghanistan. Shukria’s story was fascinating (video here). The context was Darlymple’s book about the first Anglo-Afghan war of 1939 and the parallels with the current conflict in Afghanistan. Great connections between historical & contemporary events made throughout the conversation.
- Pavan Sukhdev: Introduced to his work at Think, banker who’s turned environmentalist. Believes protecting environment is good for the GDP. Influential ex-bankers who speak for the environment is a good thing.
- Pavan Varma & Ashis Nandy with Tarun Tejpal: Where they spoke about the most persistent mistakes we Indians make.
Talks I wish I could have attended: This one & This one.
Tehelka was spot on in their attempt to get disparate ideas on one stage. The event was entertaining, thought provoking & went perfectly on schedule. I could not ask for more.
