Dr. M R Rajagopal
Chairman, Pallium India
The founder of Pallium India, he is also known as the father of palliative care. He has moved the margins of medical science by incorporating those who were shunned away and branded to be afar from the realm of medical care. While medical practitioners around the world focus only on their patients in one way road to recovery, Dr. Rajagopal has expanded the margin to bring to fold the family of patients who suffer alongside the ill.
His journey started when he qualified as a physician from Trivendrum Medical College, Kerala and as an anaesthesiologist from AIIMS, New Delhi. As Palliative care is an approach that focuses on the improvement of quality of life of patients and their families, he has looked far beyond the margin of physical pain and addressed sorrow, grief and disillusionment towards life that becomes the sad fate of terminally ill.
For his unparallel contribution he was awarded the Padma Shri award by Government of India in 2018.
Ishan Shukla
Animation Filmmaker
Ishan Shukla is an Indian Animation Film-maker whose film ‘Schirkoa’ was first of its kind to be nominated for the Academy Awards. His love for animation and creative arts propelled him to drop out from BITS, Pilani where he was pursuing his engineering. To explore his unique sense of art, Mr. Shukla enrolled at the 3D Sense Media School, Singapore, in 2008.
His film-making boasts of an interesting mix of diasporic as well as magic realist elements wherein he explores the Syrian crisis vis-a-vis an animated medium. It takes a genius to bring to life an unprecedented combination of dire realities in an animated platform. Needless to say, Ishan Shukla that has put the Indian animation works on world map, moving the artistic as well as geo-political boundaries of contemporary Indian film-making.
Malini Gowrishankar
Founder CEO, F5 Escapes
We have heard of the glass ceiling and its existence for women existing in work-spaces across the globe. We have heard of unequal pay and witnessed the advent of the force behind empowering women to chart out their destinies on their own terms. The illustrious list of women who have significantly changed the shape of our culture houses MALINI GOWRISHANKAR who took up the issue of subaltern marginalization heads on and answered it with F5 Escapes in July 2013. An entrepreneurial venture enabling offbeat travel experiences to women.
An Electronics and Communication Engineer by profession Ms. Gowrishankar’s most recent venture is the community-building initiative ‘JUST GO’ travel talk series. Her guiding principle is a novel and noble one. She wants to make travelling safer for women all over the world. Answering a dire need of our times, she has truly moved the margins of cultural, social and traditional inhibitions.
Piyush Mishra
Actor, Singer,and Writer
Is a name that needs to introductions, an actor of profound potential, Piyush Mishra has contributed immensely to theatre as well. He has written many memorable lyrics and scripts and plays. Originally from Gwalior, Piyush Mishra honed his skill and craft during his NSD days from where he graduated. He is known for his particular brand of art-house cinema that puts content over glamour, matter over material. Films that fulfil the true agenda of serious film-making, that raises questions and counter-questions the comfortable answer. His impressive oeuvre of work includes Gangs of Wasseypur, Pink, Sanju and Tamasha, to name a few notable ones. Shifting the drawn margins of entertainment, he has brought substance and weight to the understanding of how films function.
Ramli Ibrahim
Odissi Dancer
India is a powerhouse of culture that manifests in many art forms; foremost among them is dance. From Kathak to Bharatnatyam, Odissi to Kuchipudi the expression of dance carries divinity in finest shape. The restoration and revival of Indian dance form Odissi has been revolutionalized by none other than Mr. Ramli Ibrahim. He moved the margins of gender, nation and dance form when he paved the path to Odissi’s revival and gain worldwide acclaim.
Born on 20th May 1953 in Kajang in Malaysia, he received his training in Odissi under Guru Debaprasad Das and in Bharatnatyam under Guru Adyar K Lakshman. He has also studies ballet and modern dance at the Australian Ballet School in Melbourne.
Shri Ramli Ibrahim has received several honours for his work in India and other countries. These include the Fulbright Distinguished Artist Award (1999), the Angarag Lifetime Achievement Award (2006), the Purush Award (2009), the Ram Gopal Best Male Dancer Award (2011), and many more.
Utsav Mishra
Senior Manager@Swiggy, Life Skills Advocate
A mentor at heart and a troubleshooter at work, Utsav Mishra has more than eight years of work experience in industries ranging from Food to Travel. He is an Electronics Engineer from MITS, Gwalior who chose to take the road less traveled by joining Institute of Rural Management Anand and worked with Amul, the largest farmer cooperative and the biggest food brand of India, for four years. He spent a part of his career with companies like Bajaj Corp in FMCG and Travelyaari in startup space and is currently working on improving the customer experience for Swiggy, an organization which strives to changing the way India Eats.
He is a Certified Counsellor and has spent considerable time working with Chemical Substance Addicts. He is a Campaigner for Life Skills among Children & Youth and believes that imparting the same has the potential to change lives.
Vijay Kalra
ED & CEO, MVML. CMO-AS, M&M
Executive Director and CEO of Mahindra and Mahindra Ltd, Vijay Kalra is a name that commands respect and awe. In a fast changing world of technology and its endless manifestations he has managed to streamline the growth of Manufacturing, Plant Quality, Central Manufacturing Planning & Control, Supply Chain Management, Projects and Industrial Relations. He also heralds Manufacturing and Quality, Central Manufacturing Engineering, Plant Engineering, Central Production Planning & Control, Supply Chain Management, Projects and Industrial Relations.
He has won several prestigious awards including two “Best of the Best” awards from CMD of General Motors Corporation for Quality and Safety as well as Best Launch Award from Launches from General Motors Manufacturing Leadership. Mr. Kalra has encompassed the length and breadth of the Auto Sector as he went on revolutionalising leading organizations such as Ashok Leyland, Claas India, DCM Toyota, Toyota Motor Corp. And General Motors.