ZENPod

“ZENPod” Season-2, episode 10, featuring Reena Kaushal Dharmshaktu, the First Indian Woman to Skii the South Pole, a historic ski-run and crossed a 900 kilometer Antarctic ice trek to reach the South Pole.

“Spirituality is Happiness, Solace, something that gives me a deep connection to the higher power..”,– says Reena Kaushal Dharmshaktu  in her talk with Venkatesh Mahadevan

Reena Kaushal Dharmashaktu made the historic ski-run as part of an eight-woman woman  Commonwealth team, marking 60th anniversary of the founding of the Commonwealth. She was selected from among 800 applicants.

Some of her notable expeditions have been:-

• A Cycle trip from Calcutta to Kanyakumari to promote cleaner , greener and healthier India, Organised by Women Adventure Network of India

· Summit of Sri Kailash (about 7000 mts)  in the Himalayas, & the First ascent of Mt. Argan Kangri (6789 meters) in Ladakh  with All India Women Expedition of IMF

· Summit of Fluted Peak (6000+ meters) with a Japanese team

· Summit of Gangotri (about 7000 meters) with all Women Expedition of Indian Mountaineering Foundation

In addition, Reena has :-

· Successfully completed the prestigious Mountain Instructor Course, the Mountaineering course several times, from National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS, USA) in Alaska.

• In addition, she has also conducted a High Altitude Backpacking  course for National Outdoor leadership School several times  in the Gauri Ganga Valley in Munsiary, in which she crossed the “Ralam Pass” @ an altitude of over 15,500 feet and also conducted a Backpacking Course at the Nanda Devi Base Camp

• Successfully completed Basic, Advance and Method of Instruction (MOI) mountaineering courses from Himalayan Mountaineering Institute (HMI), Darjeeling

• She is a Certified Wilderness First Responder (WFR), which is an intensive training

• Led the ‘All India Women Expedition of IMF, to Mt.Phawara rang (aboput 6400 mtrs) in Kinnuar range of Himachal Pradesh, followed by another one to Mt.Nun (over 7100 metres) in Karakoram Range of Ladakh

In her professional work capacity, Reena is currently working in the Sports Department for the government of  Uttarakhand, helping set up a mountaineering institute. She also does Freelancing as an outdoor instructor for National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS, USA). She works with idiscoveri (an experiential training outfit) as an outdoor instructor.

“ZENPod” is a Podcast series that features trailblazers from different walks of life, with a purpose to build an empowered eco-system where learnings and experiences from these enlightened professionals, will be available within “arms reach of desire” for those who aspire to scale higher and wish to contribute, in their life’s pursuit.

Curtain Raiser for Season-2, episode 10 of “ZENPod”, featuring Reena Kaushal Dharmshaktu, the First Indian Woman to Skii the South Pole, a historic ski-run and crossed a 900 kilometer Antarctic ice trek to reach the South Pole.

“ZENPod” is a Podcast series that features trailblazers from different walks of life, with a purpose to build an empowered eco-system where learnings and experiences from these enlightened professionals, will be available within “arms reach of desire” for those who aspire to scale higher and wish to contribute, in their life’s pursuit.

“ZENPod”, Season-2, episode 9, featuring Dr. Kaushik Bhattacharya, a Doctor, Social Worker and Surgeon, who has helped our soldiers from Indian Army, the BSF, SSB, CRPF, ITBP and other paramilitary forces with his expertise.  He has recently been awarded the title of “Icon of North Bengal” by the Governor.  He has recently been conferred fellowship from the Royal College of Surgeons, Glasgow.  He has been awarded the ‘Director General Border’ Security Commendation Roll thrice, Additional Director General Medical Commendation, 4 times.

“Spirituality is when I do good to others, and they bless me…”,– says Kaushik Bhattacharya  in his talk with Venkatesh Mahadevan

Kaushik did his MBBS from MGM Medical College, Jamshedpur in 1992 and MS in Surgery from SCB Medical College, Cuttack in 1997. He passed the Diplomate of National Board of Examination in Surgery in 2000. He was working as Assistant Professor in Surgery at Sri Ramachandra Medical College and Research Institute till 2003 when he was sent on deputation in Cooch Behar, a small heritage town in North Bengal.

He settled down in Siliguri subsequently and is working as a Consultant in the various hospitals. He is also working as Specialist in Surgery for the Central Armed Police Forces Composite Hospital, Kadamtala on contractual basis since 2010.

Dr. Bhattacharya is the Member, Editorial Board, Indian Journal of Surgery and Sectional Editor, Hepatopancreaticobiliary, Journal of Minimal Access Surgery. He has more than 70 publications in various International and national surgical journals. He has delivered the prestigious Dr Santok Singh Endowment Oration in the Association of Surgeons of India Conference at Bhubneshwar 2019. He has received fellowship from the Association of Surgeons of India, Fellow of American College of Surgeons. He is also the Member of National Academy of Medical Sciences.

He has performed may critical surgery for the BSF SSB CRPF ITBP and other paramilitary forces and also help Indian Army in major surgeries during the time of crisis. and appreciation letter from the head of various forces on  many occasions.

He is associated with Rotary Club of Siliguri Uttorayon and takes part in various social activities of this region.  He was given appreciation letter by the Member of West Bengal Legislative Assembly of Nagrakata constituency for giving surgical treatment to the tea garden employees at a free or  concessional rate.

“ZENPod” is a Podcast series that features trailblazers from different walks of life, with a purpose to build an empowered eco-system where learnings and experiences from these enlightened professionals, will be available within “arms reach of desire” for those who aspire to scale higher and wish to contribute, in their life’s pursuit.

Curtain Raiser for Season-2, episode 9 of “ZENPod”, featuring Kaushik Bhattacharya, a Doctor, Social Worker and Surgeon, who has helped our soldiers from Indian Army, the BSF, SSB, CRPF, ITBP and other paramilitary forces with his expertise

“ZENPod” is a Podcast series that features trailblazers from different walks of life, with a purpose to build an empowered eco-system where learnings and experiences from these enlightened professionals, will be available within “arms reach of desire” for those who aspire to scale higher and wish to contribute, in their life’s pursuit.

“ZENPod” Season-2, episode 8(part 2), featuring Kiran Subramanyam, a name that is synonymous with intelligence, ambition, passion and Bharatanatyam, a graded artiste of India’s national television channel. “RASIKA ARTS FOUNDATION” , his institution for dance, has made a mark as one of its kind. Awarded the title of “Bharatanatya Prapurusha’ from the Rangashri Kala Samsthe in collaboration with Department of Kannada and Culture, Kiran dances along with his wife Sandhya and together they have created waves in the dance circles across the globe.

You can read more about Rasika on FB @https://www.facebook.com/Rasika-Arts-Foundation-307334910161

‘Keep the Learning and Performing parallel! Dance is very spiritual and it’s a beautiful Art form that connects people!”– says Kiran Subramanyam in his talk with Venkatesh Mahadevan

The Kirans’ as they are known, have performed extensively in India and several countries abroad.

Notable among their stage shows are - Pandit Ravishankar’s magnum opus GHANASHYAM, Kiran’s lead role opposite film star Hemamalini in SAVITRI and RAMAYAN, the Hampi Utsav, SEHER’s ANANYA festival, the International Dance Alliance, the SAARC Meet and many more. The Kirans are graded artistes of India’s national television channel -Doordarshan. They have also propagated their art on private channels in their shows Natyanjali and Hejje Mele Hejje on Udaya TV and Kasturi TV. And as empanelled artistes of the Indian Council of

Cultural Relations, the Kirans are the nation’s cultural ambassadors to the world.

Some of his coveted awards include:-

The ‘NATYANJALI PRASHASTHI’ from Sri Natyanjali Academy, Mangalore. ‘NRITYA NIPUNA’ from the Karnataka Nritya Kala Parishath, KALA ARATI RATNA from Arathi School of Dance, Arizona, ‘KARNATAKA KALASHREE’ - the prestigious Karnataka State Award for Arts – from the Karnataka Sangeetha Nritya Academy.

The ‘NRITYA RATNA’ Award from Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Coimbatore, the ‘KALAAVATHAMSA’ Award from Gokulam School of Music, Bangalore.

“ZENPod” is a Podcast series that features trailblazers from different walks of life, with a purpose to build an empowered eco-system where learnings and experiences from these enlightened professionals, will be available within “arms reach of desire” for those who aspire to scale higher and wish to contribute, in their life’s pursuit.

“ZENPod” Season-2, episode 7, featuring Kiran Subramanyam, a name that is synonymous with intelligence, ambition, passion and Bharatanatyam, a graded artiste of India’s national television channel. “RASIKA ARTS FOUNDATION” , his institution for dance, has made a mark as one of its kind. Awarded the title of “Bharatanatya Prapurusha’ from the Rangashri Kala Samsthe in collaboration with Department of Kannada and Culture, Kiran dances along with his wife Sandhya and together they have created waves in the dance circles across the globe.

You can read more about Rasika on FB @https://www.facebook.com/Rasika-Arts-Foundation-307334910161

‘Spirituality is something that kindle’s the spirit within us, anything that can liberate you, that allows you to express yourself”..,– says Kiran Subramanyam in his talk with Venkatesh Mahadevan

The Kirans’ as they are known, have performed extensively in India and several countries abroad.

Notable among their stage shows are - Pandit Ravishankar’s magnum opus GHANASHYAM, Kiran’s lead role opposite film star Hemamalini in SAVITRI and RAMAYAN, the Hampi Utsav, SEHER’s ANANYA festival, the International Dance Alliance, the SAARC Meet and many more. The Kirans are graded artistes of India’s national television channel -Doordarshan. They have also propagated their art on private channels in their shows Natyanjali and Hejje Mele Hejje on Udaya TV and Kasturi TV. And as empanelled artistes of the Indian Council of

Cultural Relations, the Kirans are the nation’s cultural ambassadors to the world.

Some of his coveted awards include:-

The ‘NATYANJALI PRASHASTHI’ from Sri Natyanjali Academy, Mangalore. ‘NRITYA NIPUNA’ from the Karnataka Nritya Kala Parishath, KALA ARATI RATNA from Arathi School of Dance, Arizona, ‘KARNATAKA KALASHREE’ - the prestigious Karnataka State Award for Arts – from the Karnataka Sangeetha Nritya Academy.

The ‘NRITYA RATNA’ Award from Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Coimbatore, the ‘KALAAVATHAMSA’ Award from Gokulam School of Music, Bangalore.

“ZENPod” is a Podcast series that features trailblazers from different walks of life, with a purpose to build an empowered eco-system where learnings and experiences from these enlightened professionals, will be available within “arms reach of desire” for those who aspire to scale higher and wish to contribute, in their life’s pursuit.

Curtain Raiser for Season-2, episode 7 of “ZENPod”, featuring Kiran Subramanyam, a a name that is synonymous with intelligence, ambition, passion and Bharatanatyam, a graded artiste of India’s national television channel.  “RASIKA ARTS FOUNDATION” , his institution for dance, has made a mark as one of its kind.  Kiran dances along with his wife Sandhya and together they have created waves in the dance circles across the globe.

You can read more about Rasika on FB @rasika academy of performing arts

“ZENPod” is a Podcast series that features trailblazers from different walks of life, with a purpose to build an empowered eco-system where learnings and experiences from these enlightened professionals, will be available within “arms reach of desire” for those who aspire to scale higher and wish to contribute, in their life’s pursuit.

“ZENPod” Season-2, episode 6, (part 2) featuring Sean Blagsvedt, a TED Fellow, founding member of Microsoft Research India, GES Entrepreneur, Unreasonable Goals Entrepreneur and recipient of  the Namma Bengaluru award for Best Foreign Resident.

He holds 29 patents, degrees in Computer Science and Public Policy from Brown University and writes for the WorldBank and others at http://blagsvedt.com.

‘Empathy is one of my favourite values and one of the things that I respect the most when I see it in others….’– says Sean Blagsvedt in his talk with Venkatesh Mahadevan

Sean moved to Bangalore in 2004 as the 3rd founding member of Microsoft Research India.  Earlier, Sean was a Program Manager in the UX teams of Office and Windows. He also was a White House intern with President Clinton's Internet Policy Czar, Ira Magaziner.

Formerly, Sean was the Founder and CEO of Babajob.com, India's largest digital job marketplace for the aspiring labor, with over 8.5 million users and acquired by Quikr in June 2017. Sean is also a Principal at Jaaga.in and Dara.Network.

Sean lives in Bangalore, India and is married to Archana Prasad, founder of Jaaga.in and the Bengaluru Fantastic tech art festival. They share a wonderful son, Vyom, a love of music, architecture and techart and a street dog named Berlin.

“ZENPod” is a Podcast series that features trailblazers from different walks of life, with a purpose to build an empowered eco-system where learnings and experiences from these enlightened professionals, will be available within “arms reach of desire” for those who aspire to scale higher and wish to contribute, in their life’s pursuit.

Curtain Raiser for Season-2, episode 5 of “ZENPod”, featuring Sean Blagsvedt, a TED Fellow, founding member of Microsoft Research India, GES Entrepreneur, Unreasonable Goals Entrepreneur and recipient of  the Namma Bengaluru award for Best Foreign Resident.

You can read more about Sean on http://blagsvedt.com

“ZENPod” is a Podcast series that features trailblazers from different walks of life, with a purpose to build an empowered eco-system where learnings and experiences from these enlightened professionals, will be available within “arms reach of desire” for those who aspire to scale higher and wish to contribute, in their life’s pursuit.

Curtain Raiser for Season-2, episode 4 of “ZENPod”, featuring Smt. Nirmala Rajasekhar, the first Indian musician to receive the Bush Fellowship and the McKnight Fellowship.

Nirmala serves as a Vice President of the Global Carnatic Musicians' Association, an organisation created to be a unified voice for Carnatic musicians.

You can read more about her on www.nirmalarajasekar.com

“ZENPod” is a Podcast series that features trailblazers from different walks of life, with a purpose to build an empowered eco-system where learnings and experiences from these enlightened professionals, will be available within “arms reach of desire” for those who aspire to scale higher and wish to contribute, in their life’s pursuit.