By Rajeev Gupta, Curator, TEDxKanke

Success is often celebrated at the destination. But the real story lies in the uncertainty, the rejections, the sleepless nights and the difficult decision to continue when there is no guarantee of success. My journey with TEDxKanke has been exactly, a journey of persistence, purpose and people.

On July 31, 2014, I took voluntary retirement from government service after more than 21 years of service in Bihar and Jharkhand. As the Treasury Officer at Doranda Secretariat Treasury, Ranchi, I had spent most of my professional life within the structured world of government. But I also carried a dream to create a platform in Ranchi where ideas, experiences and extraordinary human stories could be heard. I had been deeply inspired by TED Talks and wanted to bring a TEDx chapter to Ranchi. Between 2014 and 2018, I applied for licences under several names: TEDxRanchi, TEDxMGRoad, TEDxMorabadi, TEDxTagoreHill and others. Every application was rejected.

Each rejection was disappointing. But I kept applying.

In 2019, I applied once again, this time under the name TEDxKanke. In August that year, after five years of persistence, the licence was finally approved. It was a moment of immense happiness. I immediately shared the news with my co-organiser, Kanishka Poddar, and together we began working towards building the platform. But I soon realised that getting the licence was only the beginning. The next question was how do we actually move forward?

I had no clear understanding of funding or sponsorship. There was no financial model ready. There was no large organisation behind us. We had a licence, a dream and the conviction that Ranchi deserved a platform for ideas worth spreading. That was it.

The sponsorship dilemma: In the early days, approaching people for support brought its own set of challenges. Many of those whom we approached were interested in TEDxKanke. But often, there was an expectation that they themselves should be on the TEDxKanke stage as speakers.

That created a difficult situation. TEDxKanke was never meant to be a platform where people could simply buy their way onto the stage. As a team, we wanted to host people because of their ideas, their work and the impact of their journeys, and not merely because they could support the event financially. We had to remain clear about one principle: the stage must belong to those who deserve to be heard. That decision was not always easy. It also meant that funding became even more challenging.

Building a team without money: The next challenge was building a team. In the beginning, there was no money. And when there is no money, it is difficult to convince people to commit their time, energy and talent to a project whose future is uncertain. People have jobs. People have responsibilities. People need to earn.

So, in the initial days, building a committed team was a major challenge. We had to rely on belief, belief in the idea, belief in the platform and belief that something meaningful could eventually emerge from our efforts. Slowly, people began to come together.

Our inaugural event on February 23, 2020, featured 13 speakers, including British solo cyclist Hannah Kern, French AI diversity champion Caroline Chavier, and Ambassador Deepak Vohra (Retd. IFS). The event brought together extraordinary voices from different backgrounds and demonstrated what was possible when a committed team came together around an idea. The support from Ranchi was overwhelming and gave us the confidence to continue the journey.

Since then, TEDxKanke has hosted nearly 100 speakers covering technology, entrepreneurship, sustainability, education, leadership, and the arts. Their talks have been published on the official global TED platform, taking voices from Ranchi to an international audience. Through themes like The Billion Dreams, An Era of AI, and TEDx Countdown, focused on climate action, we have intentionally bridged grassroots innovation with global conversations.

More than an event: Today, TEDxKanke has a team. We have people who understand the vision and contribute because they believe that ideas can change lives.

We also have a long list of potential speakers, extraordinary people with stories that deserve to be heard. Yet, somewhere, the struggle for sponsorship continues.

That may sound surprising to many people. But the reality is that creating a meaningful platform requires resources. Speakers may bring the ideas, but events require infrastructure, technology, production, travel, hospitality and a committed team.

A good idea alone does not always pay the bills. Despite the challenges, I continue to believe deeply in TEDxKanke. For me, TEDxKanke is not merely an annual event. It is a place where stories are heard live. It is a place where one person’s struggle can become another person’s strength. Sometimes, a story does not immediately change the world. But it can change one person sitting in the audience. And sometimes, that is enough. I remember our last TEDxKanke event and one speaker in particular, Syam Kumar S. S.

His story was not simply about overcoming disability. It was about redefining the boundaries of human possibility. Syam is an amputee who has undergone 16 major surgeries, including a kidney transplant. Yet, he went on to become the world’s youngest solo skydiver with a prosthetic leg. He is also a record-holding cyclist and a certified paragliding pilot.

His talk, “Becoming Cybroid, Becoming Myself,” explored the potential of brain-computer interfaces and digital twins to shape a neuro-bionic future, a future where technology can help overcome physical limitations and redefine human capability. But what stayed with me was not only the technology. It was the human being behind it. Syam’s life is a powerful example of the intersection between human resilience and assistive technology. Modern engineering may have helped him push physical boundaries, but it was his determination that made the journey possible. He is a living testament to the fact that technology can expand human capability, but the human will remain supreme. When someone like Syam stands on a stage and shares his story, the audience does not merely listen to a speech. They confront their own limitations. They begin to ask themselves: If he can overcome so much, what is stopping me?

That is the power of TEDxKanke.

A different story of Jharkhand: Jharkhand is often viewed through the lens of mining, industry and natural resources. But Jharkhand is also a land of ideas, creativity, entrepreneurship, innovation, courage and extraordinary human potential.

TEDxKanke is an attempt to bring that side of Jharkhand into the conversation. Our platform has brought together students, scientists, entrepreneurs, policymakers, artists, innovators, social leaders and changemakers. It has created a space where a local idea can connect with a global conversation.

What began as a personal dream has gradually grown into a larger community movement. The licence was important. But, looking back, I do not think the licence was the real achievement.
The real achievement was continuing after every rejection.
The real achievement was continuing when there was no clarity about funding.
The real achievement was continuing when building a team seemed almost impossible.
The real achievement was remaining committed to the idea that a platform should be built for deserving voices even when that decision made the journey more difficult.

The journey continues: Today, TEDxKanke has hosted nearly 100 speakers from across the country and the world. We have a team, a growing community and a long list of stories waiting to be heard.

But the journey is far from over. We continue to search for partners and sponsors who understand that supporting TEDxKanke is not merely supporting an event. It is supporting ideas, stories, young minds and the possibility of creating a more thoughtful society.

My request to the citizens, institutions, businesses and organisations of Jharkhand is simple:

Let us come together to build a meaningful and inspiring society:

A society where stories are heard.
Where ideas are respected.
Where young people are inspired to dream bigger.
Where technology serves humanity.
Where challenges do not become excuses.
And where one person’s journey can give another person the courage to move forward.

Because, ultimately, TEDxKanke is not just about the people who stand on the stage. It is also about the person sitting in the audience who leaves the auditorium believing: “Perhaps I can do it too.”
And if even one story can create that belief, the journey is worth continuing…