TED

The following are the answers that I wrote for the Ted fellowship form. I write them here because they provided me with wonderful insight

Tell us about yourself
We take this portion of the application very seriously. Please take the time to answer the questions thoughtfully, with enough detail to help us understand who you are.

All responses are limited to 1500 characters except where noted.
If a friend were to describe your accomplishments in up to three sentences, what would he or she say? *
Tejesh, who has got dozens of different pet names owing to his social circles, has his biggest achievement as cracking IIT JEE which is the world's toughest entrance exam. He cracked it big time by being 147th out of 3 hundred thousand people that appeared. He has a powerful analytical mind, which is evident from his affinity to solving puzzles and his ability to think freely.He has an addiction for outings and knows the mountains and forests of India alike.

What other achievements (not only academic) would you like to share? *
I was selected among the top 50 students in India to represent India in International Physics Olympiad.
I have been ranked 15th in India for Rubik's cube speedsolving by WCA ( World Cube Association).
But still what I pride most about myself is the still unrecognized talent in me to think freely.


Beyond your work and studies, what are you passionate about? (hobbies, causes, activities, issues…) *
I must say, till today my aim of life , implicitly, has always been to understand the nature of nature. I feel my hobbies like solving puzzles, reading books like Shreemad Bhagwat, watching movies like Matrix, Fountain, and my love for Physics are all connected to the urge of knowing "What is this all about? ". In fact, my affinity to Ted is because I feel a presence of a similar element in most of the Ted talks.
Trekking on the mountains and in the forests, on the beaches and in the cities, is what i adore. it has found me in a military discipline for students group I joined when I was young

Share an example of something you have been a part of (including created, led, or joined) that you consider unique, even if no one else does. Why do you think it is mould breaking? (Limit 2250 characters) *
In spite of the many society recognized teams I have been a part of, the most important one is the most subtle and hence the most understated group. This group which moulded me into what I am is my family. I consider my family unique, because today when I see in the world that even two married people find it taxing to stay together, we are 16 members living together happily. Though the western reviewers of this answer may find it sissy to be living with parents, I feel this is the soul of India and our family has preserved it.This coupled with my excellence in the western art of logic has given me a unique altar to look at the world.


What questions should we have asked, but didn't? Please write them down and answer them! (in other words, tell us something about yourself that we don't know yet). (Limit 2250 characters) *
I think the question which makes a person transparent is "What he thinks about GOD?".This may sound personalized and biased, but then it has to be both of this to properly understand the person.
If I was to answer this question, I would say that I have a tremendous faith in rationality and logic, because that is the tool designed for human mind to think. But then just because I believe in logic, I don't consider anything that cannot be explained by it as wrong, especially when I have experienced that the amount of serendipity in my life has been much more than it is probabilistically possible. Though I don't believe in religion , I believe that it is necessary for the masses, exactly in the same way as I don't believe in eating non-vegetarian food but then I believe that it is necessary for the masses that some people do eat it.