Aug 10 2025 to Aug 10 2025 11 a.m.

Where

Bangalore International Centre

7 4th Main Rd, Stage 2, Domlur 560071

Event Description

Are we teaching children what to think, or how to think? When our children focus on rote learning and exam-based academic progress, how do we nurture the inventive Indian who can fuel the imagination of the world with creativity, critical thinking and problem-solving? What if classrooms became labs of imagination, not factories of repetition?

These are the questions that the Agastya International Foundation set out to answer 25 years ago, by designing a curiosity-driven, experiential learning model that has transformed education across India. Today, their vision of sparking curiosity, nurturing creativity and instilling confidence and caring has impacted over 25 million schoolchildren and 300,000 teachers in government schools across 23 Indian States.

An acclaimed new book from Penguin Random House, The Moving of Mountains traces Agastya’s extraordinary journey in reshaping the classroom by replacing rote learning with hands-on experiments, creative projects and interactive models in science, art and ecology.

Join us in a discussion of why this powerful vision for curiosity-driven, experiential learning is critical to the future of India, and has caught the imagination of scientists, industry leaders, educationists and policy makers alike.

The discussion will be followed by a Q&A session.

Speakers

Adhirath Sethi
Entrepreneur & Author
Adhirath Sethi is a writer whose work spans fiction, satire, crime and psychological thrillers, dark comedy, and romance. A former management consultant with The Boston Consulting Group, he took a bold leap into entrepreneurship in 2008—only to be met head-on by the global financial crisis. Writing became his way of staying grounded during that challenging period.

An alumnus of Rishi Valley School, Eton College, and the London School of Economics, Adhirath has since authored four books. The Moving of Mountains is his first work of non-fiction. The book has been widely praised by thought leaders, policymakers, and industry leaders for its powerful and inspiring account of the Agastya International Foundation’s remarkable journey—one of innovation, exploration, and transformation in grassroots education across India.

Revathi Narayanan
Senior Program Leader, Agastya International Foundation
With a Ph.D. in Life Sciences from the Indian Institute of Science, Revathi Narayanan took a path far from the research career she had originally trained for. She began her journey in the social sector with the Institute of Social Studies Trust, working towards empowering elected women representatives in panchayats.

She then served for several years as the Karnataka State Program Director of the Government of India’s Mahila Samakhya Program, which focused on empowering poor rural women. As National Program Coordinator for the UNDP in Delhi, she led the CHARCA project, aimed at reducing the vulnerability of women and girls to HIV/AIDS. At Swasthi, Bangalore, she was instrumental in piloting a multi-country, corporate-funded initiative for empowering women in the garment industry.

Since 2012, Revathi has been a key force at the Agastya International Foundation, where she has designed, piloted, and scaled both the Instructor Master Training and Quality Assurance programs—two critical components of Agastya’s nationwide educational outreach. She continues to play a vital role in ensuring that girls and women at Agastya are empowered to thrive and realize their full potential.

K VijayRaghavan
Distinguished Professor, NCBS & Former Principal Scientific Adviser, Govt. of India
K VijayRaghavan is a renowned Indian scientist and former Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India, a role he held from April 2018 to April 2022. He is currently a Distinguished Professor at the National Centre for Biological Sciences (NCBS) in Bangalore. His research spans developmental biology, genetics, and neurogenetics, with a focus on how the nervous system and muscles are regulated during development.

Over the course of his career, he has also served as Director of NCBS and as Secretary of the Department of Biotechnology (DBT). In his capacity as Principal Scientific Adviser, VijayRaghavan played a key role in guiding national policy on science, technology, and innovation, with the goal of promoting sustainable development and enhancing societal well-being.

He is a Fellow of several esteemed scientific academies, including The Royal Society and the US National Academy of Sciences, and was honored with the Padma Shri in 2013 for his contributions to science.

G K Ananthasuresh
Professor of Mechanical Engineering & Co-chair, Biosystems Science & Engineering, IISc Bangalore.
G K Ananthasuresh is a Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Co-chair of the Centre for Biosystems Science and Engineering at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore. His groundbreaking research covers a wide range of fields, including compliant mechanisms, microelectromechanical systems (MEMS), kinematics, topology optimization, and bio-micromanipulation.

He is a recipient of several prestigious honors, including the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize, the Abdul Kalam Technology Innovation Fellowship, and the NSF CAREER Award. Over the years, he has guided more than 30 Ph.D. students, mentored numerous postdoctoral researchers, and co-founded two start-ups. His prolific scholarly contributions include nearly 100 journal publications, 7 patents, and over 6,000 citations.

An active member of multiple editorial boards, Ananthasuresh continues to drive innovation at the confluence of mechanics, biology, and design.

Vikram Bhat
Educator & Director, Bangalore International Centre
Vikram is a passionate educator who has had previous successful careers in Technology at Deutsche Bank and Finance as a Portfolio Trader at Sanford Bernstein in New York.

In Education, his areas of interest are Educational Equity, Holistic Integration of the Arts into School Education & School to Work transition. Vikram most recently was a key member of the Education Task force in Delhi which is transforming Delhi’s government schools. His past stints include leadership positions at Dream a Dream, Teach for India and Parikrma Humanity Foundation.

He holds a Bachelors in Electronic Engineering from the University of Mumbai and has a Masters in Computer Science from New York University. For his education career choice, he got himself a B Ed. Degree at age 38 from Christ University. Vikram is an avid film and theatre buff.

Vikram Bhat is presently serving as the Director at the Bangalore International Centre.