Chennaiites are familiar with the innovation associated with the SPI Cinemas brand, including its touch screen kiosks, responsible trash disposal initiatives, and special screenings like Do Not Disturb (DND). With Uthandhiram, its upcoming event in association with INK and Ology Tech Academy, it hopes to bring that standard of innovation outside the multiplex and into the event management space. Like last month’s TedX conference in the city, this too will be a space for sharing ideas and hearing experts talk on various topics.
Ratheesh Krishnan, head of experiments and new ventures at SPI, and organiser of Friday’s event, says, “We are ensuring that [our experience] is passed on to where it is needed the most, which is the entrepreneurship and innovation community.” Uthandhiram is the Tamil equivalent of the word jugaad — to hack, or create new things with meagre resources. In addition to the theme of frugal innovation, the event centres around three tech-enabled global trends: the sharing economy, the maker movement, and the circular economy.
Behind the scenes
Industry experts and thought leaders like filmmaker Arun Chidambaram and Kaleidofin CEO Sucharita Mukherjee are scheduled to speak, while authors Navi Radjou and Jaideep Prabhu will promote their upcoming book, Do Better With Less. Writes Radjou over email, “We believe frugal innovation is India’s ‘secret weapon’ (strategy) to build an inclusive society and a sustainable economy that could become the envy of — and the role model for — the rest of the world.”
The event features a variety of experiences designed to immerse attendees in its themes, including six short 360-degree VR documentaries from Memesys Culture Lab. One of these, Submerged, puts viewers right in the middle of the Bihar floods. A team of local artists have created custom art pieces for the event, including a life-sized sculpture of a whale terrorized by toxic pollution in the ocean, and a six-foot high nail and thread portraiture of Superstar Rajnikanth. Transgender members of PeriFerry, a city-based social inclusion start-up, have been signed on for on-ground help.
Uthandhiram will also provide a unique networking opportunity for Chennai’s entrepreneurial community. Independent musician Badhri Narayanan will be speaking about the evolution of his local initiative, Motta Maadi Music. He says, “When I tell them [the attendees at INK Salon] about how I have struggled, what if three of them provide motta maadis for me where I can host more original musicians?”
Uthandhiram: The New Age of Innovation takes place on Friday, April 19, from 6.15 pm onwards, at Club Crest, Velachery. Tickets at ₹789 on townscript.com. 08041263679