The Round Square Conference starts at Vivek High School -38

Chandigarh, April 4, 2024: The Round Square Conference has started at Vivek High School(VHS), Sec 38, Chandigarh and will be on till Apr 7. VHS students presented a cultural programme as part of the inaugural event. 

The international conference is witnessing a participation of 167 student delegates and 28 adult delegates from across India and the world. School students from countries like Tanzania, Kenya, Dubai and Denmark are taking part. There are as many as 5 foreign schools whose students have arrived in Chandigarh for the mega conference and 21 Indian schools from across the country have also sent their students.

The highlight of Day 1 was the keynote address by Vikram Agnihotri - the only Indian bilateral upper limb amputee to have been issued a permanent driving license for driving a car with his feet. 53-year-old, Vikram Agnihotri, from Indore met with an electrical accident when he was barely seven, which led to amputation of both his upper limbs.

When one of the students asked how he overcame his challenges and societal pressure, he replied, “Earlier when people pointed fingers at me in public places and whispered to each other ‘Look this guy doesn’t have hands’, used to make me extremely nervous. At that time my mother told me look, it’s not your fault and don’t blame yourself. You should accept yourself and the world will be okay! Then I accepted the truth and later on in my life, I involved myself in multiple sports activities which helped me regain my confidence and gave me purpose in life.” 

Despite not having both his arms he has been a car-rallyist and has secured podium positions in professional motorsport events including 2nd Runners-Up in the ‘professional category’ of India’s renowned and most difficult car rallies - Desert Storm in 2018.  Agnihotri has written a book ‘Look Ma No Hands’ which he says he wrote to inspire children to not lose hope in life and have perseverance.

Agnihotri said, “I am now writing a book ‘Out of the frying pan into the fire’ on my experiences at the Desert Storm rally where I learnt a lot about not just rallying but also life.  I have also talked about my Co- Driver Ankit Malhotra in the book. Ankit was instrumental in making us finish the rally and get the 2nd Runners-up spot as a navigator. The book should be out in about 6-months’ time.”

Renu Puri, Principal, Vivek High School -38 said, “The theme of the conference is ‘Self-Empowerment – Discover More’. There will be keynote speakers and story-telling sessions with a focus on various themes of ‘Wabi Sabi’ – which is a Japanese art of finding beauty in imperfections.”

The conference also saw a talk on ‘Kintsugi’ by Prachi Aggawrwal. ‘Kintsugi’ is an art where broken pottery is mended with gold to symbolize ‘beauty lies in imperfection’.

The second and third days will be filled with activities in a forest area promoting mindfulness and reconnecting with nature while harnessing one’s strengths. The delegates will indulge in moments of deep introspection during ‘Forest Bathing’ Session.  Karma Yeshe will lead this activity while Rituparna Ghosh will lead the session on storytelling in the hills. The last day will be an evening of cultural performances.