What's your 200-year plan?
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0:01 - 0:03About 75 years ago,
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0:03 - 0:05my grandfather, a young man,
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0:05 - 0:07walked into a tent
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0:07 - 0:09that was converted into a
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0:09 - 0:10movie theater like that,
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0:10 - 0:13and he fell hopelessly in love
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0:13 - 0:14with the woman he saw on the
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0:14 - 0:17silver screen: none other than Mae West,
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0:17 - 0:19the heartthrob of the '30s,
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0:19 - 0:21and he could never forget her.
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0:21 - 0:23In fact, when he had his daughter
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0:23 - 0:25many years later, he wanted to
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0:25 - 0:27name her after Mae West,
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0:27 - 0:28but can you imagine an Indian
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0:28 - 0:30child name Mae West?
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0:30 - 0:32The Indian family said, no way!
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0:32 - 0:35So when my twin brother Kaesava
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0:35 - 0:37was born, he decided to tinker
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0:37 - 0:39with the spelling of Keshava's name.
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0:39 - 0:42He said, if Mae West can be M-A-E,
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0:42 - 0:46why can't Keshava be K-A-E?
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0:46 - 0:48So he changed Kaesava's spelling.
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0:48 - 0:50Now Kaesava had a baby boy
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0:50 - 0:53called Rehan a couple of weeks ago.
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0:53 - 0:55He decided to spell, or, rather,
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0:55 - 0:57misspell Raehan with an A-E.
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0:57 - 0:59You know, my grandfather died
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0:59 - 1:00many years ago when I was
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1:00 - 1:02little, but his love for Mae
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1:02 - 1:05West lives on as a misspelling
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1:05 - 1:06in the DNA of his progeny.
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1:06 - 1:10That for me is successful legacy. (Laughs)
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1:10 - 1:11You know, as for me,
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1:11 - 1:12my wife and I have our own
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1:12 - 1:14crazy legacy project.
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1:14 - 1:16We actually sit every few years,
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1:16 - 1:19argue, disagree, fight,
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1:19 - 1:20and actually come up with our
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1:20 - 1:22very own 200-year plan.
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1:22 - 1:24Our friends think we're mad.
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1:24 - 1:26Our parents think we're cuckoo.
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1:26 - 1:27Because, you know, we both
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1:27 - 1:29come from families that really
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1:29 - 1:32look up to humility and wisdom,
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1:32 - 1:33but we both like to live
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1:33 - 1:35larger than life.
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1:35 - 1:36I believe in the concept of
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1:36 - 1:39a Raja Yogi: Be a dude before
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1:39 - 1:40you can become an ascetic.
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1:40 - 1:42This is me being a rock star,
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1:42 - 1:43even if it's in my own house.
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1:43 - 1:45You know?
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1:45 - 1:46So when Netra and I sat down
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1:46 - 1:48to make our first plan
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1:48 - 1:5010 years ago, we said
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1:50 - 1:52we want the focus of this plan
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1:52 - 1:54to go way beyond ourselves.
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1:54 - 1:56What do we mean by beyond ourselves?
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1:56 - 1:59Well 200 years, we calculated,
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1:59 - 2:01is at the end of our direct
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2:01 - 2:03contact with the world.
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2:03 - 2:04There's nobody I'll meet in
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2:04 - 2:06my life will ever live beyond
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2:06 - 2:08200 years, so we thought
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2:08 - 2:09that's a perfect place where
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2:09 - 2:11we should situate our plan and
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2:11 - 2:13let our imagination take flight.
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2:13 - 2:15You know, I never really
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2:15 - 2:16believed in legacy. What am I
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2:16 - 2:18going to leave behind? I'm an artist.
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2:18 - 2:22Until I made a cartoon about 9/11.
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2:22 - 2:24It caused so much trouble for me.
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2:24 - 2:26I was so upset.
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2:26 - 2:28You know, a cartoon that was
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2:28 - 2:30meant to be a cartoon of the week
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2:30 - 2:33ended up staying so much longer.
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2:33 - 2:35Now I'm in the business of
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2:35 - 2:37creating art that will
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2:37 - 2:39definitely even outlive me, and
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2:39 - 2:41I think about what I want to
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2:41 - 2:43leave behind through those paintings.
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2:43 - 2:45You know, the 9/11 cartoon
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2:45 - 2:48upset me so much that I decided
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2:48 - 2:50I'll never cartoon again.
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2:50 - 2:51I said, I'm never going to make any
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2:51 - 2:53honest public commentary again.
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2:53 - 2:55But of course I continued
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2:55 - 2:57creating artwork that was honest
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2:57 - 2:59and raw, because I forgot about
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2:59 - 3:02how people reacted to my work.
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3:02 - 3:03You know, sometimes forgetting
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3:03 - 3:06is so important to remain idealistic.
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3:06 - 3:09Perhaps loss of memory is so
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3:09 - 3:11crucial for our survival
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3:11 - 3:12as human beings.
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3:12 - 3:14One of the most important things
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3:14 - 3:16in my 200-year plan that Netra
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3:16 - 3:18and I write is what to forget
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3:18 - 3:20about ourselves.
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3:20 - 3:21You know, we carry so much
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3:21 - 3:23baggage, from our parents,
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3:23 - 3:25from our society, from so many
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3:25 - 3:28people -- fears, insecurities -- and
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3:28 - 3:30our 200-year plan really lists
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3:30 - 3:33all our childhood problems that we have to expire.
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3:33 - 3:35We actually put an expiry date
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3:35 - 3:37on all our childhood problems.
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3:37 - 3:39The latest date I put was,
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3:39 - 3:42I said, I am going to expire
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3:42 - 3:44my fear of my leftist, feminist
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3:44 - 3:47mother-in-law, and this
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3:47 - 3:50today is the date! (Laughs)
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3:50 - 3:52She's watching. (Laughter)
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3:52 - 3:56Anyway, you know, I really
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3:56 - 3:58make decisions all the time
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3:58 - 4:00about how I want to remember
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4:00 - 4:03myself, and that's the most important
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4:03 - 4:05kind of decisions I make.
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4:05 - 4:07And this directly translates
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4:07 - 4:08into my paintings.
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4:08 - 4:10But like my friends, I can do
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4:10 - 4:12that really well on Facebook,
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4:12 - 4:14Pinterest, Twitter, Flickr, YouTube.
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4:14 - 4:15Name it, I'm on it.
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4:15 - 4:17I've started outsourcing my
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4:17 - 4:19memory to the digital world,
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4:19 - 4:20you know? But that comes
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4:20 - 4:21with a problem.
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4:21 - 4:23It's so easy to think of
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4:23 - 4:24technology as a metaphor
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4:24 - 4:26for memory, but our brains
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4:26 - 4:28are not perfect storage devices
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4:28 - 4:29like technology.
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4:29 - 4:31We only remember what we
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4:31 - 4:32want to. At least I do.
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4:32 - 4:35And I rather think of our brains
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4:35 - 4:37as biased curators of our
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4:37 - 4:40memory, you know? And if
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4:40 - 4:42technology is not a metaphor for
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4:42 - 4:43memory, what is it?
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4:43 - 4:46Netra and I use our technology
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4:46 - 4:49as a tool in our 200-year plan
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4:49 - 4:52to really curate our digital legacy.
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4:52 - 4:55That is a picture of my mother,
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4:55 - 4:58and she recently got a Facebook account.
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4:58 - 5:00You know where this is going.
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5:00 - 5:02And I've been very supportive
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5:02 - 5:04until this picture shows up
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5:04 - 5:06on my Facebook page. (Laughter)
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5:06 - 5:09And I actually untagged myself
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5:09 - 5:10first, then I picked up the
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5:10 - 5:12phone. I said, "Mom, you will
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5:12 - 5:13never put a picture of me
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5:13 - 5:14in a bikini ever again."
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5:14 - 5:17And she said, "Why? You look
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5:17 - 5:19so cute, darling." I said,
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5:19 - 5:21"You just don't understand."
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5:21 - 5:23Maybe we are among the first
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5:23 - 5:24generation that really understands
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5:24 - 5:26this digital curating of ourselves.
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5:26 - 5:28Maybe we are the first to even
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5:28 - 5:30actively record our lives.
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5:30 - 5:32You know, whether you
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5:32 - 5:34agree with, you know, legacy
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5:34 - 5:36or not, we are actually leaving
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5:36 - 5:38behind digital traces all the time.
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5:38 - 5:41So Netra and I really wanted
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5:41 - 5:42to use our 200-year plan
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5:42 - 5:44to curate this digital legacy,
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5:44 - 5:46and not only digital legacy
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5:46 - 5:47but we believe in curating
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5:47 - 5:49the legacy of my past
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5:49 - 5:50and future.
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5:50 - 5:52How, you may ask?
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5:52 - 5:56Well, when I think of the future,
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5:56 - 5:58I never see myself moving forward
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5:58 - 6:00in time. I actually see time
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6:00 - 6:02moving backward towards me.
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6:02 - 6:03I can actually visualize
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6:03 - 6:05my future approaching.
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6:05 - 6:07I can dodge what I don't want
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6:07 - 6:08and pull in what I want.
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6:08 - 6:09It's like a video game obstacle
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6:09 - 6:12course. And I've gotten better and better
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6:12 - 6:14at doing this. Even when I make
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6:14 - 6:16a painting, I actually imagine
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6:16 - 6:18I'm behind the painting,
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6:18 - 6:19it already exists, and
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6:19 - 6:20someone's looking at it,
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6:20 - 6:21and I see whether they're
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6:21 - 6:23feeling it from their gut.
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6:23 - 6:24Are they feeling it from their
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6:24 - 6:27heart, or is it just a cerebral thing?
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6:27 - 6:29And it really informs my painting.
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6:29 - 6:30Even when I do an art show,
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6:30 - 6:31I really think about, what should
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6:31 - 6:33people walk away with?
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6:33 - 6:36I remember when I was 19,
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6:36 - 6:38I did, I wanted to do my first
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6:38 - 6:41art exhibition, and I wanted the
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6:41 - 6:42whole world to know about it.
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6:42 - 6:44I didn't know TED then,
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6:44 - 6:46but what I did was I closed
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6:46 - 6:48my eyes tight, and I started
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6:48 - 6:50dreaming. I could imagine people
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6:50 - 6:51coming in, dressed up, looking
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6:51 - 6:54beautiful, my paintings with all
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6:54 - 6:56the light, and in my visualization
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6:56 - 6:58I actually saw a very famous
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6:58 - 7:00actress launching my show,
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7:00 - 7:02giving credibility to me.
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7:02 - 7:04And I woke up from my
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7:04 - 7:05visualization and I said,
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7:05 - 7:07who was that? I couldn't tell
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7:07 - 7:09if it was Shabana Azmi or Rekha,
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7:09 - 7:11two very famous Indian actresses,
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7:11 - 7:13like the Meryl Streeps of India.
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7:13 - 7:15As it turned out, next morning
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7:15 - 7:17I wrote a letter to both of them,
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7:17 - 7:19and Shabana Azmi replied,
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7:19 - 7:21and came and launched
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7:21 - 7:24my very first show 12 years ago.
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7:24 - 7:26And what a bang it started
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7:26 - 7:28my career with! You know,
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7:28 - 7:30when we think of time in this
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7:30 - 7:33way, we can curate not only the
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7:33 - 7:36future but also the past.
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7:36 - 7:38This is a picture of my family,
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7:38 - 7:41and that is Netra, my wife.
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7:41 - 7:43She's the co-creator of my
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7:43 - 7:44200-year plan.
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7:44 - 7:46Netra's a high school history
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7:46 - 7:48teacher. I love Netra,
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7:48 - 7:50but I hate history.
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7:50 - 7:52I keep saying, "Nets, you live
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7:52 - 7:54in the past while I'll create
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7:54 - 7:56the future, and when I'm done,
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7:56 - 7:57you can study about it."
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7:57 - 7:59(Laughter)
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7:59 - 8:01She gave me an indulgent smile,
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8:01 - 8:03and as punishment, she said,
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8:03 - 8:05"Tomorrow I'm teaching a class
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8:05 - 8:07on Indian history, and you are
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8:07 - 8:08sitting in it, and I'm grading you."
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8:08 - 8:11I'm like, "Oh, God." I went.
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8:11 - 8:12I actually went and sat in
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8:12 - 8:14on her class. She started by
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8:14 - 8:17giving students primary source
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8:17 - 8:19documents from India, Pakistan,
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8:19 - 8:21from Britain, and I said,
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8:21 - 8:24"Wow." Then she asked them to
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8:24 - 8:26separate fact from bias.
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8:26 - 8:28I said, "Wow," again.
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8:28 - 8:31Then she said, "Choose your
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8:31 - 8:35facts and biases and create an
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8:35 - 8:37image of your own story
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8:37 - 8:38of dignity."
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8:38 - 8:42History as an imaging tool?
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8:42 - 8:43I was so inspired.
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8:43 - 8:45I went and created my own
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8:45 - 8:46version of Indian history.
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8:46 - 8:48I actually included stories from
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8:48 - 8:49my grandmother.
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8:49 - 8:50She used to work for the
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8:50 - 8:52telephone exchange, and she used
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8:52 - 8:53to actually overhear conversations
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8:53 - 8:55between Nehru and Edwina Mountbatten.
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8:55 - 8:57And she used to hear all
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8:57 - 8:58kinds of things she shouldn't
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8:58 - 9:00have heard. But, you know,
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9:00 - 9:01I include things like that.
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9:01 - 9:04This is my version of Indian history.
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9:04 - 9:09You know, if this
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9:09 - 9:11is so, it occurred to me that
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9:11 - 9:13maybe, just maybe, the primary
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9:13 - 9:14objective of our brains
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9:14 - 9:17is to serve our dignity.
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9:17 - 9:19Go tell Facebook to
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9:19 - 9:21figure that out!
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9:21 - 9:23Netra and I don't write our
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9:23 - 9:25200-year plan for someone else
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9:25 - 9:26to come and execute it
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9:26 - 9:28in 150 years. Imagine receiving
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9:28 - 9:30a parcel saying, from the past,
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9:30 - 9:32okay now you're supposed to
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9:32 - 9:32spend the rest of your life
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9:32 - 9:34doing all of this. No.
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9:34 - 9:36We actually write it only
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9:36 - 9:38to set our attitudes right.
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9:38 - 9:42You know, I used to believe
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9:42 - 9:43that education is the most
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9:43 - 9:45important tool to leave
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9:45 - 9:46a meaningful legacy.
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9:46 - 9:48Education is great.
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9:48 - 9:49It really teaches us who
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9:49 - 9:51we are, and helps us
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9:51 - 9:52contextualize ourselves
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9:52 - 9:54in the world, but it's really
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9:54 - 9:56my creativity that's taught me
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9:56 - 9:58that I can be much more
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9:58 - 10:00than what my education told me I am.
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10:00 - 10:02I'd like to make
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10:02 - 10:04the argument that creativity is
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10:04 - 10:06the most important tool we have.
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10:06 - 10:08It lets us create who we are,
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10:08 - 10:10and curate what is to come.
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10:10 - 10:14I like to think -- Thank you.
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10:14 - 10:15I like to think of myself
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10:15 - 10:18as a storyteller, where my past
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10:18 - 10:21and my future are only stories,
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10:21 - 10:23my stories, waiting to be told
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10:23 - 10:26and retold. I hope all of you
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10:26 - 10:27one day get a chance to
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10:27 - 10:29share and write your own
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10:29 - 10:31200-year story.
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10:31 - 10:32Thank you so much.
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10:32 - 10:34Shukran! (Applause)
- Title:
- What's your 200-year plan?
- Speaker:
- Raghava KK
- Description:
-
You might have a 5-year plan, but what about a 200-year plan? Artist Raghava KK describes a map for his digital legacy, to curate how he’ll be remembered in 200 years -- and encourages you to do the same.
- Video Language:
- English
- Team:
- closed TED
- Project:
- TEDTalks
- Duration:
- 10:58
Thu-Huong Ha edited English subtitles for What's your 200-year plan? | ||
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Morton Bast edited English subtitles for What's your 200-year plan? | ||
Joseph Geni edited English subtitles for What's your 200-year plan? | ||
Joseph Geni edited English subtitles for What's your 200-year plan? | ||
Joseph Geni edited English subtitles for What's your 200-year plan? |