MILLENNIALS RISING

They are the most derided generation. Millennials (those born between the 1980s and the beginning of the 21st century) are accused of being fickle, selfish, lazy and irresponsible. They ‘settle down’ less and later than their parents and grandparents, fritter away vast amounts of time on social media, and save money at the lowest levels ever recorded. But they are also highly idealistic.

The US-based Millennial Impact Project describes a “much more caring generation than generally believed, one that is complex in their depth of passion toward causes and, at the same time, straightforward in their desire for authentic interactions with them”.

That description strikes bullseye for Jaya Ramchandani (born in 1982), Shrinivas Ananthnarayanan (1985), and Shaira Sequeira Shetty, Deshna Mehta, Akshay Roongta and Rahul Gudipudi (all born in 1987), whose marvellously collaborative efforts as the General Circle administering The Story Of Foundation have created an interdisciplinary, informal learning project to “explore and create learning opportunities across science, philosophy, art and culture, with the wider benefit of making interdependence visible.”

Next month, this team, drawn from across the country, will host the free, wildly ambitious The Story of Space festival in Goa, an opportunity to “learn about and experience space from a number of perspectives”, where artists, scientists, researchers, educators, and philosophers from across India and the globe will “turn Panjim city into a learning playground for 10 days”, from November 10 to 19.

The story behind The Story Of is itself rather remarkable. Ramchandani, who studied physics and astronomy in Mumbai and the Netherlands, spent the 2013 New Year holiday in Goa with her good friend, the talented graphic designer Nash Paul D’Souza. Just for kicks, they mocked up