Tavleen Mehendiratta is a Bachelor in engineering (Hons) from Brighton University, UK with Professor Morgan Heikal Student of the Year Award. Working as an auto journalist for 2 years, she interviewed head honchos of the auto industry until she started looking at the sustainability side of things. Intrigued by how the cities were evolving, pollution was contesting to set new records and the cities were bursting at seams, her career started to make a transition from motoring journalism to sustainable urbanization. She started to look at how the world was looking at smart cities, smart mobility systems, smart energy as answer to challenges of massive urbanization, energy security and formation of mega cities, thus she co-founded i-mobility.org
Meet Tavleen at the Delhi Summit on 4th November, 2014.
Tell us more about yourself.
I am an opportunist and currently evangelizing and advocating a future that I would like to live in. The problem is future is closer than we think and it starts now!
What is it that motivated you to be an auto journalist?
It was by accident, after graduating in automobile engineering, I was blogging and v-logging about cars just as any person passionate would. It happened so that one of my comments was noticed by an associate editor at a leading auto portal and that's how it all began. But I think as an auto journalist what I really learnt was that it was important to get noticed, I'd ask a question or two at every conference.
I once asked a question to the then urban development minster, though he avoided it, Dr. Pawan Goenka, President at Mahindra & Mahindra called me over, appreciated me for asking a bold question and sat down to have an interview with me for my Youtube channel. After that, at their electric car press conference, I stood up to deliver a speech as a journalist, though it was not asked for or expected out of me but I did it because I wanted to. Post that speech, Mr. Anand Mahindra said 'you are hired', while I thought that was a compliment but that's what led to me work as an evangelist at Mahindra Electric Vehicles.
What is the story behind i-mobility.org?
It was while getting to work every day that I realized that on one hand I am working for the prosperity of the auto industry and on the other hand I am constantly cribbing about my 40 km drive to work. I constantly asked myself if I was driving to work or working to drive; when this fundamental belief got challenged, I was overwhelmed by the opportunity that existed in identifying the fine line that separates 'automobile' from 'mobility'!
i-Mobility.org intends to be a student community which is working to bridge the gap between distorted today and a sustainable future. Through certification courses, projects, we intend to connect them with corporate houses and startups that are working to build a better future. The better future could be more connected, more interdependent, have a system of systems approach and of course be 'smart'!
How do you think mobility and smart cities are inter-related?
Roads are the arteries of any city, when they remain clogged, polluted and choked, the city is very vulnerable to a colossal heart attack. On a lighter note, we need healthier lifestyle to prevent this heart attack than surgeons to operate on it later! Smart cities, though is a buzz word today, having spoken to industry veterans, researchers and academicians I get a sense that where the industry is vying for the technology opportunities that come with smart cities, the educationists are playing the role of a devil's advocate (in a positive way) and pushing for a greater focus on the human side of things. Thus raising the fundamental question, that if there is smart, there ought to be dumb!
A message to all SHEROES out there.
I once heard a talking tea cup story which cried in pain while the potter was making it but the potter kept spinning him round till he thought it was perfect. So while it may be great to read inspiring stories, I think that life always puts your under lots of grilling, you cry, you resent, you complain and you give up but if you've gone back to work doing the same thing next day, you should know you are on your way and someone up there is working on your life!