Detour that is My Destiny | Manish Pushkale | TEDxITM Gwalior

Life often departs from the plan we set for ourselves, and this TEDxITM Gwalior talk looks at how unexpected turns, failure and rejection can open new directions. The speaker, Indian artist Manish Pushkale, draws on his own path, including his international work in France since 2003, to suggest that detours can shape a person's destiny. The talk encourages viewers to see uncertainty and disappointment as possible grounds for growth and self-discovery, even when the reasons for a turn are not yet clear.

• Why life rarely follows a straight, planned path
• Failure and rejection as openings to new possibilities
• Manish Pushkale's artistic path and his work in France
• Embracing uncertainty as a source of growth

We grow up believing that success follows a straight path—a clear destination, a well-defined plan, and milestones achieved at the right time. However, life rarely follows the map we create for ourselves. Sometimes, failure redirects us; rejection pushes us towards unexplored possibilities; and unexpected turns lead us towards becoming the people we were always meant to be. “Detour That Is My Destiny” explores the transformative power of life's unexpected turns. It challenges the belief that every deviation is a setback and invites us to recognise how uncertainty, disappointment, and change can become opportunities for growth, reinvention, and self-discovery. This talk reminds us that we do not always need to understand every turn in our journey to keep moving forward. Sometimes, our greatest breakthroughs begin when life takes us away from the path we had planned, challenging us to embrace uncertainty and giving us the courage to discover a new direction. After all, destiny is not always found on the road we choose. Sometimes, it reveals itself on the road we never expected to travel. Manish Pushkale is an Indian artist whose practice explores painting, materiality, memory, language, faith, and cultural history. His work investigates the fragile relationship between the visible and the remembered, drawing on Indian philosophical traditions while engaging with questions of silence, displacement, forgotten languages, and collective memory. His international engagement began in France in 2003, when he undertook a three-month EGIDE residency in Paris, recommended by S. H. Raza. Since then, France has remained an important intellectual and artistic context for his practice. His work has been presented at the Presbytère in Gorbio; the Musée des Arts Asiatiques in Nice; Éditions Caractères and the Maison des Sciences de l’Homme in Paris; the Festival of India in Biarritz and the Musée de Guéthary; Galerie Baudoin Lebon in Paris; and the Musée Guimet in Paris, where he presented his Carte Blanche project, To Whom the Bird Should Speak?, in 2023. In 2024, he undertook a three-month solo project at the Musée Départemental des Arts Asiatiques in Nice. He was a Resident Fellow at the Institut d’Études Avancées in Nantes in 2014 and has been invited by CIRVA in Marseille to undertake sustained material research exploring glass, form, and experimentation. Beyond exhibitions, Pushkale contributes to India's cultural discourse through writing, dialogue, mentoring, and institutional initiatives. His work connects contemporary art with history, philosophy, literature, and lived experience. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx