(Image credit: TEDx Karachi)
Khudi ko kar buland itna kay har taqdeer say pehlay khuda
banday say yeh khud poochay bata teri raza kya hai – Allama Muhammad Iqbal
I had always heard of TEDx
but until I walked in to the Arts Council on Saturday September 27, 2014 I never
knew what to expect.
"The gem cannot be
polished without friction, nor man perfected without trials" -- Chinese
Proverb
Indeed human beings exhibit their best when the going gets
tough. In our darkest hour, we have to learn to light the candle and the ten
individuals who spoke shared the experiences that have shaped their lives. The
most-anticipated talks of the evening were Sania Saeed, Tina Sani and former
CPLC chief Jameel Yusuf. However, before the day was over I discovered that there
were many unsung heroes about whom I had no idea. The event MC, Umair Jaliawala, kept the
audience engaged throughout with witty humor and excellent introductions.
The
evening was kicked off by entrepreneur Naeem Zamindar who did not talk about
his adventures in Corporate life or the world of Venture Capitalism but instead
led the audience through several meditation exercises. He stated that he had taken
a course called ‘Art of Living’ that changed his life.
I
will be honest, I was not too crazy about his guided meditation and he did not
do much to keep my interest and I found amusement in seeing others experience
their inner souls. Nonetheless, not a bad start to the show with some funny
bits that reminded me of PE practice back in my school days.
After the appetizer was over, the main course got me hooked.
This young man is a personal friend but I had never seen him speak in public. I
am talking about photographer extraordinaire Mobeen
Ansari and the minute he started speaking, all eyes were glued to the
stage. He relayed about how he was diagnosed with meningitis at birth and it
affected his sense of smell and hearing.
He truly spoke from the heart as she showed us photographs
of his journeys all over Pakistan, his book, Dharkan: The Heartbeat of a
Nation, that chronicled our country’s icons and heroes and some people we
overlook. An interesting photograph was a reunion of Aamir Zaki and Alamgir
after 30 long years. I loved this guy, and he just mesmerized the audience with
each of his photographs.
Moving on, Rabia Aziz-Rizvi came on stage to talk about her
young daughter who was born with
Apert
Syndrome and how she became her child’s voice. She became her normal and
showed that there is more than love a child needs to be accepted and how she
showed through her daughter, that she can rise above the prejudices of our
hypocritical society. I am a firm believer to follow your heart and not stick
to status quo. Bravo Rabia for inspiring all of us!
Mariam Piracha spoke to me personally because I am a writer
by profession. I have been writing since
a young age, and I feel I can express myself creatively most via my written
work. Her awesome project, the
Spoken
Stage, gave every young student a platform to be honest on paper and rise
above. She also spoke eloquently and I was very impressed. I would love to
learn more about her work.
We had a performance by Suhai
Abro, a classical dancer who explained through her wonderful technique how
she expresses her feelings through dance and how it enables her to rise above. Her
story about her relationship with her mentor and teacher reminded us of the
times when we burned bridges with people who were once our own teachers and
learned to move on from there. I am not a huge fan of classical dance. She
managed to keep my attention, although I felt her story was more interesting
than her routine.
Digital marketing specialist, composer and singer Daniyal
Noorani explained us to how he came up with his animated short ‘Quaid ki
Batein’. One of the clips he showed educated us about cleaning trash from
outside our homes and that we can eventually clean the whole country this way.
His talk was well-rehearsed and well-timed. He was one of the few who stuck to
the 18 minute rule. I wish the Quaid was at TEDx and I will not be surprised of
his feelings. I bet he would have stood up and saluted Daniyal!
There was a break for around half an hour that turned a
little too long which was expected at an event of such nature. Snacks and
beverages were served and it allowed the audience to network with the speakers
and each other. There were shawermas, mini-burgers and a delicious cake that
really hit the spot J.
Now we come to Sania Saeed — who needs no introduction.
Honestly, she was a bit boring in the beginning but with the passage of time,
she gained my attention when she spoke of the profound impact of her play Aahat
to women she interacted with back in the 90s. She also mentioned a few lines on
her role of Mehrunissa in Anwar Maqsood’s ‘Sitara aur Mehrunissa’ and her
fashion sense that eventually became a statement of its time. To be fair, she
got a little interesting in the second half of her talk, but there was too much
light corporate bashing considering the event had several corporate sponsors.
Ahsan Jameel, CEO of Aman Foundation, came on stage to talk
about depression and mental health. He also spoke highly of his company and his
subordinates. His talk, seasoned with couplets and quotes, reminded us to
follow our passions as well. He meant to say a lot more but due to the 18 minute
rule (that some speakers failed to observe), he had to cut his speech short. I
have to say business grads, you gotta listen to this guy. He is a role model
for any budding CEO. I just wished he
had more time to speak.
Jameel Yusuf was one man who broke the record of longest TED
talk I feel. He went way overtime which actually caused the event to close
around two hours over time. Would you say it was well worth it? He was one of
the key speakers and several people had come to see him, and he had quite a lot
to say. He was awarded the Sitara-e-Jurrat in 1992 and had worked tirelessly
for the CPLC between 1989 and 2003. He was brilliant the entire time and I knew
that everyone in the audience did not want him to stop. He was one of the
marquee speakers and man, if this event had just his speech, it would have been
worth attending.
The man is a living legend and a hero. His speech is worth a
listen and I wish he had more time to complete his story. Umair Jaliawala made
everyone laugh when he sat down on stage and exclaimed that Mr. Yousuf had
committed a serious crime! Tell that to the man who spent his life fighting it!
The show must go on, and so it did. Tina
Sani was one I personally wanted to listen to. Her song ‘Koi Baat Karo’ is
my all time favorite. Anyways, starting off singing, she told her story of how
music became her voice. Her upbringing in Afghanistan and how she learned to
appreciate people of different cultures, something I experienced myself as an
international student in the US. I love music, so to hear Tina talk about what
music meant to her and has defined her personality was amazing. Her talk was a
major highlight and she should return on the next TED. Marvelous singer and
lady!
Finally, we got treated to my friend Yousuf Kerai and his
student Shehroze’s musical performance on table and sitar respectively. As part
of the Tarz
group, these guys have mastered eastern classical music and wanted to showcase
the true music of the subcontinent and that he did in style. Their jugalbandi
was just out of this world. I am a huge music fan and this was the best way to
end the night. It was seeing two maestros in perfect harmony as their
instruments spoke to each other. Some audience members had left and missed out
on a perfect ending to the evening. Yusuf and Shehroze, you guys rocked the
house!
TEDx was in one word: inspirational. I felt refreshed,
energized and enlightened. Between breaks and before the show started, sponsor
activations were well done. Coke’s photo booth (manned by O’ Shoot Photography)
was a great way of taking home a piece of TED with you. There was a nice swag bag,
and Umair even asked us to share the ‘tohfa’ that was in each bag with our
neighbors in the audience. I got a real inspiring message in the one that was
gifted to me by an elegant lady about believing in oneself and not giving up.
That’s the message I want to end this write-up with.
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