olabs, a co-working space, recently hosted TEDx Youth, organised by students of The New School, Gulberg.

Considering it was a student-managed event, one had presumed that it would focus on the journeys of the young speakers. Instead, it turned out to be a show that celebrated diversity and highlighted a range of topics including metaphysics, mental health, food industry, classical and contemporary music as well as fashion.

Most of the speakers related their personal stories in the context of the country’s current situation, commenting on its socio-cultural problems along the way. This is important for the youth today because the education system is geared towards churning out ‘successful’ candidates.

Fashion blogger and model Baemisaal B spoke on the problematic notions of beauty, with respect to one’s skin colour and body shape etc. She raised her concern about conventional beauty and health standards that are primarily rooted in biases. She said, “These [standards] do not take into account the bodies and history of South Asian and Black women. For instance, the BMI [Body Mass Index] claims to represent a universal standard of body image and health. This parameter is rooted in an internalised imperialistic standard that further disjoints the relationship between the South Asian women and their bodies.”

Her speech was followed by a talk by chef Murad Gillani who scratched the surface of what the food industry is premised upon — the theory of demand and supply. He said it wasn’t the owners of food outlets that created the demand; instead, they were themselves bound by the system and had no choice but to fill the gaps.

Gillani then related his own journey as an obese child who grew up to battle bulimia, before relating it to capitalism. Having dealt with an eating disorder and then deciding to run a dessert restaurant, he pointed out the pivotal driving force behind his decision: the “market’s demand and supply ratio.”

He also highlighted the importance of reclaiming individual agency that is “lost in the consumerist culture.” His speech evoked a great audience response.

Chef Murad Gillani scratched the surface of what the food industry is premised upon, and how it isn’t the owners of food outlets that create the demand; instead, they are themselves bound by the system and have no choice but to fill the gaps.

Another speaker on the occasion, Huzaifa Wazir, a musician from North Waziristan who is currently studying architecture at the National College of Arts, talked about the college’s music society and how he had found his “qi”( pronounced chi), or energy, there.

Wazir also spoke about a group of people he had come across at NCA’s music club. “The more I got acquainted with the group, the better I understood that they had the dynamic of a collective,” he said. “The primary focus of a collective is to maintain the sanctity of interpersonal connections. The group was not focused on the production or output of the music society; it was a small group of sensitised individuals who were trying to subvert the consumerist socio-cultural dynamic.”

Wazir was followed by Jahan Ara Chughtai, a psychotherapist. She spoke about how the society carefully curates a “family image” and then expects everybody to subscribe to it. She highlighted the fears and the feelings of shame and guilt that the society thus gives rise to.

Having practiced in the United States, Chughtai drew a comparison between the way people dealt with families in Pakistan and those in America. “There’s a sense of fear and shame when it comes to addressing familial conflicts in our society,” she noted. “Most Pakistanis are afraid of honest reflection,” she added, before tracing this attitude to a colonial past which, according to her, still subconsciously manifests itself in popular narratives. “We are scared of addressing our pain. As a nation, we deny our Indian heritage, in an attempt to evade the trauma of Partition.”

Another interesting session was led by Zainub Khawaja, a classical singer and dancer. She touched upon her transformative journey. She said that initially she had taken her practice as sacred and private, but as time passed, she had started looking for her own voice in the songs she sang. Eventually, she wrote her first song, Rulli, which speaks of the various characters that a Sindhi local craftswoman comes into contact with. The song intimately depicts the craftswoman’s journey as she passes various stages of her life — a daughter, a wife, a mother.

The speeches were followed by an electrifying performance by the percussion band, Drum Circle.

The writer is a trained classical dancer. She teaches dance at a school in Lahore