“Imperfection is beauty, madness is genius and it’s better to be absolutely ridiculous than absolutely boring.” – Marilyn Monroe.

One fine day near the end of 2020, while having my dinner belatedly in protest, I realized that even though I was a picky eater, that was one of my imperfections, one of my most known weaknesses, which is a part of me, having embraced it for as long as I can remember. I have noticed throughout my life that people have been called out for the imperfections they have, let it be big or small, and I thought that the peace I have with my flaws must be shared with as many as possible. And, I knew that one of the ways to share and grow ideas is the TEDx platform. 

I gathered seven of the most hardworking and trusting people I knew, told them about my idea for a TEDx event at school, and we worked together for nearly a month or two to make a structured plan for this small idea. In the beginning of January 2021, we had pitched in the idea and our structured plan for TEDxOakridgeIntlSchoolBachupally to Ms. Baljeet Oberoi, our principal, and Ms. Neeraja Kaushik, our co-ordinator and our future Co-Organiser, who immediately agreed and supported us through and through, for which I will be always grateful for. After that hour-long virtual meeting, we have spent nearly 365 days to bring our dream of this event to what everyone has seen it become on 8th January, 2022!

TEDxOakridgeIntlSchoolBachupally, was an independently organised TED event and a student-led event at Oakridge International School, Bachupally, which showcased our wonderful speakers: Ms. Faria Abdullah, Ms. Deepthi Ravula, Ms. Simran Panda, Ms. Niva Barde, Mr. Shanyu Dabbiru and Ms. Ishvi Mathai who have marvellously brought forth the exact same idea that I originally had, in their own distinctive ways. We were backed up by the teacher and student volunteers, the admin team and the marketing team all for helping us lay the groundwork for this event.

The event also had two workshops: one was a pottery workshop, the other: a photobooth. The pottery workshop was meant to showcase the visual identity of our event: the kintsugi, a broken Japanese bowl mended with gold, with the spirit of wabi-sabi; wabi encapsulates the beauty of asymmetrical objects while sabi showcases the impermanence of life. The pottery workshop was also designed to exhibit the idea of materialisation of something beautiful, a pot from something quite imperfect: clay. The photobooth helped capture some of the lovely and delightful moments of the event, with the core team, the speakers, the audience and the teacher and student volunteers present to support us throughout the event.

I wish all the future events at school to take place with such grandeur, in the post COVID world.

Best Wishes

Shriya Subramanyam,

Organiser, TEDxOakridgeIntlSchoolBachupally, 2022