60th session

Often, in life, we give up before trying hard enough. When we found that the attendance in the 60th session was about to drop below 10, we thought of postponing it altogether. But thanks to power-packs like IPAD Kumar and guest TMOD Babu Srinivasan, the idea of a family session was born. Just look at the photo above once again. What does the attendance look like? High five all! Dropping a session on 31st Dec would indeed have been unpardonable.

SAA Dilip opened the session with 10 words that drive our lives. A powerful opening indeed and he handed over the stage to another powerful speaker, the acting President.

Acting President Panna opened the 60th session with a short history of the club's young journey, lauding the pivotal role played by the senior founder members in its formative year. She followed up (by now an expected occurrence) with a story about 5 monkeys who, stuck in a cage with a banana tied high up, perfected the practice of pulling down anyone trying to climb up for it. In life, we should not pull down people who are trying something new but should ourselves enrich our own lives and the roles we play in it. Let us bring some novelty and innovation in our role plays in TM sessions as well.

Today we were blessed with not one TMOD but two! TM Babu Srinivasan of SBG club and our TM Kaviya took over a darkened auditorium and declared us to be on a journey on a spaceship, captained by Bindass Bond. The back-and-forth banter was spontaneous and entertaining and the introductions of the role players were connected to the characters of the heavenly bodies whizzing by. Novel, refreshing and a true Toastmasterpiece!

Timekeeper TM Dilip (in a double role) introduced us to the timing rules. TMOD Kaviya declared that in space travel, time becomes warped and it would be interesting to see how the Timekeeper dealt with it.

Wordmaster TM Kamil introduced the word of the day REJOICE, quite appropriate for the season. Indeed, rejoicing was anyway in the air, and people has no trouble with the round-robin. TMODs wondered whether the phenomenon of weightlessness would help TM Kamil with his resolution of reduction.

Jokemaster TM Swati was espied as a bright yellow heavenly body, viz Venus, whose rotation is slower than her revolution, just as TM Swati's project speeches were less frequent than expected. She read out a number of jokes, with evident enjoyment, and lightened our mood.

TM Ananth, identified as a friendly asteroid who always lands with a bang, described the P-3 evaluation criteria on the dot, which wants the speaker to Get to the Point, in his usual structured and succinct style. We were all pepped up to hear the upcoming speech.

P-3 project speech was delivered by TM Raja, titled "He and She". Invading straight into our marital lives, TM Raja expounded how white lies on the one hand and possessiveness on the other plays havoc with marital peace. Like footprints on the moon do not get erased, his speech left indelible marks on our minds.

TM Kumar, captain Bindaas Bond himself, explained the evaluation criteria of a P-7 speech, which tells the speaker to Research your topic. The speaker was expected to provide support to his opinions with facts, research data and illustrations.

P-7 project speech was delivered by TM Rajat, titled "Black" and dealt with blindness. Given that spines are found to elongate during space travel, it was expected that TM Rajat to add a few inches to his six-foot frame by the time he finished his seven minutes.

Table topics were conducted by TM Viswanath. Our TMODs were on a spacewalk and they expected TM Viswa also to reel in his prey in zero-gravity. He had built up the topics on the theme of New Year and the speakers found the topics close to their heart.

Two evaluations followed, each of them were preceded by lucky draws, inspired by the lucky gems sparkling around the spaceship at this point of time. Both the evaluations by TM Ananth and TM Kumar were structured, explicit and encouraging. Thanks you TMs, for the feedback.

There were repairs going on for some time to the spacecraft and TM Venkat was called upon to give a report on faults located and allowable expenses, ergo the Grammarian role. TM Venkat almost bloomed into the GE role but stopped himself in time, restricting himself to a feedback on usage of English. A good report, TM.

TMODs declared the session to have been entertaining no doubt, but also educative, especially for them. While TM Kaviya said she appreciated silence now having tasted space, TM Babu said space gives perspective to problems, just as the earth looks colourful and pretty from a distance, whatever may be the reality on the ground. A wonderful session, TMODs.

Acting President Panna delivered her concluding remarks and announced the awards. Today was the birthday of Deeksha while tomorrow would be TM Kumar's birthday, who produced a chocolate cake which we all drooled over. We were also blessed with the dates and holy water that TM Kamil provided. Apart from this, we had snacks and tea, of course.

The day's awards were:

• Best table speaker:     Ms Aditi
• Best evaluator:           TM Kumar
• Best speaker:              TM Rajat

Happy New Year to all of you and see you all on 7.1.17.

59th session

This was another joint session with MMTC, the third of the series. Though attendance was slightly low, being Christmas eve, enthusiasm was at the same pitch. A Christmas tree, bedecked with decorations, adorned the stage.

The SAA for today, TM Ananth kicked off the session at 3.13 pm. His introductions are always innovative and he did not disappoint today either.

The acting President, TM Panna, took over the baton of story-telling and related the story of Santa visiting a sick child in hospital and dispensing hope, the most powerful gift that one can bestow. A nice message, especially in view of the theme.

In keeping with the season, TMOD Rajat had chosen GIFTS as the theme for the day. Perhaps inspired by presidential speeches, TMOD also related the incident of historical gifts carried by the three wise men, or Magi, to infant Jesus. He then narrated O'Henry's famous story "Gifts of the Magi" to demonstrate the power of expression in gifts and how it transcends the items themselves. He then continued to introduce the role-players describing what their favourite gift had been and what the gifts had conveyed to them. A well-knit theme that kept people interested all through.

Timekeeper was being played by the doyen himself, TM Rajendra Varma. He breezed over the timing rules and we relaxed knowing there will be no confusion today. 

(His favourite gift had been a watch presented to him by his father when he was 15 years old.)

Wordmaster TM Dilip introduced the word BOON to us, which is a synonym for gift. Everyone had something or another to be thankful for so making sentences with "boon" was an easy challenge. 

(His favourite gift was a cricket kit presented by his friend's father when he was about to go for University selections.)

Jokemaster TM Raja relied on the tried and tested subject - married couples going point-and-counterpoint. Some of the repartees were pretty new and we all had a hearty laugh. Good repertoire, TM. 

(His favourite gift had been a wristwatch from ex-colleagues presented 10 years ago.)

There was a P-3 speech scheduled today and TM Nagesh laid out the expectations from a P-3 speech, which was to Get to the Point, with general and specific purposes clearly expressed.
(TM Nagesh's favourite gift had been the collage that his wife and children had made for him to commemorate his 50th birthday.)

Today's P-3 speaker, TM Haresh, from MMTC club, delivered a speech titled "Value of Education". It was an inspirational speech, questioning whether we really utilise our education to return value to the society and how relatively uneducated people feel inspired enough to fulfil societal duties beyond expectations. Truly motivating, TM, and we shall remember your speech for quite some time. 

(His favourite gift is quite ethereal, his mother's love for him, which he feels surpasses anything else he has received in his life.)

Tabletopic master TM Afroz had chosen topics in keeping with the theme of Gifts and the 5 speakers did full justice to them. 

(His favourite gift had been a bicycle that his father had gifted him on his 13th birthday. But he still keenly awaits the day when someone will gift him a sports car!)

There was a special educational session scheduled by TM Kumar on Humorous speech, with a live example of the DTAC winner to boot. However, the equipment did not share his enthusiasm and kept sulking, refusing to speak up in spite of a lot of energetic jabbing and tickling. He ended his verbal education with two humorous table topics by TMs Raja and Venkat, who did fair justice to the sudden demand placed upon them. 

(TM Kumar's favourite gift was a T-shirt presented to him by his daughter out of her pocket money.)

TM Nagesh completed the evaluation of the P-3 speech by TM Haresh. Apart from the good points in the speech, TM Nagesh also pointed out scopes of improvement. However, his tone was mild today and his manner diffident. He finally sat down with a faint air of apology, as if conveying that he would rather have shared a beer with TM Haresh instead of carrying out this onerous task!

Harkmaster TM Viswanath had his list of questions ready, but then the audience also had their list of answers ready, returning every ball with vigor, whether it was a lob or a drop shot. 

(His favourite gift had been a pen that his parents had gifted him at 10 years age after excelling in his annual exams.)

Grammarian TM Meenakshi (MMTC) took the stage next and floored us with her observations. The extent of her notings was wide and covered every person, and the feedback was in complete detail. She also took care to note good usages of English. An exemplary role-play. Kudos! 

(Incidentally, her favourite gift from her husband had been the driving licence that he helped her to get, that changed her quality of life forever.)

General Evaluator TM Venkat did a good job, covering every role player. It was reinforced today that the President usually introduces guests (not SAA) and also asks for guest feedback at the end if so desired. 

(TM Venkat's favourite gift had been a framed khanjar presented by his colleagues 10 years ago.)

TMOD completed his run by saying that most of the precious gifts that we receive in life are free, so they do not register - our life, the world around us, the air we breathe, the food we eat, our talents, our opportunities... in fact this very present is also a gift. The only way we can pay return gifts was by being kind to nature and kind to our fellow-beings. Amen to that.

Acting President closed the session...but before that TMOD let the cat out of the bag. It seems that TM Panna's favourite gift had been a cat that had been presented to her by her husband, at a time when she was feeling low on account of daughter having relocated to India. She closed the session thanking the MMTC members for having participated and having made the session a success.

Everyone gathered around the Christmas tree for a snap and the plum cake for a slice.

The day's awards were:

• Best Table topic:    Mrs Usha, TM Meenakshi, TM Viswanath (Joint triple)
• Best evaluator:       TM Nagesh (only evaluator)
• Best speaker:         TM Haresh (only speaker)

See you all again on 31.12.16 (hopefully). 

58th session

Kick-off was at 3.13 pm by SAA TM Ramalingam. 

After a very long gap, we heard a Presidential address from TM Kumar. As always, his easy manner of speaking is a treat, and his subjects easily digested. He related a story of how a gardener was taking feedback from his various clients about his own performance by pretending to be another gardener offering his services. Luckily, none of his clients agreed to switch, so satisfied were they with his work. Self-evaluation is an enriching process and contests are ready-made grounds for self-assessment. So, TMs, participate, participate, participate in the upcoming club contests.

TMOD Panna had chosen as her subject HOBBIES. It was a topic of universal appeal and wide variety. TM Panna held forth for a while on the subject and subsequently introduced the role-players by relating their hobbies and asking them to show-and-tell, if it was possible. We heard some tuneful stanzas from TM Raja and TM Swati in the process. A good topic, TM Panna.

Timekeeper role was played by TM Afroz, who smoothly introduced the timing rules to the audience. His was perhaps the most adept handling of the coloured flags, with no fumbling at all while shuffling them around. Is he as skilful with a deck of cards, I wonder... However, his hobby turned out to be cooking.

Wordmaster was played by TM Alma, who had chosen the word PREROGATIVE as the word of the day. Choosing the word was her prerogative, of course. People handled this tongue-twister with aplomb, elan and panache and served their sentences successfully. TM Alma's hobby, as a child, had been to make colourful chains with rubber-bands (she showed us one), which would become a skipping rope of the day.

Jokemaster TM Chaitanya delivered classic medium-length jokes, with plenty of bounce. His hobby was not only cricket by the way, but also quizzing, of which he is a master.

TM Venkat delivered the evaluator's address that lays down the criteria of the upcoming speeches, which happened to be a duet of P-2 speeches. He was calm, clear and collected as usual, and the audience settled down to some serious listening. Venkat's hobby was cricket, cricket and more cricket.

The first P-2 speech "The Resolute Resolution" was delivered by TM Kaviya. Based on the subject of new year resolutions, their creation, sustenance and dissolution, and her own travel through the process, it was an apt topic with the new year only a couple of weeks away. A good speech, TM Kaviya. May you go from strength to strength.... and keep up that hobby of reading novels.

The second P-2 speech "Striving to Dream" was delivered by TM Saleem. Dreams do not always turn into reality, but the fun is in dreaming and striving and the experiences gained are worth the heartbreaks. Thus spake TM Saleem, whose hobbies include fishing off the Corniche and Yiti beach. Good going TM.

Table topics were conducted by TM Rajat. The topics were based on the subject of hobbies and for once were not formidable. Apart from members, guests also enthusiastically participated. His off-beat hobby was making crosswords, which at one time he and his father used to exchange by post!

The first evaluation was carried out by TM Ananth, who dissected the speech well and gave clear feedback. We also learnt about "encoding" and "decoding" , the yin and yang of communication, full transference of information being achieved only when these complementary pairs are present. TM Ananth had varied interests, which included talking and looking at girls, the latter being more in his student days, he assured us.

The second evaluation was delivered by TM Venkat, in his usual encouraging manner. He also pointed out specific areas of improvement, especially in stage management. To be kept in mind, TM.

Harkmaster TM Swati was doing a role familiar and enjoyable to her. Her students had paid attention and passed the viva-voce questions that she posed. We were lucky her hobby was singing and convinced her to sing a couple of lines of her favourite melody.

Grammarian TM Raja gave an Ah-count to start with, something that is not done frequently by grammarians nowadays. His remarks were encouraging and did not take anyone to task. In fact, he became the most popular person after the jokemaster. His hobby was palmistry, which he did not demonstrate out of sheer wisdom, but regaled us with a snatch of a song in his mellifluous voice.

General Evaluator TM Ramalingam started by being sombre and critical about the indifference performance by the SAA...which had also been played by him! His role-reviews were succinct yet full of humour and were remembered for both these reasons. His hobby, he said was cricket, though limited to carrying out drinks to the players. But more recently, table-tennis with colleagues has won his heart.

Acting President TM Kumar declared the session closed, after informing us that he had no hobbies, or rather whatever he had done in childhood were not tagged as hobbies but as fun past-times. Still, if anything, his hobby would be talking to people and perhaps travelling.

With that, we all travelled to the tea table, talking and laughing.

The day's awards were:

• Best table topic:    Mrs Usha
• Best evaluator:     TM Ananth
• Best speaker:       TM Kaviya

See you all on 24.12.16.

57th session

We were very happy.

VP-E and Secretary, Panna and I, the Rays, were very very happy.

Due to force of circumstances, due to a confusion with keys, the usual hall was unavailable and we were once again lucky enough to host a session of toastmasters at our house. This was the second occasion, and the algorithm was already set. Ten minutes of pushing and shoving and we were set to welcome 18-20 people into our drawing room.

Today's SAA, TM Raja, called the meeting to order and introduced our president to the gathering.

Our President, TM Aji Baskar, looking charged up at the quick change of venue, introduced us to the "99 club". This club, unlike our TM club, is the set of unsatisfied souls, always hankering for that little extra that would make them feel complete and happy. It takes us grey hairs and heartbreaks to understand that there is no such perfection and we can never graduate out of this club if we join it. Thanks, Aji, for that piece of wisdom.

We had three guests today, not the least of whom was our beloved Iqbal Uncle, the architect of the SIYA group, who, having spent most of his sporting life at the pitch, now watched speakers play with rate, volume and quality as well. Hope you enjoyed, uncle.

TMOD Kamil had chosen as his theme FOOD AND FOOD HABITS. An interesting theme of common appeal, made more alluring by the off-the-kitchen shelf health tips churned out at regular intervals, the script guided us through various cuisines in the world, as well as the individual preferences of the role-players. The session, in fact, left us hungry for more. Great emceeing, TM Kamil.

Timekeeper role was played by MTM Swati, already an expert in this role, who showed her first red card at TMOD himself, even before she was called on stage! 

Wordmaster TM Rajat introduced the word CONNOISSEUR to the group, which meant an expert or judge in matters of refined taste - in art, music, food and so on. The round robin provided much food for thought to the group.

Jokemaster MTM Shobha regaled us with a number of really nice ones, clean and tangy. 

There was only one project speech scheduled today, a P-1 speech by MTM Alma. The evaluator's introduction was given efficiently by MTM Panna, which was followed by MTM Alma's sneak peek into her life, from her homeland in Phillipines to moderm Muscat, from protective parents to solo working, from independent living to the "hot porridge" of married life. We enjoyed the saga, MTM.

Table topics, conducted by TM Raja (who had doffed the SAA regalia), was also on the theme of food, but not directly about food items. They were indeed interesting and the speakers drew from personal experiences as well as from philosophical outlooks for putting together a double-minuter.

MTM Panna rendered her evaluation of the P-1 speech, with specific suggestions for improvement, though encouraging in tone.

Harkmaster MTM Vaishali quizzed the gathering in the style of fill-in-the-blank, which has become her trademark. Just as sleeping in a new room is not easy, a new venue had kept all TMs awake and they made short work of her queries.

There was an Education session on club contests conducted by TM Kumar, where he highlighted the 5 types of contests about to take place in the club - Table topic, Evaluation, Humorous, International and Tall tale - and compared their various requirements. He gave tips on what makes a difference to the judges and what are the do's and don'ts for impressing them. An illuminating session, TM Kumar, and thank you for the inputs.

Grammarian TM Afroz gave a glowing tribute to the members, having found very few hooks to hang his critical hat on. He probably got too carried away in the speeches to notice, which speaks volumes for our speech quality. Kudos, all.

General Evaluator TM Viswanath ran through the roles with mostly laudatory comments. The specific suggestions mentioned have been noted.

TMOD handed the stage back to the President who closed the session and invited people to partake snacks... and snacks. Today, by a quirk of fate and generosity, snacks had been arranged by both TM Kumar on behalf of the club and TMOD Kamil in recognition of the theme of the day. We ate our fill and what we couldn't, was carried away.

The day's awards went to:

• Best Table topic:      TM Kumar
• Best Evaluator:        MTM Panna (only evaluator)
• Best Speaker:         MTM Alma (only speaker)

See you all on 17th Dec 2017.

55th Session

The kickoff of by TM Ramalingam of the 55th session  on  Saturday 26th November was executed with the usual finesse of excellent quotes and precise adherence to the mission statement , discipline towards mobile silence and movement restrictions during the session. He also welcomed all the guests including the guest speaker of the day TM Dinesh from Saud Bahwan Group.

The welcome address was delivered by TM Mathen in the absence of the President TM Aji Bhasker. Following the footsteps of the story telling style of the President  he enlightened the members with a lovely anecdote of a father of a little girl who lived a stressed life due to her perceived adverse conditions. Her father , who was also a chef, decided to impart knowledge to her through three sample products. He took a potato , an egg and some coffee powder. Each of them were put in boiling water separately. After sometime he asked his daughter what she had observed. The daughter replied that there was nothing special in a hot potato, hot egg and the boiling hot coffee. Her father then explained that due to the same heat effect the hard potato had become soft, the egg which was  soft  had become hard and there was a fragrance of freshly brewed coffee. The reaction of each was different to the boiling water. Each individual is naturally affected by adverse conditions but how each one reacts to these conditions is up to the individuals nature and behavior.

The  Acting Toastmaster of the day TM Kumar  was  standing .in for MTM Kavya who was unable to carry out the role due to the sudden demise of her beloved 90 year old grandfather. A minutes silence was observed by all members and guests as a mark of respect for MTM Kavyas grandfather.

The theme of the day was National   Day and MTM Kavya had beautifully scripted the same. TM Kumar with his eloquent mannerisms and unique style led us into envisaging the wonderful personality of a smiling leader. He explained the great achievements and phenomenal changes this peaceful and harmonious country has gone through under a leader respectfully referred to as H.M.

The Timekeeper of the day TM Chaitanya  after citing a quote of Steve Job and his importance to time. He went on to explain the criteria of timing for all the role players including the guest speaker  with the aid of three coloured cards. When asked by the TMOD  whether HM was his candidate for a Nobel Peace Prize he replied in the affirmative.  He felt that HM has always strived very hard for peace not only within his country but for  peace between many countries as well.

The word of the day by TM Raja was FLIPPANT. It is a noun and adverb . It indicates  not showing a serious or respectful attitude. Its origin is from the 17th century words flip + ant (lacking seriousness)

TM Raja when asked how he would compliment HM if he came face to face with him he replied that he saw him as a representative of  Divinity and would salute him for the way he has made Oman Heaven on Earth.
All members without being  flippant confidently constructed sentences using the word of the day.

The Joke Master of the day TM Vishwa entertained us with his humorous anecdotes and witty remarks.
When asked by the TMOD  what improvements apart from Labour laws  did he seek in Oman, TM Vishwa expressed a need for enhancement in Public Transport facilities.

The Table Topic Master MTM Swati followed the Theme of the day to the hilt by wearing clothes in line with the colours of the National Flag of Oman ( Red Green and White) She also brought her own uniquness  by asking all the members to volunteer on their own accord to talk  on the subject after she had pulled out an object from her bag. The first object was the National Flag and TM Vishwa volunteered. The next object  was a picture of a hot air balloon and MTM Rita volunteered. The third object was areference to Social Media TM Dilip volunteered  and finally the fourth one was ared rose where guest  Nina volunteered.
When asked if she could ask HM a question MTM Swati expressed her desire to know the National debt of Oman.

The guest speaker of the day TM Dinesh from the SBG  gave an education session to all present on how to become a DTM that is  Distinguished Toastmaster through an audio visual presentation which is attached in a pdf format. https://www.facebook.com/groups/574385592726900/

 When asked by the TMOD the reason why he was astonished by the leadership of HM he replied that HMs visionary leadership had paved the way  for the  development  of people and  the pathway for new leaders of the future. He is in awe of the great man.

The Ah counter and grammarian role was ably, meticulously and categorically carried out by MTM Rita. All the role players were advised the right use of the English grammar and even the count of the unwanted pauses. When she was asked by the TMOD that post relocation to another country what would she miss about Oman. She said the warmth of the local Omani people and their courteous nature fascinated her, Their greeting of even strangers with a smile has introduced a specific nature in her to greet all the immigration officers in India with have a nice day smile. This she feels ultimately compels the grumpy officers to return the smile.

The Acting TMOD of the day TM Kumar on being asked what was the biggest achievement of HM and what was TM Kumars vision for Oman. TM Kumar replied that the great leaders entire youth and adult life was spent in the development of Oman into a modern nation without any compromising of the heritage culture and traditions. A home to finally settle in should be  every expatriates desire is what TM Kumar envisages for Oman.
The  session finally ended with Acting President TM Mathen thanking the guest speaker TM Dinesh for a highly educative session , the role players and table topic speakers and guests present. He expressed admiration for the local Omanis cordial behaviour and hospitality. He is highly impressed that his Omanis colleagues treat him like a family member and are always helpful in good times and bad.

The Best Table Topic speaker award went TM Vishwa

This TM Chaitanya signing off on behalf of TM Rajat Ray

Area 60 debate session

Ruwi Club played host to the Area 60 debate session, the first of its kind, since, for the first time, four clubs were available to play off the semifinals and finals, viz. Ruwi Club, SBG Club, Muscat Airport Club and Sur Club.

Ruwi Club was of course the debutante in the field of debating, and the SBG club carried the shortest handicap (in racing terms). The draws held earlier had determined that Sur Club and SBG Club would contest the first semifinals while Muscat Airport Club and Ruwi Club would contest the second semis, immediately after which the winners would fight out the finals. Bit strenuous, preparing for two debate topics at one go, but lack of time and venue had sort of forced the issue.

The hall was full and all chairs occupied (around 40-45 people) by 2,00 pm. The Presidents of the club greeted each other and the senior judges. Our President TM Aji Baskar could not resist a story that celebrated interdependence more than the independence and taking help of others was extolled as an investment rather than as taking advantage.

Area Director TM Ramki flagged off the debate session and introduced the first moderator TM Kumar, who had proposed the debate topic "Gender equality in the corporate world is a myth". Very topical, rich with data, spiced with sarcasm, laced with eloquence, the topic was bounced back and forth between the contestants Sur Club and SBG Club for the next half-hour. The end of the debate left the audience undecided as to who to support.

The second moderator TM Babu Srinivasan took the floor and introduced the topic "Sportsmanship and success does not co-exist." Muscat Airport Club and Ruwi Club debated the issue, swinging between the importance of money and fame to the satisfaction of a game well played and life well led. A consensus had not been reached by the time the clock stopped.

There was a tea break while the scores were compiled and the semifinal winners decided. The contestants were soon put out of their agony by the judges. SBG Club won the first semis while Muscat Airport Club won the second semis.

The finals topic was "We can create our own luck", moderated by the Area Director himself. This was a conceptual topic and the teams struggled with definitions and interpretations, so much so that at one point Muscat Airport Club seemed to be arguing for the other side! With such a balance of arguments SBG Club made short work of the debate and emerged victorious.

The judges were felicitated and the awards presented. It was a landmark event and the Division Director expected other areas to also organise such debate sessions at area levels, which would be sure to be forthcoming.

Congratulations to the winners (champion and runners-up). Till the next debate...

54th session

When we are used to wedding receptions, a meal at home seems unsatisfactory. A seated crowd of 25 was becoming the norm, when we were suddenly faced with only 18 attendees. Not a small figure by Club standards, but well, we need to raise the bar or not? So members, even if you do not have a role, please please do come. Even the Table Topics are no longer 'unspeakable' terrors; the topicmasters are ensuring that the topics are soft and inviting. So roll up, roll up...

Our SAA TM Ramalingam gave his usual dollop of charge with a joke on marriage (it is a workshop... the men work while the women shop), and got us on to an uproarious start.

Our President Aji Baskar was this time doubling as a TMOD, so he could pin his story on the theme itself: LOVE. The story was that of a young couple in love separated when the boy goes off to war. The girl is meanwhile injured and disfigured and decides to break off the relationship. The boy would have none of it and finally returns and marries the girl while the audience wipes tears surreptitiously.

TM Aji as TMOD introduced each role player describing what love means to him or her and describing any early romances that had predictably hilarious endings. We traveled the whole range from puppy love to love for parents. Thank you TM Aji for for sloshing around the sentimental milk in our mental coconuts!

Timekeeper TM Alma, first time on a role, was on a roll, and reeled off the rule-book relentlessly. Good job, TM Alma, and may you go from strength to strength.

Wordmaster TM Venkat, in keeping with the theme, had chosen the word ENDEARMENT. The round robin was nostalgic and heartfelt, with people sharing the closeness of relationships amongst friends and family.

Jokemaster Karthik, armed with his script on a phone, related a couple of funny incidents. Jokes apart, his enjoyment of the small stories was infectious and the audience also smiled with him.

This was a rare day when three brand new toastmasters were about to cut their teeth on their P-1 speeches. TM Ramalingam read out the requirements of the P-1 project and we were off to hearing three life stories of varied backgrounds and trajectories. As TM Kaviya, TM Dileep and TM Viswanath shared their joys and sorrows, they built their lives in front of our eyes block by block, sometimes rising fast, sometimes tumbling down, sometimes waiting patiently for their luck to change. It was a privilege, all three TMs, to listen to your journeys and thanks for making us a part of them.

Table Topics were conducted by TM Kamil and he indeed offered a series of excellent topics in keeping with the theme - from Valentilne's day to true love to sons vs daughters. Speakers had to search their hearts for answers and the genuineness of their speeches were reflected in the animation in their faces.

TMs Ramalingam, Raja and Nagesh evaluated their speeches, taking care to encourage the budding speakers to the utmost, while giving small suggestions that are easy to implement.

Harkmaster TM Pramod had an enjoyable time as the audience hit sixers on most of his questions. Any other quizmaster would have been unhappy at such a hit-rate, but TM Pramod applauded all on their alertness and withdrew.

Grammarian TM Mathen gave a very meticulous feedback, his pleasant manner belying the width and depth of his coverage. An excellent feedback, TM Mathen.

General Evaluator TM Rajat covered all the role-players as usual, appreciating in particular the SAA, the time-keeper, the evaluators and the grammarian. The TMOD was, of course, giving a demo session for the role and needed neither censure nor accolade.

TMOD Aji Baskar handed the baton back to President Aji Baskar, who announced the winners and declared the session adjourned.

The day's winners were:

• Best Table topic:  Mrs Shilpa Ashar
• Best Evaluator:    TM Raja
• Best Speaker:       TM Kaviya

See you all on the 19th of Nov at 2.00 pm. 

We are hosting the Area Debate Contest that day, so let us throng the venue and cheer the teams.

53rd session

Listen and Silent are anagrams.

And both apply to husbands! 

Thus spake our SAA Ramalingam today as he kicked off the session, bang on time as usual. Good attendance, mind you, with 20 members, and 5 guests as well. We additionally had two special guests for the evening, both from SBG Club - TM Sherif (President) and TM Madlani (Humour King). It was a pleasure to see almost all chairs occupied.

President Aji Baskar, without any further ado, launched straightaway into his story about two literary groups in University of Winsconsin. One of them, comprising of men, named Stranglers, followed a dissecting and critical approach when giving feedback to their budding talents, while the other, comprising of women, named Wranglers, following an encouraging and supportive approach. At the end of a couple of decades, the Wranglers had produced far more successful writers, proving the point that encouragement produces more successful events than critical feedback. The Toastmaster forum is an encouraging one and we should practice this approach, not only within these four walls, but also outside them in our daily interaction with other people in our lives. Good one, Aji.

TMOD Nagesh had chosen as his theme of the day "School Days", which made us all very nostalgic. Although he started with Vedic times, we were very quickly thrown into our memories of class-bunking, teacher-baiting, pure friendship and rigorous discipline. He also introduced each role-player mentioning their specific memories of school days, which found strong resonance in all of us. Thank you, Nagesh, for the spurts of time travel that you packed us off to.

Timekeeper MTM Kavita announced the time criteria adequately and the gong was struck.

Wordmaster TM Viswanath had chosen the word INGENIOUS. The word had been announced a day earlier, and the audience possibly had some preparation. The round-robin was efficiently dealt with by the audience, showing their confidence with this word.

Jokemaster TM Pramod presented a number of jokes that lightened the atmosphere.

There were two project speeches scheduled today. TM Venkat gave the evaluation criteria for the P-4 speech and TM Vignesh gave the evaluation criteria for the P-6 speech.

P-4 speech was presented by TM Mathen, titled "Building Up On a Dream", demonstrating How to Say It. Based on his life story on trying to become a structural engineer, he ended the speech with an advice to draw upon the experience of elders and not to reject them out of hand. A nice message and a great P-4 speech, TM Mathen.

P-6 speech was delivered by MTM Panna, titled "X is equal to Y", showcasing Vocal Variety. The speech dealt with the issue of gender discrimination. While satisfying the project criteria, this powerful speech also delivered a strong message. An international speech in the making, perhaps?

An attraction for today was a Humorous Speech delivered by TM Kirit Madlani, well-known for his humorous speeches in SBG club and area competitions. His speech "P and P", describing the various troubles that numerous Pins and Passwords of electronic dealings used to get him into, was indeed hilarious. Apart from entertaining us, the speech acted as a good example of what makes a speech humorous, for the benefit of possible contenders for that category in the upcoming contests.

Table Topics were conducted by MTM Kaviya. As expected, she had introduced a twist in the proceedings by first asking the speaker to choose a facility in the school, based on which the further situation would be given. All the speakers could relate to their personal experiences and really enjoyed speaking on whatever the draw of lot produced. Good job, MTM Kaviya.

TM Venkat and TM Vignesh gave their feedback on the two speeches, highlighting the strong points and weak points of both speeches.

Harkmaster MTM Vaishali quizzed the audience dutifully, but it was a foregone conclusion as the audience answered everything with gusto. No one was sleeping in class, it seems!

Grammarian role was played by MTM Rita and she did a very meticulous job, addressing not only outright mistakes but also a better way of expressing the same. Kudos madam, on a well-conducted session.

General Evaluation was carried out by TM Kamil, in his usual thorough, gentlemanly style. One could make out that he was overall happy with the session.

TMOD mentioned two takeaways that he had noticed from his various interactions with the role-players regarding their school days. One was that everyone was wistful about the friendships forged in schools, possibly because no one had an axe to grind at that time and all friendships were without expectations. Secondly, the enjoyments were very high, possibly because at that age they were all enjoying the moment, without any worries about the past or the future. Why don't we try to revive these two aspects in our daily lives - act without expectations and live in the present moment? Wise advice, TM Nagesh, very wise advice indeed.

President Aji Baskar invited TM Sherif to say a few words of wisdom and he literally did a table topic on "Wisdom", a major point being not to assume anything in life to be permanent. Good advice sir.

The session was declared closed and everyone adjourned for snacks and tea.

The day's awards were:

• Best table topic speaker:  TM Rajat
• Best evaluator:                 TM Venkat (TM Vignesh did not qualify)
• Best speaker:                    MTM Panna

See you all again on 12th Nov 2016.

52nd session

Every session has something special about it. Something that makes us go : Arre wah! This session was no exception. With three project speeches, one is bound to have excitement. And when one of those speeches is P-6, there is bound to be entertainment galore. But more of that later...

The SAA for the day MTM Kavita kicked off the meeting sharp at 3.15pm. Though she lacked the stentorian demands of an SAA, her normal sweet voice requesting members to adhere to the no-nos was well-heeded.

The acting President, MTM Panna, related the story of two friends, who, marooned on a desert island, pray for things from God. One person's wishes are immediately gratified while the other remains ungifted. Finally, when the abundant friend is about to sail away in a gifted ship, he finally learns that the poor friend was praying for the other's wishes to be fulfilled. So whose prayer was more powerful? More importantly, friends are usually selfless in their love, and in our friends' circle we must ensure that we always wish each other well. A nice story, VPE, and much shorter than Aji's stories, a fact much appreciated by the timekeeper.

TMOD TM Raja had chosen as his theme FRIENDS. He elaborated on all aspects of friendship in his initial speech as well as in his intros. He also introduced the role-player describing what was their closest friend like and what were the likeable and dislikeable things about him or her. Interestingly, dislikeable things were very mild and uttered with lots of indulgence. That's what true friendship is like. Thanks you TM Raja for this heart-warming theme.

Timekeeper TM Viswanath was introduced and went through his litany effortlessly. We were in no doubts about his timing rules.

Wordmaster was played by MTM Kaviya, who introduced the word HYSTERICAL to the audience. This was a sidewinder because the word has two meanings - distraught as well as amused - and MTM Kaviya innovated on the round-robin by having alternate people make sentences with alternate meanings. This deserved an Arre wah! 

Jokemaster TM Dilip, in the true spirit of the theme, reeled off a series of jokes in the context of friendship. Till now, I do not think a Jokemaster has ever adopted a TMOD theme. This qualifies for another Arre wah! Hats off TM Dilip.

There were three project speeches coming up:  P-2 speech by MTM Swati, with evaluation by TM Kamil; P-3 speech by TM Chaitanya with evaluation by TM Mathen; P-6 speech by TM Ramalingam with evaluation by TM Rajat.

All the three evaluators described the speech criteria with diligence and accuracy.

P-2 speech by MTM Swati, meant to Organize Your Speech, was titled "The Convention Experience", and focused on the visit of MTM Swati to the TMI Convention in USA in August'16. This was a long-cherished wish for her and she ended the speech by exhorting all members to make this trip next year. We will try, MTM Swati, we will try.

P-3 speech by TM Chaitanya, meant to Get to the Point, was titled "My Third Child", and talked about his struggles to become an independent entrepreneur and appealed to the audience to proceed on independent existence with confidence. We were both impressed and motivated, TM Chaitanya.

P-6 speech by TM Ramalingam, meant to showcase Vocal Variety, was titled "Inspired Push". What a different TM Ramalingam this was, my friends, with a laugh-riot of a speech! Not only did he fulfill the project objectives, he entertained the audience so much that we never realised that he had overshot his time limit. A totally different avatar and a definite Arre wah! for this session.

The Topicmaster TM Saleem had also chosen topics that connected to the theme of Friends. It was so nice to see the thread of this theme running through the various role-plays. Next thing,  we will see the wordmaster introducing a word related to the theme (Well, why not?). All the speakers - six of them in fact, causing a mini Arre wah! - spoke comfortably on the topics and it was really difficult to choose the best speaker. Quality is improving constantly, friends.

The speech evaluators gave their feedback on the three project speeches. Evaluation quality is also improving day-by-day, is it not?

Grammarian MTM Shobha gave a series of very specific feedback in a truly humble manner, which made all comments thoroughly acceptable. Very good quality of observations, MTM Shobha. Pointing out good turns of phrase was especially Arre wah!

Harkmaster MTM Alma had a very enjoyable session, and so did the audience, who practically answered all her questions. Good job MTM Alma.

General Evaluator TM Nagesh ran through all the roles meticulously, giving specific suggestions.

Concluding remarks were imparted by MTM Panna as the acting President. 

This was an unusually lively session, in spite of the fact that TM Aji and TM GK were both missing, which means that the club is truly coming of age with many members taking active interest in its success and enjoyment. VPE now has a queue for project speeches!! Kudos to you all.

For once we wrapped up the meeting within the projected time of 5.09 pm. Arre wah!

The day's awards were:

• Best Table topic:  MTM Rita
• Best Evaluator:    TM Rajat
• Best Speaker:       TM Chaitanya

By the way, body-mikes are now a fixture for the club, thanks to TM Chaitaniya, and the final Arre wah! is dedicated to the same.

The meeting adjourned with snacks and tea.

There will be no session on next Saturday, so see you all on 5.11.16. 

Happy Diwali to all of you!

51st session

This session, we celebrated our completion of 50 sessions and a year of operation. It was our first birthday.

What to write about this session....

For those who attended, it would still be so powerfully etched in their minds that a blog reminder is unnecessary. For those who missed it, no amount of description will reproduce the starry-eyed thrill, the warm bonhomie, the gay laughter and the vigorous handshakes that marked the initial interaction session. It felt more like the season's first ball at southern mansion of pre-civil-war America than a serious toastmaster meeting. The walls were decorated with balloons and posters, and a cake nestled coyly at the back. 

With all guests and the keynote speaker seated, the session was kick-started on the dot by TM Afroz, who, like Haley's comet, happened to be whizzing past and had been roped in. Thanks to the body-mikes arranged by TM Chaitanya, everybody had a booming voice today. Nobody could possibly ignore the SAA's stern injunctions.

Our President Aji Baskar, with no premonition of impending doom, started the session by welcoming our chief guest, the keynote speaker, Dr K Rajesh Nayak, Director Training - College of Banking and Financial Studies. Aji then addressed the gathering with a joke-based homily about how a husband, who felt his wife was going deaf, tested her out by speaking to her from various distances. Not finding any replies from her, he finally learnt that she had been speaking to him all the time, which meant he was actually deaf, and not she. Moral of the story - before blaming others, look within.

Hardly had he finished this episode, the lights went out and a cry was heard: "Oh ho! I have been killed". Lights returned to the sight of our beloved President prone on the ground, his head bent at an unnatural angle and blue tongue hanging out. TM Chaitanya, suddenly attired in a jacket and hat, pipe precariously stuck in his lips, bent over the body solicitously, checked for breathing, examined his tummy with a magnifying glass, and declared him definitely dead. All he could tell right then was he had been strangled by a tall man who might be elderly, given the presence of white hairs near the body. As a stand-in detective from Scotland Yard, his manner and demeanor were perfect, and his effort at speaking with clenched teeth (because of the pipe), gave an impression of deep menace. He confided that definitely one of the role-players was the murderer and he would be questioning them in the course of the session and the answers to the same would reveal the culprit to the audience.

I do not think there ever was a TMOD role played like this, with so much preparation of handout material, pre-prepared questions and answers, ensuring co-operation of the role-players and the President and a script for himself that was at once a role as well as a roll (meaning humorous). An excellent idea, energetically undertaken, and professionally delivered. Kudos TM Chaitanya.

The ghost of the President was called forth by a couple of beautiful Tantrics, MTMs Kaviya and Kavita, which allowed our President to clamber up (he getting quite stiff, lying on the cold floor) and take his seat in the front row, beaming happily at his death.

The Timekeeper TM Karthik was introduced, who is a seasoned veteran. He explained all the timings without fumbling with the flags at all. However, he was questioned by the Detective and admitted that the denial of allowing him to carry out his project speech had left a grudge in him against the President. The audience nodded its head thoughtfully.

P-4 evaluation criteria were explained by TM Venkat, in his usual nonchalant style, which highlighted that the speaker was, in this speech, learning How to Say It. However, the interrogation session revealed his frustration at being given very little time to prepare for his debate session. The audience looked at each other and winked.

P-4 speech "Life after IIT" was delivered by TM Nagesh. It was a very thought-provoking speech, questioning whether the pressure that children undergo in preparing for IIT entrance examinations, especially in places like Kota, is worth the damage to their psyche, since many of them commit suicide. He appealed to parents not to live out their dreams through their children and to reassure them about parental support in whatever field they want to excel in. A very nice speech, but our Detective showed no mercy. Questioning revealed that TM Nagesh as Treasurer had been castigated by the President for insufficient fee collection. The audience sighed, understanding the Treasurer's turmoil.

P-6 evaluation criteria was delivered by TM Kumar, who took everybody through the learning steps in the six project speeches and explained what was being attempted today, viz Vocal variety. Our Detective pounced on him, of course, and his probing immediately revealed the sense of competitiveness that GK felt against Aji, who was flying high on a club promoted by GK. The audience looked very thoughtful at this and wondered how deep the envy was. And why did GK refuse a DNA test?

P-6 speech "Sounds of Silence" was delivered by TM Rajat. He revealed a dialogue-writing concept  called Subtext and ran through a few examples of outer and inner dialogue in literature and films. The ending emphasized that it is equally important to understand our loved ones' inner dialogue in real life and not just in the creative arts. Our Detective prompted him for his inner dialogues about the President and came to know that the President had stolen TM Rajat's thunder a few times. The audience rolled their eyes and wondered how the President had been alive so long.

Table topics were conducted by MTM Panna. In keeping with the theme of the day, most of the topics were mysterious story-beginnings that the speakers had to complete. Some speakers revelled in it, some decided to stick to real life, but all in all the comfort levels of all speakers was very high. Our Detective cornered the Topicmaster, of course, and forced from her that she was under a lot of pressure from the President for arranging the agendas perfectly and well in advance. But was that a reason to indulge in murder? The audience shook their head, doubting whether this motive held water.

Speech evaluations were crisply delivered by both the evaluators, with great width and depth. Our Detective found nothing further to extract from them and left them alone this time.

It was time for the President to return on stage, but his ethereal version would simply not do. So the beautiful Tantrics were summoned again (MTMs Kavita and Swati this time), who restored body to soul with their magic chant, probably uttered in reverse this time. President promptly demanded to know the identity of his murderer and the Detective, after much humming and hawing, declared that the culprit was none other than our Ex-Director, TM Kumar ! After that, in an unprecedented show of forgiveness and sportsman spirit, the corpse and the murderer hugged each other, presided by a beaming Detective, sucking furiously away at his unlit pipe.

The President introduced our keynote speaker for the evening, Dr Rajesh Nayak, who must have been both amused and bemused at the murderous proceedings, wondering how to match this theme to the theme of his speech. Notwithstanding, Dr Nayak delivered an excellent address, with humour and insight, ending with an encouragement to quickly complete our 100, like Don Bradman, whose fifty mostly meant a hundred. We look forward to seeing you there sir.

A cake was rolled out and cut by the President and....the First Lady, whose birthday it happened to be. This must have been a party of a kind for her, with so many Toastmasters toasting her good health.

General Evaluation was carried out by TM Mathen. Given the attendance, energy and quality of the session, he was almost the hypothetical person - a satisfied mother-in-law. We hope that even in future sessions, such abundance of participation is repeated.

The awards presented were as follows:

• Best Topic Speaker:  TM Varun
• Best Evaluator:          TM Kumar
• Best Speaker:             TM Rajat

President Aji Baskar presented a memento to Dr Rajesh Nayak. Mementos were also presented to the Golden Boys - TM Kaushik, Vignesh and Rajkamal, who had been integral to the running of this club from the inception. Sponsors of the club DTM Rajendra Varma and TM Kumar, as well as mentor TM Saiju Victor were felicitated and thanked for their unflinching support.

The session ended with cake, snacks and tea and lots of back-slapping. The hypothetical tensions created by TMOD for his theme dissolved in laughter and good cheer.

See you all again on 22.10.16, in the great race to our 100th session.

PS - More photos can be seen in the Facebook page