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.