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