Ruwi Toastmasters Club: 89th session

Division Director

Immediate Past Area Director

Current Area Director

Immediate Past President

Current President, of course ....

No, no, I am not describing the organisation structure of Toastmasters. Today we were privileged to welcome all these dignitaries, the doyens of RTC, who had severally and jointly handheld this club to its current level of excellence. A memorable session indeed.

The session was started off by SAA TM Ramalingam, helplessly late by 5 mins because tremendous preparations were being completed by the TMOD, who was putting up colourful fabric on the walls on the one hand and hooking up the laptop to the bluetooth speaker on the other. Everyone was quite agog.

The President had quietly given way to the Past President Aji Bhaskar for delivering the opening address. We were once again treated to the wide open arms, the sincere stentorian voice delivering an inspiring story about Usain Bolt, how he became a champion against the greatest odds. All of us are champions at heart, we just need to believe it. Thank you Aji for energising us once again.

TMOD Kaviya had picked a contemporary theme, demurely named "Home", that reminded us of India and the independence day celebrations conducted 4 days ago, by taking us through the journey of India's struggle for independence throughout her presentation. She also introduced each speaker by playing his or her favourite patriotic song and asking them about their memories of independence day. A great innovative effort MTM Kaviya.

Timekeeper TM Venkat described all timing rules clearly. We were surprised to know this was his first role play as timekeeper. We have suggested that he repeats it soon and frequently to keep up with the times.

Wordmaster MTM Roman (reappearing after a long gap) had chosen HUBRIS as the word of the day. Hubris, meaning pride, was a new word to most of us and the round robin was lively. Attendance was good, with 4 guests and many dignitaries, so there were many sentences, almost a paragraph.

Jokemaster TM Sabu entertained us well, with jokes borrowed from TM Mathen he said, though I am sure that it was a joke by itself.

There were three P-3 speeches scheduled today, a rich haul after a long time, and the criteria were well described by TM Kumar.

The first P-3 speech was delivered by TM Saleem titled "Health in the Head". He spoke about how health and diseases were misrepresented by the medical profession for commercial gain and how most of the health issues could be prevented by just maintaining a peaceful and stress free lifestyle. A good message TM Saleem and very relevant to all.

The second P-3 speech was delivered by TM Kamil titled "Opportunities Nowhere", where he spoke about the power of positive thinking and gave specific tips as to how to maintain a positive outlook. He delivered a clinching argument when it turned out that the title could also be seen as Opportunities Now Here. A great subject once again.

The third P-3 speech was delivered by TM Viswanath titled "Break the Chain". It was about corruption, specifically about the clerical level briberies that we all fall prey to in India in our anxiety to get our official work done quickly. TM Viswa exhorted us not to give in to this menace, bolstering our confidence with his own example where he could stand up against it and still get his work done. A good message.

Table topics were conducted by MTM Vaishali, who had brought various household items on which the speakers had to speak, depending on what they picked. It was a different type of round and the responses of the speakers were at various levels, which made it very interesting.

The three evaluators gave their feedback on the speeches. TM Kumar suggested that TM Saleem needed a little more clarity on the transitions of the speech and it would be a good idea to try it again, since the topic was good. TM Nagesh appreciated TM Kamil's choice of subject and clarity of delivery. MTM Panna also praised TM Viswa's speech content and delivery, suggesting however that he could have gotten to the point faster. Overall, good speeches all, kudos to all the speakers on the P-3, one the most tricky speeches to deliver.

Grammarian TM Rajat gave feedback on the usage of English - their good and bad usage in the session. He was in a humorous mood today, so none of the points really pricked anyone.

MTM Swati acted as the General Evaluator. She encouraged the session to start on time in future. The Timekeeper should be more alert. The Wordmaster should prepare the word stickers and bring them. There should be no cross-talk when the role plays are going on. All good points, MTM Swati, and we will keep them in mind.

MTM Kaviya stood in for VP-E in the Business session, where first TM Ramalingam was installed as the Treasurer by Area Director Babu Srinivasan. After that MTM Panna was conferred the CL certificate and the pin. Congratulations to both.

TM Aji gave the closing address and adjourned the session.

The group photograph may have looked like a flag as members had been asked to come dressed in saffron, white or green and had been seated in that order for the snap. A good idea indeed.