Erudite Roulette: Winter is Coming - TM Ilavenil, Mysore Toastmasters

“Winter is coming!” Papa Hamster shouted at his children. “Be quick with that food, Anka! Quick, with those feathers, Cobb!” Little Anka hurried to him and handed her over her load, and Papa Hamster put it in their food storage hollow. Mama Hamster was getting feather beds ready for the family. As soon as the ravens announced winter, the family would snuggle into their little den. But till then, Anka had to endure her father! “Anka, don't just stand there,” he said, right on cue. “Winter is coming!”

They worked till nightfall, and were back the next morning. But to their surprise, some of the food in the hollow had disappeared! Mama and Papa Hamster paced the floor, wrung their hands and scurried all over the den! But there was nothing to do, except fill it again!

Little Anka wanted to find out what had happened to the food. That night, she slowly slipped away from their summer home to the winter den, and kept watch. Suddenly the Earth began to shake! As Anka watched, the food in the hole started to disappear! She ran out to investigate. She could see lights far away, and there was a huge thing moving ponderously. As it moved away, the shaking stopped.

Anka went back into the den and pulled out the food from the hollow. There was a little hole in the bottom! Anka had solved the case!

When Anka told her parents, they were cross, but they were also impressed.

“Father, what was that thing?” Anka asked. “You were born in the summer, you've never known anything else.” her father said, stroking Anka's head. “In the winter, the humans drive huge trucks. And sometimes, the humans from them come into the forest!” The childrens' eyes grew wide in horror.

“You know,” Mama Hamster added, “before they built the wall? The humans used to come here all the time. And animals used to get hit by their big trucks!”

The children were scared, and when the ravens finally came to announce Winter, were more than glad to go into a torpor. Anka awoke one day to eat, and heard a strange noise. She carefully crept out of the den, carrying a stick in her mouth. If anyone harmed her, she could “stick them with the pointy end,” as her cousin Lon had told her.

To her horror, she found a group of humans sitting around a fire very close to the den. One of them had something glowing on its lap. Anka crept close to it, and saw that the box on the human's lap had more tiny humans inside!

And as she watched, one of the little humans in the box said something! Anka ran back to the den in shock. Later that winter, when she and her sister Tansa were both awake, Anka told her the whole story. “What did the little human say?” Tansa asked, her voice a low whisper. Anka whispered back, “Winter is Coming!”

Topic given by: TM Arjun

Erudite Roulette - Life Goes On, Come What May! - TM Avinash, Leaders Garden Toastmasters

Somebody asked me – “Which is your favorite comic character?”

I said- “Undoubtedly Joker!”

Then he was amused and asked again- “What? A psychopath! A negative character?”

I replied- “We all know that Mr. J. is an antagonist. He is the clown prince of crime. It’s his job. But what I love in his character is he has emotions, but he is not a slave of emotions. Whatever he does is just to enjoy. He doesn’t care about the moment which is yet to come and he doesn’t think of what he did in past. Basically, he has no regrets about what he did.”

The guy was totally silent after my answer. He only uttered –“I don’t know what to say”.

The same thing happens in our life too. But we are so attached to materialistic things that we restrain ourselves to come out of the trauma. I heard many people saying in their terrifying moments - “I am a failure. I couldn’t do ‘this’ thing or ‘that’ ”. I used to ask them “What did you want to be?” The answers amaze me almost all the time. It’s like you wanted to be an engineer, but became a farmer and planted a mango tree wishing to get pineapple. Isn’t it an irony? You didn’t live in your moment and you planted your tree of sorrow and now blaming the Almighty.

Another weird thing is our emotion. You fall in love. You broke. And most people are stuck in that relationship after that. It doesn’t show your love is true. It shows that your knowledge about life is very less. Because life goes on. When you lose something (emotional) in life and are searching to get back; it’s similar to finding a needle in a haystack. The chances are rare that you will get it back.

I am not telling you to be emotionless. Everyone would have faced failure or sorrow. But we can’t be slaves of emotions (even though we want to). I have seen cases where father lost his only son. You can’t measure his pain and sorrow and suffering. But, as they say “Time is the biggest healer”. If you always think ‘Winter is coming’; you will lose the bursting beauty of fall. Life goes on. As time passes it teaches you how to survive without a particular person or particular relation. All you need to do is match you steps with time.

Discover your inner silence in the outer noise. Set yourself free, give it all away. Be super awesome. Be a child who smiles without a reason and we smile just by looking at him. Enjoy every single moment as your last bite. Live every single day as your dancing dreams. You will find the doorway to paradise in your life itself. Life gives us multiple chances to be happy, all we need to do is forget the moment we lost and use the moment where we are at. Because, when it rains, it rains equally on everyone. Some store the rainwater, some not. The one, who stores, gets the benefit. Here, the point is, everyone can do it. So, All I want to say is; the moment, the time, the life we living in won’t stop. It goes on. Live it or lose it, it’s up to us.

“LIFE GOES ON; COME WHAT MAY. LIVE EVERY DAY LIKE A HEYDAY.”


Topic given by: TM Bhumika

Erudite Roulette: Being Super Awesome - TM Kavitha, Mysore Toastmasters

I don't need to tell you that writers and Toastmasters sometimes get ideas which practical-minded individuals regard as chimerical.

Aaah! ..... The Meta Mind!

The one place when you rise above all. YES! That's what it is to be Super Awesome..... literally humbled by the vastness you perceive from that perspective position.

That state which lets you be all inclusive and all exclusive. Well, being super awesome is beyond words....it's an experience! 

Awesomeness is an abstract noun....subjectively expressed as an adjective in superlative.... a momentary figment of connect that we make with someone. An ability to identify ourselves with someone or identify someone with ourselves. That point when no barriers exist in the expression of admiration. 

"Hey ! You are awesome.... Indeed Super Awesome!!"

I receive this compliment as often as the Sun rises in the east. How do I feel!? I instantly hear the bubble of ego go POP! 

Well, It is just the connect that matters then.

Topic given by: TM Nawab

Erudite Roulette: That Terrifying Moment - TM Pujashree, Infosys Toastmasters

TM Pujashree

That terrifying moment when you are walking alone in the dark and a shadow approaches you

That terrifying moment when you hear the TV switched on, but nobody’s home but you.

That terrifying moment, when you locked the door and yet, it creaks open,

That terrifying moment when you hear a baby’s laughter, but you are all alone in your den!

That terrifying moment when your eyes are wide open, yet you cannot feel your feet,

That terrifying moment when you open your mouth and see no teeth,

That terrifying moment, when you laugh when you cry,

That terrifying moment, when your parachute doesn’t open and yet you fly…

That terrifying moment when your teacher saw you sneak a note to that cute boy

That terrifying moment, when your mother saw you steal that toy.

That terrifying moment when your doctor made you step on the weighing machine,

That terrifying moment when you realized that the word “cute” literally meant an elephantine teen.

That terrifying moment when you read of an impending earthquake in your beautiful hometown,

That terrifying moment when your heart skips a beat because he isn’t picking the damn phone!

That terrifying moment when your mother informs of a small painless mole on her skin,

That terrifying moment when you pinch yourself but that nightmare wasn’t a dream…

That terrifying moment when your heart just wouldn’t stop beating and you don’t know why

That terrifying moment when you know you are unprepared to jump off the cliff and fly…

That terrifying moment when you are around millions of people, yet you feel alone,

That terrifying moment when you are laughing as you tightened the noose around your bone…

That terrifying moment when you survive in spite of all the fears,

That terrifying moment when you smile, amidst all the tears,

That terrifying moment, when you are chained to the bottom, yet you run free and wild,

That terrifying moment when you realized all the fears you had are just a fragment of your mind….  

TM Pujashree

Infosys Toastmasters

Topic by: TM Anish

Toastmasters Leadership Institute - TM Darshini, Impact Club Toastmasters

I attended the (Toastmasters Leadership Insttitute) TLI program, as Treasurer from Impact Club Toastmasters, from the Mysore Area (Area F4, District 92.) The Program was organised by District 92 on 17th July in Bangalore at S.P Jain University with the aim to train the club leaders for their roles and responsibilities.
The program was divided into 2 sections.

The first section concentrated on training the club leaders based on their leadership role. This was very useful, especially for the people who had taken the role for the first time. Informative discussions were carried out the whole time. Club leaders were given chance to share their experience. Concerns, usually faced in the clubs, were addressed. The discussion revolved around the key topics depending upon the respective roles.

Club Growth

The crux of the club growth defined the essentiality in working as team. The motto of the second section was to train the club leaders on how to work as a team in order to see a drastic growth. This message was powerfully brought out through different sessions. There were sessions on how to get DCP points, Club Central and Quality club meetings, Moments of truth.

How to Become a Distinguished Club: 

This is based on DCP points and very closely related to Awards.The best learning for me here was to understand that this was framed by considering the overall club growth and is a way to urge and motivate the members to achieve their goals. If the club leaders understand this and work together as a team, it will definitely make a bigger impact on club growth and even individuals' goals can be achieved in shorter span.

Conducting Quality Meetings: 

The message behind this session was “Monotonous gets boring” and we, as the club leaders are bound to work to make things different and interesting while not forgetting the whole motto of Toastmasters. Club leader work does not end in just organising the meeting, but he/she has to take one step ahead and set himself/herself as an example to other members. The trainer used mnemonic technique to make things simple and raw in the minds of audience. He summarised whole session with word “CAN” which stand for Change (Change to interesting ideas) Attitude (Attitude of Club leaders during crisis) Need (Change as per the Need)

Moments of Truth: 

Based on “The Successful Club series”, the trainer conducted this session as group activity. There was lot of opportunity to understand different methods implemented by other clubs to keep club in good state always.

The “Glitterati Contest”, first and best of District 92 initiative for team building, was introduced to the audience!

To sum up, it was a great experience. Good to see the efforts & commitment of District 92 to bring up the motivation among its members. The minor details, which is very much necessary to know but looked over, were addressed. However, if points to be considered for improvement, the whole program was hard pressed for time with a lot of information to ingest. If this is looked upon, the program would be more efficient.

Presenting the Erudite Roulette!

There are a lot of creative minds and brilliant wordsmiths among the Toastmasters of Mysore Area. To challenge them all and to showcase their talents on this blog, we have this new feature - the Erudite Roulette.

This is how it works:

1. To participate,  Toastmasters send titles to the moderator
2. For example: Toastmaster A wishes to participate, so she gives the moderator the title "Freedom"
3. The moderator ends the cycle after a period of time, and randomizes the titles. Each participant gets a title sent in by another. For example, the title "Freedom" goes to Toastmaster B. Toastmaster A gets the title "Easter Eggs" which Toastmaster B sent in
4. The participants pen a story, an article or a poem (or song) or anything that fits the title, with a word limit of 500
5. They get a week's time to complete the articles

The first roulette was held on Sunday, 11th September 2016. The titles were given to the participants on Monday, 12th September. The deadline for article submission is Monday, 19th September 2016.

Here are the participants and the titles assigned to them:

1. TM Swathi: Needle in a Haystack

2. TM Ilavenil: Winter is Coming
3. TM Rohit : The Last Bite
4. TM Avinash: Life goes on, come what may
5. TM Arjun: Yes, you can do it
6. TM Tanuja: Discovering Silence
7:. TM Nawab: Dancing Dreams
8:  TM Bhumika: If I give it all away, I will be free
9.  TM Darshini: I don't know what to tell
10. TM Manoj Guru: Just being an Ambivert
11. TM Srihari: Doorway to Paradise
12. TM Pujashree: That Terrifying Moment
13. TM Kavitha: Being Super Awesome
14. TM Anish: Without a Reason
15. TM Shriya: Breaking News

All the best, everyone! Write away!!!

Engage, Enjoy, Excel - EXCELSIOR!! - T Ilavenil, Mysore Toastmasters

 I was fortunate enough to participate in the conference “Excelsior” held in Mysore on the 27th and 28th of August, 2016. This was the brainchild of the Mysore Area Director and advisors - TM Yashaswi, TM Rohit, TM Poovendhiran and TM Sagar.

The Toastmasters International conference is something each toastmaster dreams of attending. In most cases though, we do not have the funds or the time to travel across the world. The District 92, Area F4 Toastmasters are lucky enough to have a few “crazy ones” among us, as Steve Jobs said. They were crazy enough to achieve the impossible by bringing the International Conference to Mysore. This is the first event of this kind in the whole world.

The conference was organized professionally. The PR team - TM Darshini, TM Arjun, TM Saikat and TM Subramanya ensured that Excelsior was in the spotlight with posters and teasers on social media. The team at Infosys - TM Divya, TM Nawab, TM Shanawaz and TM Nikhil -  had really “sweated the small stuff.” I have faced problems with the security personnel in corporate organizations before. This time, however, it took less than a minute to collect my pass and make my way inside. Every tiny detail such as registration - done by TM Kavitha and TM Pujashree,  organizing lunch, transportation to the venue of the fun night, and ensuring optimal performance of the audiovisual equipment, was done with care.

Coming to the conference itself - the energy of conference chair TM Rohit was contagious and the message to engage, enjoy and excel was quickly taken up by the audience. The centerpiece of the conference - the videos - did not feel like recordings. The ambience of the room made viewing the videos an interactive experience. The session on “Improv” by TM John Zimmer had the audience in stitches, while demonstrating the importance of working as a team. His final message - to always tell your teammates “I’ve got your back”  - will stay with the participants for a lifetime. The next session - on storytelling by TM Kelly Swanson was informative, especially when she demonstrated how to tell a story written by another Toastmaster.

The videos were interspersed by activities, designed and conducted by the Fun Team - TM Dhairya, TM Syed, TM Divya, TM Srihari, TM Akanksha and TM Dorothy. The activities served as a workshop to test our toastmastering skills. They were expertly designed and ensured that the energy in the room remained high. The energy of the conference carried over to the Fun Night, where a wonderful time was had by all.

The second day brought us a brilliant educational session by District 92 Champion TM Ajay Chittaranjan. His session was highly interactive - so much so that the audience voluntarily postponed the lunch break! Having his family with us added grace to the occasion. The final event of the conference,  the World Championship of Public Speaking, held the audience spellbound, and had us debating the finer points of each of the speakers. At the end of the conference, Mr and Ms Excelsior were announced - TM Himanshu and TM Divya respectively. Keeping with the spirit of recognition in Toastmasters International,  every Toastmaster who contributed to the conference was felicitated by the Area Director.

Excelsior is a fantastic accomplishment, hopefully to be followed by more events which dwarf it. Let’s hear it for the crazy ones of Mysore Area Toastmasters, who know how to Engage, Enjoy, and Excel!