Amdavad Toastmasters Jan to June 2019 by Amdavad Toastmasters Club

Being An Area Director In 2017 when Toastmasters decided to launch Pathways I thought it is an exciting opportunity to work as a Pathways guide as I would understand the Pathways program first hand and would be able to connect with all the clubs in Gujarat. I signed up for the role and had an exciting six months as the Pathways guide. This role helped me understand the challenges our clubs are facing and the kind of support they needed. It prompted me to take up the role of an Area Director. As an Area Director the journey was exciting and full of learningâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s. First it was wonderful to connect with the District Leadership, as a district officer I got to know a lot about the working of the district and Toastmasters. The Area Director is the connect between the clubs and the District and hence I would say that the role is a vital for the success of the clubs as well as the district. I was able to connect with the clubs and Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar and in this role I learnt a lot about Leadership and team management. The lessons which I learnt are 1. A team can always achieve more than an individual hence build great teams to achieve goals 2. Communicate, communicate and communicate with team 3. It is ok to say no rather then say yes and then not do the job 4. It is ok to fail and sometimes you are going to so be ready for it 5. Titles are temporary connections are permanent so build great connections Feels happy while signing off that as of date three of four clubs are President Distinguished and one is Select Distinguished thanks to the efforts of the leaders and members of these clubs that Area A1 is Select Distinguished Area.

Feels happy while signing off that as of date three of four clubs are President Distinguished and one is Select Distinguished thanks to the efforts of the leaders and members of these clubs that Area A1 is Select Distinguished Area.

district. I was able to connect with the clubs and Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar and in this role I learnt a lot about Leadership and team management. The lessons which I learnt are 1. A team can always achieve more than an individual hence build great teams to achieve goals 2. Communicate, communicate and communicate with team 3. It is ok to say no rather then say yes and then not do the job 4. It is ok to fail and sometimes you are going to so be ready for it 5. Titles are temporary connections are permanent so build great connections Feels happy while signing off that as of date three of four clubs are President Distinguished and one is Select Distinguished thanks to the efforts of the leaders and members of these clubs that Area A1 is Select Distinguished Area.

ola!!!

Peace. It does not mean to be in a place where there is no noise, trouble or hard work. It means to be in the midst of those things and still be calm in your heart. Life has been chaotic and one thing that we all need to imbibe is Peace. Lot is been written and talked about the same and it has become the buzz.Yoga day was also just round the corner and we all must have experienced the mindfulness mentally and physically. Letâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s take the pledge today to stay in the present rather than worrying about future and regretting about the past. Be more mindful, more conscious and more awakened. The theme of the magazine this quarter is something exciting and I am sure all the fellow members will love to read it.FIKA is the term which you will get introduced to in the articles. You will also find lot of inspirational true stories of our in-house heroes and poetries to stir your soul. We are incredibly grateful to all the members of Amdavad Toastmasters ,Heritage City Toastmasters,TCS Be@T and TCS Kalpak who have made the effort and have taken their precious time to pen down some stirring thoughts out of their brain box. Do share with us your thoughts. Here goes the Area A1 Collab Magazine Happy Reading

met my colleague at our coffee vending machine, and he said “TGIF” and I said what’s

that? He smiled explaining, “Thank God it’s Friday”. It triggered a chain of thoughts in my mind. True most of us; heave our lives all through the week. We drag it and take a sigh of relief with the hope of a weekend or holiday around. Why do we not allow ourselves to live fuller life except on the weekends? Who stops us? We make a convenient excuse “Time constraints”. Don’t take a “no” for what you truly deserve. Your happiness. Eliminate a few things to make room for the essentials in life? Have we over packed our lives? Don’t you think it is high time we look within to be lighter and merrier? It is our choices, our perspectives that influence our ability to enjoy life. When was it that you looked at the sky? eye”. Blissfulness is when suddenly realize that the the eye of the mother, she lovingly made for selfless love on the sharing silence with a everything without saying reason to celebrate the you. Feel it.

enjoyed the soft rays of sun, Followed a child’s wondering you get engrossed and day is over. Happiness is in watching you enjoy the meals you. Happiness is a kiss of forehead. Happiness is in friend who understands a word. You don’t need a fervor of life. It is all around

Happiness is in little changes that are close to heart. Do things you longed to do but somehow deferred it. Doing some favors to yourself. Take time for yourself. Connect within. Wake up early for a walk, do yoga, join the gym, go swimming, cycling, play the long-forgotten song on your guitar, learn a new skill, cooking, drawing, dancing, clean the room. Call up a friend to say how much you remember them. Sit with your parents and talk your heart. Hum the nursery rhyme and be a kid again. We at Toastmasters enjoy being crazy. We enjoy spending hours writing, rewriting speeches, rehearse for the roles, expressing happiness of learning, pat each other and get charged up. Can we ever express in words what is that happiness? Happiness is your ability to connect deeply to yourself and with others. It is your ability to look at life through the prism of gratitude. Gratitude makes you humbler and more humane to appreciate the goodness in others. Nurture the relationships you have, the family, friends, mentors. Value the opportunities and even the struggles because they made you stronger. Each day offers us two choices whether you run through the day or you savor each moment. Let us make a conscious choice to appreciate little joys in life. Value and live them happily

before they slip by your hand. Let us live, love, and learn all our life. Let us “live” not

just “exist”.

In 2017 when Toastmasters decided to launch Pathways, I thought it is an exciting opportunity to work as a Pathways guide as I would understand the Pathways program first hand and would be able to connect with all the clubs in Gujarat. I signed up for the role and had an exciting six months as the Pathways guide.This role helped me understand the challenges our clubs are facing and the kind of support they needed.It prompted me to take up the role of an Area Director. As an Area Director, the journey was exciting and full of learning’s. First, it was wonderful to connect with the District Leadership, as a district officer I got to know a lot about the working of the district and Toastmasters.The Area Director is the connect between the clubs and the District and hence I would say that the role is a vital for the success of the clubs as well as the district. I was able to connect with the clubs,Ahmedabad, and Gandhinagar and in this role, I learnt a lot about Leadership and team management. The lessons, which I learnt, are

I am Happy while signing off that as of date,three of four clubs are President Distinguished and one is Select Distinguished thanks to the efforts of the leaders and members of these clubs that Area A1 is Select Distinguished Area.

n this hustle called life,we forget to live the small moments.I am a strong believer of “Plenty

is a problem”.The urge to get it all eventually results in loss.We do not realize the cost of accumulation.It’s not just about money, materials, or assets.There are hidden costs too, time, health, freedom, relations etc. For me living in bits and taking time off to enjoy in jiffy is paramount. The Swedish also live by the same notion,called Fika.Fika derived from Kafi i.e. Coffee, they broke the word and rearranged the syllables to make FIKA, i.e. enjoying life in small moments. So how do I revitalize myself in the scorching temperature amidst the daily business chores and running around juggling different responsibilities and changing the hats one after another? One thing that I do the most in my evenings is, I go out and take a stroll for about 10-15 minutes, this is the time I prioritize for myself,sometimes I use it to just brainstorm new ideas, giggling with my far lived friend on phone or listening to some romantic number with that fag, or just motivating and making some one feel good about himself. It’s not necessary to do something herculean to make yourself feel good. Even cleaning your bathroom can make you feel good and proud. Even talking for two minutes to your office housekeeping staff asking about his life may make you sound pleasant. Or for that matter not to wait to be asked rather going upfront and offering to help that lady who is struggling to start her scooter.

"Gol Gappa" - I am sure many of you ,like me ( ardent chaat lovers) would be salivating at the thought of gol gappa. It is an Indian street snack made of crisp hollow fried puri filled with sprouts, chickpeas, potato , onions and flavoured water and chutney of your choice . (Special note :- vodka can also be classified under flavoured water!! ) In different parts of our country, it is identified with different names - in Northern region, it is called 'Gol Gappa' , East - 'Puchka' , West - ' Paani Puri' or say 'Pakodi' , but irrespective it is delicious. Like William Shakespeare once said - “ What is there in a name.” So how does it relate to our Life??Any clues ?To draw a parallel,the different tastes which it brings to our palate varies from sweet, sour, tangy, spicy etc depending upon the inclusion of the content which we choose to add - similarly it happens with our lives . It consists of various emotional shades - like happiness, dejections, anger, lust, love, jealously etc. It will depend on what you add is what you will ultimately get! I believe we can manoeuvre the taste to our choice by appropriately choosing the ingredients. Say I love it on sweeter side,so I always ensure that the proportion of tamarind and date chutney is more which makes it sweeter.If you love it on spicier side then you would want more of the green chilly water component. Same is with our lives,we choose the taste which we bring to the table of life. The way our palate craves and attracts our likings based on which we alter the contents of the 'gol gappa ' , the same way we should choose what emotions we live and how we want them to affect us.It's rightly said ~ ' Brutus - the fault is not in our stars ' Precisely, what we allow is what will continue! Not to forget the Masala Puri which we all look forward to after finishing the plate of gol gappa - so that is , what we call - HOPE!! … Hope to strive all odds with an elevated positive spirit !

‘Take some home-made snacks, you can’t keep snacking on packaged food while travelling’said my mom while handing me a packet of methi puris.I simply love those delicious puris, so took them and put them in my rucksack. I was about to leave for my first trek to the Himalayan range. It was a very pleasant train journey from Ahmedabad to Haridwar.

On reaching Haridwar when I picked up my bag from under the seat- I saw a big hole right in the centre of the bag!! A RAT had chewed off the bag in order to eat those puris! I got very upset and for a moment even cursed myself for bringing the packet along. The hole was big enough for things to fall off when the bag was hung on the shoulder. Besides, it was still raining and snowing at the base camp and I couldn’t afford to get my things wet. I temporarily covered the hole with a patchwork of Band-Aid tapes and decided not to think of it much and get bothered. Next day I went to Dehradun. While walking down to the hotel I was booked into,I read a ‘Wildcraft’ showroom board right opposite my hotel. Wildcraft also makes trekking bags but mine was not of that brand.Hence with very little expectation, I approached the man at the counter in the shop. Despite having many customers, he heard my problem patiently and agreed to help me out. I was thrilled. Without actually hunting for a place to mend my bag, I had landed up in a place which had a bag shop just across the street!! If getting my bag chewed off was a strange coincidence, this was even a bigger one. That man went out of his way to get same color patch as my bag and stuck it with a super glue. All of this without charging me a penny!! I insisted but he refused saying that I was a tourist of his state and this was his way to helping me have a great trip. I could probably have paid for his work but what he taught me in the process was Priceless’.It was my FIKA moment in a true sense; he had fuelled up my mind and spirit.

n the year 1986, as a young Lieutenant Commander in the Navy,I was posted in Mumbai

(Bombay then). My daughter was 10 years old then. That day, it was my turn, to accompany her to the dance class and we decided to take the city bus. We had just boarded when the conductor rang the double bell, signalling the driver to leave. Just then, I saw a full-term pregnant lady with a child in tow, approaching in hurry, about to board the bus. Instinctively I asked the conductor to ring a single bell to stop the bus and take the lady in. The conductor arrogantly refused. I was dumb struck at his inhuman attitude.Instinctively, I blurted out,” Man she would have fallen. What if she was your own sister or wife?” The answer further infuriated me; “It’s none of your business,” he said. A small altercation ensued, and he threatened to take the bus to the police station. “Let’s go,” I said. To my dismay, he actually went and told the driver and diverted the passenger-filled bus to Colaba Police station. Anger and frustration gave way to PANIC! A thousand thoughts flew passed my mind within a few seconds:    

How would the passenger react for causing delay and nuisance? How would the Police react to disrupting the public transport? What if I was detained in the police station with my child? Lastly, how would I face the hollering of my dear wife for being a “fighting cock” and missing our daughter’s class?

In a matter of minutes, the “officer” in me took over and I decided to tackle the situation one step at a time.

The immediate problem at hand was the passengers. With my daughter in tow, I went in the front of the passengers, and in a loud voice, said,” Ladies and Gentlemen, I have a problem and need your help.” A sudden hush and they were all ears. That was a boost to my sagging morale. I went on and very clearly and briefly narrated the incidence, emphasising that the issue was not personal. The lady could have been our own family member. The arrogance of the conductor was driving us to the police station. The reaction of the passengers was unbelievable. They unanimously supported my action and shouted that they would all support me.Their vocal support was heart-warming beyond description! What followed was still beyond expectation. When the bus stopped in front of the police station, and I readied myself to go inside the police station, the passenger once again told me not to step out from the bus; instead, let the bus conductor go and call the police officer into the bus. They all promised to stand witness for me. The events that followed in quick succession were amazing! The police officer came inside the bus; I narrated the incidence to him in clear and concise manner, and ALL the passengers unanimously supported me. The bus conductor was transformed from an arrogant beast to a pathetic, frightened animal begging for mercy. The officer rebuked him, threatened that he would be dismissed from the service, and lose his job for such an unsafe attitude. When I requested the officer to not file an official complaint that would jeopardise his job, the conductor was in tears. He accepted his folly and was a transformed person. I saw the power of forgiveness in real life! That was my first taste of recognition as a public leader – howsoever on a small scale. The feeling of love and confidence bestowed upon me by those fifty odd fellow passengers opened a new horizon in the area of leadership. That was also a real life lesson in Leadership, which taught me that selfless service, good communication (Public speaking) and forgiveness are the most powerful tools of a leader. The path to leadership is indeed challenging, but the fruits are cherished for lifetime. Toastmasters teaches, reinforces and opens the pathway to learn and practice these very principles of Leadership and make life more exciting, meaningful and enriched. Let’s Learn, Practice and Enjoy it.

Someday, I’ll find you certainly, amidst the busy crowd of St. Lawrence Street. Suddenly I’ll bump into you.The bouquet of flowers and the bag of fruits that you’ll be carrying will fall off. ‘Apologies Madam’ I’ll say without even looking at your face. At once, perhaps, both of us would bend down to pick them up and once more our eyes would meet. May be, I’d stop for a moment to look at you. What do you think? Shall we be feeling fortunate and happy for meeting abruptly, unpredictably? May be.I don’t know.The fact is we will still not recognize each other or at least we will try not to recognize each other by remembering the past that was full of togetherness. It’s all just because, after all, we surely wouldn’t want to get exposed to our newly found loved ones, by now who would have walked a few steps ahead on the street and would be waiting for holding our arms back again. You’ll thank me formally just like any other stranger in the city for helping you pick up all the flowers and the fruits along with the fallen off memories of our time. I will greet you with a fake but mandatory smile of welcome. And then, we’ll cross each other and hold our new importance’s hand and would walk into the crowd again, expecting to meet suddenly someday again, waiting for a momentary fika ,like this ,even after knowing that we shall still be strangers only.

‘

hat have you

done for me?’ I used to ask this question to many people around me.And when the other person tried to answer,I would say, oh that’s not enough! It’s nothing against what I have done for you! Being a woman, I would never let them win this argument, and when they became speechless, I would consider it my win! I would prove that I have done everything on my own and would flaunt by saying I am a selfmade person! Well, that’s not entirely wrong. Life has been a roller-coaster. People around me could not relate to my dreams initially.Yes, I have struggled a lot, and gradually, I curated my way. And that made me feel proud. That one sentence, ‘I have done everything on my own’ boosted my ego and gradually impacted my

thinking as well as my behavior. Does this sound similar to you? Do you also think that you are a self-made person? Luckily, one day, I got my FIKA moment when I realized that my self-made ideology was just a goof up! When I said, I am self-made I missed on counting what others have contributed in making me what I am today! Those late evening sessions with my mother, when everyone else at home was watching TV, after the hectic day, there she was, sitting with me and guiding me for my next speech. Those late-night ice cream rides with my father when I felt sleepy during my board exam preparations.My uncle, who gave me the freedom to live life the way I want.My aunt,who taught me to keep smiling in the toughest times. My brother, who tolerated my craziness and supported my ambitions and convinced me to hire a cook so that I can save time for the things I want to do.My cousin sisters who worry (even more than me) about what would I wear in my next event!That Lady who has been a motherly figure for me from last few years.Even that friend who stood by when I was depressed. My teachers, my mentors, and my well-wishers who guided me. My friends who made life more interesting! Even the society who accepted me the way I am. The list is long, and there are many people and things I am grateful for.In that FIKA moment, the thought that ‘I have done everything on my own,’ faded away. The wisdom that I am not self-made, but made through the conscious efforts of many people around me has made me feel humble yet powerful. My expectations reduced, and so my complaints. I got ease with people and people got ease with me. I do not call myself self-made anymore. Do you? Open your eyes and look around.I am sure someday you will get your FIKA moment too!

In almost all Indian regions,food varies as per taste as we Indians believe that variety is the spice of life You think of Punjabi food and the first dishes that come to your mind will be paneer, chhole, parantha, rajmaa cheval while Rajasthani cuisine means dal-bati, churma, gatte ki sabzi, ker sangari. If Bengal is famous for its fish curry,begun bhaja and rosogollas,South Indian cuisine is simply Dosa Idli, Upma and Pongal. For Gujaratis, their Gujarati thaali, a complete vegetarian meal is their pride. The quintessential thaali is a balanced meal which takes into consideration all components of the nutrition required for a healthy life.If the spicy sweet Gujarati Dal and kathol make up for your protein intake, rice gives you carbohydrates, curd or buttermilk has ample calcium. Apart from this commonly all Gujarati thaalis have at least three kinds of curries consisting of green vegetables apart from green salad that provide you fibers as well as vitamins needed. All in all if you look at a Gujarati thaali from a health point of view, I would say it is the best and healthy cuisine with no side effects. Moreover it is easy to digest as it does not contain any maids, paneer, cream, cheese, butter or even any preservatives.

In the World Heritage City, Ahmedabad's history, some popular Dining halls that served the Gujarati thaali and came up in the city almost four decades ago are Purohit, Sabar and Chetna Dining halls. However, over a period of time all of them have lost on popularity either due to family feuds among owners or parking problems. Gopi Dining hall has however remained consistently popular since almost 40 years now. The Gopi Dining Hall was established on 14/02/1979 that is on Valentine's day when the thaali cost just Rs1.50. Today,ambience and other folk artists have elevated the Thali experience with popular Thali restaurants like Vishala, Rajwadu and Agashiye which come in higher priced bracket. It will be surprising to know that Gujarati thaali tastes best when a Rajasthani cook is preparing it! Today in Ahmedabad, there is great invasion of Global cuisines such as Italian, Mexican and Thai. Whether it's a marriage, a naming ceremony or any such occasion, Gujarati cuisine is a favorite among all age groups including children and senior citizens. For any tourist be it be it Indian or foreigner visiting Gujarat, a tour to the state is incomplete without tasting the Gujarati thaali. So much so that in foreign countries too some airlines offer Gujarati foods such as Patra and Mango Ras to cater to the globetrotting Gujarati palate. I will sign off by saying,' Aapnu Ahmedabad, Jai Jai Garvi Gujarat. '

JUBILATE

With competition becoming fiercer, businesses collapsing ethics being compromised and social media changing the rules of communication, what should a leader do? What would it take for leaders to succeed on the new normal? Given that most leaders are finding themselves in hot water, maybe we can learn a few lessons from something that thrives in hot water:The Humble Teabag. As you sip your next cup of tea,here are some leadership lessons to take away from the tea bag. 1. What counts is what’s inside the Teabag. All Teabags have different packaging, some fancy, simple one. But the quality of the beverage is determined by the tea inside the bag – not by the label or the string. What’s true for teabags is true for all of us too. The fancy title or the qualification or the Alma mater, the clothes we wear and the label and the string only make you look nice. What really matters is the kind of person you are deep down. Your beliefs and your attitude – that’s what define the person you are. Focus on being a good human being. Fix your attitude. Get your values right. And don’t fret about the small stuff. It’s really who you are – at the core that makes a difference. 2. The real flavour comes through only when the Teabag gets into hot water. If you take a cup of lukewarm water and dip a teabag in it, you won’t know how strong the tea is. To get the best flavour, you need to dunk the teabag in hot water. And only then will its real strength show! Likewise, the true character of a leader shines through in adversity. How does a person behave under pressure, when he is in “hot water”? The hot water test is a good one for judging the quality of the tea. And the true character of leaders. 3. Good teabag look forward to getting into hot water. When a teabag sees hot water, it says, “Wow! Can’t wait to get in!” Teabags love hot water they don’t run away from it. They know they were made just for this! This will give them a chance to show their true worth. Great leaders relish on challenges. They love the opportunity to test skills and prove their real mettle. And it’s these tough spots, these challenging situations in business and the cries, that help distinguish. The next time you see a challenge, a tough situation, think like a teabag and dive headlong into it, it may be the opportunity you’ve been waiting for to show what you are capable of. Some of us are so scared of beings scalded by the hot water that we stay away from it. The fear of failure. Don’t let that happen to you! Given yourself a chance to show the world what you are really all about! 4. A Teabag must be porous. Imagine you have the best tea in the world and you put it into a bag that’s impermeable. It won’t work. You just won’t be able to make a cup of tea. For teabag to work, it needs to be porous. You need the tea and the water to come in contact with each other.

In our lives too, we cannot survive and thrive in isolation Leaders need to be careful not to build walls around themselves that prevent people from reaching out to them. As a leader, you need to be able to touch other people. Else,all that’s inside will be wasted- untouched by all the good around you the tea was meant to mix with the water.Similarly,all of us were designed to work with other people, with teams, and with society at large. 5. Teabags work, never mind where they are in the cup. Once you dip a teabag in a cup, it doesn’t matter where the teabag sits. It could be at the top, on the side or right at the bottom, it will work. The teabag’s efficacy is not linked to its position in the cup. It is a mistaken notion that leadership is only about the guy at the organization. Leaders are everywhere. And you shouldn’t let your ‘position’ in the hierarchy limit your impact as a leader. Position is irrelevant. Leaders derive their strength from within- not from a title or a position in the organization. And truly great leaders recognize that. ‘They look for leaders in every corner of the organization. 6. Someone else hold the string always. No matter how strong the teabag is, it recognizes that someone else holds the string in his or her hands. And they can pull the teabag out and throw it away any they like. No questions asked. That’s a humbling thought which leaders must never lose sight of. No matter how powerful a leader becomes, he must remember there is a string tied to him that’s in the hand of some other stakeholder or the board- or just some other more powerful force.The realization of this truth can help ensure that leaders don’t let power go to their and begin seeing themselves as lords and masters of all they survey. 7. It’s all about how good the tea is. Not the Teabag! Nobody ever drank a cup of tea and said, ‘Wow, that was a great teabag!’ He’d say ‘That was a great cup of tea!’ In the ultimate analysis, leaders get remembered not for how good they themselves were, but for how good their teams and the institutions that they built were. Too often, leaders get caught up with looking at themselves in the mirror rather than turning the spotlight on their teams, their organizations-and their results.Good leaders never forget – ‘it’s not about me. It’s about them’. 8. Eventually, Teabags need to make way and get out. Teabags recognize that once the brew is ready, they need to move on. They don’t worry that if they were to move out of the cup. And they realize that if they stayed on any longer, they’d some in the way of the person enjoying his cup of tea! Alas, too many leaders see themselves as being indispensable and overstay their welcome! They get so taken with their own abilities and greatness that they start believing that if they were to leave, the organization wouldn’t survive, they get so attached to their role and their organization that they just don’t want to leave. Remember that getting out is a normal and necessary part of the tea-making process.

The next time you pick up a cup of tea, savour the flavour. Enjoy the moment. And think of the lessons too!

Collage

“Many people are doing things that they are not enjoying or not passionate about…”

ost of the people who are living mediocre life are

always complaining about something or another thing in Life such as their salary is not increasing and inflation is rising; they are not paid enough; politicians are not doing their job; their colleagues are getting more salary with less experience and what not. Sometimes knowingly or unknowingly we do become part of such conversations.Confession –“I also indulge in such talks sometimes, but now I am actively resisting it”.This happens because many times we are doing something that we are not enjoying. Best way to find out about your passion is to start with making a list of things you like doing which make you happy.And here you have to dive deep, not a superficial list like – I like travelling, movies and music. That’s too generic.For example, if you like travelling what kind of travelling you like;do you like solo travel or with friends or with groups; do you like travel via bike or personal vehicle or something else. Another thing that helps you find your passion is to remember the activities which make you forget about time. The kinds of activities while doing you don’t look at the clock every 5 mins.For example,my profession sometimes

involves teaching people. I always feel nervous before the session starts, but 5 mins into it and I lost track of time and I Immerse myself into teaching.Many times even I exceed my allotted time. This made me realize that teaching is one of the things that I enjoy. “It is not necessary to quit your job to find your passion.” It is not necessary to leave your job to follow your passion, initially. You can always start it as a sidekick.If you get bored soon than understand that it was not your passion. It was just a temporary desire. “Align your dreams and your passion with living” But one thing I learned and which is most important is that you should surround yourself with people who are aligned with your life’s desire and goals .This will make you happy and wash away not so happy moments of your day to day life.

oday also, I vividly remember the scenario, when it was a blissful realization that I was

able to consciously bring my attention to the present moment.It was a realization that happened to me during an office meeting. I had scheduled the meeting from 1.30 pm to 2.30 pm, as immediately post meeting, I had to leave with my cousins on account of a family function.Although, one must be aware, “Meetings never begin on time”. Fortunately,it did not go as per plan. It was about 3.00 pm and we were still in the middle of the discussion in the meeting room.In just a few minutes,anxiety started to pull up.On one hand, my CEO was sharing his inputs regarding the topic of discussion and on the other hand,my cousin was calling continuously as they were waiting, for us since long. My mind started to wander,imagining the unfavorable scenarios.I suddenly happened to notice that in just few moments,I was able to consciously bring my attention back to the present moment.I wondered how did this happen.A few minutes later,my phone vibrated once more.Again my mind started to wander and again in a moment or so,I brought my attention back to the present moment, actively participating in the discussion. At last,the meeting ended at around 3.20 pm.We finally left for home-town at around 3.45 pm. During the entire journey,I asked myself, “How was I able to be so MINDFUL during the situation”.Consciously pondering over the questions lead to an amazing discovery. All THANKS to the role I had been playing on a recurring basis of being an “AH-COUNTER” at a local Toastmaster Club.Toastmasters is an international Non-Profit Organization (NPO) focused in helping oneself to improve the leadership and communication skills. The club where I participated was the Heritage City Toastmasters Club (HCTC). HCTC club members met every saturday for about two hours. The structure of the Toastmasters meeting is organized in such a manner that every attendee has a chance to gain something out of those two hours.To give you an overview, there are prepared Speeches, table Topics and evaluations.

In order to drive the entire meeting,there are certain role players who do their part to carry out the meeting in a structured manner.One such Role Player is called an “AH-COUNTER”, wherein the role involves, 1. Introducing the nature of the role to the audience in a creative manner 2. Keeping a track of ‘Ahs’, Ums and various filler & repetitive words during the entire session 3. Presenting the findings towards the end of the meeting

When I first played the role of being an “AH-Counter”,I was nervous because I was playing the role for the first time and did not know what to do and was excited at the same time because I had the opportunity to learn something new. During the entire meeting,I attentively counted the various AH’s.Many a times,I noticed my attention wandering,especially when the speech was exciting,(which was most of the time) or when I was being carried away with the flow of the meeting. This led me to a realization,that I had to remain focused,if I wanted to do complete justice to my role.I even tried to count my AH’s and UM’s,when I was on the dais. Taking up the role many times had ingrained within me,the habit of being mindful of situation I realized, I was able to naturally apply the similar practice in all other areas of my life such as Business Meetings,Inter-Personal conversations and many more. I was becoming more Mindful and Aware with each passing day.Thanks to the wonderful exercise provided by the Toastmasters club. Do you have a similar experience, which is worth cherishing?

"If you want to be a successful leader in all areas of your life you must first learn how to lead your mind" Roxane Jones

Collage

Limiting Ourselves in Comfort Zones

e are basically

unlimited beings. Profoundly more powerful and creative than we had ever been taught to believe, but we limit ourselves in many comfort zones, we limit our ability to create what we desire by limiting our perceptions of what is possible. We have a lot of conditionings which, in reality, are mental. Let me share a wonderful insight. Some mosquitoes were put in a box and they kept jumping a lot. The box was covered from the top

and each time they jumped they hit the top of the box, and when they jumped too close to the right or the left they hit the sides of the box. Slowly, to avoid harming themselves, they learned to jump just under the cover and without reaching the sides of the box. One day all the four sides of the box were opened.The mosquitoes were free, but they kept on jumping as far as the limit they had learned.The physical limits were no longer there.But they had become conditioned mentally. The same thing happens to us.We have to open the sides of the box and take off the top, or else we will continue to live inside the box created by our own mind.A lot of time the fear exists due to past experiences of failure or not having succeeded as much as you would have liked. We need to connect with our true inner power,focus on selfactualization and become aware of our thought patterns,which brings us under the negative influence.When this is put to practice,we will be more free not enslaved by any mental clutter. Your future depends on how you think and your ability to keep on upgrading your thinking patterns. What people say is a reflection of themselves and not really about you.

he Protogonist of the story,was a common man,working hard to make both ends

meet.For a brief period, his family was financially dependent on him.To make his dreams come true, he started working in a Travel agency which was engaged in exploring new places around the globe.He was quite happy as it was his dream job.It was a big office,there were different managers and many people were working under them.It was month of January and new hopes were arousing with the new year setting in.It was a blissful visual treat as the office was surrounded by snowy mountains.So,as a part of annual work,his boss gave him a map to explore Newyork with other three people. Now,with a hope of decent salary and promotion next year, he started working hard without asking a single question to any one.He was alone in a new journey which was filled with joy and thrill. He worked hard and days and months passed.He stayed at different places. It was in the month of december that his journey was coming to an end.Unexpectedly, He arrived in Sri lanka,he was utterly surprised. At the same time, he was angry, unhappy and frustrated because it was not his goal to reach here.He was stressed and that drove him to consume alcohol.Days passed but anger was not turning down. After few days, he was passing through a street, and some chanting grabbed his attention. He went with eagerness to see whats going on.There was an old monk,giving some lectures about life which was beyond his understanding. He was thinking,I am the most unlucky person on this planet.I have no right to live,I must DIE. Meanwhile ,he saw a beautiful lady, around 40's, laughing loudly.Now our hero was eager to know the reason behind her happiness as listening to the was not his cup of tea.On completion of chanting, he curiously went to that lady and asked, what happened? Why are you laughing? She replied,I am a nurse and my boss always treated me like hell, always misbehaved with me and did not recognise my talent rather he kept complaining always.I was unhappy for the last few years because of my boss's attitude towards me.Today after listening to the wisdom of this monk, I realised my happiness was always dependent on external factors even after doing my best in my work. He thought and realized that this was also his story where unbiased and unfavourable instruction were reson for his unhappiness.He pledged, he would be happy always whatever the situation maybe.He returned back to his office with tons of happiness and started working again despite of poor results. He moved away, in next 10 years, opened his own company where he was the Boss and rules were HIS. Moral of the Story:Happiness should not be driven completely by external factors,You have the right to Stay Happy in all blissful conditions.Just a switch in mindset helps.

hy those princess stories and fairy tales which seems to be so real during our

childhood don't come true? But the real truth is we ourselves sometime tend to forget them cause we are caught up in the rut of,â&#x20AC;?Growing Up.â&#x20AC;? But yes somewhere at some point of time we beg and pray to those fairy tale angels to come alive and save us from the problems and pull us out by moving their magical wand.Now just for a while think about your own journey.Ponder and exhale. You would have come to a happy realization that when you hit the troubled waters,many a times an invincible faith in yourself did the magic. Reality Check. You are the Angel of your Life. Everything else takes a back seat.We are the front seat drivers of our life who plan our destination and bring it to fruition... "Success is not winning every battle but the WAR"

Never give up and be strong which here simply means to persevere through extreme adversities by keeping hope and when life gives you lemons make lemonades out of it. P.S--The idea is JUST to dust yourself.. And get onto your bike again.And be your own angel.

Science of slowing down

There is more to life than increasing its speed â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Mahatma Gandhi

e all are suffering from the syndrome of remaining busy. We have advancement in

technology, still we are struggling to keep up with time. Our lives have become fast paced and we never felt like this being part of this invisible race. From morning to evening we are running around trying to accomplish one task or the other. We are always occupied. We have ingrained ourselves in a culture of doing more work, to achieve more and to earn more as well.We have surrendered to the demon of urgency. Being multitasker and busy is a sign of successful person.

Current generation of people have become like machines in pursuit of time management, productivity and goal setting. Where are we heading? When we try to speed up time also moves faster.Rushing gives us feeling of getting more done but often itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s exactly opposite. All this hurrying up takes a toll on our body.We suffer from immense amount stress and anxiety. It leads to exhaustion, hopelessness and worthlessness in case of not achieving goals or not completing task in time. We suffer from the illnesses like heart diseases ( e.g. Hypertension), depression and stomach disturbances.We even suffer in our personal and professional lives.We compromise our time for self care.The problem is that our love for speed, our obsession with doing more and more in less time has gone too far.

What about the leisure time. Unfortunately we have started viewing our leisure time to be more productive than simply relaxing. Reading ,writing have become essential to increase our corporate credentials. Running , going to gym and dieting have become fad than achieving it’s real purpose.We attend social functions,meetings not to improve our relationships but increasing our social status. Is there any solution to this hopeless and alarming situation. The answer is – YES. It can be done by SLOWING DOWN.We need to pause and relax.It is said that the world around us slows down when we slow ourselves.When we slow down we positively influence ourselves and the surrounding environment as well. How can we achieve slowness and relaxation in our life! We need to implement and follow certain rituals in this pursuit. 1. Plan a task with buffer time. 2. Talk slowly- take a pause.It will reduce anxiety,improves communication and relationship. 3. Walk,don’t run – It’s not about saving seconds at the cost of risking our lives. Walk mindfully and enjoy the stroll no matter where you are going. 4. Eat slowly and eat together – it is said that a meal together can enhance your personal relationship. Eat slow and savor the taste. 5. Drive slowly- we all are in a hurry but we don’t have respect for time. We try to reach faster at the cost of safety rules and our own lives. Drive slowly, listen to music and enjoy your surrounding during your commute. 6. Leave your watch at home and do one task less . 7. Take a much needed break from work,popularly called as FIKA in Swedish culture.Enjoy the company of friends, coworkers or family members.

ow do you manage

to do so many things bro?" "Despite working for 12 long hours, you still go for running ,cycling, play guitar, watch tv series, and toastmasters meetings. What else do you do bro?" These are some of the most frequent questions that my friends often interrogate me. Sometimes we find ourselves at a crossroad where we just don't know what to do next. Let me answer the most crucial question "What we can do when we don't know what to do". When I came to Ahmedabad, my work was pretty much to sit back at office and gain weight. Consequently I gained 10 kgs of weight and reached to 97 kgs. To my surprise I was actually able to reduce it to back to 78 kgs over next 8 months of duration. Whom do I give the

credits. Me, ofcourse! The disciplinary action that I followed whole heartedly gave me the fruits that I strived for.The success gave me enormous positivity that it led me to prepare a checklist of items that I actually wanted to do,that I have been procrastinating for a long time. The first and foremost thing I decided was to begin TRAVELLING.It started with a motive of exploration and I never discerned when I got addicted to it.My action plan was to travel one state, every month.I started doing it solo and man did it bring the real joy in my life. I keep on doing it since then and that's one of the key element to my happiness. My co employees started questioning about the holidays approval I was able to get from my boss. Slightly did they realise it was exactly same as theirs. I just was a better planner. I also bought a BICYCLE and took my fitness mantra to the next level. I ran, cycled and sweated like never before.It became a routine habit, another crucial element of my happiness. It was time for me to learn GUITAR.Without any further ado, I joined a local class and started practicing it. I never knew they would become my stress busters, sometime later. They did. Just when everything was going great, something added to it and made it the greatest. TOASTMASTERS.I joined Toastmasters and met some of the most talented and versatile people, who were keen to learn just like me. I made more friends, had long conversations, seek suggestions when I needed and opened mine when they needed. I wouldn't have been a HAPPY SOUL, had I not been doing those little things which added the spices in my montonic meals. I found my little things. Have you found yours?

When gravity pushes you down

o you think sky diving is all about

adrenaline rush? I say,it is an analogy for life where I am a Hero and Gravity is a villain. Who doesn’t want to stroll through the sky? I wanted to but I feared if the jump would result into fatality though it had less than 0.003/1000 chance. 17th of June was supposed to be the most adventurous day of my life.I was in the battlefield fighting my inner gravity.It didn’t want me to get out of my comfort zone. With all my guts I drove down to sky diving base. With lots of conflicts going on in my mind,I was all geared up to board the airplane. As the flying bird

gained altitude,the altimeter beeped on the count of 3000…6000…9000….I wondered if this fancy gadget counted my pulse. At the count of 12000, the door opened and the icy cold wind struck my face saying “Hey Now is the time”. My instructor dragged me to the edge and counted 3.2 and I plunged into the abyss. Had he counted up to 1,Team gravity would have compelled me to hold the door to not let me win. The flip out of an airplane took a toll over the fear. I started living every bit of 45 second freefall.The panoramic sight made me feel that I have conquered the world. What a blissful moment! But do you think gravity would let me enjoy it? It started to pull my leg and I could see my downfall.My watch was about to end. Isn’t this excerpt an interpretation of life? We don’t know how many days are going to be the best days of our life but how much ever it is Lets make every moment a ‘FIKA’ moment.

amvedna means empathy.I joined SAMVEDNA about six months ago.Little did I

know that I am not here to serve but to learn such a lot. I would like to pen down my total experience of sharing my time with Madam Janki Vasant. Mrs.Janki Vasant is the director of the NGO named SAMVEDNA. I was happy teaching basic English to aanganwadi ladies when this summer camp was announced in the month of March.It was amazing to analyse such minute details right from looking for venue to the number of children from different schools, segregating them as per their age group and to finalise the appropriate activities.The logo itself brought a broad smile on my face: HAPPEE SUMMER CAMP 2019. The children were divided into three age groups, JOY, SMILE AND GIGGLE. There were too many joys, too many smiles and too many giggles.So it was decided to have two sections of each group:A and B for each class.Next was the teachers and volunteers to be assigned. I was not very sure of finding at least 20 handlers to manage 250 kids. To my surprise, there were so many volunteers willing to join hands from different fields,senior students from colleges and SAMVEDNA team of workers.All was set and race ready by the approaching date of 25th April to May 10th. Time table was up on the walls of Thaltej Municipality School, decorations prepared by SAMVEDNA UDGREEV sect and props were all ready for various activities. I am very happy to say that I became a part of this Happee Summer Camp under the flagship of Janki Mam.We used to start our day with all the children assembling for morning prayers and then go to their respective sections for the activities meticulously designed for every hour of the day. There were three sections : CREATIVE ARTS, INTELLECTUAL ARTS and PERFORMANCE ARTS.Creative Arts classroom was created for Joy kids painting with

water colours, crayons, colouring pencils etc. Wall painting was for all age groups.Arts and crafts classes were managed by our visiting faculties for Book binding, sculpture and clay moulding and Batik handled by UDGREEV team. Intellectual Arts section consisted of Soft skill training classes, Science experiments,solar system. Various faculty members like doctors, engineers and other successful entrepreneurs sharing their life’s hardship, motivating our children to “never give up” lectures. There were many lectures on public speaking skills, grooming and etiquettes. The most popular division was PERFORMANCE ARTS. Most of the children from all age groups really enjoyed themselves working with our faculties in Dance, Drama and Theatre. Special classes were organised for Bharatnatyam, Bollywood dances,Film making,Story telling and Music.The children never felt the heat because of their enthusiasm and zeal. It was fun, fun and fun all the way.All the children got highly nutritional food starting with milk in the morning to sumptuous lunch with all varieties put in to delicious desserts everyday.Our core team paid utmost vigilance to cleanliness and hygiene. The best day of the camp was SHOPPING. I fell in love with the concept of charity.Each and every NGO get a lot of donations not only by way of money but big stores and brands donate their old or rejected lot to them,for which they can also claim a part in their Income tax returns. Our organisation also receives these sort of donations. The hard work is to sort out these huge assignments to make it look attractive and useful. The volunteers put their blood and sweat to do so,specially in the month of April/May.We all finally sorted out,about 150 boxes as per the age group, gender and quality. The most interesting part was the way,the distribution to the needy,was done.Would you like to know the secret !!! The camp children were divided into batches as per their age.They were entrusted to do shopping with the fake money, given by us in equal amount. All the articles were pricetagged as per its condition. The kids had the choice to either buy for themselves or a dress for their siblings or even a saree for mom for the amount given in their hands.What a novel way to teach kids not only to develop a sense of caring but also to handle money wisely. All our kids had rollicking time making up their mind to select from various items displayed in the fake market with fake money but real emotions.I wish I could capture each and every broad smile and excitement of the goodies in their shopping bags.These were the items selected and bought by themselves and not just handed over in charity but the dignity to make use of such things is different in mind.I sincerely salute this concept. The last day of our camp was the grand finale.There was a hall booked for the entertainment show put up by kids,volunteers and the faculty members.We all thoroughly enjoyed and for me it has set a lasting impact. SO, HAPPINESS DOESN’T ALWAYS COME BY RECEIVING BUT DOES COME BY GIVING TOO. Jai Hind Radhika Shah

“What unites people? – Armies? Gold? Flags? Of course, not. Stories. There’s nothing in the world more powerful than a good story. Nothing can stop it. No enemy can defeat it.” – said one of the characters in the recently concluded popular American TV series – Game of Thrones.

t is indeed true that stories have great power. Many people often consider it a tool for kids

but adults are influenced by stories all the time. Look at elections – it is not a person that intrigues people but story of a person; story of a tea-seller becoming PM or story of a ticket collector becoming a national cricket team captain excites people. In 1947, Kurt Vonnegut, an anthropology student in University of Chicago, proposed that every story in the world can be plotted on a 2-dimensional graph. He said that every main character of a story has ups and downs that can be graphed to reveal the taxonomy of the story as well as something about the culture it comes from. His point was that stories have shapes that can be drawn on a graph paper. VONNEGUT plotted stories on a vertical “G-I axis,” representing the good or ill fortunes (in terms of prosperity and health) of the main characters, and a horizontal “B-E” axis that represented the course of the story from beginning to end of life. Vonnegut’s thesis was rejected by the University, cited as too simple and looked like too much fun. However, Vonnegut continued to work on his thesis and wrote several books. He continued to carry the idea with him for many years after that, and spoke publicly about it. He delivered a speech on this (filled with simplicity and humor) –

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oP3c1h8v2ZQ Years later in 1971, his thesis was finally accepted by the University. In 2016, a group of researchers from the University of Vermont and the University of Adelaide decided to put his theory to the test.They analyzed the shape of over two-thousand works of fiction using math and machine learning and found the six main shapes of stories:      

Rags to Riches (rise) Riches to Rags (fall) Man in a Hole (fall then rise) Icarus (rise then fall) Cinderella (rise then fall then rise) Oedipus (fall then rise then fall)

More than 85% of novels follow one of the above six story graphs. Later, this list was further extended to include eight graphs. Vonnegut’s point was that knowing the arc can help writers, film directors, or musicians simplify their approach. It can guide in terms of visual design and kick start creative collaboration. No wonder he went on to write several books using this technique.

But Vonnegut’s theory is not just limited to literature and storytelling. It has broader usefulness too. You can chart your own life’s journey on Vonnegut’s 2-D graph and while doing so, you can derive significant meaning of your life.Vonnegut while explaining “Shapes of Stories” says one should always ask while drawing the graph – “if this isn’t good, then what it is?”. People are often skeptical and pessimistic about their life journey. They don’t realize the trajectory they have covered and how they might be way more blessed than other people. Plotting this graph can help you realize the significance of your achievements, be aware of the fortunes you had, and be thankful to many people who uplifted your trajectory. It also tells us that although multi-dimensional lives cannot be judged in black and white, they can still be simplified for interpretation. If you are a Toastmaster, I am sure while plotting this graph you will realize how your trajectory went up after joining a TM club!

If you want to plot your graph, you can always do with your hand. But you can also use MS Excel in the following way: Create a 2x2 table with 2 columns – age and fortune. Enter various ages where you feel, you had a significant event in life. Rate that event in the fortune column on a scale of -2 to 2 (you can take any evenly distributed scale; range of scale doesn’t matter until its even). -2 meaning a really tragic incident and +2 meaning a blissful event. Do this for various stages of life, select the table and then go to Insert -> Insert Scatter -> Insert Scatter -> Scatter with smooth lines and markers. Name X-axis “age in years” and Y-axis “G-I”. You can put comments on each data point to remind you of what happened and how your shape of life changed at that point. Think about the number of people in the world whose lines would plot much below yours!

My plot looks

something like this, what’s yours? Here’s Harry Porter’s shape of story:

Club anniversary

PART A - THE BUILD UP

have always dreamt of giving a TED or a TEDX talk.In Fact I had also applied a couple

of times but no luck.Because to be a TEDX Speaker,you need to have a story.A story which has two key things. 1) Starting with a humble background 2) And Ending with an extraordinary achievement.

And I knew I was half there. I had the humble background. The issue was that my achievements are also humble. So, when my dream looked far to be accomplished anytime soon, I received a call. “Hello Amit, lets have a coffee”. It was DTM Ajay Hiraskar.When I met him, Ajay shared that he needed volunteers for TEDX- Dharavi. Volunteers who can really add value in speech delivery of the speakers. The event was to be in Mumbai on 28th April, 2019.And Ajay reiterated, “No Money, just experience”.He shared that all other volunteers would be from Mumbai or Pune.And if I agree, I will be the only one from Ahmedabad. And all at my own cost. “Would you like to be a part?”, he asked. And I said, ‘Yes’. A week before the event, specific speakers were allotted to each Toastmaster.I got a footballer – Gulafsha Ansari.4 days to the event, final draft of Gulafsha’s speech was received in the watsapp group. And as I read it, I was shocked to notice two things. 1) The accomplishments of the speaker – GULAFSHA ANSARI. A 21 year old Muslim girl, living in a slum, playing and teaching football to other village girls of Dharavi. And all that without the Hijab and wearing shorts. She was not just a football coach but a youth Icon. A celebrity who had been a brand ambassador at the Junior London Olympics.

2) The grammar mistakes in the draft. The draft had so many flaws that if Toastmaster Chintan (HCTC) or Toastmaster Preeti (ATM), were to to present their grammarian report, they would have needed a full meeting of 2 hours.

This draft was written by one of the organizers of the event not by a professional editor nor the speaker herself. But I kept mum on the grammatical errors because my job was to add value to speech DELIVERY not Content. PART 2 - REHEARSALS A day before the event, I reached Mumbai to see the rehearsals. This was the time where we toastmasters would now be helping the speakers in speech delivery the most. Soon as all gathered, Rehearsals begun.And we toastmasters gave each toastmaster, the feedback. Then came Gulafsha Ansari, my student for this event.And as she delivered, I was left in shock. Again for two reasons: Firstly, The draft shared on WhatsApp was in English.And Gulafsha delivered in Hindi. Secondly, Gulafsha changed her speech completely. But guess what, this speech in Hindi by Gulafsha was better than the draft in English on watsapp. It was better because it was true and it was heartfelt. As she finished her speech, One of the organisers of the event told Gulafsha, “There is no need to say your name again when the host has called your name already” and I interrupted immediately,“When she says her own name, its weighs much more”. Everyone else nodded in agreement. I skipped the other rehearsal speeches and went in to help Gulafsha prepare well. As we prepared together, I realized that the content needed more improvement than delivery and asked Gulafsha to make changes as I suggested. She was extremely slow on laptop and there were a lot of changes to be made.It was impossible, this way.And I took the laptop and started typing As a coach it was important for me to do the following: 1) Not to make the content difficult for Gulafsha to remember 2) Let it be in a language that she is most comfortable in 3) Ensure that she inspires the nation/ the world by her 10 min talk

We worked on the content for 2 hours and organized it well while keeping the above two points in mind. Time to rehearse the speech had come and Gulafsha asked, “Amit, how many times you rehearse the speech?” I said,,“ A 100 times”.She looked at me in awe and then looked at the time. She got nervous. And I added, “And I had the chance of inspiring a community, inspiring a nation, inspiring the world by just a 10 minute talk; I would have

rehearsed it 1000 times.”And her Jaws dropped right before me.She nervously asked,“Then how shall I do it, my speech is tom?”. And with a placid face, I said, “Most important for you is to be as fresh as in a football match. Thus make sure you sleep by 11 and have a good 8 hour sleep”. Gulafsha, asked curiously, “Then preparation?” “From now (6 pm) to 11 pm”, I said. And I knew,the 3rd point was ensured. Gulafsha practiced more and soon left for home and I wished her a good sleep. PART 3: THE FINALE All Toastmasters sat in the middle of the 2000 seat auditorium with just less than a 1000 people attending it,even though we had reserved seats at the front.TedX speakers there were all friends now and we were cheering for all.After half the speaker’s were done,it was time for Gulafsha to come. And I was nervous as if I was about to deliver the speech. Soon Gulafsha was welcomed with an amazing applause. Gulafsha started, “Main, Gulafsha Ansari, Dharavi me badi hui hu.”She had started well. Soon her inspirational examples and journeys made the crowd applaud 8 times during her 10 minute speech. She was doing perfectly well. Connected to the audience by her heartfelt story and delivery in Hindi language. Her rate of speech was naturally fast but she ensured she gave gaps after every sentence for audience to comprehend.A 21 year old Gulafsha was already a star,a celebrity and she was turning into a good speaker. The moment had arrived wherein I had requested Gulafsha to speak the concluding line in English as, “Dare to Dream, be it in a city or in a slum And you will be, what you always wanted to become” I was worried if she would get stuck. I was worried if the message does not get across. I was worried.But Gulafsha wasn’t. She nailed it. And before I could feel relieved,Gulafsha had already got a standing ovation from the crowd. She had inspired everyone. After the event,The organizers thanked toastmasters for their contribution. Soon we were all there at the stage clicking photographs with the celebrities.Raghu, head of organizing team, came to me and thanked me for my special efforts. I felt proud than ever before. I felt proud to have made a difference and that’s what matters.Isn’t it?

ast november,my cousin brother,met

with an accident.I could never see him again.This tragic event turned my world upside down and put everything that I believed into question. We grew together and being of the same age we attended the same school,college, engineering and the same company eventually.It was not the life I had planned for,it was not that I had signed for and it was not that I wanted.Initially,it was very hard for me.I felt lost and alone and did not know how I was going to make it without him in my life. It was a long journey out of the darkness, but once I discovered what my purpose was,I began to heal slowly.I tried to understand the situation.Though I cannot replace him, I could be there as "him" for people who needed "him". Life taught me many lessons on account of this incident.No matter what grief we have been through, we can learn from our experiences. Be patient for healing.I came

to a realization that true healing and understanding needs time.Keeping my heart open and sharing his memories helped me to overcome this greatest disaster and pain became my ally in life lessons.Don't allow pain to shut your heart down Moreover,I learnt to live a life of compassion through eyes of grace and forgiveness.I learnt trying to be kind to myself as well as others.I learnt to be grateful to whatever I have at present.I learnt the true meaning of gratitude. Everyone can find things to be grateful for,no matter what are our current circumstances. One greatest thing about healing is focusing on helping others.There are so many people suffering,if we can help them out with their pain,it would surely lessen ours.May be a little,but it does! So each and every circumstance of our lives teaches us something.As said by Daisaku Ikeda - a Buddhist. "We are not defeated by the adversity but by the loss of will to strive. However devastated you may feel, as long as you

have the will to fight on, you can surely

triumph".

I have seen successful relationships; I have seen failed marriages. I have seen people in love and seen them fall out of love. I have seen them turn red like a tomato when they talk about the other one. I have at the same time seen people cry when they want to stay with the person, but the relationship is not working out. I had heard all about this love. How it makes you feel so many things, how it makes your heart jump up and down, how it makes everything around you go slow, everything around you turns black and white, everything except that one person. How everything looks like the cheesiest video. I had heard it all and I had seen too many Bollywood romcoms to not believe it. I must have passed on at least 10 chances to fall in love, waiting for the air to brush my hair and rain to fall on both of us, to get the proof. I would like this sweetest looking person in the room and just stare at them, waiting for everyone to stop and go in Polaroid mode. While the other one is looking at me like, is he having a stroke, or is he another thirsty cheapo! It is said that the hardest part of any love, is when you fall in love and when you fall out of it. Remember when you got your first crush? How you acted like you are in some music video and walked around with a smile as if you slept with a hanger in your mouth.All the guys stopped cussing and girls magically got medusa hair which flew on its own. Remember that time.This was probably around your 8th or 9th grade And that period has its own stages. 1. Realizing you had a crush: When you couldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t help but stare at someone and would exchange seats with anyone just to be a bit closer.Basically,innocent creeping. 2. Trying to find out if the liked you back. Well none of us had that good internet stalking skills back then. What did we rely on? FLAMES. I mean. Well if the flames were burning, they were.

3. Realizing the mature way to approach the feelings and talking to them. 4. That resulting in you getting confidence over the period of a million months to talk to them like me, or if you are the confident one, it probably resulted in one of two: you got together and planned happily ever after for few months or you were rejected and you ended up eating two tons of ice-cream, and fat from that ice cream still is the constant love of your life. But seriously though does anyone ever eat ice-cream when they are sad like in movies? Every time I’m sad I probably end up eating pizza, burger, sandwich, fritters, chocolates, half Italy. I mean that’s how it goes in real life right? Anyway, moving to the second hardest thing: The break-up. The un mendable breakup. I’m not going to attempt to put any humor here. Cause breakups hurt. I have seen people cheat, people lie. I mean if you feel that it’s not working out, just say it. Why prolong a doomed relationship? It is said that communication is the key to a healthy relationship, but I think communication is the key to a simple, uncomplicated life. Even if a communication ends your relationship, it’s for good, it stopped you from wasting time on the wrong person or just the wrong relationship.These are the two hardest part I have been told that Love has. But I feel that these are easy, they have solutions. They have some outcome and it’s just between two people.The actual reasons why love sucks are: Religion. People fall for the face, the heart, the brain, the personality. Only if people walked around with kundli and religious tags on their head. Age. This one is a one-way street. True. A man should be elder to Woman. People fall for the face, the heart, the brain, the personality. Only if people walked with birthday candles on their head.Gender. This one is something that got its due last year, but then like the other two, social taboos are making it even more difficult. As I said, people fall for the face, the heart, the brain, the personality.

Every love story and every lover, They say it’s written in the Stars. But I don’t know how and when, Was I even ready to show you my scars; Painful, ugly, each telling a story; That I never told, never said out loud. Felt always like I was walking alone, While colliding with everyone in the crowd. Beating heart, pacing, jumping, Anxiously, curiously creeping heart. Rethinking all my forced decisions; Seeing you, feeling you as it’s part.

Holding your hand, when they judged: Holding you closer behind the closed door, Putting my head in your lap in your arms; To be like that everywhere was internal war. Once again, my demons are winning, Last you pulled me out of my whirlpool, This time I think I’ll rock this boat a bit, To fight this for us, fight this ugly ghoul. Maybe for us, it’s not in stars. But I will still keep it as the hope. Wish upon a falling star; To walk with you on this ridge rope. But till that day, this is all I know: From this day’s dawn, this day’s sun; To the day I set or sets the moonI am yours; you are mine, deals done

And in the end, the HEART wants what it wants, even if it sucks!

he most beautiful relation which Toastmasters builds is a mentor-mentee

relationship. When I attended the first few meetings of Toastmasters as a newbie,I wanted either of the two very amazing toastmasters in my club TCS BE@T Gandhinagar, to be my mentor,But Toastmasters had a unique plan devised for me and I got a different mentor whom I never knew. Luckily in the immediate next session she was the Grammarian.I heard her for the first time and she nailed it as a grammarian though she exceeded her time limit, the way she explained and gave her feedback,I was awestruck. Next thing which I remember was meeting her with my half written speech for my ice breaker project. I was in a dilemma that she might not like it, but she was not only extremely happy and enthusiastic after seeing that half-written speech but she gave me some amazing ideas to complete the same. Her feedback always took my speech to the next level. One thing I liked about her is that she never judged me for what I am, she encouraged me a lot.Sometimes itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s just the support which makes you understand your own capabilities and TM Priya did this amazingly. A Mentor is a building block of Toastmasters journey and I have a strong base.Now I am all set and looking forward to the upcoming challenges and learnings in Toastmasters. Gratitude confetti dear Toastmasters and my mentor Priya Saxena.

Vppr msg

he most beautiful relation which toastmaster builds is a mentor mentee

relationship.

he most beautiful relation which Toastmasters builds is a

mentor-mentee relationship. When I attended the first few meetings of Toastmasters as a newbie,I wanted either of the two very amazing toastmasters in my club TCS BE@T Gandhinagar, to be my mentor,But Toastmasters had a unique plan devised for me and I got a different mentor whom I never knew. Luckily in the immediate next session she was the Grammarian.I heard her for the first time and she nailed it as a grammarian though she exceeded her time limit, the way she explained and gave her feedback,I was awestruck. Next thing which I remember was meeting her with my half written speech for my ice breaker project. I was in a dilemma that she might not like it, but she was not only extremely happy and enthusiastic after seeing that half-written speech but she gave me some amazing ideas to complete the same. Her feedback always took my speech to the next level. One thing I liked about her is that she never judged me for what I am, she encouraged me a lot.Sometimes itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s just the support which makes you understand your own capabilities and TM Priya did this amazingly.

he most beautiful relation which Toastmasters builds is a mentor-mentee

One thing I liked about her is that she never judged me for what I am, she encouraged me a lot.Sometimes itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s just the support which makes you understand your own capabilities and TM Priya did this amazingly.

he most beautiful relation which Toastmasters builds is a mentor-mentee

I was in a dilemma that she might not like it, but she was not only extremely happy and enthusiastic after seeing that half-written speech but she gave me some amazing ideas to complete the same. Her feedback always took my speech to the next level.