Eloquence

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eloQuence travel

Edition: 36 OCTOBER 2013

WMC Toastmasters#603459

Area 35, Division K, District 20, Kingdom of Bahrain

DRE A M , BELIEVE , E X PL ORE , D ISCOV E R


President’s

Message “Believe in yourself, and the rest will fall into place. Have faith in your own abilities, work hard, and there is nothing you cannot accomplish” Brad Henry

WHERE LEADERS ARE MADE

WMC TOASTMASTERS CLUB (WMCTMC) OFFICE BEARERS 2013-2014

President TM Raveendran

VP Education TM Roshni Pinto

VP Membership TM Khushboo Rajusth VP Public Relation TM Alka Kumra

Secretary TM Sanjeev Bhalla

Treasurer TM Leena Pillai

IT Co-Ordinator TM Bhuvanesh Kumar

Seargant at arms TM Vikrant Sawant

OUR MEETINGS Meeting time and venue: First and third Friday every month 4 pm – 6:30 pm at Boardroom Crowne Plaza Hotel, Bahrain

It is indeed a great honor for me to have this opportunity and privilege to serve as the President of WMC Toastmasters Club where all the members have been contributing tirelessly over the years towards the success of the Club. I am honored to be the 11th President of the prestigious WMC Toastmasters Club. The theme of the term is ‘Believe in yourself’, a foundation of self-confidence. I would like each and every one of our members to carry this slogan, “Believe in yourself” and confidently take active roles for successfully running the club. My journey in toastmasters during the last 4 ½ years helped me a lot in my professional and personal life, to become a better communicator and leader. I was the Sergeant-at-Arms for the term 2009-10, the VPMembership for the term 2010-11 & Club Secretary for the term 2012-13. These active roles helped me to enhance my skills and helped me in my career. Life and we all go through so many transitions as we continue shaping ourselves and shaping our world. WMC Toastmasters movement provides opportunity to learn and share our learning with others, positively improve ourselves and help others to improve. I would urge all the members to attend the club meetings regularly without any sabbatical and provide a more energetic platform for successfully achieving goals with your commitment to the club. I request all the members also to bring as many guests as possible and be a brand ambassador for WMC Toastmasters. Wishing all success!

CONTACT WMC-TMC wmc-excom1314@googlegroups.com

M. Raveendran

President WMC Toastmasters Club 2013 - 2014

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Toastmasters Community

About Toastmasters International Toastmasters International (TMI) is a nonprofit educational organization that teaches public speaking and leadership skills through a worldwide network of meeting locations. Headquartered in Rancho Santa Margarita, California, the organization’s membership exceeds 292,000 in more than 14,350 clubs in 122 countries. Since 1924, Toastmasters International has helped people of all backgrounds become more confident in front of an audience. For information about local Toastmasters clubs, please visit www.toastmasters.org. Follow @Toastmasters on Twitter.

International Mission TMI empowers individuals to become more effective communicators and leaders.

District Mission TMI builds new clubs and support all clubs in achieving excellence.

Club Mission TMI provides a supportive and positive learning experience in which members are empowered to develop communication and leadership skills, resulting in greater self-confidence and personal growth.

Toastmasters International Values • • • •

Integrity Respect Service Excellence

Toastmasters International Envisioned Future To be the first-choice provider of dynamic, high-value, experiential communication and leadership skills development. Ralph C. Smedley (1878 – 1965) founded Toastmasters International (TMI) in 1924. He used to write a monthly column “Personally Speaking” in Toastmaster magazine. In 1966, TMI produced a memorial book with the same title. This book consists of a selection from his columns and other writings, some of which are reproduced below as tips for success as a Toastmaster.

“Toastmasters is based on belief in the individual…Many organizations ask the individual to subordinate himself to the group. Ours is the only organization I know that is dedicated to the individual.” “Toastmasters is a ‘do-it-yourself’ activity…Don’t be afraid to use your imagination and initiative…” “Listen to others and evaluate their thinking – then form your own conclusions and speak for yourself.” “The first result of speech training is self-discovery.” “The simple fact is that we grow or learn or work better when we enjoy what we are doing, and this is essentially the secret of success in Toastmasters.” “The ability to approach an audience in [a] friendly style is partly a gift of nature, and partly a cultivated art. It is worth cultivating if you want to be as effective as possible in your speech.” “It is always the speaker’s responsibility to make his speech effective. If he does that, applaud him, commend him, vote for him, even though he violated all the rules in the book. The test of the speech is not in following the textbook, but in making the sale.” 3 - eloquence


From the Editor’s Desk We have just completed the first quarter of a new club year. A new year, with a new board team and the constant stream of new members, brings with it not only new excitement, new experiences and new friendships, but also renewed commitment, new challenges and of course a new newsletter. My fellow board members and I have one thing in common. We believe we are students in the school of Toastmastering, always willing to learn as we go along, while having a firm belief in ourselves that we will learn and perform to the best of our capability. As Vice President-Public Relations this year, it is my vision to boost our club’s visibility and membership through positive publicity of the club’s spirit in essence and spotlighting of members’ and club’s achievements. The tools for such a drive, I believe, are the members themselves, apart from the local newspapers, a visually appealing and technically effective website and a catchy newsletter. While I’ll try to keep the various issues of the newsletter as fresh and informative as possible, keeping members abreast of the happenings within the club and outside, its quality will also depend upon the contributions received from you all.

As learning by doing is the essence of a Toastmaster, I believe, the Toastmaster movement is much more than plain public speaking. It is a personal development and self-improvement program that enhances not only self-confidence and self-esteem, but also leadership and interpersonal skills. Virtues such as cooperation, fellowship, tolerance, openness, understanding, inquisitiveness, positivism, and professionalism multiply as the members learn from each other. As you read through this newsletter, you will find these qualities and virtues shining through the pieces written by members. The theme ‘Travel and Vacation’ chosen by me for the first newsletter of this term, was partly based on the timing of the publication, viz., just after every one is coming back from their vacation and partly on the belief that travel is enriching, as it increases self-confidence and self-knowledge. And not to forget, the theme was also inspired by Ralph C Smedley’s famous quote “We learn best in moments of enjoyment.”

Alka P Kumra

VP – Public Relations

My journey with WMC TMC

What you resist persists

I heard about Toastmasters a long time back but never dared to attend to any invitation because of the fear of public speaking. One day I realized that I must confront this fear. Around the same time, one of my colleagues invited me and there I got an opportunity to attend my first ever meeting as a guest in Toastmasters. Luckily I landed in WMC TMC as a guest and the electric atmosphere of the club attracted me to become a member of WMC TMC.

The treasurer’s responsibility was first offered to TM Ponnambalam. He successfully dodged the offer and it landed on me and I did not have any other choice than to accept it. Being an accountant what I hate the most is the debtors’ follow up. As they say “What you resist persists”. And so here I am, the treasurer of WMCTMC with the unenviable responsibility of constantly following up with the debtors. I firmly believe that in our lives, a lesson will be repeated in different forms until we learn it. This time I have learned the lesson and decided not to resist, with the result that the WMCTMC members are receiving constant reminders for paying up their dues. I would request everyone not to resist, as I will persist and you will be receiving even more reminders.

I know that the path to acquire public speaking skill is not an easy one. I am enjoying my Toastmasters journey with WMCTMC where every Toastmaster wants to see each other grow and succeed. I have also known that Toastmasters is not about reaching the destination but enjoying this journey and keep discovering. I know that growth and learning has no limit so my focus will remain on the journey and not on the destination.

Sanjeev Bhalla Club Secretary

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Jokes apart, I would take this opportunity to thank each member of the WMCTMC for ‘Believing’ in me and the senior members for their advice, appreciation and support. Three months into this journey, I am enjoying it in spite of taking it up reluctantly. I truly feel that WMCTMC is where leaders are made.

Leena N. Pillai Club Treasurer


WMC TMC reaches a milestone WMC TMC was chartered on 17th October 2003; with a strong foundation and the contribution of its many leaders and members, as the club completes its first decade of excellence in communication and leadership, an e-mail message from the Founder President, Dr Babu Ramachandran sums up the pride, the spirit of belonging and the feeling of achievement of all members of the Club..... Dear Friends

famous lines of William Wordsworth: “The woods are lovely, dark and deep But we have promises to keep And miles to go before we sleep And miles to go before we sleep.”

Dr Babu Ramachandran

Founder President, WMC TMC

Ten years! How time flies. Seems like yesterday that the founder members got together to form this club. The club owes its success to the sincerity, dedication and bonding of all the past and present members. Each individual, who has been and who continues to be a part of this family, has contributed his/ her indelible mark to build the house of WMC Toastmasters. And here we are today - with a lot of bouquets and a few brickbats as well - Like any family we too had our ups and downs .However each step helped us to become stronger and stronger. I am happy to have had the privilege to be the Founder President of WMC Toastmasters and the privilege of having the good fortune to interact with each WMC Toastmaster. Every contact has helped me to learn and grow one step more. I am indebted to one and all of you - the past and the present members for holding our flag aloft. I dedicate this mail to all of you as I sign off recalling those

Running with the Bulls of Pamplona There are certain dreams which remain with you for a long time; you visualize them again and again in your mind. One of mine was pitting my wits against the speeding enraged bulls of Pamplona. And I was lucky enough to live my dream. Personally, I blame James A Michener’s description of the place in his novel “The Drifters” for my decision to run with the bulls of Pamplona, but it was another literary giant, Ernest Hemingway’s classic novel, “The Sun Also Rises”, that brought world-wide attention to Pamplona’s bizarre age-old festival of allowing bulls to run through the streets as they please, running over and goring those brave enough to run with them. The small town of Pamplona in northern hilly part of Spain starts filling up by 5th of July. The town’s population of two hundred thousand swells to one million. Around two million people visit the town in the week-long festival. On the morning of the 6th, the dress code suddenly changes. Everybody wears white with a red sash across the waist. Come morning, I remembered that reading Michener’s or Hemingway’s works didn’t exactly prepare me for handling big bulls. I was entirely on my own. 5 - eloquence


My only knowledge of the run came from second-hand information and the scene from the movie “Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara”. In it, Hritik Roshan, Farhan Akhtar and Abhay Deol are seen at the festival running in front of a bull that is just jogging along at a reasonable pace. I thought this was the normal speed of bulls. No problem. “Nothing outruns a bull.” A news reporter told me matterof-factually as I looked down into the bull pens during the wee hours of the morning.

turn right up Estafeta street. One of the bulls slipped and fell in the rush. After he picked himself up, he began to run straight towards me! I desperately tried pretending to be part of the wall, but my performance did little to deter him. Fortunately the lone bull must have caught the sight of his comrades out of the corner of his eye, because he suddenly swung his horned head around and ran after them.

The reporter explained to me that a person technically doesn’t run “with” the bulls because they’re simply too fast. People just run until the bulls get almost on top of them, then the runners either “get the hell out of the way or get run over”. Most people run behind the bulls but this too can be fraught with the danger as bulls have been known to turn around. This revelation was not what I expected and it did little to bolster my courage. My instinct for self-preservation suddenly flared up urging me to abandon this suicidal bravado. My spirit, however, was emboldened enough not to back out now. Shaking off my doubts, I smugly took my place amongst other brave and inspired bull runners at the end of the street called Dona Blanca de Navarra. From this place, the bulls turn right into narrow but long Estafeta street where rich people pay hundred euros to stand on the balconies to watch two or three minutes of the grand spectacle. The run begins when a rocket is fired off to let those runners who are sobering up to their senses get a head start to the Arena where the race ends. A second rocket is fired shortly after to signal the release of the first group of bulls. After the second rocket was fired that day, a few runners must suddenly have had second thoughts, as I saw some bolt and go over the wooden barricades while others climbed up the bars of windows to get out of harm’s way.

I heaved a sigh, laughing at my reprieve before casually strolling up the same street where the bulls had disappeared. I was a third of the way up the street when panicky runners darted by interrupting my thoughts. There was nagging doubt eating away at me that I was somehow forgetting something quite important. Then it hit me: “the Big Bulls”! Frantically I joined the crowd in a desperate attempt to reach the end of this death-trap of a street. This particular street was far too narrow to accommodate the amount of human and bull traffic on it. With tall buildings enclosing both sides, there was nowhere to escape, except forward into the Arena or backward into the oblivion of oncoming bull fury.

From the place where I was, I could see a sea of heads but not the bulls. All at once, I saw people turning around and then heads began bobbing up and down like a wave. Fear can be contagious - as those standing around me started running away in greater numbers, I found myself quickly running away as well, before I even saw the bulls. I was caught up in that mass panic with the sudden clarifying thought of “What the hell am I doing here?” echoing in my mind. It’s a question that must hit every bull runner the moment stark, sober reality arrives in the form of several tons of speeding bull-flesh. At first I could see nothing of them, but I could hear them; a dreadful hammering sound, the sound of cloven hooves beating against the cobble stone. And then the bulls burst into the little square with a clattering flurry of hooves and horns. My courage swiftly evaporated at the sight. I bolted into the Estafeta street and leaped against the wall at the far side just before the bulls arrived. It finally dawned on me that I could actually die doing this stupid sport. The bulls charged through the square and took a sharp

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The end of the street was still out of reach when, once again, I heard that terrible hammering sound. The sound was coming up swiftly behind me. Moses couldn’t have split the Red Sea as fast and effectively as the sound of those oncoming bulls split that street. Runners dived left and right for safety. I jumped to the side only to find the wall was already covered four ranks deep with quivering runners. I could only cower against the backs of others


while my backside remained horribly exposed. The big bulls came tearing up the street with all the noise and fury of a runaway locomotive, and then they were gone. The next morning I went to the Arena, successfully managing to enter the Arena well ahead of the bulls. When the bulls did arrive, I bravely leaped over the protective railing and from there I watched the bizarre last act of the San Fermin Bull Run.The Arena was a kaleidoscopic spectacle of bulls chasing people and people chasing bulls. Rolled-up newspapers, another essential part of the bull runner’s wardrobe, were used to swat bulls in an effort to get their attention. I saw one man get too much attention. A bull tossed him several feet into the air like a limp rag doll. He was luckier than he deserved. He staggered away with his life and limbs still intact. Why people would purposely want to get the attention of a ticked-off bull is beyond any rational guess that I can offer. Perhaps it is some kind of lemming instinct, a bit of Darwinism in action: stupidity in the form of bravado

culling itself from the herd. After the bulls had gored their fill and the bull runners exhausted their machismo, the bulls were herded into pens and the runners herded out of the Arena. The runners would spend the rest of the day bragging of their exploits or counting their blessings. In the evening, a local paper would come out with the statistics of the day’s run showing how many injuries there were and fatalities, if any. I ran on different parts of the run path for four days – Dona Blanca de Navarra, Near the Plaza de Toros arena at the end of the path, Santo Domingo from where the run start and on the long narrow great Estafeta street. Today, my adrenaline levels are normal and I’m marginally wiser now but part of me wants to go back there again and test my courage once more.

TM Ajay Jaiswal

A Visit to God’s Own Country – Kerala Whenever I am in India, I make it a point to visit temples. It serves me two purposes. One is the spiritual aspect. Another is, that it provides me an opportunity to enjoy the magnificent architectures and ancient civil engineering marvel of India. The kind of knowledge our ancestors had in Civil Engineering was incomparable. This year I planned to visit the famous Sri Guruvayur Krishna Temple (a.k.a Sri Guruvayur Appan Temple), Guruvayoor, Thrissur District and Sri Bhagavati Temple (dedicated to Goddess Durga) in Kadambuzha, Malapurram District respectively in Kerala. I had visited Kerala twice before during my childhood and college days. However, this trip was a very short one for just 3 days.

After paying visit to our family deity and visiting few important shrines in Kachipuram, I and my elder sister boarded the Mangalore Mail from Arrakkonam Junction to Shoranur at 9:30 PM. We reached Shoranur Junction at 5:30 am. We stayed at one of our family friend’s house in Shoranur. The House was surrounded by hills, fields and rivers. The weather was superb - cloudy with intermittent rains. For a nature lover like me, it was indeed a Heavenly experience.

Kerala is known for its natural splendour and Ayurveda (knowledge on herbal medicines). In this electronic age, where there is a lot of deforestation in the name of development, it was heartening to see a lot of greenery around. The nature was at its best - Pure and Serene.

We first went to Sri Guruvayur Krishna Temple at Guruvayoor Temple which was about an hour’s journey from our place. We had a blissful darshan of the Lord. One thing that I noticed in Kerala Temples, which is not there elsewhere, is the strict dress code. gents had to wear a white dhotar or dhoti and be bare from head to waist whereas the ladies had to wear sarees. 7 - eloquence


We then went to the Punnathurkotta Elephant Camp (Anakkotta meaning “Elephant Fort”) at Kottapadi, about 3 kms from the Guruvayoor Temple. This place used to be the palace of a local ruler. The palace grounds are now used to shelter hundreds of elephants belonging to Guruvayur Temple. The way the mahout was training the Elephants was indeed a treat to watch.

The next day, we went to the Kadambuzha Bhagavati Temple early in the morning and had another blissful darshan. That very afternoon, we went to a nearby tea and coffee estate at the top of the hill at Nelliyampathy in Pallakkad District. It was about two and a half hours’ drive. The route was spectacular with lots of lush green fields and bridges. We reached the foot of the Nelliyampathy Hill, where we saw the Pothundi Dam.

As it was monsoon time in Kerala, the climb to the top of the hill was even more spectacular with lots of waterfalls and lots of rain clouds covering the hills.

I was so deeply engrossed in nature that, I only remembered to take photographs later. I took as many pictures I could and started to descend the hill before it got dark. The next day we boarded a direct train from Shoranur to Hyderabad, with lots of sweet and wonderful moments to cherish.

TM Shankar Prasad

Christhanilya While on vacation in Mangalore, I always stay at my mother’s place at Mercara Hills. My in-laws live around 18 kms away from Mangalore city junction, in a beautiful green valley called Gurpur. Last summer, my wife & kids decided to visit my in-laws on a late afternoon and wanted me to join them. We decided that the safest way to travel to our destination would be to take an express bus ride. My enthusiastic children wanted to carry their backpacks which was all that we intended to carry. I was glad that my children were old enough to take some load off me this year and hoped that their enthusiasm to assist me would increase in future. As the rain gods had taken a break that afternoon and with no auto rickshaws in sight, we walked to the main road which took us around 10 minutes. We took a rickshaw from the main road to be dropped off at the nearest bus stand. After a short while, a bus arrived; I gave a brief look to my wife and with a quick gesture, we boarded this bus to avoid delay in reaching our destination. As we entered, we found a few passengers standing. Passengers were

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mainly college students and people returning from work. As soon as we entered the bus, the driver took off as if he was in a great rush to meet his beloved. I managed to make place for my kids to sit on top of the engine bonnet, which luckily was very well cushioned, and instructed them to hold on tight to the steel rod in front of them. They were sitting facing me and I had my eyes on them and at the same time I could see the road very clearly in front of me. This express bus was named CHRISTHANILYA by its owner, which means God’s place. Within the city limits, the bus driver was getting irritated by the heavy traffic. He was passing comments to passengers sitting close to him and even these passengers seemed to be in a great rush. Having a full view of the road through the front glass pane, I was worried to see Christanilya being driven like a death wagon. I was annoyed to see the desperation of the driver who was now focused on dangerously overtaking vehicles ahead of us. I had taken the liberty to board the bus from the front door along with wife and kids, and saw that all passengers who were


standing had difficulty in keeping their balance. I looked back at my wife and was glad that she was quite well settled between other ladies. At the next stop, more passengers boarded the bus, which was now quite packed. The conductor blew his whistle just as the last passenger kept one foot on the first step of the bus. The driver immediately accelerated to maximum speed with the conductor clinging to the bus frame with his whistle blowing at intervals, indicating to the driver that all was clear from his end. Male passengers who were sitting on the adjacent seat next to the driver were boosting up the driver’s adrenalin, which for sure was quite high from the tobacco he was chewing. I soon came to know from their conversation that overtaking another bus plying on the same route ahead of us was the driver’s main aim and daily dose of fun for these passengers on their way back home. I realized that the environment in which we live makes us immune to risks. We care less for others but complain when our near and dear ones are victims of accidents. I remembered my high school days and it dawned on me that I too had not been much bothered about safety while travelling on city buses in those days. Now, I silently thanked God for protecting me and keeping me safe. A nun standing beside me looked frightened, finding it difficult to keep her balance and was trying hard not to be thrown around along with her bags. Standing there as firmly as I could, I imagined the nun pulling out her rosary and praying to Christ whose picture depicting his sacred heart showering blessings was firmly fixed in front of the driver. To my disbelief, not a single soul in the bus complained. Honestly, I too had only the guts to make gestures with my head to show my disapproval. I needed both my hands to hold on tight to keep my balance. I did not whimper a word as it could lead to an argument which was the last thing I wanted to get into. We now approached a single track bridge across the Gurpur river. The traffic in front of us was at a standstill waiting for vehicles plying from the opposite side to clear the bridge. This did not make any difference to the spirit of the driver. He simply kept honking and revving the engine to make it roar and informed his well-wishers the lack of power in the engine.

these flowers to Christ so Christanilya would ply safely on these winding roads. The journey to my destination was truly exhausting; my arms were aching. I was glad to get off the bus with my

family, safe and in one piece, after this breathtaking ride. In my mind, I wished a safe journey for the rest of the passengers, who were still on Christhanilya. Keshav, our regular auto man, with his auto rickshaw was waiting for us at the bus stand to take us home. The beautiful view of the green valley on our way home made me forget about the tiring bus ride. Now when I pen down the whole episode, I want to believe all those spiritual intellectuals who claim that we need to change our selves first, which in turn will change our world. I wish the whole process of bringing change was that simple and easy. As I look forward to settling down back home, I wish our Bharat quickly transforms from its present state of misery and rises to its past glory of the “golden age”.

TM Joseph Pinto

On the next stretch of the winding road, a family travelling in a taxi had to face the wrath from the impatient driver of our bus. There was no opportunity to overtake this taxi on the winding road. Our driver did not maintain a safe distance and kept close to the taxi’s rear bumper and kept honking. Eventually the taxi driver was forced to get off the road and let the big bus overtake the taxi and go. Soon after, a senior citizen driving his Maruti Swift, who refused to give way and stood his ground on the winding road, became a victim of the driver’s rage. He only let the bus overtake him on a straight stretch of the road. This old man was screamed at by the cleaner, who was hanging out of the bus like a monkey, balancing precariously on the first step of the front door. At last, when we were nearing our destination, the driver managed to overtake the other bus by parking in front of it at a bus stop. The driver’s face lit up in pride, not realising that innocent lives were being put at risk in order to have his dose of fun. The picture of Christ in front of the driver was adorned with a garland made of fresh flowers. The owner or the driver must have offered

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Life is a journey… A long time ago, there was an Emperor, who told his horseman that if he would ride on his horse and cover as much land area as he could, then the Emperor would gift him the area of land he has covered. Sure enough, the horseman quickly jumped onto his horse and rode as fast as possible to cover as much land area as he could. He kept on riding and riding, whipping the horse to go as fast as possible. When he was hungry or tired, he did not stop, because he wanted to cover as much area as possible. He came to a point where he had covered a substantial area, but was too exhausted and could move no further. He had neglected to take care of his health, while in his pursuit to gain the maximum land and now he was dying. It was then that he asked himself, “Why did I push myself so hard to cover so much land area? Now I am dying and I only need a very small area to bury myself.” The above story is similar to the journey of our Life. We push very hard every day to make more money, to gain power and recognition. We neglect our health, time with our family and to appreciate the surrounding beauty and the hobbies we love. And then one day when we look back, we realize that we don’t really need that much. But the irony of the situation is that by that time it’s too late and we cannot

turn back the lost time for what we have missed. Life is not about making money, acquiring power or recognition. Life is definitely not about work. Work is only necessary to keep us alive, so as to enjoy the beauty and pleasures of life. Life is a balance of Work and Play, Family and Personal time. You have to decide how you want to balance your Life. Define your priorities and limit your needs and greed; realize what you are able to compromise but always let some of your decisions be based on your instincts. Happiness is the meaning and the purpose of Life, the whole aim of human existence. So, take it easy, do what you want to do and appreciate nature. Life is fragile, Life is short. Do not take Life for granted. Live a balanced lifestyle and enjoy Life! Watch your thoughts; they become words. Watch your words; they become actions. Watch your actions; they become habits. Watch your habits; they become character. Watch your character; it becomes your destiny.

TM Vaidyanathan

Vacation in Bahrain When I received Alka’s request through our WMCTMC group mail for a write up on vacation during this summer, it was then that I realized - hey, but my vacation was entirely spent here in Bahrain! With July heat approaching, I remember dreading about the long sultry summer days ahead. But then I prepared for taking the summer head on, drawing relief from thinking about people living in the hot and arid regions of the Kalahari desert without even a drop of water. My wandering mind, however, found another reason to sulk about. Most of my friends would be away on summer holidays to some exotic places, enjoying, while I would get roasted in the simmering heat of Bahrain. To add to it, it was Ramadan time, which meant food outlets would not be open during day time!! Amidst all adversities, I greeted the summer with my expectation graph hitting an all-time low. However, now when I look back the month of July-August that was, I feel so content having had an awesome vacation here itself. I had a bunch of options to do. Most of my friends know that I love outdoors and that I can go a little crazy if I don’t get out of the house for a long period of time. For this reason, I decided to make use of the Ramadan timings to the most. As I made plans, it dawned upon me that Anil will work straight shift too during Ramadan which meant I could plan something together with him in the evenings. It all started from there…. resulting in an outing on every evening. Together we remeasured the length and breadth of this island, from one

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end of Budaiya to the other end. North to South and East to West, I planned and executed evening walks and “Discover Bahrain” drives to different areas with Anil, that we had never before thought of exploring on this tiny island. It was fun, and we felt like Mrs. & Mr. Columbus on wheels. We even christened those places that did not have specific names, with newly coined names such as Al How-howsitisya, Al Gimme-waterya, and Al Lets-gohommiya. Our other expeditions were to Arad fishermen port where all the dhows docked, to Amwaj water lagoon, to the sun set at Sofitel, to the sun rise at Bahrain fort and shell collection at Seef sea!! In addition to the above, we had activities indoors too! Hey, don’t get me wrong. We ventured into wine making with different ingredients, tried out new recipes and called over friends for dinner spontaneously, not forgetting the maximum number of movies ever seen in those two months. However, the activity that I loved most was, the basic salsa dance classes with Ms. Urvi. That was the icing on my summer vacation. There is so much more I could write about it but I will leave it at that for now, with pleasant memories of a superb vacation in Bahrain, the land of smiles.

TM Thanuja Anil


Literature of a Festival Standing in a library at home or outside always used to fill me with a sense of dread. What if I have to die before I can finish reading all these books? Ages later, this dread shadowed me into the present. But now I know that it is impossible to read all the books, because as I read these authors are sitting there and typing out books after books! This is the most important insight that I gained after attending the awe inspiring Jaipur Literature Festival (JLF) in January 2013. Imagine an old palace, with shocking pink and blue tents strewn on its lawns; a sun competing with the steaming masala chai boiling in brass pots and poured into terracotta cups to warm you from the North Indian icy winds straight from the Himalayas! People bustling around, not really jostling, for there is an invisible thread that binds us all …….the love for the written word, bound in fresh white paper smelling of the ink and the wood and the gum! For sandwiched in between the covers are words that pour out of hearts that crave to write reaching out to minds that yearn to read! A voice of reason tells me that as any other art form, writing is also a craft, honed by rewriting, reviewing, rethinking and reediting! Yet a turn of the sentence, a lonely word, a different vantage point, that is what distinguishes an author from the rest of us. Five days, spent with authors from around the world varying in age from their 20s to their 70s, listening to their views, agonies and joys in writing, was as if, another world had opened up for me. When a Mahasweta Devi says that words just come uninvited…. for example, sitting in an auto and telling the driver turn right or turn left, the idea came to her that this is like throttling the neck of air, to clear a passage, for revolution was waiting behind the lamp post! Or when Pakistani author Jamil Ahmed said that every collectivity has a bit of tyranny in built in them one could feel how important it was for them “to write” and to record life as it is for the future generations. There were other voices…...Madeline Miller, a simple school teacher with her ‘Song of Achilles’, Yeoni with her short stories, Simon Armitage with his poem, William Dalrymple with his ‘Return of the King’, confident Anjum Hassan with contemporary short stories and Benyamin Daniel who lives in Bahrain.

Chief Minister who came late got only the 5th row. I could go on but as all newsletters have space constraint let me stop here with the lasting images in my heart of the wonderful 5 days of my life. That of an 89 year old Mahasweta Devi saying “write in the language that you dream of “and the Dalai Lama who smiled pure and bright and said “I can talk for more than an hour if you all have the time” Sadly, with our smart phones and notebooks we don’t have time to hear the wisdom of the ages!

TM Rekha Utham

Travelling Toastmaster It has been a great pleasure and privilege to carry the name of WMCTMC in front of one of the world wonders. It was a unique feeling that I had while displaying our club’s name and representing Toastmasters at fantastic locations where I visited, while holidaying. Nowadays, it is my habit to carry the Toastmasters magazine wherever I visit and posing against fantastic scenic and action backdrops. There are many people who don’t know about toastmasters, but are eager to know more about it. It was an exhilarating feeling to explain to the people of various cultures and nationalities, who asked about toastmasters and I would always start with our WMCTMC activities!

This year the festival focused on Buddhism. One heard about the faith of Ranjini Abayasekhara and Victor Chan talking about Dhamma. Try to figure out by delving deep into yourself the meaning of the saying “If you meet the Buddha, kill him”. From Siddique Sadat came this wisdom “To practice one religion implicitly is to practice all religions explicitly” and “Clinging to any idea is dangerous”. Does it find an echo in you? Untouchability and the caste system came into discussion and the words of a Dalit poet, Lal Singh Dal still reverberate within me….”My country has another face…. How sweet are these words dedicated to God?” There were celebrities from the film world too. Javed Akhtar expounded on what a Ghazal is, Shabana Azmi spoke on the women in Indian Cinema, Sharmila Tagore spoke on Sunil Dutt and her roles. All seats at the venue were on a first come first served basis. So one would turn around and find an author sitting next you comfortably! Even the Rajasthan

Taj Mahal, Agra, India

11 - eloquence


Amboseli, Kenya

Black Forest, Germany

Black Forest, Germany

BELIEVING IN YOURSELF is ALWAYS the first step to SUCCESS and most often the one that people struggle the hardest with!

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TM Manohar


Monsoon Wedding There is something quite miraculous about certain milestones in life. Being born to our parents has a deep connection and the reason for our existence. Once we mature, we come across a situation or circumstance through which we find a partner, with whom we share our life, our dreams, frustrations, joys, challenges and adventures. This also seems to have a very deep connection, may be that is the reason why it is said that marriages are made in heaven. For the last couple of years, Royston, my brother-in-law, had been looking around to find his partner for life. He finally found Cybil, a girl of his dreams, in the month of March 2013 and a monsoon wedding was fixed for August 17, 2013, as the whole family could partake during their summer vacation in the gulf. Wedding preparations had already started as soon as the wedding was fixed. My mother-in-law, who was quite eager to find Ms. Right for her youngest son, was extremely excited. We were having a wedding after 11 years at my mother-in-law’s residence. Royston’s 6 nieces and 1 nephew too were excited, as they had earlier attended a wedding on rare occasions and were now old enough to know what their dear uncle was up to.

It was a memorable evening following all the catholic local traditions and it was nearing mid night when we left for home to receive the newlyweds for the first time. With the grace of God, it was miraculous, it had not rained the whole afternoon and evening, and so the hall was packed. Rains started to pour only once the couple entered home. It was a day that glorified the Lord and brought so much joy to all who shared in it!

TM Roshni Pinto VP Education

It was an exciting time. The whole family had come together around 3-4 weeks before the wedding. Kids were curious to understand and partake in different ceremonies during the wedding ritual. As per tradition, we had to first invite Cybil’s family home for a dinner, which was quite a blast with singing and kids dancing. Next in line was the engagement function, which was arranged in a church hall on a Sunday afternoon by Cybil’s family. We attended Cybil’s roce or mehendi, which was arranged in a hall on 14th August. The next day, Royston had decided to have his roce at home, for which a lot of efforts had to be put in to cater to a crowd of over 200 during monsoon season in the front yard. We all had a blast dancing to music performed by a traditional country band playing tunes with their classical trumpets and bands. Royston’s friends, who are with a professional local band jammed up later that night. It was a treat to see kids along with the entire family having great fun; young and old, all were on the dance floor enjoying the moment, and truly it was a once in a life time experience. We were blessed that rain had taken some time off and we were allowed to party on all these occasions. The big day arrived on 17th August and we all hoped and prayed that rain should not ruin the fun. Children had to be dressed up early for the photo shoot, especially the flower girls along with a page boy. The ceremony in the church was immaculately fabulous with a melodious choir and gracious presence of priests making the occasion very sweet and memorable. After Royston & Cybil were declared husband and wife, we proceeded to the Church hall nearby which was all set for the occasion. 13 - eloquence


Rain, rain, go to Spain... Whenever anyone would mention Spain, it would immediately bring to my mind the poem ‘Rain, rain, go to Spain’, and I would immediately conjure in my mind an image of a wet, grey and cold place. This was till I actually visited Barcelona on a short visit in April this year. And not on a single day of my stay there, did it rain! I wonder how the poem got its words!! Barcelona...I always associate it with soccer. And truly so, the Football Club Barcelona has a presence all over the city! The nickname of the team is “blaugrana’, due to the blue and maroon colors that the team wears for all its games. Besides FCB, the Spaniards in Barcelona are proud of the city’s unique architecture, vastly influenced by the famous

architect Antoni Gaudi. Beautiful buildings of the Barri Gotic are also a proof of the city’s colourful architecture. Barri Gotic is the centre of old Barcelona and some of the buildings go back even to the Roman era. Another famous place in Barcelona is the Las Ramblas, which is a 2 kilometer long boulevard, where street artists display their talent and there are a lot of souvenir shops and cafes. This street is busy throughout the day and night and is a popular meeting point. And one cannot complete the tour of Barcelona without a visit to its lovely beaches, the most famous being Barceloneta, its parks like Parc de Montjuïc and Park Güell, and of course the Montjuïc Castle, a fortress dating back to the 17th century.

TM Alka Kumra

Reflections WMC toastmasters – to be one of this vibrant group is indeed a pleasant feeling. Ten years – Ten thousand sweet memories! Where and how do I start reflecting on this club? I don’t intend to bask in our past glories. This piece here is to share the bonding that took place recently in India on August 30, 2013. Yes, you guessed it – it was the grand occasion of the wedding of Sruthi , daughter of our own member of WMC TMC family, Suresh, who was part of the founding team of the club ten years back. On this August morning, the ISKON temple reverberated to the mantras that echoed in the hall as Sruthi and Vinay tied the wedlock. It was a mingling of two cultures – Kerala and Karnataka. How sweetly they merged. It was the representation of many WMC Toastmasters that added the vibrant essence to the function. Ganapathy, in his usual energetic style, walked in accompanied by his whole family – wife, children and in-laws. Dr Usha, the aunt of the bride, who is never late for a Toastmasters meeting, was held up in the snarling Bangalore traffic and was late for the function. As general evaluator, I emphasised on this the moment she made her entry. Besides the traffic jam, it was apparently the herculean task of getting her grand-children ready, that delayed her. Other Toastmasters, who attended the wedding, as well as the grand reception at the Meridien Hotel, Bangalore in the evening, included our very own Ashok

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Kumar and family, Mohandas and Jyothi, Dinesh, Saravannan and their families, Santosh Abraham (our third President whom many of you may not know) and our former member Sanjith Anil of APL, who launched our regular Exponent event, flew in from Mumabai and so did Soman Baby of Daily Tribune, Bahrain. It was a reunion of the old and the new – past and present WMC Toastmasters. The wedding reception had the unmistakable mark of Suresh – the “Be Original” touch. Who was more glamorous - the bridegroom or Suresh- I am still not sure. Greeting everyone with his trademark warm hug, he made sure that all were comfortable. If the function at the ISKON temple was one solemn function, the picture at Le Meridien was just the opposite with music, dance and......plenty of food. Santosh doubled up as the Master of Ceremonies. He stopped short of addressing the audience as “Fellow Toastmasters”… A Toastmaster does wear many hats!! A memorable vacation indeed! I am proud to be a part of this family of WMC Toastmasters. Here’s me signing off wishing Sruthi and Vinay a long and happy married life!

Dr Babu Ramachandran


Installation Ceremony – Executive Committee 2013-14

New Members

TM Sandip Rajpopat

TM Puja Rajpopat

TM Suresh Kakkoth

TM Binny Paulose

TM Kiran Chandra

TM Shini Paulose

TM Sivakumar

TM Binoy

TM Saju Ramachandran

New members’ induction – October 2013

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Photo Gallery Club Contests – March 2013

Exponent Management Forum, June 2013– A flagship event of WMCTMC

Festivities at WMCTMC

Republic Day

B’day Celebrations

Acknowledgements & Disclaimer: This newsletter became possible with the support of contributions, in the form of articles and pictures, from members and the efforts of the Executive Committee. Eloquence is the official publication of the WMC ToastMasters Club. It includes official notices and details of activities of the club. However, no responsibility is assumed for the opinions of members who have contributed other articles. Editorial Team: Alka P Kumra, VP-PR, Joseph Pinto, PR Sub-committee


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