Communiqué Dec 2016

Stand out

TCS Maitree Toastmasters Club, Mumbai Club #616631

COMMUNIQUÉ

Break out

Speak out

Dec 2016

Editor's Note

Executive Committee

Dear Readers, We hope you missed us! Come on, surely you did.

And we know we made you wait a little longer than you would have liked. Well, there is a reason to it. (Psst! This is confidential. Please keep it to yourself.) The thing is, it took us an eternity this time around to decide upon a theme for the Communiqué. Do not facepalm, please. You have no idea! We racked our brains, pulled our hair out, kicked at the furniture and scratched walls in frustration, but it seemed all possible themes in the world had been taken ­ by either the club or the District newsletter. We were lost. We felt marooned. We almost gave up. “No theme, no newsletter!” was the murmur doing the rounds.

July ­ Dec 2016 President

Ankit Jain

VP Education

Faraz Mohammed

VP Membership

Neeta Patil

VP Public Relations

Sundeep N.

Secretary

Nayan Jain

Treasurer

Radhika Dumbre

Sergeant-At-Arms

Harikrishna B.

District Officers From the Club

And then, in a sudden burst of cosmic inspiration, the team had a brainwave and the idea hit them with a force that both Newton and Spock would have been proud of. “What qualities have marked the term for the executive committee and indeed for the entire club?” we asked ourselves. "Innovation, Courage, and an Appetite to achieve," the inner voice replied instantly. We will resist the strong urge to say it all right here, so don’t ask. “What’s the rest of the newsletter for?” we would ask back.

But we will say this ­ “been there, done that” is not cool any more (at least in our view). Maybe “never been there, haven’t done that” is the thought we should be having more often, and then we will make sure we have been there and done that, eh?

So Speak out, Break out and Stand out!

Please share your feedback and suggestions at mumbai.toastmasters@tcs.com

Director, Area M2

Raunak Kulwal

Director, Area M3

Ankit Dasgupta

District Webmaster Som Bhattacharjee District Newsletter (Communicate) team

Isha Verma

Editorial Team Palak Jain

Nayan Jain

Nisarg Shrivats

CONTENTS

04

05

President's Corner

06

His Palette

From The Magazine

08 On Mentorship

10 How To Goa

13 Club Achievers

15 Making Their Presence Felt

18

07 Pick Your Bike

09 The Flying Colors of Toastmasters

12

Special Meetings

14

Confluence

16 Hitting The Trail

20

Welcome To The Thank You, ExCom! Family

22

Moments Of Truth

President's Corner Ankit Jain President TCS Maitree Toastmasters Club (July 2016 -Dec 2016)

Of leadership...

I have always wondered ­ why are leaders needed at all? Why does a group of people rely on the decisions of an individual? Is it possible to have a system where there is no leader? Could the pyramids be built without leaders? Could we have put a man on the moon without a leader? Could wars be avoided without leaders? And there are a million more of such questions.

If you think about it, a leader does not have to do anything at all. A leader can just tell people what needs to be done. What does a leader bring to the table?

But when I really thought about it, I realized, leaders are needed. The main reason is that without a leader, there would be conflict. Conflict of opinions, conflict of interests, conflict of understanding. Because each one of us is unique. And more the voices, more the noise. I have come to believe that a leader brings unity, conformity and focus to a team. A leader leads to alignment.

Think of magnet and iron. Once the individual polarities in iron align in one direction under the influence of a magnet, magic happens. The magnet did not add anything to iron, but iron itself transformed.

A leader has to be like a magnet. What I mean is ­ a leader needs to see what others cannot, know what others do not, and do what others will not. A leader needs to turn the ordinary into extraordinary. A leader has to make people rise above their normal selves. A leader needs to challenge (if required) what has been accepted and create what has not been conceived yet.

Hence a leader needs to wander, to explore and to experience what others have not.

That is why a leader's presence matters. A leader's wisdom, beliefs, character matter.

A leader cannot be lost. To be a magnet, you will have to find your poles.

4

His Palette He likes to paint many a picture, And fills in brilliant hues with His master strokes.

He paints quietly in a vaulted castle Of white clouds and silver stars, But His paintings breathe here, On the earth, under the golden sun.

Then, not suddenly, I must say, He dipped his brush in a dull color and filled me all with it.

My life, hitherto gleaming with bright colors, Diffused into an empty grey.

The leaves on the trees have wrinkled in the chill, So have my hands and temple…

I am His Palette.

In me He mixes His best colors, And with swift movements of His fingers, Fills me with warm reds and cold blues.

The maple turns brown beneath the autumn sky, White frost may cover it forever…

There is nobody to play with, no songs to sing, friends are gone Life awaits something in the lonely, dreary nights…

His soft brushes touch me smoothly; They add beautiful shades to my lifeSometimes bright crimsons, Sometimes dull lilacs.

He painted the pink frolic of my childhood, Filled my days with subtle colors of innocence and gaiety.

The days were full of incessant jabber about fairies and princes, The nights, ablaze with curiosity about everything unknown, And the longing for magic wands…

The mind made castles in the air And the eyes searched every face for love.

But Behold!!

His painting is complete, and is indeed a masterpiece, I, His palette have been adorned with The pinks, the greens, the reds and the greys, Life never seemed so iridescent before!

I know my lamp is flickering.

But now I am happy, happy to have been blessed By the humble hues of His love…

My soul will one day blend into Him, And will continue to live on eternally under His shadow.

For the colors may fade away As the flowers bloom and wither, But the memories of His painting Will be cherished by all, till eternity.

He then splashed on me - the green teens, When the sleepy little eyes gleamed with mischief, The jabber became hushed whispers, And the girly giggles turned into loud laughs.

The pink buds removed their veils to welcome the shiny sun, Heralding vigour and change.

The greens vanished into the red passion of adulthood, When the lofty mountains surrendered To the courage of the mighty self, When life set off for the goal, Standing all odds, making its own paths, When no strong waves of pain or loss Could wreck the ship of determination.

From the rocks under the flashes of the strobe, To the waltz under the shimmering blue moon, Life was sheer bliss…

I rejoiced in the sunshine of success, Rejoiced under the radiant rays.

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By Shruti Sinha 5

-

Some brave hearts choose variant two

‘Stand and Carrier’. They have their principles, dogma and character with them, and at the same time carry the load of their mates. They are strong-willed and determined but they can’t sit - they dare not sit. At the end of day, the question remains - the choices they made, was it all worth the ordeal? Or did they take pains in vain,

with

under domination and ethical subjugation

, or perhaps some

misplaced sense of righteousness

?

Perhaps a seat wouldn’t have hurt.

The third kind is a

PICK YOUR BIKE

By NISARG SHRIVATS

Now there are motorbikes

. No complaints; that’s change and that's evolution. It’s eviternal and it's inevitable. everywhere

, each of us rides a bicycle. The bicycle of life. It comes with three accessories Seat, Stand and Carrier, and you But the way I see it

Bicycle. I hope all of you

-

remember that two wheeled

? Owning one

crooked contraption

was a dream come true for our

! Bicycle meant freedom. Oh! Those silly races in the motor-less streets of childhood. Ringing the bells together outside Mr Khanna’s

may pick any two of those for your

. You must let go of the

generation

home just to disturb him on a lazy

. Why we did

Sunday afternoon

? No idea. If you too grew up in the 90s you would recollect that

that

someone who had a Ranger with

own bike

. It is perhaps a really difficult choice to make... third

Variant one comes with

‘Seat and

’ but no Stand. You can sit comfortably, so can your favourites; ride as much as you want, with them. When you get tired and park it for a break, it shall

Carrier

‘Stand and Seat’. No

. Ride solo to distant lands and park it on your terms. Sounds fun? Only if you are a wanderer or an egotist. Or a man on a mission or a loner. This requires immense self-belief and an indomitable spirit with constant selfmotivating passion. Yes, you may create marks on sands of time, yet your cenotaph will be just a stone, with no

carrier

companions to vouch for your glorious journey

. Maybe in future that stone

becomes a shrine and your judgments

, but not today. You will walk alone till you live.

prove inspirational

Because you chose no carrier.

gears was always envied even as

, although the

be supported by the legs of your

.

MTBs were the rage

companions sitting on the carrier

equally good Jet was always

. The guy who

How lucky indeed to be blessed

looked down upon

with the company of such golden

! It requires a man of heart to

could fix chains was considered an

, while the local

souls

ace engineer

'pehelwaan' would always pump air into each wheel of the pack

have an undulating trust on his

. Because if they fail, so

comrades

, heaven forbid if they ever leave his side...

would he and that too with magnanimous

. Oh, those lovely days when long drives meant crosscountry cycling amidst nature... patronage

‘Seat with Carrier’ is always envied even as 'Stand and Carrier' is the rage, although the equally good ‘Stand and Seat’ is always looked down upon...

This lazy afternoon reminds me of the

Well, you never had a stand with

.

that

7

. It’s time you picked yours. The journey awaits. Happy riding.

bike I have chosen

Lifetime of a Mentor

­ Isha Verma

In the middle of everywhere exists a Land of Toastmasters (LOT).

Entry into the LOT is easy and voluntary. As soon as a person enters this Land, he/she becomes a citizen and is issued a Visa of Learning.

Every citizen here is an enthusiast and on the path of personal growth.

In LOT run two parallel roads ­ Communication and Leadership. Every citizen must walk on these roads. And while they do, unlike other lands, LOT teaches us to look back. Why? Because "you can only connect the dots when you look back, not when you look forward." While walking, the learned ramblers of these roads handhold the toddlers. In LOT we largley follow a process of self­learning. These ramblers, in order to give back to the land, become mentors. Their main responsibilities are guiding mentees about the internal structure of Toastmasters and helping them with speech projects and meeting roles. A mentor also serves as a confidante, morale­booster and a mirror at the same time.

A mentor raises a child gazing with curiosity, through a teenage full of opinions, to grow up be an adult with the world under their feet. To be a good mentor you need not be perfect ­ you just have to be yourself and pass on your experiences to your mentee. However, keep in mind that “spoon­feeding, in the long run, teaches us nothing but the shape of a spoon.” (thus spake E.M. Forster). So what’s in it for a mentor? In the process of mentoring, mentors improve their own communication skills and develop leadership skills. And the emotional rewards of watching your protégé are something! So remember, O Citizens of the Land Of Toastmasters! Walking its roads, be the mentor you wish you had.

It is said that a mentor is someone who helps you see hope inside yourself. Today I take this opportunity to thank my favorite mentor TM Faraz for all the support, encouragement and guidance which helped me take the right path. Faraz, you always taught me to try ­ irrespective of the result. Winning at the very first instance can lead to a permanent full stop, but losing each time makes one think of different alternatives to win. You are a wonderful friend and every­ thing one could look for in a good mentor. Your contribution to what­ ever I am today is unquestionable, but there's still a long way to go!

Dear Mentor, you are an inspiration for me. Accept my heartfelt gratitude for your time and attention! I really appreciate your wisdom and value everything I have learned from you. "If you light a lamp for someone it will also brighten your own path." For me with your vast knowledge and incredible leadership skills you have lit the lamp of patience and perseverance in me. I will always keep these two crucial values learned from you as fixed deposit in my life ­ in future I will get many dividends from it. You are indeed a great mentor, and deserve this small 'thank you' from me!

8

Thank you, Mentor

­ Saikumar Iyer

Raghavendra Umarji

Anandkumar Deethi

The Flying Colours of Toastmasters If Toastmasters is about improving communication and Leadership skills, then Leadership is about taking those small steps which collectively result in a massive change. And one such change happened when Mumbai First and Making A Difference (M.A.D.) came together to dress up the suburban railway stations of Mumbai. This was an initiative in collaboration with Western Railway and Central Railway. The beautification programme, called ‘Hamara Station Hamari Shaan’ was part of a voluntary initiative called Daan Utsav, and was executed from October 2­8, 2016. Daan Utsav (formerly known as the Joy of Giving Week) is the festival of giving.

Two of our passionate club members ­ Anand and Raghavendra ­ grabbed this opportunity to showcase their artistic skills and, more importantly, contribute to an important social cause by painting Vikhroli railway station.

The work consisted of beautifying the entire railway station premises including staircases, foot over­bridges, booking windows, entrances, signage and platforms. The activity gave the station a new, colourful identity which resonates with the history of the place and the surrounding geography. Overall 21 stations on the Western Suburban Railway network (from Churchgate to Dahisar) and 15 stations on the Central Suburban Railway Network (from Byculla to Thane) got a welcome facelift.

The ultimate objective of this initiative is to create an awareness among the commuters to keep the railway stations clean. So, whenever you find yourself at Vikhroli station next, see if you can take some time out and stroll around just to witness the colours of hard work and positive intent on the station walls (and at other such stations too). Hamara Station, Hamari Shaan, Yehi hai Hamari Pehchaan!

9

How to Goa ­ Pramod Mohandas The valley of uncertainty between planning a trip and actually visiting Goa is still unexplored by science.

Rarely does a bridge of hope appear and help you cross over. But when it does, make sure that you pack your bag and bag­pack your way across this coastal beauty. The generic checklist to such a trip may often include the amply hyped three states of matter ­ solid, liquid and gas (read food, booze and ahem! you know). But if you are willing to modify the conventional, you can amplify your experience. Let’s explore how…

1

Be a traveler, not a tourist

The list of top things to do in Goa will lead you pub­ prancing from Mambo’s to Tito’s and beach­bumping from Colva to Baga. While that’s quite an experience, the place has much more to offer. If you shed the suitcases and shenanigans, chances are that you can discover Goan culture beyond the stereotype.

Quote: "A traveler experiences what he sees, a tourist just sees what he has come to see." – GK Chesterton

2

Take a bike trip

With miles to ride along the tide, hire a bike. At 200­ 250 INR per day, experience the unmatched pleasure of driving through the picturesque locales along the Goan coastline. Take the by­lanes off the National Highway. A beautiful stretch of more than 120 kilometers awaits you.

Tip: Rent a bike at Vasco, Anjuna or Agonda at relatively cheaper rates.

3

Stay at a hostel

Interested in meeting travelers from across the globe? Make sure you book yourself a bunk bed in hostels instead of a fancy suite in a resort. At 300­ 400 INR a night your pockets won’t complain either.

As a bonus, you may also get a chance to learn the secrets of cooking the local cuisine (yes, they give you a kitchen too).

Recommended: Roadhouse Hostel at Anjuna and Palolem.

10

4

Local cuisine

Let not your hunger pangs go unattended. Try local cuisine at roadside huts serving fish curry rice & food trucks concocting Goan Portuguese delights. For those with a sweet tooth, a sprightly glass of sugar­cane juice spiced with ginger & mint is never too far away.

Food for thought: Fish Cutlet/ Chicken Cafreal at Noronha’s food truck, Anjuna Circle. Ros(gravy) Omlette at Panjim. Mirchi pakoras & chai at Mapusa.

5

Go Fishing

Having partied till dawn, don’t just crash on your bunks yet. Instead, go visiting the beach again and try your hand at near­shore fishing. Discover the joys of rowing a canoe!

Finding fisher folks: The shore near Curlies, Anjuna, is the place to be @ 6 a.m.!

6

The detour

Want to try your hand at exploring places away from the beaches and sand? Try visiting the temples in Ponda, the Netravalli and Mhadei Wildlife Sanctuary in the mainland.

Google Map says: The famed DoodhSagar Waterfalls are less than a couple of hours' drive away from any place in Goa.

7

One day in South Goa

When it’s all said and done, take a day off in South Goa. Zero down on the beach huts at Agonda or shacks at Palolem at 600­800 INR per day. On the peaceful shore, let the tides ripple through your soul. In case your money bag feels too wealthy, book a night’s stay at Cola beach resort and experience the Blue Lagoon!

Quote: "Goa is not just a place; it’s a state of mind!"

This beautiful place leans onto your conscious to create an innate, innocuous and indelible impression. It may leave your skin three shades darker, but it surely leaves your mind five shades lighter. As every other t­shirt sold on the streets reads, indeed, ‘Goa: Heaven on Earth’!

11

SPECIAL MEETINGS TOASTMASTERS UNPLUGGED (16 OCT) One of the meanings of the word ‘unplugged’ as per the Urban Dictionary is ‘anything cool, hip, original, fascinating, or likeable’, and this meeting was all of that. Club President TM Ankit began by making everybody recite the Toastmaster’s Promise in unison.

Session host TM Nayan said he was not sure whether the audience was laughing at his humour or at him. TM Parakh (Bombay TM) and our very own TM Fiza delivered interesting prepared speeches. TM Sameer had some fun activities up his sleeves for the audience. The club’s September newsletter (Communiqué) was launched and the Moments of Truth session was conducted. All in all, it was an eventful Sunday afternoon!

JOINT MEETING (5 NOV) TCS Maitree TM Club and Accenture TM Club yet again came together to accentuate their ‘maitree’ (friendship) and conducted a successful joint meeting at Accenture, Airoli. Forty-one members and guests turned up to partake in the collective bonhomie (a fairly large number for corporate clubs). Speakers of either club were evaluated by evaluators from the other club. Our very own TM Fiza was adjudged the Best Evaluator, while TM Bhageswari delivered her Ice Breaker. What’s more, TM Isha and TM Pramod conducted educational sessions on speech-writing and speech evaluation respectively.

REVERSE MEETING (16 DEC) A small yet colourful feather (one of the many) in the executive committee’s cap was successfully conducting a reverse (backwards) meeting. It is a regular Toastmasters meeting except... everything is done backwards - the meeting starts with the Presiding Officer adjourning the meeting, moves through the best speaker/evaluator awards, General Evaluation, Speech Evaluations, Table Topics round and Prepared Speeches (in that order), ending with the Presiding Officer’s opening address. It was great fun! As Ralph Smedley, founder of Toastmasters International, has said, "We learn best in moments of enjoyment."

THOSE

THAT

COMPETENT

TM

TM

COMPETENT

Fiza

OUT

COMMUNICATORS

Nayan

TM

STOOD

Nilesh

LEADERS

TM

Manju

Pride Points leaderboard

TM Fiza is also the Outstanding Toastmaster for the term!

1) Fiza Khan 2) Saikumar Iyer 3) Bhavesh Dabgar 4) Pramod Mohandas 5) Nayan Jain 6) Ankit Jain 7) Haresh Saroj 8) Neeta Patil 9) Abhinav Korada 10) Faraz Mohammed 13

170 145 135 110 105 90 90 85 80 80

Confluence District 98 Humorous Speech and Evaluation Contest was held at Bogmallo Beach Resort in Goa during Oct 21­23, and we had the best representation we could have thought of ­ TM Pramod. He was the face of his Division (and our club) at the Speech Evaluation contest, and, oh, he did more than just save face ­ he shone so bright on the big stage, he overshadowed all competition without even winning an award.

Luck played its part, but the glory was indisputable. The audience were awed by what they had witnessed.

Pramod Mohandas had just raised the bar of excellence a notch higher.

Awards that came our way...

Neeta Patil (VP Membership) - Smedley award for adding five new members from Aug 1 to Sept 30

Somnath Bhattacharjee - award for exceptional job as the District Webmaster

TCS Maitree Toastmasters Club - award for excellence in education and leadership

14

Making Their Presence Felt 3rd CMG India Annual Conference

Toastmasters' penchant for oratory makes them venture out of the club boundaries to take up challenging roles of various hues. One such occasion was the 3rd annual conference of Computer Measurement Group India (CMG India) conducted at Sangam Auditorium, TCS Yantra Park, on the 2nd and 3rd Dec, 2016. No less than four members of our club ­ Shruti Sinha, Kannagi Mishra, Nisarg Shrivats and Isha Verma ­ anchored the important event. Attended by the Who's Who of CMG and other reputed technical institutions, the event saw keynote speeches by eminent speakers like Dr. Srini V Srinivasan, CDO, Aerospike; Mr. G. M. Shenoy, CTO Operations, National Stock Exchange, and many more. Paper presentations and technical talks were also conducted, and the winners sumptuously rewarded. Certainly some good exposure and learning for our Toastmasters!

8th PMI National Conference

Project Management Institute (PMI) is world’s leading body for the study of project management as a skill. Similar to Toastmasters, PMI has local chapters in different cities, providing a common platform to its global members to network, share and learn. During 17­19 Nov, PMI India organized its 8th National Conference at Renaissance Hotel, Mumbai. Three members of our club were at the event ­ Pramod Mohandas and Chinmaya Dave as part of the Emcee Team; and Vicky Panjwani as the lead of the Awards Team. They got a chance to interact with industry leaders and accomplished practitioners from across the country. The conference was attended by over 650 professionals from various sectors, and it ended with a power­packed keynote speech by the legendary journalist and presenter Harsha Bhogle.

15

Hitting the Trail

"The mountains reserve their choice gifts for those who stand upon their summits" Sir Francis Younghusband

Bhavesh Dabgar with Haresh Saroj

It was 19th of Nov 2016. I had plans to celebrate my birthday the next day with my family in Gujarat.

Destiny however had something else in store for me. A last­minute decision took me to Prabalmachi along with my Toastmasters group. Trekking, for me, has never merely been about conquering the peak ­ it is all about being with Nature, feeling the wind, rediscovering myself, making new friends, enjoying freedom, and perhaps... breaking free.

We were a bunch of seventeen adventure enthusiasts and started on our way to Prabalmachi at 5 pm from the base village. Normally every trek has a defined path on which one can walk with minimum resistance but I opted for an alternate path, one that had steep steps making the ascend tough yet thrilling. We had to reach the mountain top by 6:15 p.m. to witness the glory of the beautiful sunset; however, owing to our complacent ascent, we had to settle for a fleeting glimpse of the dying sun! Some of us soared, some walked, some crawled, and eventually we all managed to reach the top by 6:30. I derived the most maso­ chistic joy on reaching the top of the hill. We did stretching at the top to calm down our rebellious legs.

The next phase of our adventure started with the tent­pitching session which I had never done before in my life. We had to find the right place with the best possible view to pitch our tents. We were able to complete the process in an hour, courtesy some good team work. After considerable exertion and anticipation, it was time to fill our bellies. Much to our delight, dinner started with barbecue. Hungry folks jumped on to marinated paneer! Later, food was arranged by locals and everybody satiated their hunger with delicious, home­made dinner. While relishing our dainty dinner items, we decided to add a little more spice to the occasion. The group decided to do an exercise wherein everyone would share "the most embarrassing moment of their life". It was extreme fun! Embarrassments last for few days but memories stay for ever : ) Absorbing the chilly breeze and the sight of Mumbai lights from Prabalmachi is a treat. The night was lit up by funny stories and entertaining games. This was the first time I ever celebrated my birthday on the top of a hill in such a unique style. Cake was replaced by Gulab Jamun! It was a special experience for me.

16

After waking up at 5 a.m. in the morning, we started our actual trek towards Kalavantin Durg around 5:30 am. Once you start your trail correctly from the base village, it will automatically take you to the col (saddle) between Kalavantin and Prabalgad. Ascent till the col is steep and it takes around 20­ 25 minutes to get there. The route passes through small rocks and boulders and you need to be careful to avoid slipping. At the end of the climb, there is a 15­foot high rock patch, which you have to climb to reach the pinnacle. The view from the topmost point is captivating.

Once on the top, we just reveled in the beauty around.

We had earned ourselves an enchanting sunrise! The whole Matheran plateau was also clearly visible with the towers on it clearly distinguishing it from other hills.

After getting rejuvenated by the fresh, cool breeze striking our faces, immersing ourselves in the picturesque views, capturing adjoining mountain ranges through our lenses, it was time to descend ­ to transport ourselves back to the practical world.

Our trek leader started the descent only after ensuring everyone had come down safely from the rock patch. Once everyone from our group was at the col, we started our way back to the base. Shortly, we came to your tents where we had left all our rucksacks. I needed to rush to Panvel station to board a train to my hometown Vadodara in order to celebrate the remaining few moments of my birthday with my family. I was smiling a lot on the train.

Welcome to the family TM Vaibhav Hi I am Vaibhav Sarkale. I have been working in TCS Citi Account for the past 20 months. As said aptly by Steve Jobs, mine is a life at the intersection of arts and technology. After office, I am an artist, avid reader, cyclist and foodie. My New Year's resolution is to open and explore the Pandora's box of presentation skills, to which the Toastmasters club is the perfect key!

TM Bhageswari Hi! I am an incurable music aficionado with a mind that loves healthcare and a heart that loves everyone. A vigilante by profession and passion ­ monitoring the safety of drugs by day and the city donning a giant spider outfit by night.

TM Haresh My name is Haresh. I have recently completed 6 year at TCS. I joined Tostmasters to improve my communication skills and to share my ideas. My hobbies are reading books and creating awareness among public about health and against corruption.

18

TM Yashwanth I love to explore nature and to travel. I listen to music and sing. I am a stargazer and a foodie. I enjoy capturing moments of life (not just my own...) as it will take us to past in the future. I enjoy playing cricket and working out to stay fit. I became a part of Toastmasters as it's a platform where I can foster my public speaking skills to share my thoughts.

TM Arshiya Hi, I am Arshiya. I am a B.Tech. and an MBA, and am working as a Business Analyst. I am fun­loving and believe in enjoying life to the maximum. I aim to touch the sky with feet on the ground always!

#ToastmastersFamily More than a club, we are a family. Here we learn together, grow together, dream together, have fun together and most importantly, we be for one another always.

We welcome you all to this incredible family where we come in and never leave.

Being in this club has given each one of us a sense of belonging and a feeling that we are not alone. We all know that there are people with whom we can share our weaknesses without any fear of rejection or mockery. People who will, at every step on the way, help us improve and be the best version of ourselves. Welcome to this amazing family of achievers where we speak out, break out, and stand out!

19

THANK YOU, EXCOM! Ankit Jain - President

2

I was blessed to work with such an amazing team Taking the meetings to all corners of Mumbai was an immense challenge But that was made a smooth road thanks to great support and hard work by not only the ExCom but all club members The greatest learning for me was to let people be themselves Because people can surprise us in amazing ways I feel the greatest achievement for me as the President was to see people outperforming themselves in their roles Especially Nayan and his session reports and Faraz of course Kudos .

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Faraz - VPE When you got nothing you got nothing to lose That s how my term began with everything to work for I wanted to support the cause of the club test my social and conflict management skills I looked forward to my duty every week because it brought so much uncertainty And let s admit it who doesn t love surprises ,

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Neeta - VPM I had an enriching and invigorating journey with Toastmasters as an executive committee member The responsibility allowed lots of learning and helped me develop new innovative ideas It was a pleasure to work with very talented fellow committtee members Thanks to the club for providing me the platform where I could enhance my leadership skills .

,

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!

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08

'

06

Sundeep - VPPR Toastmasters is the best thing to have happened to me in Mumbai yet It was a delightful challenge being the Club VPPR Coping with deadlines while being creative at the same time was tough because each session had a different flavour and hence a poster of a different style I learnt a lot about time management and flexibility The best thing for me was getting a chance to get to know and interact with so many people .

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20

Nayan - Secretary

02

I knew exactly what I was getting into when I nominated for this role I had been writing and designing since years Hence while I was pleasantly surprised when they chose me I was also completely prepared If I were to say any of this I would be lying I had ZERO CLUE as to what I would do with the reports or newsletters I felt trapped in a cage But gradually I found my feet and tried to expand the cage and beautify it instead of escaping from it Then I realized it wasn t a cage I had in fact broken a barrier and given myself new wings I m out now And I miss the cage “

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!

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:

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Radhika - Treasurer

The six months as the Treasurer of TCS Toastmasters Club have passed in the blink of an eye But the imprint it has created in my journey as a Toastmaster shall stay forever I had been carefree when it came to finances however after taking up this responsibility I started being careful about not only the club but also my personal finances The ex com meets club contests and club meetings have been memorable and experiences worth cherishing All the best to the next executive committee .

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Hari - SAA It was a great privilege and pleasure to serve our club and the members these last six months I have learnt many things especially multitasking and working in a team On all meeting days as the Sergeant at Arms there were lessons to be learnt in coordinating with the team Thanks to my fellow executive committee members and indeed to all club members for their active support Cheers .

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THANK YOU ALL FOR MAKING OUR LIVES SO AWESOME !

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MOMENTS OF TRUTH The "Moments of Truth" (MoT) was conducted by TM Raunak Kulwal, on the 16th Oct, 2016, at Kengington, Powai. He divided the audience into groups of six and each group was then given an area to discuss the problems and possible solutions, along with other suggestions. Action points were determined which could help in the growth of the club.

First Impressions

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Fellowship Variety and Communication

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Membership Orientation

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Program Planning Meeting Organization

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Membership Strength

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Achievement Recognition

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Don't dare to be different, dare to be yourself - if that doesn't make you different then something is wrong.

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