Got "Best Speaker" title for my 7th project speech at Toastmasters session.

Title: On the Other Side of God’s World

The objectives for this speech project were to conduct appropriate research and then incorporate this research into your speech to provide support for your key arguments.

Finally my turn!!! I was wondering what made me say “yes” for this!!! The instructor came. See here madam, he said, take deep breadth from mouth. Inhale! Exhale! Don’t use nose!

OK! he said. Ready to go? I held up my thumb! Yes! I put on my mask and sent up a silent prayer to God “Oh God, help me – show me this other side of your world today”

Slowly I let go of the handle bars I was holding and we embarked on the journey.  I could immediately feel a sense of weightlessness like an astronaut orbiting the Earth.

Toastmasters, friends and guests- I’m afraid to swim with my face under water even in our small pool, and here I found myself in an underwater, scuba diving adventure in the Arabian Sea near Malvan. Within minutes I was 10 feet underwater exploring the amazing underwater world with my diving buddy guide.

Very soon I got adjusted to breathing underwater through an oxygen mouthpiece that was connected to a diver’s umbilical, which is a long pipe attached to a diver’s breathing regulator fixed on a boat.

As I began to enjoy the undersea wonders, it felt like I was suspended in a greenish blue aquatic world.

The whole new underwater world of exotic marine life is recently discovered in Sindhudurg near the shallow waters of Tarkarli.  Tarkarli is a coastal village 8 km south of Malvan and 546 km from Mumbai on the west coast of India.

On a sunny day here, you can see the sea- bed up to a depth of 20 feet. The coastline around Tarkarli has sparkling lagoons and backwaters that provide breathtaking landscapes, seascapes  and rockscapes. It has a variety of marine life including  shark, dolphins, Groupers, Butterfly fish, Fusiliers, Puffer Fish, Snappers, Cobia and beautiful coral reefs.  

Coral reefs are underwater structures made from calcium carbonate secreted by corals. Most coral reefs are built from stony corals, and contain colonies of marine animals.

So why the name SCUBA diving? "SCUBA"  is an acronym for "self-contained underwater breathing apparatus")  which allows the diver to breathe while diving.

It is not enough simply to supply air to breathe comfortably underwater. As one descends, in addition to the normal atmospheric pressure, the water exerts increasing hydrostatic pressure of approximately 1 bar (14.7 pounds per square inch) for every 10 m (33 feet) of depth. The pressure of the inhaled breath must balance the surrounding pressure to allow inflation of the lungs. You constantly need to take very deep breadths. And, while diving is a treat for your eyes, your ears might hurt due to the pressure!

A recreational diver’s kit consists of breathing apparatus, a wet suit and a half mask which covers the eyes and nose. Talking is impossible under water! So what do divers do? Use hand signals, of course! 
Problem! 
OK! 
Great! 

For me it the whole experience was great!

I realized that we human beings are the luckiest creatures because of all the experiences that we can enjoy. Sometimes we can go gliding and fly just like a bird high in the sky, Sometimes we can go scuba diving and swim deep underwater, just like a fish and enjoy the other side of God’s beautiful world!

Won First place at SAS Speaker's Club 

 Title: My Favorite Freedom Speech: Where The Mind Is Without Fear

Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high

Where knowledge is free

Where the world has not been broken up into fragments

By narrow domestic walls

Where words come out from the depth of truth

Where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection

Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way

Into the dreary desert sand of dead habit

Where the mind is led forward by thee

Into ever-widening thought and action

Into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my country awake.

Rabindranath Tagore.

This verse has been taken from his poem ‘Gitanjali’, which he wrote prior to independence. Tagore has expressed a simple prayer for the country, where he visualizes a paradise called “India”. This verse has been used extensively in public speeches and is my favorite.

Although India is a free, or independent country today, in reality, we’re far from that ”heaven of freedom” that Tagore has dreamed about.

The India of Tagore’s dreams is a country where there is an atmosphere of fearlessness, but in the India of today, citizens live in constant fear of bomb threats. For women, there is no freedom from fear of sexual violence in this country.

The India of Tagore’s dreams is a country where knowledge should be free for all. In 1950 India made a Constitutional commitment to provide free education to all children up to 14 yrs. In 2002 they made this into a fundamental right for children. Yet universal implementation and access to good quality elementary education is a highly questionable.

The India of Tagore’s dreams is a country with no boundaries. But the India of today does not stand united. Internal divisions among states, communities, religions and political parties pose a bigger risk than any external threat. Our biggest enemies are within the country, not outside. And we know that these are more notorious than any external foes.

The India of Tagore’s dreams is a country where truth and honesty prevail. The India of today is a country rife with political scams, fraud and corruption. Anti-corruption mechanisms are ineffective, and there is widespread public cynicism. Faith in administrative, judicial and democratic systems is wavering.


The India of Tagore’s dreams is a country where Indians are constantly striving for improvement, where the people are logical & progressive in thoughts & actions. But unfortunately the growth and progress is not inclusive. Not all parts of India are shining.

Are we living in an India of Tagore’s dreams? In the India of today, then, can we hold our heads high? SO friends……….

Let us wake up to the reality of an “India” that is sadly losing its sheen.

Let us rake up the beauty and universality of Tagore’s words, Tagore’s poem and Tagore’s dream.

Let us live up to his vision that we have been unable to realize till today, more than 50 years since he penned those words in ink.

What should we do about this?

I think we should stamp his words on billboards. Stamp his words in the media. Stamp his words in our minds, in indelible golden ink!

And each and every one of us must contribute our bit towards change, and towards fullfilling the dream.!!!

TM CC6 Speech: All for Love

CC6: Vocal Variety: 

Title: All for Love

I am married to my husband for fifteen years now. Of all the things I have done out of love for him, bearing with dogs is the most difficult of them all. My husband is a dog lover.  5 years back after my second kid was born, I thought that we had a nice complete family. But he said No! He said there was a void in his life. Then he bought this sweet little Labrador pup, and said that now his family looked complete!

Ginger, the pup I didn't mind, until Ginger started growing bigger, and taller, and his appetite got bigger. He began to eat Anything: fruit to leaves to sticks, pots, plants, cardboard boxes, shoes and bricks, and not to forget clothes! Oh, I think fabric became his favorite food. Not "any" clothes but mostly MY clothes! Maybe they smelt good to him or maybe they were really appetizing.

So whenever he got a chance, Ginger would bite off a large piece of one of my nice party outfits that were put out to dry on the terrace where he lazed in the sun. Soon I had nine or ten garments with a big piece bitten off. And why only my clothes? He hardly ate anybody else's clothes in the house! My hubby never had a single handkerchief bitten off by his best friend!!!

Now hubby dear happily and always with great pleasure, promised me a new outfit whenever his dog used to bite off one of my dresses. But, the unfortunate fact was that Hubby really didn’t mind my beautiful outfits being consumed as gourmet meals, to indulge the poor starved fellow! Anything for his precious little pet.

You see, in my childhood, I always kept away from dogs. And I just wasn’t used to having such a biiiigg dog in the house! And I used to feel that Ginger was growing too big. Sometimes I felt he was like a horse!!! He had grown this tall, and had so much energy. So he would silently creep into the room, when I wasn’t looking. And when I turned around, I would find him suddenly galloping towards me, with huge leaps and bounds.... todok todok…..aaaand JUMP!!!. This was his playful mode. But to me for few moments it felt like he has turned into a mad bull who has seen red, and is rapidly charging towards me for attack. Maann, it was hard to control the urge to scream! 

Unfortunately, Ginger was not the only one whose atrocities I had to bear with, for the sake of my dear husband! When we were just married, he already had three little dogs of the Lhasa Apso breed in the house. They looked cute and I didn't mind them, but they did mind me sharing the room with their master (my husband). You see, before I came in, they were his room-mates, and every morning he awoke after they had planted a few wet kisses (oops licks) on his face. Soon this honor was snatched from them. So what could the poor dumb animals do? Well…they were jealous!!!! And they conspired to rag the newcomer in the house, and that was MEEE!!!

So each time I left my bedroom door open for a few seconds, one of them would sneak into my bedroom and pot or pee and make a big puddle on my side of the bed. ONLY MY SIDE OF THE BED!!!!!

I realized that these dumb animals made bold statements in demarcating their territory. And I was perpetually found cleaning my bed and belongings. I was all inclined to punish and beat the culprit if I could lay my hands on THAT dog. But as always, the million dollar question before me was: "WHOOODUNNITTT". Which one of them??? God knows! God knows it!  But even he didn't tell at that time. Soooo often did this happen that the terrible stench of their generous output had got into my nostrils and stayed there for a long time.

Inspite of this, the good little soul that I have been, sometimes I would extend some gracious warmth and kindness to the dogs. But if you have seen Lhasa Apsos, you will know it’s risky to pet them. You might think you are stroking their cute little face, and then you realize what you’re actually stroking is THEIR HAIRY BEHIND!!!

Speakers Club @ SAS: Don’t take life too seriously!

Can you name any one thing that stays with you throughout your life, without change, from the day you were born to the day you die? I’ll tell you, its Nothing! Nothing remains the same throughout our life. Not our possessions, not our mind, not our thoughts, not even our physical form or identity!!!.

Except life itself. Only life itself is eternal, everything else in the physical world around us, is transient or changing.

It is the universal law of life that each and everything that comes into our physical world, must go one day! Everything that we see in our world today might change tomorrow! We never know what the next moment or future is all about! Is there anything that we can call ours forever? No! In reality, Nothing!

We are all aware of this, yet why do we try to hold on too tightly to people and things??? We approach life so seriously, we attach ourselves to everything around us in this changing world and we suffer.

When we become too attached, we lose ourselves and get caught into a pattern of fear based living, constant worry, and anxiety for the future.

Imagine this scenario: Shit!! Shit! Shit! I think I’ve lost my new i-phone-5!!!! When my hubby comes to know tomorrow, I’ll be hanged! I’m like Totally DEAD!!!!

Or we become stuck in some situation of the past.

Another scenario, I’m in a serious fight with my hubby: “Yeah, yeah! You find my suitcase very heavy, but that day you happily carried that big fat bitch, while you were dancing with her at the party. Seriously! I wanted to kill you that day”. And hubby says: “But sweetheart, I put her down that moment itself! Are you still carrying her in your thoughts?”

Chill!!! Why take life so seriously? Nobody comes out alive anyways, right?? J

Every situation is a passing moment. But we tend to take these passing moments very seriously and we often get stuck in these thoughts and situations. And then the FB status says “Life sucks” and you get 72 likes!!! Everyone is feeling the same way J

We just need to fix ourselves somehow! Do you know how? We need to learn to let everything come into our experience, and then let it go!!! Stop thinking any thoughts of past or future, except for practical purposes. And narrow down your life to this moment. Live in this moment! It’s light, free and fun J

Toastmasters Speech Project CC-5 : The Power of Now (Eckhart Tolle Teachings)

Speech Objectives:

Your aims for this speech project are to complement your message with your body during delivery. Specifically, be aware of your:

• posture,
• body movement,
• facial expressions, and
• eye contact.

The Power of Now

What do you feed yourself each morning? Wait..I can actually guess! Do you read the newspaper each morning? What does it contain? Content about terrorism, crime, corruption, pain, suffering? So, that means, along with breakfast, you feed yourself unhappy thoughts of all these negative events. It probably generates some unhappiness in the thoughts and minds of all those like me and you who are reading the newspaper.

Let me tell you I also used to absorb a lot of unhappy thoughts from the media. I was also frequently unhappy because I used to constantly pontificate over some past negative event in my life, or worry about the future. Untill I came across one book that began to transform my life. It is a book called “The Power of Now” by a spiritual teacher called Eckhart Tolle.

One of the Fundamental Truths of Life that I learnt from Eckhart Tolle was that the primary cause of unhappiness is not ANY external situation, but our thoughts about it. And we can eliminate a lot of unhappiness from our life by accessing the Power of Now.

It is very very simple but powerful concept that anyone can apply their daily life. Power of Now is nothing but “present moment awareness”. It is about always living in the here and now, mentally and physically. It is about narrowing down your life to this moment. Because most of our problems survive ONLY in in our THOUGHTS of the past or future. Think about any any problem in your life. Has your problem already occurred, or do you fear it might occur in future. Ask yourself if it is still a problem, right here and now, in this room, at this very moment? Most problems cannot survive long in the reality of the “Now”.

A lot of our problems are also due to dysfunctional thinking. Through the Power of Now you can remove a lot of unhappiness and negative emotions from your life:

1)    Eliminate psychological time. Remove past and future, from your thoughts. Yes. Use thoughts of past events or mistakes only for practical learning. Use thoughts of future only for practical planning. Simply withdraw attention from past and future when they are not needed.

2)    Disidentify with the mind and thoughts. You are not your mind and thoughts. Your mind is just a tool for thinking. Use it for specific, purposeful thinking. Don’t let that voice in your head rule YOU.  You must have a “stop” button to stop compulsive thinking when not needed.

3)    Disidentify with the “ego” or the “false sense of self”. As we grow up most of us have a mental image of who we are, based on some personal and cultural concepts that we imbibe. This is called conditioning of the mind.  My mind is conditioned to believe that I am an Indian, I am an IT professional, I am a Wadian, bla bla and other aspects of my physical identity. But this is a false sense of self. It is called the ego. Don’t get attached to this sense of self. Because you will experience unhappiness when your “sense of self” is threatened, that is when something related to “my” or “mine” is threatened.  Reduce egoic thinking. Because we are not just our thoughts or our physical identity. We are much more than that.

4)    Observe and accept your pain-bodies. Each one of us carries some pain-bodies, which are nothing but accumulation of old emotional pain and suffering from a negative event. These pain bodies may be individual pain-bodies or collective pain-bodies of a community of people. Observe when these pain-bodies are activated in your thoughts, and accept their existence in the now. By doing this, slowly thoughts-related to pain-body will dissolve.

5)    Surrender to the present moment. Break the old-pattern of present-moment resistance. Accept what is. Accept what the present moment contains, as if you had chosen it. Good, or bad, embrace this moment. Then act or take the steps as you need to.

6)    Stay connected with the source energy inside you. Do this by focusing attention on your breath, your inner body, and stillness and space around you. Practice meditation and silence daily. Take out some time to just ‘be”.

And then you will see how your life is miraculously transported into a place of inner peace and joy. 

"FEAR" CC-4 Speech for ToastMasters

Objectives:
The aims for this speech project (4) focus on your selection of words and phrases:

1. Choose words and grammar which communicate clearly.
2. Choose words and grammar which appeal to the senses.
3. Eliminate jargon.

Tips and Techniques:
Choose Descriptive or Story-based Topics, Use Sensory Language, Use Repetition Wisely

Title:
FEAR

I'm sure everyone is familiar with this word "FEAR"?
Well, for many years I did not know what is fear, until I went to the Singapore Night Safari!!
Our second-last day at Singapore was very a grey, cloudy day.
There was a loud, dusty thunderstorm. Flashes of silvery lightning made the purplish evening sky looked electrified. Due to this there were few tourists at the Singapore Night Safari that day. We were not discouraged by weather and we decided to go.

The Night Safari wildlife sanctuary at Singapore has  over a thousand beautiful animals from the Himalayan mountains, the African Savannahs, and the Asian tropics. It is the world's first nocturnal zoo that brings people and animals together at night hours when most animals are awake and very active.

Late evening, as you enter, the fading twilight gives way to a dark blue, velvety sky. Animal enclosures are open, and designed as per the natural habitat of each species. No cages. The lighting scheme inside the animal enclosures is brilliant. The lights are designed exactly like natural moonlight, though they are a little brighter. Due to these features you can see the animals roaming freely, and from very close quarters.

You can chose to walk along the forest trails or take the tram. The walking trails are flanked with thick dark green-brown vegetation on both sides. In the tram ride areas, most of the animals enclosures are Placing separated from the  main path by large pits and water pools. Of course, there's more protection with the carnivorous species.  But some of the friendly animals like the deer even wander so close to the tram paths, that you can just touch them. Well, touching is forbidden.

We were a family of four. Initially we wandered around on foot,  then later we took the tram. During the night hours, it feels as  though the shadowy depths of the forest come alive with rich and exotic plant and animal life. At the end of 4 hours we saw tigers, lions, fishing cat, leopards, hyenas, wolves, elephants, giraffe, zebras, otters, porcupines, babirusas, and many more.

Finally we reached a wooden overbridge above a water pond. The last animal species we saw were 4 crocodiles in the pond below. Their bodies are camouflaged so well, they just look like a pile of harmless rocks.  **AND ONE CROCODILE OPENED ITS JAWS.** We actually  saw it's sharp yellow teeth as it looked at us greedily.  I felt a shiver down my spine.

We hardly realized that it was almost midnight. Most of the tourists had left the zoo. We had a uniquely interactive experience with nature. I really did not know was that I was in for a more intimate encounter with the jungle.

As we were on our way out, I realized I had forgotten my phone.
 Maybe I left it on the bench near the crocodiles enclosure, where I had stopped to tie a shoelace. My husband decided to stay put with my son asleep on his shoulder, while I backtracked a little with my daughter to fetch the phone, hoping to find it there. Just before I reached the crocodile enclosure, I noticed a small bylane without lights. It had an eerie, desserted look. A warning sign board read "FOR SAFETY, FOLLOW ALL SIGNS AND STAY ONLY WITHIN DESIGNATED AREAS" "Only a fool would go into such a spooky forest path, I thought"

My daughter and I bypassed the lane and were a few feet away from the bushy undergrowth sloping down to the crocodile pond. **SUDDENLY THE LIGHTS WENT OFF!!!!. **The forest plunged in TOTAL BLACK blinding darkness. Close your eyes and put your hands over your eyes and and imagine the scene.

I COULD. NOT. EVEN.  SEE my daughterrrr!!!!!!!! No mobile. No torch!!!! My heart sank. I took several urgent steps...and STOPPPED. Hissssssssssss. I heard a rustling round of dry leaves somewhere near my feet. I turned and RAN in the opposite direction. MiIli. MiIli No answer. Had she gone into the forbidden track? Were there dangerous animals running lose? Ooooh Gooooood. I panicked.
Then I remembered I had a matchbox in my backpack. I found a match and lit it quickly hoping to spot Mili around. There was a LOUD bolt of thunder. I held up the matchstick and saw...the orangish-brownish hide of an animal dissappeared behind the trees. WWWhoa What was ttthat....I I wanted to sscream.

MAMA....I heard a blood-curdling scream....... I froze!!!!! Mili !!!!!!!MAMA...am here...I walked few steps, groped among the trees and felt her hand ! Mili!!!!!What happenned? She was crying. She had slipped and was about to fall into a pit...That instant  the lights came on!

We just realized that her foot had slipped on the undergrowth that sloped down to the crocodile pond. Yes! She just managed to avoid falling by holding on to the branch of a tree. Just then we heard a loud siren of a small emergency jeep. It stopped near us. My husband stepped out and also a few members of the zoo staff. They were glad to see us safe and apologized several times for the rare and brief power outage.

Soon we all were on our way out of the zoo. I examined a small bruise on my elbow. I felt the trickle of blood, and I knew I was not in a dream or nightmare. It was real, but we were safe now. I had experienced the thrill of nature more intimately than the others. Whew!!!!

That's the time I came to know what is fear!!!

CC-3 Project Speech at Toast Masters: A Revolution through Social Media

CC-3 Project Speech at Toast Masters

Objectives:
Determine your general purpose.
To inform audience about various trends in the social media culture
Focus in on your specific purpose.
To urge people to use social media for social good
Ensure that the entire speech maintains focus on your objective.

Title:
A Revolution through Social Media
Speech:
Last week my hubby's cousin came down from Canada after 20 years. We met up with him over dinner. "So dude, tell me what's happenning in India? " he drawled! "Don't ask!" My hubby said. Gruesome events in the past 2 months. Brutal Gang-rape, and next these two soldiers beheaded by Pakistan". "All BAD!!!" said hubby! NO, that's not true I said.!!! Its not ALL bad!!! There is a little good I've seen here. With the recent events, I have seen the single most IMPORTANT achievement of the New India. I have seen a MOST powerful force being unleashed like NEVER BEFORE!!!! It is the power of the Social Media. Social Media is empowering People. It is empowering collective protests against the system. It is empowering the Voice of the citizens. A voice that's united like never before!!!

How many of you do not have a presence on any social Media app? FB, Twitter, etc?  Today almost everyone with an internet connection has a presence on these sites. Initially you might have registered to keep in touch with remote friends and to network. But now  as more and more people are connected, Social media is no longer just a networking tool. It has now become a broadcasting media powerhouse.
As per a survey report, Facebook has more than 65 million active users in India, and Twitter has over 18 million active accounts. Such usage ranks India among the top 5 Social Media nations. People are now connected like never before!

There are a lot of people leveraging social media. There are businesses doing Viral Marketing. Then we have Bollywood and Cricket celebrities use it to connect with their fans. We also a lot of politicians who have no choice but to join the herd. In 2011, thousands of people connected through social media, came forward to participate and support Anna Hazare’s anti-corruption campaign. After the gang-rape incident, several youngsters, armed with smartphones, used the social media to devastating effect. When Delhi police rounded up the protestors, these young students fired tweets after tweet, broadcasting to the world what was happenning. In a flash their messages went reached thousands of people. In no time, lawyers, activists and supporters landed up at the police station.  The police and politicians were unprepared for this kind of reaction.

So it is up to us, how we can use this power smartly and responsibly!!!
As citizens, we can use social media to propagate the changes we want in the system. If you have a worthy cause, social media provides you an unbiased, unfiltered platform for social good. While traditional media is commercially inclined to selectively covering only sensational stories, we can use social media to express ourselves honestly and fearlessly, but responsibly .

All of us can support some social issues with whatever resources at our disposal – intellectual, financial, political or spiritual  With these internet tools, we have a virtual megaphone with a global reach. We can make our voices heard.  We can use these to connect to a large network of friends, spread awareness, and get their support for social causes like gender equality, child abuse, environment, drugs and alcoholism, and so many others.

One example of a creating awareness was a video I saw posted on FB about child sexual abuse. The first part was about the myths for parents to know. The second part created awareness among children. Finally, the part that I likes the most  was a VERY very simple 3-point response approach for children to remember, if faced with such a situation. A very effective message.
As the urban population we can use such messages to change the mindset and redefine the rules of democratic governance.

Folks, the seeds of a revolution are being sowed in our country. To make India a better place, we need to be part of this change, by communicating through the virtual world, and participating in the real world issues.