Election Calling!!!

Whole Karnataka stands in the queue for voting today and almost all media houses talked about it. A few days ago, I informed my friend that I am running for election on 12th May. My friend asked about my political affiliation? I said 'Toastmaster'. He got confused and asked again "BJP" or "Congress"? I reaffirmed my answer "Toastmaster" and informed him about our Toastmaster club election. He said thank god, it’s not like a political election.

My friend again asked me about the election procedure in Toastmaster. I explained him in detail. There are 7 open seats for an election. 1. President 2. Vice President – Education. 3. Vice President – Membership 4. Vice President – Public Relation 5. Treasurer 6. Secretary 7. Sargent at Arm. But there will not be any ruling or the opposition party. Here we should defend our candidature using small speech. Where we need to confirm your candidature and inform our audience about how we will perform better. An audience will decide candidate fate by voting.

I was running for 'Vice President - Public Relation' role. I was on the edge of my seat about the election because it was my first election. I thought I prepared well and I went to TM Adhiraj office. I practice my nomination text.  He said my endorsement text was not up to the mark. Few of my colleague helped me to rewrite it. After the 3rd round of re-writing, I thought that text was fine-tuned. 

On the election day, I was very excited. DTM Leo took approx. 7 minutes to explain the importance of club election and leadership aspect. The emphasis to build strong block at the base in the value chain. DTM Uday Sir, TM Ashrafali, TM Shakir were in Nomination Committee. DTM Uday sir smoothly conducted an election. Uday sir informed us Toastmaster election conducted based on Robert’s rule or Law which is nothing but a TM constitution. Its applicable to all election procedure in Toastmaster. He explained each role objective and responsibilities very well. First role 'President' got elected unanimously. For 'Vice President - Education', two candidates were contesting an election. There were 3 candidates for 'Vice President - Membership'. There were 2 rounds of voting performed for it. We see that candidate list growing on an incremental basis for each role. I like candidate introduction round. Each one was very well prepared and elaborate his/her plan for effective execution of duties.

Member super excitement was at a peak at the time of 'Vice President - Public Relation' role election. There were 4 candidates. I tried my best to put my candidature and tried to convince the audience how I can add value to the role. After 3 rounds of voting, 'TM Taaha' got elected. For 'Treasurer' role there were 3 candidates. There were 2 rounds of voting. For 'Secretary' and ‘Sargent at Arms' role candidate got elected unanimously. What is the big deal about this election? yes, there were few learnings too. 1. Start Leadership with a small step and build a strong base in the value chain. 2. You should plan your candidature very well in advance.  3. We should not ignore the power of networking.

Abbreviation
TM – Toastmaster
TMCPSE – Toastmasters Club of Pune South East
VP PR – Vice President Public Relation Team
ExCom – Executive Committee
CC – Competent Communicator
DTM – Distinguish Toastmaster

Speech : Why you killed Atharva

One fine morning I came to office. I pressed power on button and just thought after the day’s work. Amod, my friend came to my desk. He was angry and asked me “Why you killed Atharva?”

I replied, “What the hell are you talking about?”

My friend was not in a mood to listen to me.

"How dare you to kill Atharva?"

"Amod, I am a law-abiding person." Why could I do that?

"You don't have privilege or permission to murder Atharva."

“I will be in prison if I killed anybody. How can anybody hide a murder?”

"No, I know! That is your favourite hobby"

"Killing people is my favourite hobby?”

"By the way who is Atharva?

“Atharva is the main character in your "Half Win" story.”

"Oh, that story. That's nothing but a character. Not an actual person."

"I tried to convince Amod that characters are written in such way that they look realistic and nothing else."

"I am very disappointed in your writing” he said and left.

I love writing & reading stories. I have noticed that sometimes we sympathize with a character because we see our self in that character. Sometimes we want full entertainment to relax from stress. Few people are crazy about Superman, Spiderman, etc. movies. Because they feel someone will come and rescue us from our problem. 

Did anyone of you see Google App Ad where they insist on check film rating before watching? The same way we should know movie genre before watching the movie.

Please raise your hand if you believe in “Happy ending” movies?

A happy ending is an ending of the plot of a work of fiction in which almost everything turns out for the best for the protagonists, their sidekicks, and almost everyone except the villains. In few stories, hero struggles to win over the villain. Somehow, he/she beat the villain. Villain learns his life lesson. Hero, heroine happily married and settled down. This is the happy ending, or "upending".

Did you watch Bahubali 1 movie? Kattapa killed Bahubali at end of Bahubali 1. Killing the character Bahubali is wrong but it was necessary to end that character to make progress in the story. Is killing of character not justified? In Bahubali 2, main lead takes revenge from Bhallaldeva. It's Happy Ending.

Tragedies on the other hand, while popular in other eras, is far less today. Though they may be referred to as "down endings". Tragedies are stories that promote the idea that we do not have control over our destinies, as evidenced by the tragic hero struggling against circumstances repeatedly but failing to overcome them. The goal of the tragedy is not to bum people out with a down ending, but to make the more sophisticated point that we should gain strength from the knowledge that we are all in the same boat.

Guzaarish, Agneepath, Anand are a perfect example of Tragedies. In Agneepath, main lead struggles a lot against circumstances. Main character/hero die at end of the movie.

The goal of the melodrama is escapist, to help you forget for a little while. So is very popular in our era. I am intrigued by the market for movie endings. Movie-goers want two things in an ending: They want it to be happy and they want it to be unpredictable.

‘Swades’, ‘3 Idiots’, & ‘Dear Zindagi’ are an example of melodrama films. The audience loves these types of films.

I have talked about three genres only i.e. happy-ending, down-ending or tragedy, and melodrama. There are more than 25 different type of movie genres. Toastmasters, we should not limit ourselves to only one genre. We should watch films, read books of different genres. But, to avoid disappointment, we should know the right genre of the book or movie even before starting to read or watch.

So, which type of movie do you prefer to watch or which type of books do you prefer to read? More importantly, are you aware of the genres of movies and books?

Thanks!!!

Travelogue - TMCPSE 300th Milestone Meeting Day Picnic

In September, TMCPSE ExCom decided to go for Day picnic to celebrate 300th Milestone meeting. We were excited about venue and date. Soon, Date and venue were finalized. Public Relation team started their own campaign to spread the message to the club as well as  the entire Toastmasters fraternity. They went the extra mile to design beautiful posters, record member's amazing videos, etc. and send across to everyone. That adds more fuel to the member's excitement about milestone meeting. Finally, that day arrived with lots of good things in its kitty. 

We reached our picnic destination Shantivan at 10.01 AM. We were a little late. The bus journey both to and fro was entertaining. Toastmasters had a ball by playing Dumb Charades game in the journey. People google Mithun Chakravarti, Suniel Shetty movie name to outguess the opponent team. One of the funny names was "Dhoti Lota Aur Chowpatty", "Khoon Bhari Maang", etc. Somebody asked whether the second word was a pronoun, adjective, or noun. We had good laugh on this game. Star performer of starting journey was many toastmasters but star performer for return Journey was Taaha and Saumya. Saumya played Dumb Charades like game on the mobile phone. Toastmasters helped her to identify the names. It was fun filled and fully entertaining.  

The dining hall was very big. One side of the hall, few tables were arranged. Another side, 5-6 Mat arranged to serve people in large numbers. Buffet system arrangement was there to serve people. At breakfast, I heard the big noise and saw small children from different schools had arrived with a big bang. They played with their plates. We were done with breakfast by 10.35. Shantivan campus was developed on big land. Its situated at backwater of Khadakwasla dam. Amazing view of Khadakwasla backwater was available from Shantivan. After some team building games, we had leisure time until meeting time 2.45 PM. All sort of facilities was there for each age group. Cricket net, badminton court, children park with various games were available. Aquarium, meditation hall, functional hall, corporate meetings facilities were there too. I played badminton and within 10 minutes I realized that I need to do exercise daily to become fit. Few toastmasters played cricket. Few preferred to have powernap on the cot under the Bamboo tree. I took 15 minute’s powernap under the Bamboo tree and I feel cool, calm and refreshed. We had lunch at 1.30 PM. We had great lunch. So, I felt the need for the second powernap too after lunch. I had a quick tour around Shantivan. Quickly visited Aquarium, Photo Stand, rabbits house, etc. 

Team building activities were very well organized. I like first game i.e. opposite order. Shweta explained the rules where she mentioned game organizer will utter the word and we need to do exactly opposite of that word. “In” means “out”, “left” means “right” and vice versa. We played the same game with our parents in our childhood. Toastmasters played all team games with the same passion as they played different roles in meetings. 

We had 2 DSLR cameras. So our Division Director Akshay decided to record the whole meeting by one DSLR and keep another one for photos. A leader is a person who utilizes their resources effectively in critical condition irrespective of his/her resources and their strength in small or large in numbers. His camera’s memory became full. So I recorded few videos. I face one issue while recording and Akshay resolved it instantly. By end of the day, I learn few important tricks of canon camera from Akshay. I bought DSLR a few months ago but never fully utilized it. But due to TMCPSE (Toastmasters Club of Pune South East) day out, I fully used it and learn few tricks as well. 

At 2.48 PM, TM Nagmanesh started the meeting with a bang. TM Amith as usual in rocking form with added guitar music flavour in the background. Harshit played guitar in the meeting. Amith starts by playing funny video, one-person dances on the song and he did not care about others. And soon other joined that person and everybody enjoyed. Amith described excellent example at the closure of TMOD address. There were 3 prepared speeches. All speakers attempted it very well. All 3 speeches are nothing but a complete dose of motivation, bravery and entertainment. Richa starts and ends her speech with the quote "If the ocean can calm itself, so can you. We are both salts, water, mixed with air." - Nayyirah Waheed. Rohitraj arrived bright-eyed and bushy-tailed to attempt CC1. Nidhi's attempt was good too. By the way, I wasn’t evaluator so I will not analyze them in details. TM Govinda conducted a great TTM session. He invited almost all people to talk about TMCPSE. Club Humorous speech contest winner Pawan poured humour in TTM session with ease. Four members design and deliver ad campaign like professional. Akshay distributed participation certificates to the member who performed in Division Level Humorous Speech and Evaluation contest. Overall it was fantastic meeting with lots of takeaways. 

Before going to start return journey, we had cake cutting ceremony and our president thanks, event organization team for their great efforts. It’s nothing but a vote of thanks. And the surprise was a souvenir with Toastmaster logo and member name printed on it for all club members. What is the success formula for any event i.e. Entertainment, fun, member participation, great management, and meeting goals? It was there in 300th milestone meeting. I had a great day with lots of good moments, memories. At approx. 8.30 PM I reached my home. 

Abbreviation 
TM – Toastmaster 
TMCPSE – Toastmasters Club of Pune South East 
PR – Public Relation Team 
TMOD – Toastmaster of the day 
TTM – Table Topic Master 
ExCom – Executive Committee 
CC – Competent Communicator 

Lesson

One day, as usual, Vijay, a Regional Transfer Office employee, went to the office, as he entered the gate, it was just like any other government office. People were coming in with documents, struggled with processes and protocols, attended the driving license tests and went ahead with their chores. Many agents and domineering officers mess around and crowd the RTO office. Such things are a daily grind.

Sachin was a shy and a principle oriented and value driven man with good deeds. It was the day when Sachin went to RTO for a car driving license. He put his beliefs on trial. Being an honest man, he decided to give the driving test without bribing any of the agents or officers.

Bhosale, the officer on the job, was RTO licensing examiner on that day. Principles and honesty did not mean anything to him. Sachin approached Bhosale to submit his documents for the driving exam. It looks like Bhosale glared at Sachin and demanded Rs. 2000. Here's the catch! To no surprise, Sachin refused. A junior officer there tried to convince Sachin how things work. While Bhosale, the freak, attempted to challenge Sachin's limit and abuse his education, he rejected his form and threw away his documents.

Bhosale added insult to injury by using the local slang to abuse Sachin and asked him to get out of there. As a reaction, Sachin got irritated and frustrated. He thought a police officer should not abuse him for not giving bribe. Sachin then decided to teach a lesson to that crazy police officer. Sachin was very angry. He returned home totally disturbed and helpless, yet agitated. Sachin drilled and got some more information about this officer Bhosale.
He got to know that corruption charges and various other such cases were pending against him. He also got to know that, it was just six months ago, he was reappointed in one such case due to lack of proper evidence. Sachin investigated more about this particular suspension case. But he could not get any primary evidence against the officer. However, one day an unknown person approached Sachin on the road.

Unknown person to Sachin: "Hey, I followed you since the RTO fiasco the other day. I know you were looking for something."

Sachin: "But, who are you?"

Unknown Person: "I had seen a clash of a principle oriented common man against a freaky and corrupt police officer. I want you to win this clash. And so, I would like you to take this parcel. This should be enough food for your hunt!"

Sachin: "I cannot accept it."

But that person forcefully handed over the package and left in disguise. Sachin went home with the mysterious parcel. When Sachin opened the parcel, he got ample evidence against Bhosale.

The next thing he did was to call Bhosale and asked him to immediately stop harassing people for a bribe and all such evil acts. Sachin warned the officer for handing over the evidence in court. Bhosale stood helpless. He had no choice but to comply to Sachin, and so he did. He stopped harassing ordinary people for a bribe and all his wrong acts. Sachin kept an eye on the officer’s behaviour. After a few months, Sachin went to the RTO office again to take the driving license examination.

The same officer Bhosale verified Sachin documents and showed a green signal for the examination. He accomplished all his tests. After finishing the test, Sachin left the building. One person smiled at him at the gate for a few seconds. At first, he did not recognise that person, but later he acknowledged that the unknown person, who had helped him, was none other than an RTO employee. Sachin finally got his driving license without any bribe to the officer. The officer got the lesson of his life.

Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner.

Nexus

I told activist Suvarna that I like to meet her for one of the local cases I wish to discuss with her.

"We will" she replied and hung the phone.

I was busy in other significant activities so not able to contact her. Few days passed in between that. I tried to call her, but her phone was switched off. I got an SMS from an unknown number that "I am coming." I decided to call that number. But mobile is out of the area.

It was getting late enough to be worried. I once again stepped into the balcony and looked down. Except for a drenched street dog that was lying down miserably near the gate, not any soul seen anywhere. Rainwater had puddled under the lamp post. A breeze ruffled the mango tree in the courtyard, and a few twigs fell and broke. Thunder rumbled in the distance. Did I hear a soft knock at the door? I turned back and tried to view through door eyehole.

I get surprised by Suvarna presence on the door. I tried to see anybody with her. But nobody was there. I silently opened the door and shocked with her appearance. I thought she might be involved in hand combat. She injured in the fight. 2-3 visible injured marks corporators on the head.

Fight against corruption activist Suvarna is leading activist of this district. Suvarna is head of NGO "Sangarsh" which fight against corruption. She exposes corrupt government official and lobbyist. Also, she faces lots of opposition from the different quarter of people. Sometimes she had been attacked by few criminal, but she stands firm against all of them.

I "Bhavesh" work as a general physician in district place hospital. My practice was going well. I can still visualize that day & time when Suvarna came to my hospital for treatment. Two goons tried to manhandle her on the road. But she escapes it with bravery. I treated her and performed dressing on her injuries. We had a conversation on NGO activities, and I get inspired due to her work. Soon I visited her NGO and observed that she works with great passion and gusto. So I visited NGO number of times. Few times she visited my clinic for injuries treatment. Soon we become a good friend. I get inspired by her work. I decided to join and whenever I got free time I participate in NGO activities slowly.

She told me she somehow skipped the combat situation in the evening. She handed over one bag to me and told me to keep this bag as of now and return when asked for it. She informed me the name of a local gambler who tried to beat her. I requested her to stay till dawn, and I will drive her home in the morning. But she adamant on leaving now. She left the building without further explanation. I still think that how she came and went without knowing anyone from his building. So I decided to gather necessary information about a local gambler and try to follow that person tomorrow.

Next day, I figured out details about local gambler Ajay. Ajay is the right hand of government contractor Tiwari. His boss takes government contract to build the road, bridge, etc. I successfully found his place and followed him from some distance. He directly went to local corporators Suyash office. I thought He might come for some discussion with Suyash. I went inside as a citizen and tried to show that I went for some work. I heard their conversation from outside of the cabin. Ajay informed Suyash that someone was blackmailing his boss for road constructed last year. Suyash told him to be relaxed and calm. He will handle blackmailer by deploying his method.

I realize that not only builder and his right arm but also local corporations involved in this incident. So I decided to open and view bag which was handed over by Suvarna. As usual, I found that old news articles, few departmental reports. I tried to call her and NGO but Suvarna not available at both ends. Now it becomes the mystery for me and its challenge for me to unveil it. I carefully read all news articles and government reports. I found lots of discrepancies in all records.

Suvarna was missing from the scene. Nobody knows where she was? Bhavesh thought she was innocent. But her absence conveys different things. I have decided to finish this matter as early as possible. So I decided to visit that road construction. I only viewing road construction, anyone can guess that poor quality of pathway because of the road is full of path holes, poor drainage, and low standard of materials. My instinct was correct. Lane still in dangerous condition and Suvarna tried to expose the contractor and official. And she might be the epicenter of all these sudden activities. I got confused, frustrated, and helpless in the whole situation because I am not able to help Suvarna. I sympathize Suvarna for her noble cause.

Suyash is not happy about the whole situation. This contract is a headache for him. Initially, there are lots of discrepancies and problem in this deal. He had seen that builder used bulk cash to suppress the issue. The previous contractor was the owner of the contract. But after too much overhead they decided to distribute the load equally. So unofficially he became the partner in the pact. He called his special agent “Raghu” and signaled him to finish the matter as soon as possible.

The Naresh, an officer from Municipal Corporation, was a worried man. Raghu informed him that last incident happened about the activist. Naresh feared that if activist exposed them in media then official inquiry will be formed and they will lose their job, and they will be humiliated to for corruption they did to pass this contract. So they requested Suyash to finish this matter early. Raghu told them he is looking into this issue means they relieved that this case will end by hook or crook.

Bavesh wants to explore the further role of municipal officers in regarding this contract. So he visited Corporation office and found out few officers are involved in this matter. Naresh was one of them. He decided that I will have the watch on Naresh. Might be Naresh activities will provide another clue. He sees that Naresh was talking earnestly to person. I tried to recall that person's face. I just remember that I had seen him in Suyash office. So I wanted to follow him too.

Next day I followed Raghu from some distance and surprised that he came to the remote place to meet Suvarna. One can identify from their body language that they came here to discuss some serious matter. From a distance, I can recognize that they made some deal to end this thing. They will meet again for next day to close the deal at same time exchange of money and all government papers, clippings of contract. A few hours later, I got a call from Suvarna for the bag which she handed over to me. She told me, she will come at night to collect it. I said that would be great.

As usual, she came at night. I asked her about hiding and seek game. She told me one sweet story. I thought its false without any proper reason. I show her my sympathy towards her. She vanishes within the blink of an eye in the shadow of mist.

I informed Police about this deal and place of the agreement. I accompany police to that place. Police raided that particular area and shocked over blackmailer. Police found both Raghu and Suvarna at that site with all documents. They found approx. Five lakhs in a big suitcase. Police registered FIR against all these people. Police shocked over Suvarna involved in graft cases. Police helped her in different graft cases against the corrupt officer. Police seized all contract related paper from Raghu. But police unable to gather any proof against Suyash involvement in all this matter. So local corporators Suyash set free from court.

But still I able to break the sizable part of road contract Nexus. But Ajay, Raghu, Naresh, Suvarna convicted in court. Court sentenced to prison for their involvement in graft matter. But I am unable to digest Suvarna as a blackmailer in this case. I visited Suvarna in prison and question her about the deal she involved with Suyash. But she did not answer my questions. She was my idol who fight against the corrupt government official. Her NGO closed by the government official due to graft cases and irregularities in the fund, donation of NGO. I lost my hope on corruption free India and fighting against corruption. I got discouraged, heartfelt, frustrated due to Suvarna episode. I discontinued all fighting against corruption activities and focus on my general practice.

Few best Quotes

Atonement

Disclaimer:-
1) This disclaimer informs readers know that the views, thoughts, and opinions expressed in the text belong solely to the author, and not necessarily to any organization, committee or other group or individual.
2) This disclaimer informs readers know that the views expressed in this blog/text to describe the social issue with personal experience. Blog/post/text is not intended to hurt anybody sentiments.

Sometimes we did not realize the significance of "India believes in unity in diversity" statement. Unfortunately, many of us used “Chinese” or “Japanese” words to address our northeastern friends. I used to be one of them. Now I feel strange for this.

11 years ago, when I was in college, I have seen few student used to make fun of northeastern student by questioning their nationality, skin, color, and personality. A North-Eastern people belong to Mongoloid race. Generally, they are people of yellow complexion, oblique eyes, high cheekbones, sparse hair and medium height. They look differently and unfortunately but we treat them differently as well.

We read in the newspaper that northeast student had been attacked in Delhi and Pune a number of times. We treat them like foreigners. Sports personalities from North East are discriminated for their face, race, and origin. North-Eastern alienated from the mainstream of the country in terms of education, facilities, infrastructure, and development. Till date, all political parties ignore this region. Also, a majority of people ignore their culture and institution.

Let’s start with the education system. I never heard or no reference to any great character, a leader even villain from their history in my education. Even we don’t know about their gods or lords they worshiped. Still few people are there who make efforts to fill communication gap between 7 sister region to other parts of the country.

The government should take initiative to highlight North East community contribution towards the country. A few years ago, noted musician, singer Bhupen Hazarika passed away. North-Eastern people demand "Bharat Ratna" for Bhupen Hazarika for his great contribution to the music of Indian cinema. But government not responded on this issue. A few days ago government declared the longest bridge on the river as “Bhupen Hazarika” bridge. That’s tribute to great singer/musician. This kind of incident should be repeated by the government.

"Reachout Anti-Discrimination Project" conducted in Delhi-NCR region. A survey shows that 54% people from the Northeast have experienced racism and discrimination and a 74% feel that the situation in Delhi evokes racism and discrimination. The survey also reveals that even 57% of government employees from Northeast face discrimination at the workplace. In the private sector, 58% feel that are being discriminated on the basis of race and among students 54% felt the same. A survey shows that 81% of northeast women are harassed in Delhi.

Leave alone the surveys, when I was in college, Few times I made fun of students from this community. At that time, I didn't feel bad for them. Friendly fun was not physical or abusive but it's hurt people sentiment. I never cared about their feelings. Also, I really did not have any idea how they cope up with this kind of situation.

A few years ago, I read one article in the newspaper about racism and abuse on North-Eastern community people. That news article opened my eyes. I thought that if somebody questions my nationality then it will be very difficult for me to answer it. Racism and discrimination of any form i.e. race, age, skin, color, and origin should be condemned.

Now, I feel their suffering, pain, and anguish. They have right to live with dignity in society. Now, I thought it was an injustice to tease, discriminate or racially abuse of North-East community. I consider that I am also responsible for a few incidents. And just being regretful is not sufficient. I thought, as a responsible citizen, I should create an example of how we can contribute to ending this discrimination. I have decided to pay one girl student fee for one year from one of the North-Eastern village school. 

School managed by Vivekananda Kendra Vidyalayas Arunachal Pradesh Trust (VKVAPT). Trust founded in 1977 and managed 36 schools in Arunachal Pradesh. It gives me immense happiness that I have deposited the first installment to sponsor a girl child in VKVAP Trust account. This is the purest form of happiness I had very few times in my life. I told them that I like to ear-mark donation amount for sponsoring of a girl student for the Academic Session 2017_18 for any VKVAP Trust’s school.

I have also taken an oath not to tease or racially abuse any North-East Indian or - for that matter - any person on their age, race, color, skin or origin. What about you guys? Now, I like to request you and if you agree with the same concern then please take an oath as early as possible. "I will not involve in teasing, racial remark, racially abuse, racial discrimination, making derogatory remarks, or any other activities which will hurt other's sentiments."

Thanks!!!