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The Belated BeginningIt was about one and a half years backwhen I first heard about KolkataToastmasters Club from my brother. Itold him with sarcasm, I am sure thismust be some form of socialentertainment as you are a partyanimal. To which he replied, Why dontyou give it a try, come for a meeting, if you like it then join it, otherwise dont.His confidence baffles me sometime. Ihad a gut feeling that it is not going tobe very interesting One and a half hours of sitting idle, I could rather have a

pint of chilled beer in the nearbySomeplace Else (a pub in Park Street).

I. could feel the earth moving under myfeet. My stage fear reached a saturationpoint. I thought to myself, Why did hehave to ask me? Can I just run away, mypint of beer is waiting for me! Though Iwas not obligated to speak, I tried to fightmy fear Come on Vishal, dont be achicken, you will lose respect even before

joining the club. Dont bring a bad nameto your brother who is looked upon in theClub. Moreover these people are anencouraging lot; they are going to appre--ciate your speech. With all the anxiety in

the world, I got up, treaded slowlytowards the dais, spluttered out some-

The meeting runs from 7 pm to 830 pm,so I called up my friend, asking him tomeet me around 8 pm in Someplace Elseas I knew my capacity to sit there wouldlast for a maximum of one hour.

But what I experienced in that meetingwas an eye opener. As soon as I entered

the Meeting Room, there were peoplegreeting me with smile, showingenthusiasm to know me better andmaking me comfortable in an unknownenvironment. There were a couple of interesting prepared speeches, someinsightful and some hilarious extempore type impromptu speeches. The entireenvironment was very conducive to thespeakers as the audience was constantlyencouraging and motivating them. Thensuddenly out of the blue, I could hear theTable Topics Master, announcing loudlyand clearly, Mr. Guest, would you like tocome and speak for the next table topic.

-thing for a minute or so and ran back tomy chair as fast as I could. Althoughsomewhere inside I felt I had given a veryboring speech, the applause wasdeafening that time. The next session of evaluation was very interesting as wellwhere every minor aspect of the meetingand the speeches was analysed properly.

Engrossed at the meeting, my pint wasstill waiting and I had a good one and ahalf hours. I had enrolled for a Mastersdegree in the UK that time and promisedmyself that once I am back to Kolkata, Iwill definitely take this up to overcomemy fear of public speaking, develop myleadership skills and of course have fun atthe same time.

And now Im back as a Sergeantatarmsat the Kolkata Toastmasters, raring to go

and be in the list of the achievers!~ KTM Vishal Churiwal

I promised

myself that once

I am back to

Kolkata,

I will definitely

take this up.

And now I am

back as the

Sergeantat-arms

at the Kolkata

Toastmasters,

raring to go

And

be in the list of

the achievers!

Ignite your passion, Enlighten your future October December 2009

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Wise men talk because they have something to say;fools, because they have to say something. ~ Plato

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Winning the Speech Contest

The stage is set, Reverberations 2009,Semi annual District Conference of Toastmasters, Venue- Hyderabad.Immediately the thought that ranthrough my mind was Hyderabadi Biryani with raita and korma .

Oh no! I'm fighting the battle of thebulge. As soon as I landed in Hyderabadthe beauty of the night sky enthralledme. There was a feeling of warmth and akind of connection with the city which Ifelt but could not figure out then. I hada good nights rest.

The .drums started to roll, the HumorousSpeech Contest was about to begin. Wewere called forward and asked to sit inorder. Speaker number one wasannounced; he left the hall in a rapture of laughter, as each speaker came on stagethe audience was rolling in laughter.Then came Contestant No.6, me. As Iwalked up, I said to myself its now ornever, go Stacey give it your best. It tookme 7min 22sec to deliver my speech.

It was about 5p.m., the announcement of the winners, I was declared 2 nd runner up.

I woke up in the morning, practised myspeech, then checked my phone inbox, itwas flooded with smses of luck from allthe Toastmasters Clubs in Kolkata. Itgave me a high and raised the bar sohigh. I hoped, I would be able to matchall their expectations. I found myself at

the contestants briefing and realised thatI was the only lady contestant. I waspitted against eight gladiators of humour. I'll be Joan of Arc and battle itout with them.

The evaluation contest started just afterlunch. As each speaker gave theirevaluation it was becoming so difficult tojudge. No paper, no notes, only from

memory and each exuberating confid--ence, they were speakers par excell-

-ence. To me every one was a winner.

I was so happy I charged for the podium.As I stood there to accept the trophy I felta deep sense of achievement and thenrealised my connection with the city. Itgave me my AWARD for all the hard work,practice, mentoring sessions and all theclub hopping I did. This is a tribute to all

those who helped me win, THANK YOUPramod, Abdul, Kunal, Tulika, Brati andall the clubs IBM, Saltlake, PWC, TCS andKTM who bore with me and heard thespeech repeatedly and even came toHyderabad to cheer me...

~ KTM Stacey Fernandes

I was so happy I

charged for thepodium. As I stood

there to accept

the trophy I felt a

deep sense of

achievement


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Pity the leader caught between unloving critics and uncritical lovers. ~John Gardner

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Just Like Diamonds!We human beings are diamonds,unrecognized, and thats what we needto realize. Diamond is a precious stonebecause it is not easily available on theearth. In the same way, we human beingsare found in the rarest of rare places inthe entire solar system and this makesus especial too.

If we need to increase the value of diamond, it should have good carat,sharp cut, shining colors and clarity. Inthe same way, we human beings need tofirst realize that even we are like adiamond and we need to respect ourself. Like diamond, we also need toincrease our value by having good carat,sharp cut, shining colors and clarity.

The four Cs (i.e. CARAT, CUT, COLOR and CLARITY) that make us shine and increase our value are followed by 9 Ps that are:

To have a good CARAT - we should have

1) PASSION: The density of diamond is

measured by its carat, similarly the depthof the human diamond lies in passion. If we follow our passion, everything willfollow us. Nothing can be achievedwithout an unending strong passion.

2) POSITIVE ENERGY: The higher wehave the positive energy; there are morechances of success. All the passion cango waste, if is not backed up by atremendous amount of positive energy.

To have a sharp CUT we should have

3) PERFORMANCE: There is no short cutto success. There is no comparison tothe power of sincere and dedicated hardwork. A good performance can only beachieved if a person is sincere towardsits work. It is said that 99% of all failurescome from people who have the habit of making excuses.

4) PERSEVERANCE: Spielberg was put ina class for those with learningdisabilities. Michael Jordan was taken outfrom high school basketball team. For

them, their ability to persist made theseordinary failures into extraordinarysuccess. Be prepared to fail, but have the

perseverance . to try again and again.Success will not be far behind.

To have shining COLOR - we should have

5) PERSONALITY: In a leader, more thana technical expertise, one need to havegood personality and to have such a goodpersonality, we need to work day in dayout and groom our self in all the aspect.We need to become a greatcommunicator and relentlessly follow theLaw of personality building.

6) PEOPLE: A person cannot do all thethings alone. A person should have powerin believing in people. The mostimportant thing for a leader is to havereplacement and then only he can grow inhis life. People skills have a synergy effectand 1+1 is no more 2; it becomes 11.

To have good CLARITY we should have

7) PERSPECTIVE: Perspective helps in toknowing where we are going in life, whatwe want in life and everything becomesclear. Often in our life, we loseperspective and with that we choose thepath which gives us short term returnsbut it is always harmful in long term. Aclear perspective shows us the directionto follow when life brings us to acrossroad.

8) PRINCIPLES: All great leaders in theworld naming, worth appreciating, havealways stuck to their principles. Sacrificeprinciples and we will put a big spotinside the diamond that will be revealedone day or the other.

9) PATRIOTISM: It is the final symbol of clarity of the human diamond. Its thelove for our country and for humanbeings anywhere in the world that makesa human diamond perfect. Patriotismmakes our success live forever.

The above 9 points are the powerfulprinciples of discovering the diamond inus and we need to follow that in exactlythe same sequence. Practice all the 9 Ps,the result will always be positive and we

will dazzle in life.~ KTM Nishant Khemka

We human

beings are like

diamonds.

And therefore, we

also need

to increase our

value by having

good carat,

sharp cut,

shining colors

and clarity.

The article is inspired by the thoughts of Arindam Chaudhuri as expressed in his book Discover the Diamond in You


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Many attempts to communicate are nullified by saying too much. ~Robert Greenleaf

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If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more,do more and become more, you are a leader. ~John Quincy Adams

Club Achievement of the year: KTM Stacey Fernandes receiving the 2 nd Runners Up award inDistrict Humorous Speech Contest at Reverberations 2009

A Torn Page: From KTM Priti aithas Diar o Good Thou hts

Haikus from the Hills of Mussoorie: Excer t rom KTM Tulika Pabrais Moms Collection

Toastmasters Moment of the year:

District 82, being recognized as the Best District in the Distinguished District Program in 2008 - 2009

Mixed Bag

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The Ascent of Moneyby Niall Ferguson

The year 2008 saw the world witness asevere financial crisis. Many called it theworst financial crises since the greatdepression in the late 1920s. Today,investment of ones money seems like aconfusing, complex and critical task. AndI include critical because it isincreasingly becoming difficult to stayaway from it all - even if we wanted to.

For all those of us who feel intimidated

and dumbfounded when it comes tofinance, theres a new guru on the block.Neil Fergusons The Ascent of Money isa carefully written out book on money. Inthe book, Ferguson explores the historyof money from the ancient AztecCivilizations, to the Spanish legions, tothe Clay tablets of Babylon. The book

takes .us through the origins of moneyand gradually directs us to modern times.The coup de matre (or stroke of genius)of this book is its ability to use history todissect a complex topic like the variousaspects of money into a fun, easilyunderstandable piece of literature thatalmost reads like a story!

If the concept of money fascinates you,give this book a read.

~ KTM Kunal Pabrai

Pages: 366Price: Rs. 399

Penguin Books

Nautical Milesby IMS Publications

We all love entertainment whereas weare generally averse to labour that leadsto learning. Thats why we entertainourselves with thrillers and love storieswhile books on vocabulary and languagelessons gather layers of dust upon them.

But what if learning and entertainmentare juxtaposed and you are gifted with aunique piece of marvel? Yes, NauticalMiles by IMS Publications is precisely thesame. It was originally meant for CATaspirants and students of similarcompetitive exams. But why should therebe a limit on the area of application of something good that can cater to all?

The book contains a continuous noveldivided over several chapters and at theend of each chapter there are exercises,

special notes .and vocabulary buildingtips. As you go on reading, you will learnnew words, improve upon your readingskills, and exercise the acquired learning.At the same time the thrill that is there inthe story will bind you to the habit of continuous reading till you reach the end.

Remember, in your voyage amidst theendless sea of learning, you have tonavigate in the right direction and youhave miles to go before you sleep.

~ KTM Niladri Sekhar

Pages: 312Price: Rs. 250

IMS Learning Resources


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Seek first to understand, then to be understood. ~ Stephen Covey

The Book review page hopes to encourage sharing of books among Club members. If you

are Interested to read the books reviewed here, please contact the reviewer. If there is

a book that you have read and would like to see published, please contact the Editor.

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Distinguished Club Plan KTMs ProgressGoals Target Actual Status

Competent Communicators 2 1 In progressAdditional Competent Communicators 2 0 In progressAdvanced Communicator 1 0 In progressAdditional Advanced Communicator 1 0 In progressCompetent Leader / Advanced Leader / DTM 1 1 DoneAdditional Competent Leader / Advanced Leader / DTM 1 1 DoneNew Members 4 4 DoneAdditional New Members 4 7 DoneOfficers Trained +4 4 7 - july In progressMembership Dues Renewal and Officers List Submission +1 1 1+ 2 Done

(Total Goals Achieved Till Date 31st )December 2009 5 Goals

Welcome New Members!Amaresh Chatterjee: Amaresh is working as regional commercial manager in an MNC. Hejoined Kolkata Toastmasters Club in October 09 to become a good communicator. Hishobbies include travelling and listening music.

[email protected] 9903970595

Anju Ghoriwala: Anju, a homemaker, loves to spend time with her twochildren. Her hobbies include music, reading books, and making friends. Sheoined KTM with an aim to gain confidence in speaking in front of people.


Vishal Churiwal: Bachelors from Symbiosis and Masters from LancasterUniversity, He is currently in the family business. Other than enjoying dancinghe is also learning to play guitar. His reason for joining KTM is to overcome hisstage fear, and to develop leadership skills and have fun at the same time.


Shisham Kayal: She has just completed her Bachelors in Journalism & MassCommunication. She joined KTM so that she can be a convincing speaker. Herhobbies include painting & travelling.


Tanu Sadhwani: Graduated as a B.Com., Tanu is now a successful homemakerand proud mother of two beautiful kids. Some of her hobbies are like listeningto music, reading, netsurfing and swimming. She joined KTM to improve hercommunication skills and also to gain more confidence.


Paresh Patel: Paresh is an entrepreneur. His hobbies are reading and playingwith his kids. He has joined Kolkata Toastmasters Club to improve his

communication and presentation [email protected] 9831047985

Birthdays(Jan Mar 2010)

Dola Chandra Jan 18Tapan Kr Gope Jan 21Kunal Pabrai Jan 27

Suryakant Marulkar Feb 11Naveen Misra Feb 22Tulika Pabrai Mar 6

Nishant Khemka Mar 08Siddharth Agarwal Mar 14

Saktipada Maity Mar 24

Anniversaries(Jan Mar 2010)

Ashok Gupta Jan 17

Praveen Verma Jan 22Naveen Misra Jan 23


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You do not lead by hitting people over the head - that's assault, not leadership. ~ Dwight D. Eisenhower

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Ig ni te your pa ssi on, Enli ght en your fu tu re October December 2009

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We hope youre enjoying the Toastmasters experience!!! For Private Circulation only. Edited by Niladri S. Jyot i. Published by Siddhartha Churiwal, President - Kolkata Toastmasters Club.

Kolkata Toastmasters Club is the first community Toastmasters club of Kolkata. One and a half years old, it has traverseda wonderful path of molding ordinary mortals into good public speakers and leaders. Kolkata Toastmasters is on its

way to produce dozens of competent communicators and leaders! But more than all this, members of KTM sharea unique bond of friendship, making KTM a club of fellowship, rather than just a public speaking forum!

For more details please visit our website : http://kolkata.freetoasthost.wsDistrict website : http://www.t82.org International website : http://www.toastmasters.org

Executive Committee July to December, 2009

President Siddhartha Churiwal 98360 41188VP Education Ankit Mehra 98366 76575VP Membership Amit Kumar Singh 98310 49199VP Public Relations Niladri S. Jyoti 98317 32856Treasurer Nishant Khemka 98301 91000Secretary Dola Chandra 98303 54194Sergeant-at-Arms Nishika Sharaff 90071 03601Immediate Past President Abdul Rahim 98310 57949

Meeting VenueCalcutta Chamber of

Commerce, Park Street (between Music World

and Peter Cat restaurant)

If you can GET out of Toastmasters,everything you CAN get out of Toastmasters,

you can never get OUT of Toastmasters !!!

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