Toastmasters Speech 3: Face the Wind

Face The Wind

With the word Wind, a word that comes to our mind is Rains. During the last rains I was stuck in Bangalore Traffic. I was riding back from a friend’s house and my phone rang. I could not pick the call. It was my friend Anvith. I have known Anvith ever since. His wife Ananya, Anvith and me have been friends since we have known, who we are. As the phone stopped ringing I reached the street of my old house. There was a huge traffic jam. I brought down the side stand and walked by to check what had happened. The tree, next to my window in the old house had come to ground. They were in the process of clearing the tree.

Good Evening Friends, Fellow Toastmasters and esteemed guests.

This was the tree which used to stay grounded when the wind would blow from the left to right. The tree today had come down, because over the period the winds had changed and my favourite tree dint have the strength. But, I had studied all my board exams sitting by the window and those tough hours of study made me what I am today. It was tough then, but when I think back now; I realize the grind is what made me strong for the years to come.  My favorite tree could not do much, but as a human I was more fortunate.

My favorite tree was cleared. A leaf came over and stuck to my bike, which I put into my pocket. As I started driving, my tree and the call got my mind wandering. Memories started flying by to another rainy night and Anvith’s call. By then Anvith was married for 4 years and Ananya was getting close to the date. She was 7 months pregnant. That day’s call will stay with me forever.  Anvith called and I reached Cloud 9. We were expecting a news of premature birth and friends walked towards the ward. But, when we got close we saw Anvith sitting with his head leaning over the chair. Ananya had lost her baby, second miscarriage in a span of 18 months. Two of my best friends were shattered. We stood by him, no answer.  Their child was supposed to be the first baby amongst we friends.

My thoughts lost and as I hit reality; I was about bang into a auto. I managed to hold on. The rains had reduced in the last 15 minutes. I parked the vehicle to check the phone. I saw 8 missed calls from Anvith. Anvith does not call repeatedly, it was not his habit. I was scared now. The memories of 2012, started ringing. I did not want another bad news for them. They were already shattered. Ananya was pregnant after a gap of 2 years. Just then came a message, reach Lalbagh Nursing Home asap. I was shivering as I drove. Parked the bike and in the parking lot was Anvith, sitting on one of the steps facing the other side. I went by and just tapped him gently. Anvith turned around and hugged me tight, he just uttered “baby boy”. We wept like 4^th grade kids and waited for all friends to come in through the night.

Ananya and Anvith faced the Wind, I stood by the Wind of Pressure and Tough times of life in different time. My favorite tree, due to it helplessness died. We as human beings have more abilities to fight situations. Lets do it and Face the Wind. Face the Wind and Hold On Pain Ends.

Disclaimer: The characters in the above speech are fictious. Any resemblences to a person dead/alive may be treated as purely coincidental. Thank you.

ToastMasters Speech 2: Sixes, Fours, Wickets and Inspirations !!!

I would get up every morning when the Indian team toured Australia. Sit up with all earnestness and follow every ball till 7.30 and its time to go to school. I would sit through the night, to watch a Indo-Pak match in Canada. I have watched Steve Waugh battle a test match against India, and get out for handling the ball and my mom would handle me from behind

The beautiful game of cricket has always inspired many around the world and me too.

Good Evening fellow toastmasters, guests and the President.

The game that I love the most and has always inspired me - is cricket. The mention of this game, arguably will not go without the mention of his name. A man loved by millions around the world, Sachin. We used to write his name on our bats and never moved away from the TV’s when he batted. The fondest memory is his innings against the Aussies, in the sand storm match. The match stopped and he sat in the pavilion with his helmet on; waiting for the match to start. What happened when the match started was just one of the miracle innings. Sachin single handedly guided India to the finals. The grit and determination of this man was just awesome. He taught the world, what focus could do.

 Sachin was lucky for another great cricketer. He passed his cap to the umpire after each of his ten wickets, in the match against Pakistan.

Yes, its Anil Kumble. Anil got hit on his jaw and was injured while he batted. This was the time, when India relied heavily on Anil and Srinath. The injury on the jaw, was very bad and he was strapped with a bandage around his head. Doctors advised him not to move his jaw. He comes out to bowl and even traps Lara. Later that evening, doctors strictly had to stop bowling; or face serious health implications, when he decided to fly back to India. This was the kind of commitment, which Anil displayed.

Anil Kumble late after his retirement, went to see another healing cricketer in Boston, USA.  He was the hero of the World Cup in the sub- continent.  He was Yuvraj Singh.

This was a tale of inspiration, beyond proportions. We realized the significance and sacrifice of the victory, a little after the World Cup 2011. It was with the book by Yuvraj Singh,”The test of my life”. Another fighter, who has fallen and came back stronger every time. Before the World Cup, he was not in form. Many felt why he was selected. But, Yuvi was already battling Cancer by now. He was coughing up blood in the early stages of the tournament. He played with pain and won important matches in critical stages with bowling and batting.  Along with him was a team that gelled well under and exemplified leader.  He did not have a single major score till the final and came out in the final ahead of Yuvraj, Dhoni. The whole team played with a grit and determination never seen before. Showed what can happen, when we means more than I.

Yuvraj played with a photo in his kit through the World Cup. Again suggested by the man himself to search for motivation. Yuvi found it in Sachin himself. 

As all good things have to come to an end. So did an era. An era in which Indian team grew from strength to strength. He faced back aches, heart breaks and even has a broken toe that cannot be healed. He finally bowed out on 14^th November 2013. He touched down upon the pitch, as a mark of respect and recited a speech that left many Indians in tears. A day that showed the humility of this great man.

These cricketers, who have excelled in their professions, have taught us: focus, commitment, team comes first attitude, a quality to never give up and to stay grounded. These moments have always inspired me and stayed with me ever since.  The game of cricket has inspired many.

A game teaches a lot and inspires for life. I would urge all my friends to play and follow one game/sport, if you are not doing so. It serves you by giving a healthy mind and body. 

Conclusion: My evaluator felt this speech was too broad and could have been better with a more narrow topics. Thanks to him, I got my first "Best Speaker" badge with it. :)

ToastMasters Speech 2: Teach - The Lego Blocks Way !!!

13*1 = 13

13*2 = 26

13*3 = 39

13*4….. 13*4…..13*4 ……

Teacher: You din’t learn your tables again. You can’t even memorize one table…..Why do you come to school?

Memorizing, without knowing why, when and what… does not help.

Good Evening friends, fellow toastmasters and esteemed guests.

The topic I have chosen for my second speech “Teach – The Lego Blocks Way”  is about teaching children below the age of 8 years. Why specifically kids below 8 years? It is because after this age we only synthesize information based on these basics. From a very long time and even till date, in India we are most concerned about the marks our children score; than to see that they understand what they learn. This pressure makes child memorize the subject that needs to be learnt. We are happy just looking at the marks and do not bother much about enabling them to understand.

Have we seen kids play with Lego Blocks? What does a child do? We do not teach much, right. We simply give the kit for the child to play. The child unwraps it and starts playing with it. Slowly and steadily the child sees the book, with the helicopter, a house etc made out of the building blocks. The child tries to make one of them. How does the child follow? Have you ever wondered? The child follows it with the color and the size of the lego. What happens here is the fascination of colors and sizes of the lego blocks. This leads to a  very simple and profound learning process. A Lego block way is Science in the simplest form.

The word Science reminds me of Laws and Equations. Newton’s Laws, First, Second and third; we even thought why dint a jackfruit fall on Newton, instead of an Apple. This was my state, still I met my Principal a few minutes before my exams.

 I should say I was fortunate to learn from him. I remember my Principal asking me to state Newton’s First Law. I had memorized and forgot. Imagine, Principal asking a child of fifth standard, just a few minutes before the exam. He taught me in those few minutes and I learnt and would not forget the law till date. An object at rest stays at rest and an object in motion stays in motion with the same speed and in the same direction unless acted upon by an unbalanced force. He taught these in simple words. He simply told – a stone is placed here, if I do not push it and nothing happens. This stone will remain here forever. Why does a car stop or this stone fall, when thrown. There is friction acting on the car, in case of a Car. For Instance of a stone, the force of gravity pulls it down. It is simple law and taught in a even simpler way. He broke down the two parts of the Law of Inertia and explained in day to day terms. What my principal did there was to teach me the building blocks of the law.

 Let me come back to my tables story and why I never learnt tables beyond 12 tables, all life.

Thanks to my cousin. As I was sitting and memorizing one day, he simply told multiply and write. It was not the right way. It probably ruined my speed in some of those mathematics exams. But, he made me realize that it is multiplication. Can any of us tell our children 2*2 is nothing but 2 added 2 times. We have to make it simple. Bring it down to the basics. It is the toughest part right. But, that is the right way to teach. Keep it simple. This is also building ahead with the building blocks of tables from 1-9.

As simple as how water finds its way, learning should also find one. To summarize – teach kids the words and sentences right. They will get their answers right. Teach them to read and understand, they will analyze it right. Teach children to get basic mathematics right, they can solve bigger problems in future.

“The object of teaching a child is to enable the child to get along without a teacher.” – Elbert Hubbard.

So, let us teach children to learn. It is not enough to just read, memorize and submit for marks. Learning is more than just marks and college seats. 

The speech that got my first "Best Speaker" badge.... :) 

ToastMasters Speech 1: My Introduction

Shuklaambara Dharam Vishnum
Shashi Varnam Chatur Bhujam
Prasanna Vadanam Dhyaayet
Sarva Vighna Upashaanthaye

A small prayer for the occasion. This famous sloka sung for Ganesha. Lord Ganesha is the one, who is worshipped first for every occasion. Even before the prayers, we do one small act. We light a lamp. My name signifies “light” and I am Deepak. My name was chosen by mother, who picked the name from a Kannada novel.

A warm welcome to the President of the Club, Fellow Toastmasters and everyone present here for the first meeting of “SAP Speak to Lead Toastmasters Club”.

I am Deepak, a hard core Bangalore an. I love this city. This city breeds a lot of young minds and allows them to express their exuberance. The best part about the city is its people and the climate. People are extremely hospitable and climate is not too far behind either. The Software hub of India, The Silicon City – I’m bitten by the bug too. A Software Engineer by Profession and still doing a lot of soul searching.

There are three stories from my life, that I would like to share with you all today.

First is the story of “My Childhood”. We lived in a locality filled with 1BHK houses. There were approximately 20 houses and lots of children. The best part was an empty site to play. We would play all day in the field. In a site sized 60*60, we would have more than 11 fielders. Imagine pinching a single in such a set up. Falls, blood, getting scolded by parents was like breakfast, lunch and dinner probably. We dint leave the dark nights either. That was filled with caroms, hide n seek, kabbaddi and Monopoly. The exuberance of being with friends in outdoor games is something awesome. Even 1/- rupee was pocket money back then and we planned to spend it. Work Life Balance at its best. We worked at school and we balanced the play amongst different games. Goosebumps…. Even now. Those times don’t fade.

The second story; A story of learning to drive. A teenager’s story. My first set of wheels, was not a cycle – not a CBZ – but a second hand Luna. The first was to my college. That being the first day I took out that far, I took it out at around 7 30 AM in the morning. This is early 2000’s and the roads were still little empty, unlike today where we have cabs around the clock. I was riding on the extreme right. A driver from a BMTC bus, popped his head out and called out “First time aa”. I smiled and he told very politely, be to your left. This happened right in front of the Vidhana Soudha. These were the times of 17’s and 18’s. A crush every new day and when we start looking out for the eyes, beauty, smile and so on. Leaves a smile, when you think how stupid some thoughts were. But the beauty of it, is the thought of being lost. Exuberance of Youth begins here.

Third and the last story that I want to share is something – that stays close to my heart with every passing day. We had been to an orphanage, which takes care of children infected by AIDS. The day began by making the kids play and making an effort to make it special for them. As we were playing with a few kids, a child arrived neatly dressed and someone, who you would immediately take notice of. The child was stout, not grown to its age. The limbs were curved and fingers not fully grown. This girl got a ball, which she kept bouncing; without getting tired. The ball would bounce away and she would jump to not allow the move away from her. At last, I went to her and asked; what do you do during your school time. I expected, her to tell she simply would be around the school. She could have easily done that. The answer was “I study”. The Nun there told me that she had the best writing and topped the class. I was left shell shocked. I kept watching this child for the rest of the day. Exuberance of Life – was what I learnt that day.

She left a lasting impression, for life. We crib, we give excuses and we cry for not getting things in life. This girl did not get Life !!!..  But the girl was so strong, at one look – she would command respect. I will not leave this story incomplete. Her name was “Rani” – A Real Queen – The best example I could put forth for Exuberance.