Session 77 - joint session with CJTM

When I was a student, a joint session would throw up images of smoke-filled rooms and listless bodies, but this joint session between Elite Toastmasters ande City of Joy Toastmasters was a different kettle of fish altogether. It was a packed house and I am sure that the guests were in for a real treat.

SAA TM Suvojit started the session bang on time with an energetic story with the moral that helping each other accomplished more than helping only oneself, a principle epitomised in Toastmasters.

President of CJTM, Mehul Popat, with his usual panache, told an inspiring story about how, if a butterfly is released too early from the cocoon, it does not develop the muscles to fly. The struggle is important. In Toastmasters as well, although all are there to help, we need to put in our sweat in order to develop stamina. An apt story indeed.

TMOD Seema Ramesh (CJTM) had chosen the intriguing theme of "Moon, Monsoon and Macaroons", the awesome threesome as she fondly called it. She went on to link the three happening things of the moment - the moon-launch on earth, the monsoon in the sky and the macaroons in her kitchen - to the various role players as the session progressed. A novel theme no doubt and interesting connections.

The GE was introduced, the towering persona in toastmastering circles in Kolkata, TM Rohan Nag. He led out the game controllers viz Timer TM Vidwata, Ah counter TM Sahil, Grammarian TM Rajiv and Parliamentarian TM Ayushi, who individually introduced their roles. With that the baton went back to the TMOD for the project speeches.

There were three prepared speeches scheduled today. TM Abhishek Mohtta (Elite) delivered his Icebreaker, his first speech, but seeing his freedom on stage and the amount of humour he pumped in, who would have thought so? Maybe the sages are right - if the wife is absent, the husband blooms!

The second speech was delivered by TM Sweta Singhania (CJTM) on the values of the middle class. She brought back all our childhood and growing up memories as we recollected the limited yet carefree lives in our youth, laughing at the humour that she sprinkled on top. A really entertaining speech.

The third speech was delivered by TM Sutanu Bhowmick (Elite), based on research on the quirky names of streets in Kolkata. The facts brought out were indeed interesting and he delivered it in a humorous way, so that we were all sorry to see the speech end.

Table topic master TM Raunak Agarwal (CJTM) gave pithy controversial one-liners to both toastmasters and guests for impromptu speaking, most of whom did justice to the challenges and returned to their seats smilimg.

In the evaluation section, TM Abhishek's icebreaker speech was evaluated by TM Amber Banerjee. TM Sweta's middle-class speech was evaluated by TM Mehul. TM Sutanu's reaseach-based speech was evaluated by TM Rajat. All the evaluators encouraged and appreciated the speakers while giving constructive suggestions for improvement. Their individual comments were supplemented by the GE, who pointed out additional facets of the speech that deserved mention.

The Ah counter, Grammarian, Timer and Parliamentarian submitted their reports and the GE gave an overall feedback on the session. He particularly appreciated the full-house situation today, mentioning that there is nothing more motivating for a speaker than to see no empty chair.

President of Elite, TM Ashish Baid, wrapped up the session with a few feedbacks from the guests, all of whom were happy having attended this landmark joint session.

The day's awards were as follows:
  • Best Role Player (aux):     TM Vidwata (Timer)
  • Best Role Player (main):   TM Rohan Nag (GE)
  • Best Speaker:                     TM Abhishek Mohtta
  • Best Table topic (members):   TM Vidwata
  • Best Table topic (guest):         TM Alok
  • Best Evaluator:                   TM Rajat
  • Most Improved Speaker:    TM Sutanu

 Congratulations to all and see you at the next session on 3rd Aug 2019.



Comments

  1. UnknownJuly 29, 2019 at 1:42 AM

    Wow... Amazingly written. One can easily visualize the meeting even if he has not attended it.Thank you Mr.Ray for such a beautiful peice.Keep posting!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. antidepressantAugust 3, 2019 at 12:26 PM

    I walked in the hall,
    And the glass room,
    filled with chairs,
    Voices unheard,
    Situations uncertain,
    Some faces familiar,
    Some are new.

    I stepped in the glass room,
    On the seventh floor,
    There was warmth,
    Energy like Subhojit, vibes like Seema, spontaneity like Rajib,
    Humour like Sutanu , charm like Mahul, knowledge like Mr. Ray , youthfulness like Ayushi and Sahil, grace like Vidwata, dedication like Ashish and Rohan,
    And and so much more
    To fill in my emptiness,
    Without further ado...



    ReplyDelete

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