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Mumbai

Toastmasters Club

Club No: 993448

May 2016

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

Editor’s Note

President’s Note

Interview with club Treasurer-

Shekhar Khobrekar

Short Tales Contest

The Club Webmaster – Mahavir

Kumar

Upcoming Events

Meet Our New Members

Save the date!

Executive Committee Election -12

th June 2016

Confluence Goa 2016 – Oct 21

st- 23

rd

FRESH TOAST

Official Newsletter of the Mumbai Toastmasters Club

We provide a supportive and positive learning experience in which members are empowered to develop communication and leadership skills, resulting in

greater self-confidence and personal growth.

TOASTMASTERS INTERNATIONAL

NEWSLETTER TOASTMASTERS INTERNATIONAL

NEWSLETTER

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Editor’s Note

Welcome to the May 2016 edition of Fresh Toast, the official newsletter of the Mumbai

Toastmaster (MTM).

Stories are the creative conversion of life itself into a

more powerful, clearer and a more meaning

experience.

When we read stories, it connects our mind and soul

to it and a complete image of the story falls in front

of our eyes. It brings positive vibes and inspires

ourselves.

Story Telling is the most powerful way to put forth

ideas into the world today.

This month Fresh Toast has organized the Short Tales

Contest, in which our members have shared their

inspirational, emotional and mysterious stories with

us. Toastmasters is a wonderful platform to develop

your communication and leadership skills. But this

unique concept has also helped our members to

explore the art of creative writing.

To try something new and to come out from your comfort zone is always difficult. But here at MTM

each challenge is accepted fearlessly because of the positivity and the support of the members

I congratulate all the members who had participated in this Short Tales Contest and shared their

stories with us.

It’s my privilege to be the Editor of our Club Newsletter. I’m happy to present you with articles

written by Shekhar Khobrekar and Mahavir Kumar and the stories written by the winners of the

Short Tales Contest. I would also like to introduce the fresh faces of the MTM family to you.

We hope you enjoy reading this edition of the newsletter as much as we enjoyed preparing it.

Pooja Mehta

Editor,

Fresh Toast, May 2016

Let’s Talk: We would love to hear from you. Do send your feedback and comments to me

(poojame1989@gmail.com) and VP Public Relations Robin D’souza (robindsouza2106@gmail.com).

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President’s Note

Service with a Smile!

I had the opportunity to meet the 2015 World Champions of Public Speaking, Mohammed Qahtani in Hyderabad in November 2015. His charismatic personality definitely leaves a memory in your heart. Since then I have been following him on Facebook. What really grasps my attention is every time I see a post from Mohammed Qahtani is his cheerful Smile. You can see his soul through his smile. He has been travelling and meeting Toastmasters all across the globe. When MTM’s members met him in Hyderabad we asked him how he manages such a hectic and busy schedule with such a cheerful smile on his face. He told us that this is the only one year he has got as the World

Champion of Public Speaking. Next year there will be a new World Champion, a new talent to admire, and so he wanted to take full advantage of this opportunity to serve the Toastmasters fraternity. Friend’s we all may have a dream to become the World Championships of Public Speaking. But what we can do in the process of becoming one is to serve the Toastmasters community. And while we do that let’s not forget to smile. With club Executive Committee (Excom) elections just around the corner, take the opportunity to serve your club and its members. As an Excom officer, you will have many opportunities to assist your club in the coming term. Don't be anxious if it’s your first opportunity to be part of the Excom. If you’re looking for a place to put some of your leadership ideas into practice in a safe and, supportive environment, being a member of the Club Excom is the perfect fit!

Kritisuman Prajapati President Mumbai Toastmasters Club

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Tête-à-Tête with Club Treasurer

1. If you had a million dollars in the MTM Annual Budget, how would you spend it?

If I had such huge funds I would establish a Toastmasters Club in every school and college in every district of Maharashtra. This would further expand to neighbouring states and ultimately all over India. I would hold competitions at District level, Sate level, inter- state levels and finally all India level.

Then the best from these states would be prepared to compete at the international level making them the best speakers in the world. I would like to see this competition in parallel to IPL which would generate huge funds. It might sound ambitious but it is surely possibility.

2. What are some of the biggest challenges you have faced as Treasurer and how did you overcome it?

There wasn’t any such challenge. However collecting membership dues was quite a problem. So to overcome this I

would suggest in providing an incentive to people who pay on time.

3. As a Treasurer, how can you help other ExCom members play their roles to their fullest capacity?

The other members of the Excom should get a budget sanctioned in the 1st Excom meeting. Then they would know how much to spend. This way I will be comfortable paying them, and they also would know how much money to use.

4. Why did you take up the role of Treasurer?

I had contested elections for VP education and the Treasurer’s post. I lost the election for VP Education and so decided to take up the Treasurer’ post. This completes my second term in the Executive Committee. I would like to have an experience of every post of the Executive Committee.

Shekhar Khobrekar Treasurer, MTM

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Short Tales Contest

In the month of May, Fresh Toast conducted a story writing contest called Short Tales. This contest was open to all members of MTM and was judged by Toastmaster Shalini Menezes from the Emirates Group Toastmasters Club, Dubai, UAE. Participants had to write an original story in not more than 800 words. The story needed to begin with the following line: He was stunned - the stranger in front of him looked exactly like the girl he'd been dreaming about We received an overwhelming response for the contest. The following are the 13 members who participated in the contest:

1. Simran Raina 2. Varun Kotian 3. Ranjini Rao 4. Rhea Rana 5. Makrand Bakore 6. Pankaj Pradhan 7. Mahesh Vyas 8. Prashant Sampat 9. Nikhil Gopalakrishnan 10. Ruchin Bhavsar 11. Poonam Asrani 12. Ankita Chauhan 13. Shekhar Khobrekar

And the Winners are…

1st Place: Ankita Chauhan 2nd Place: Prashant Sampat 3rd Place: Pankaj Pradhan The 1st, 2nd and 3rd place winners will receive Amazon Gift vouchers worth Rs. 1000, Rs. 750 and Rs. 500, respectively. Here are the winning stories:

Toastmaster Shalini Menezes

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What is your Reality? -- by Ankita Chauhan (Short Tales Contest Winner)

He was stunned - the stranger in front of him looked exactly like

the girl he'd been dreaming about. With captivating eyes, the girl

looked at him. Dayne’s life had changed. This was it! He had

worked assiduously to see her. Her luminous vision filled Dayne

with love. Crying in reverence, Dayne said ‘You have come. You

have come to Naomi. You are the blessing of my persistent effort.

Bow to you. I bow to my creation’. Naomi was Dayne’s creation.

With extreme focus, Dayne had created Naomi with his

consciousness.

33 years ago, with just one thought in mind, Dayne had started his

journey. A journey of self-discovery. He wanted to know why God

was unkind to him. He wanted to know the purpose of his

existence. He wanted to know why he was born. He had meditated

for more than three decades. And at last he had found it. He had

found what he was truly looking for.

Blood, sweat and pain defined his life story. Born in Southern

California, Dayne was a below average student. He was diagnosed

with a neurodevelopment disorder, Autism at the age of 3. His

disease inhibited him from interacting with people. As a kid, he was

reticent and unresponsive. He struggled throughout his childhood. Adulthood wasn’t easy for him either.

Despite his infirmity, Dayne wanted to feel involved, wanted to feel useful; he wanted to interact with

people, he wanted to be something.

Several therapies and drugs did help; Yet, Dayne was still battling. Until, one day he heard someone talk to

the masses. This was his life changing moment. He felt motivated and liberated. This feeling changed his

mind. He wanted to speak to the masses. He wanted to motivate people, help people realize their true

potential. He wanted to feel liberated. He dreamt of becoming a motivational speaker. With this thought in

mind, he embarked on a new journey. A journey that was about to change his life.

He worked tirelessly to better his oratory skills. His dreams were farfetched but his vigor wasn’t. With each

passing day, he grew. Eventually, Dayne started practicing speaking for more than 8 hours a day and trained

people for the next 8 hours. He started coaching people. The feeling of motivating people filled his heart. He

wanted to bless the world with his words. He wanted to be there for people. He helped people grow and

transform into leaders.

There was no end to this. Dayne was disciplined and focused. Dayne wanted to bring about a change to the

world. His work was his meditation. With extreme devotion, he motivated leaders, servants, kids,

homemakers and anyone who wanted to learn. He taught people to believe in themselves, to live life to the

fullest. For Dayne, there was no looking back to the atrocities of his life. Dayne had devoted his life to self-

development and people development. He had a vision of bringing about a change to the world.

And then on a usual Sunday morning, Dayne went to give his speech. After exactly 45 minutes of his speech,

something happened to Dayne. He fell on the ground and stopped speaking. He had some sensations in his

body. These sensations were caused by his primordial energies. These energies in his body had risen above

Toastmaster Ankita Chauhan

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the normal human level. He had reached a state of trance. He was blissed out. This state of bliss was an

answer to his disease. It was an answer to his inner calling. This state of bliss was Naomi, it represented

fulfilment of his dreams. He felt liberated. This was his moment of self-realization. He was in a state of

continued happiness. The energy levels in his body had risen because of his extreme hard work and

dedication. He started to experience permanent bliss. He started training people to become full time

speakers. His journey was never ending. He had reached infinity.

A few years later, Dayne was entitled as ‘The God of Public Speaking’. He was born so that he could bring

about a change in the world. Naomi represents the feeling of fulfilment of Dayne’s dream. Naomi represents

a reality that Dayne created for himself. Naomi was the manifestation of Dayne’s thoughts.

Dayne represents people like us, people who want to fight the odds and realize their true potential. People

surrounded with challenges and people born with disabilities. Naomi represents every believer’s reality. We

can create our own reality. The universe helps us achieve that. It represents the reward of our hard work. It

represents the result of our actions. With extreme hard work and dedication we can create our own reality.

Dayne created his reality, Are you ready to create yours? What’s your reality?

The Gulf -- by Prashant Sampat (Short Tales Contest 1st Runners-up)

He was stunned – the stranger in front of him looked exactly

like the girl he’d been dreaming about. After all, it had been

fourteen years since he had last seen her......

His mind took a stroll down memory lane. He had sacrificed his

personal life for his career. His work kept him in office for late

hours not just on weekdays, but also on weekends. The few

hours of rest that got were spent vegetating in front of the

television. That’s when Shalini-his daughter would come and sit

next to him and silently rest her head in his lap. They would

watch a movie together for a while before she nodded off to

sleep. He would pick her up gently and take her to her bed and

kiss her forehead.

Then coming home late one such night, Suman-his wife had

been waiting for him. She told him that she had decided to

move out of his life and move on with her own. He realised

that his marriage was too broken to even attempt a repair. Suman had already engaged a divorce lawyer.

She had decided that Shalini would stay with her, and he would be allowed visitation rights. He decided not

to contest that because he was not going to separate a child from its mother. Shalini would be the only thing

he would miss after the separation. And though he could not express it in words, he loved his daughter

immensely. He dreamt of watching her grow to become a beautiful woman and a wonderful human being.

He dreamt that she would become a renowned lawyer.

Post separation, he was quite regular in visiting Shalini. They would go out for lunch and she would get him

up to date with all that was noteworthy in her life. But it became awkward for both him and Shalini when

Suman remarried. And it got all the more awkward when he remarried. He felt he was intruding into the lives

Toastmaster Prashant Sampat

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of his ex-wife and daughter and over a period of time he stopped “visiting” Shalini. However much he

wanted to meet Shalini, he just could not get himself to call her and gradually lost all contact with her.

Until the day Manisha bumped into him at a mall near his house. He was about to exit the mall when he

heard a shrill voice calling out his name. He turned to find that it was Manisha, Suman’s elder sister, who had

been very fond of him. Over coffee, they caught up with the major happenings in their lives. Manisha

informed him that Shalini had just completed her graduation from National Law School and was beginning to

practise at a premier law firm. He felt a lump in his throat when he heard that. Manisha parted with Shalini’s

visiting card which she happened to be carrying. He told her that he would contact Shalini and surprise her

one of these days. Manisha just smiled at that and they bid each other goodbye.

He called up Shalini at her office and pretended to be someone who required legal assistance in a family

dispute, the field she specialised in. Her tone was warm yet businesslike and he managed to set up a lunch

meeting.

As soon as he finished the call the doubts crept up in his mind. It had been fourteen years......she had moved

on with her life. She had learned to live her life without him.....he was no longer her Da-da.....the man Suman

had married was. This was all a big mistake. He had no right to disrupt her life now. The gulf of time and

space was too much to cover.....too much water had flown under that bridge....

He decided that he would sit at a discreet table. All he wanted was to just see her once. Surely she would not

remember his face, after all these years.

And then she entered the restaurant. She had turned out just the way he had dreamt. She had her mother’s

forehead and eyes, but her nose and mouth were like his. She was easily the most beautiful and radiant

woman in the restaurant and he noticed that she caused quite a few heads to turn and jaws to drop.

She somehow spotted him and started coming towards him. Her lips were curved upwards in a slight smile.

She came up to his table and was saying something. Through his disbelief and confusion, he could not

understand what it was. This was not the way it was supposed to go. With great effort, he cleared his mind

and tried to focus on her words. She said,” Da-da, it’s been a long time.....how you have been?” And her

arms were poised to give him a hug. He felt the gulf of time and distance dissolving......

Moments -- by Pankaj Pradhan (Short Tales Contest 2nd Runners-up)

He was stunned - the stranger in front of him looked exactly like the girl he’d been dreaming about and he had been dreaming a lot lately…. He looked around the room for other people but there were none. He was lying in a bed, and the room was unusually bare. The large French window allowed in plenty of sunlight, but dust too and he would soon get tired of looking out at the street the whole day…. There was one glass door which led to a large, noisy lobby and the girl was standing outside this door looking at him intently perhaps she knew him in some way, he wanted to call her in, but hesitated. Toastmaster Pankaj Pradhan

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Seeing this girl in front of him now brought scores of dreams flooding back to his conscious mind… The dreams were disjointed, not always very vivid. Some left him feeling warm and pleasant. Some left him with a cold sweat on his brow… A scene straight out of a college, boring lecture in progress and this girl sitting on the front bench turning behind to steal a furtive glance at the shy, timid boy in the last row. There was a teasing faint smile playing on her lips as she waited for the boy to look in her direction. Their eyes locked for a fleeting moment, and then both of them looked away immediately…… A church full of happy talkative people, cute bridesmaids running ahead to stand near the altar. All heads turning to face the door and this girl, dressed in all her bridal finery, walking down the aisle…smiling through the tears brimming in her eyes… The blinding white slopes of the Swiss Alps and this girl seeing ankle-deep snow for the first time in her life… rolling on the slopes…. giggling as she threw snow balls letting out whoops of joy whenever she slipped and fell. She couldn’t have been happier. This was the probably the first time she danced with such wild abandon….. A tranquil evening, a quiet leafy by lane, a couple was out for a casual stroll after sunset. And then suddenly,

a shadow springs out from behind the bushes, he hears the girl scream. In the dim orange street lights, he

momentarily sees her face. Her eyes were wide with terror, then the world becomes pitch dark…

A knock on the door brought him back to the present; An elderly lady dressed in white entered the room

with a tray. It was laden with a bowl of soup, a few fruits and some medicine pills. So this was a hospital after

all! She checked his pulse, smiled and nodded her head before leaving the room. The girl standing behind the

door was no longer there.

After he had eaten two bananas and was just about to finish the soup bowl, another gentleman in white

entered the room. This could be the doctor as he walked up straight towards the bed.

He said, “Mr. Parag, you have recovered well in the last few days, and your head wound is healing fast. Soon

the bandages will come off. It’d be best that you go home and rest in familiar surroundings. We believe that

it might help you to regain your lost memories. Your belongings are already packed and your wife is waiting

for you outside in the lobby.

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The Club Webmaster

-- by Mahavir Kumar,

As the club Webmaster, I am responsible for the updating and maintaining of the club website. I guess, not

everyone in the club is aware of this role, but I take that as a compliment because it probably means that

things are working seamlessly behind the scenes!

Many people find us through the internet and thus it becomes very imperative to have a functional,

informative website. There is a general platform for club websites provided by Toastmasters International.

That has to be leveraged and customised to meet the specific needs of our club.

Having been a webmaster of quite a few websites other than our club’s website, I know that a beautiful,

flashy, colourful website need not attract visitors. The website has to be updated constantly. Thus on our

site, I post regular updates about the meeting status for the coming week, so that people who find us on the

internet do not hesitate in turning up. Further in the past there used to be some instances of people turning

up at our regular conference room when the meetings were either not scheduled to take place or were

shifted to another venue. I ensure that in case there is no meeting scheduled on any Sunday at our regular

venue, I make a note to mention that on our website so that people are not inconvenienced by an

unnecessary visit.

For special occasions (e.g. a picnic, a milestone meeting), I have also put a poster on the website which apart

from communicating the change in venue/timings also serves to attract visitors.

From my webmaster experience outside Toastmasters, I also know that a beautiful, flashy, colourful website

need not rank high when searched on Google. The site structure and contents need to adhere to some

search engine optimization principles. In simple terms, it means that our website structure and content

should be such that we are found by Google. This actually helps our club get many guests and thus new

members as they find our website on the first page when they search on Google for generic terms like

“speech club”, “public speaking classes in Mumbai” and not just specific terms like “toastmasters club in

Mumbai”.

The site also has provisions for a mailing list of active members. The agenda, role/speech slot nomination,

minutes of meeting, and other regular/special announcements are sent by Executive Committee members to

the active member mailing list. As a webmaster, I work in tandem with the VP-Membership to update the

active member mailing list so that it reflects the new members added to the club every week.

The website also has an Excom-member mailing list which has to be updated too with a change in executive

committee.

There is some other functionality of the website, which can be leveraged by respective officers if required

(e.g. setting the agenda).

As far as helping with the website goes, in the past I tried to get some people to help with the club website

but somehow they dropped out. Maybe the meticulous and regular effort required did not attract them.

Any person aspiring to work on the website should be conversant with HTML and also aware of basic search

engine optimization principles to do an effective job. That person should also have an eye for details. Having

been as webmaster of another website elsewhere for a reasonable period of time would help. (Note: having

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created a Facebook page or a Twitter page or a Youtube channel is NOT the same as being a webmaster )

Above all, this role does not give “visibility” unlike other club officer roles. Nor is it considered to be an

Executive Committee role. So a willingness to serve the club is important. Serving as the club Webmaster

also gives you a credit in the Competent Leadership manual.

There have been some moments to remember in my journey so far as the club Webmaster. Once, somehow

the data was not showing. I was worried but after some tweaking, fortunately everything was fine within a

few minutes. On another occasion, I suspected some hacking attempt. But on investigation, I realised that it

was just some other member doing something unintentionally.

There is a place in the website for updating one’s profile. Though most members login to the website after

being notified about it by in the VP – Membership’s mail, they do not come back to it. I would encourage

members to consider updating their respective profiles on the club website.

Upcoming Events

Elections for Executive Committee (Excom) @ Mumbai Toastmasters –12th June,

2016

Every club needs leaders who can move the club forward and who can work with and motivate others. It

is the responsibility of us the members to elect our next set of office bearers who will be the torch-

bearers of Mumbai Toastmasters Club for a period of 6 months from July 1st to Dec 31st 2016.

Confluence, Goa –Oct 21-23rd, 2016

Confluence is the semi- annual conference hosted

by District 98 of Toastmasters International.

Register soon to grab the seats available for

this event. Get in touch with VP Education Rajna

Shetty or VP PR Robin D’souza for further details.

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Meet our New Members

Here are a few of the latest additions to the MTM Family. Learn what set them apart from the rest as they gear up to scorch the MTM stage in the days to come!!

Gaurav Gupta

Harsh Harwani

Anita Moos

I can describe myself as a very good team player.

And I believe in this though written by me “life

becomes good when you want to be successful in

your life but life becomes wonderful when you

have people who want you to be successful in

your life". My reason to join toastmasters is

develop my skills to a next level.

I am a fun-loving person, currently exploring new things to find what I love the most. I come from a business background and believe that persistence and integrity are the keys to success. Looking forward to a nice journey with MTM.

Life is all about learning and

assimilating new ideas and thoughts. It's

also about conquering new fears. Therefore here I am hoping to learn from all of you.

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Sally Ann Morrison

Karan Mehra

Asian Hemani

I am a passionate, competitive and adventurous

person, who loves to dream. I am a lawyer in

the UK but in September I left my job to pursue

a career in human rights law which led me to

volunteering in India. I have learnt so much from

my time in Mumbai and have loved every

minute. I know now why they call it the City of

Dreams!

Fun loving, loves to travel and explore the world, dreamer, foodie, occasional... reader ;) these are few of my traits.

I love playing cricket, participating in debates, drama, travelling to new places and meeting new people.

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Executive

Committee

President

Kritisuman Prajapati

Vice President Education

Rajna Shetty

Vice President Membership

Angad Singh Madan

Vice President Public Relations

Robin D’souza

Secretary

Rinku Shah

Treasurer

Shekhar Khobrekar

Sergeant at Arms

Varun Salgare

Club #993448 Mumbai Toastmasters Club

Meeting venue Conference Room,

National College,

Linking Road,

Bandra West

Mumbai 400 050

Maharashtra,

India

Meeting time Every Sunday: 09:50 am to 01:00 pm

Website http://mtm.toastmastersclubs.org/

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/15016169205/

YouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcNRdBIJEnnCxKMNvgea9Dg