infosys chandigarh yearly toastmasters newsletter

INFOSYS Toastmasters Chandigarh Club Newsletter Issue #3

Infosys Toastmasters’ Chronicles April 2013-14

Toastmasters - where Leaders are made

Club #: 1806058

Infosys

Toastmasters Chandigarh Newsletter

April 2013-14

IN THIS ISSUE

Toastmasters International Toastmasters International is a world leader in communication and leadership development.

Our membership is 292,000 strong. These members improve their speaking and leadership

skills by attending one of the 14,350 clubs in 122 countries that make up our global network

of meeting locations.

Membership in Toastmasters is one of the greatest investments you can make in yourself. At

$36 every six months (club dues may vary), it is also one of the most cost-effective skill-

building tools available anywhere.

Source : http://www.toastmasters.org/

Messages

Articles

Stories

Interviews

Poetry

Toastmasters–where Leaders are made

http://www.toastmasters.org/

INFOSYS TOASTMASTERS CHANDIGARH NEWSLETTER | Issue 3

Message from the Team of Editors We feel enormous pride and pleasure in welcoming you all to the 3rd edition of our newsletter. Your fondness and appreciation resound in our heads as we put in a candid effort to encase the lucid and dazzling journey Infosys Toastmasters Chandigarh has had so far. Since time we have been airing the sweet endeavors of chiseling leaders with a delineated set procedure having multitudinous facets yet to be explored. A toastmaster is a picture that exhibits a panorama of prowess. There is a world to be known about it apart from the fact that we here to promote public speaking. The four balusters of this club are what make us disparate from the mundaneness outside.

We call them the 4 Cs.

The first one is Confidence. We aim at invigorating the conviction with which a person states what had

remained unspoken for ages. When this aplomb combines with the right amount of Creativity, it is sure to

leave everyone dumbstruck with the resultant poise. Each one of us is aptly imaginative and artistic to do

wonders with his/her presentation skills and without even an iota of doubt these skills will go places if

integrated with the penultimate quality of having Control over the ups and downs, both in the chest and in

the head. Lastly and most importantly what this breathtaking conceptualization of Toastmasters boasts of is a

gradual but exponential increase in the Confidence of thoughts. Nothing is as vital as making sense when

speaking in front of an audience.

We, as part of the editorial squad, have tried our best to conclude the collation of all the cogitations and muses

into the subsequent pages. The articles and events produced in this newsletter are voices from the souls in

verbatim. We would also like to felicitate each and every toastmaster till now for being the reason that we can

imposingly cruise the oceans of time and take one and all with us on this voyage of reminiscence. So, hop on

folks, and hold tight on to the ropes to witness the highlights of the prodigious and chivalrous expedition, where

leaders were made.


Message from DC Head, Infosys Chandigarh “Infosys Toastmasters Chandigarh (ITC) is a wonderful initiative which has been helping Infoscions hone their leadership and communication skills since its inception at Chandigarh in May 2011. ITC is a chapter of a larger organization called Toastmasters international (TI) which has been helping more than 4 million people all around the globe become better leaders and communicators by providing a ‘learn-by-doing’ workshop in a no-pressure atmosphere.

Infosys Toastmasters Chandigarh is a platform to work on key professional skills like time management, assertiveness, written communication, presentation skills and persuasiveness. I urge each and every Infoscion to make use of this wonderful opportunity and sharpen their skills.”

Picture Courtesy: Infosys Chandigarh Toastmasters Club

Vikas Ahuja, Infosys Chandigarh DC Head


Message from Club President

“It is a harsh world and those who do not adapt become extinct”. This statement summarizes the essence of the theory of evolution by Charles Darwin, and probably life too; and in this highly competitive world, it is imperative for a person to be an exceptional speaker, to be able to convey his thoughts effectively and to lead people with a vision and it is a pervasive misconception that only an MBA degree can teach you that, but contrary to the popular beliefs, all that is required to hone your speaking and leadership skill is a “learn-by-doing” approach. Toastmasters International provides one such platform in a non-pressure environment.

We, Infosys Toastmasters Chandigarh, are a small part of this larger organization where we focus on providing a platform to share ideas, inspiring experiences, thoughts, beliefs; a platform to make mistakes, get constructive feedback and learn; a platform to meet charismatic speakers and leaders; a platform to meet like-minded individuals and make friends and a platform to have a weekly break from the monotony of life.

Being a toastmaster helps you to become a better orator and leader but also helps you channelize your thoughts in a hitherto unknown dimension and hence be a better human being. Once, you start writing speeches, you explore the side of your existence that you were oblivious to; once, you start providing evaluations, you learn to appreciate the efforts of a fellow human being; and once you start to lead, you learn to explore your potential.

So, come listen, speak and lead.

TM Manish Pathania, President,

Infosys Toastmasters Chandigarh


Communication Track

Talking on track

Members who wish to focus on communication skills begin with the Competent Communication manual that’s included in the New Member Kit. Once they have completed this manual, they can progress to manuals in the Advanced Communication Series.

Competent Communication manual

The 10 speech projects in this manual will help you develop your speaking skills one step at a time. When you finish all of the projects, you are eligible for Competent Communicator (CC) recognition. Complete the CC Award Application in the manual and ask your vice president education (VPE) to submit it online to World Headquarters. You'll receive a CC certificate and, if this is your first CC award, two Advanced Communication Series manuals free of charge.

Source: http://www.toastmasters.org/

Competent Communicators of ITC

My journey to becoming a Competent Communicator has been an eventful one. From the first project when I gave my ice breaker speech, to my final projects, that included inspiring and persuading people, I have learnt a lot. I have understood, that giving a speech is not merely memorizing words and pouring them all out. But it is also everything that goes behind the effort and also which makes it effective. I hope that everyone strives to be a Competent Communicator, as with each project, one learns something new, and inspires others to do the same.

“Life is all about experimenting, successful experiments bring you accolades and the rest bring you experience.” I have always believed in this quote by Bob Dylan and it has been the leitmotif of all the speeches that I gave after joining Infosys Toastmasters Chandigarh in March 2013. I joined Infosys Toastmasters Chandigarh for the sheer desire to talk, but soon after joining it I realized that it took much more than this penchant for talking to be a good orator and hence I started this journey, read pilgrimage, called the Competent Communicator (CC) manual. Trust me it has been a very enlightening journey. ITC gave me something more than just a Doing-by-learning kit. It gave me a learning environment filled with great orators, encouraging mentors and life-long friends who helped me overcome my faults by giving me constructive feedback in a no-pressure environment and evolve into a better speaker than I ever was. Thanks Infosys Toastmasters Chandigarh

TM Priyam Kumar, CC

TM Manish Pathania, CC

http://www.toastmasters.org/1225cc.aspx



Leadership Track

Learn to lead with practical practice

Members working in the leadership track learn and practice leadership skills by serving in club roles.

The Competent Leadership manual is the core of the leadership track. It features 10 projects, which you complete while serving in various club meeting roles. An evaluator will give you feedback on each project, helping you to improve. When you complete the manual, you are eligible for Competent Leader (CL) recognition. Complete the CL application in the manual and ask your vice president education (VPE) to submit it online to World Headquarters. You'll receive a CL certificate and, if you wish, World Headquarters will send your employer a letter about your accomplishment.

Source: http://www.toastmasters.org/

Competent Leaders of ITC

TM Chesta Garg, CL

TM Kannav Chadha, CL

TM Natasha Garg, CL

TM Shruti Chopra, CL

TM Maedha Batra, CL

TM Isha Chhatwal, CL

TM Vikram Shandilya, CL



Interview with the Star of ITC

TM Manish Pathania, CC Manish Pathania, CC, represented the Club and Area in

the Division level of International humorous speech contest and International table topic contest. He won the Table topic contest speaking on the impromptu topic “attitude or intelligence: which according to you is required to be successful?” and was the first runner up in the humorous speech contest while delivering his speech ‘To buy or not to buy’. Let us know him a little better. Please tell us in brief about yourself, how & when did you join Toastmasters? Hi, I am Manish Pathania and I am a toastmaster. I love to talk and perhaps it was this love for talking that made me join Toastmasters, in March 2013 but it was toastmasters that filled meaning into the words that I loved to speak. I, now, know why I should talk, what I should talk about and most of all, how to do all those things effectively. How you started preparing for the humorous speech contest? Have you presented same speech across all the levels (Club to Division)? I wrote a long article about my dilemma before buying a new cycle. I sent it across to my mentor and he suggested that it could be a great speech and that’s what I did, made it into a great speech and Yes, I used the same speech on all the three level. I did write another one speech which I presented at the club level but everyone; my mentors, my evaluators and my fellow toastmasters persuaded me to compete with the same speech.


Tell us about your journey in the International table topic contest and how did you prepare for that. It was a funny journey with lot ups and downs. I came third in the club level, so, I wasn’t supposed to participate in the area levels but then a contestant backed out and hence I got the chance to participate. It was on the same day as the humorous speech contest so, I guess the audience had already seen my humorous side and I was already comfortable with the stage and the same thing happened in the division level. I still remember that I was the last contestant in the table topic contest and I was standing outside, nervous and shaky, when our division governor walked up to me and said. “Just talk to your audience” and that’s what I did, I talked to the audience and I won: D, I do wish I could go to the district level but hey there is always a next time.

It must have been a good experience to represent the area in both the humorous speech contest and the table topic contest and finish at the podium in both the contests. It is a very different experience, from giving speeches at our club, to be standing in front of 200 people and be competing against the best speakers from different areas. I loved the experience and to be very honest with you, I never expected to win in the table topic contest but I was very sure about the speech so I do wish that the positions in both the contest could be swapped because I worked very hard on the speech. How is Toastmasters helping you in professional life? As, I have already written above, toastmasters gave me a reason to write, when I started to write my speeches. It gave a reason to think and explore new dimensions of my perception and after writing a few speeches, I realized that I can actually write. So, I started writing stories, short stories, articles and all the related things. Well, that is something, isn’t it?


Events at ITC (Infosys Toastmasters Chandigarh )

The Eloquence Contest

The literal meaning of ‘Eloquence’ is the fluency with which one

speaks. A credible test of this could be how well you judge a written piece in terms of its tone and meaning and how well you can express it in front of others. Eloquence is an annual intra DC reading competition organized by ITC, wherein the participant has to convey the connotation and context of a written article, speech or a story through his voice. Winner’s note: The term Eloquence is primarily the power of expressing strong emotions in striking and appropriate language thereby producing conviction or persuasion. True leaders like Abraham Lincoln and Martin Luther king were known for their great persuasive speeches that always convinced the audience to accept their perspective. During the eloquence contest when a speaker gets the speech it is very important to analyze every sentence of speech and deliver the speech with conviction and confidence maintaining eye contact with everyone and using appropriate gestures. My preparation for Eloquence has helped me in improving my analytical skills and confidence a lot.

The King’s speech Contest Jarod Kintz once said that 99% of the population was afraid

of public speaking, and of the remaining 1%, 99% had nothing original and interesting to say. This Intra DC original speech contest is about discovering the 1% of the 1% who can do wonders with their speaking skills. The participants have to give a speech on a topic of their choice for 5 to 7 minutes. Contestants are provided mentors from ITC to guide them throughout the competition. Winner’s note: When I first wrote and delivered my speech with the title "Chair" in my club then I got mixed responses from my club members. So my mentor Manish wanted me to improve on some of the key areas in which I was lacking. I tried to incorporate all those suggestions in my speech and that helped me in winning the King's speech Contest among some of the most remarkable speakers. During the preparation of the contest I learnt that it is very important to listen to ourselves and to get the feedback from the audience on every aspect of our performance in a structured and easy way (body language, eye contact, voice, tone, rhythm, grammar, structure etc.)

Winner: Kannav, 1st Runner up: Shruti, 2nd Runner up: Namrata

Winner: Kannav, 1st Runner up: Swati, 2nd Runner up: Manish


Toastmasters Week

Infosys Toastmasters Chandigarh has been helping Infoscions in becoming better leaders and

speakers. Thus came a time when all the club members joined hands with the Public relation

officers and executed the Toastmasters week. Following are the highlights of the week:

Large attractive banners were printed and then displayed on the entry gates for the on-

lookers to understand the turn of events.

Moving one-step ahead of the conventional presentations, help-desks were set up

in the food court area where the visitors enjoyed playing games and were also

invited to the TM seminar. Chocolates and bookmarks were given to the winners as

a take-away.

Thought provoking mailers were sent to the whole DC and animated presentations

were displayed on the LCD screens.

All these activities helped the club gain maximum attention of Infoscions and made them visit

the club online or offline. The PR team made sure that the club had a functional website and

active posts on various networks ranging from Infybubble to Twitter.


Karaoke with Toastmasters

“As we sow, so shall we reap”.

We all have been brought up with this saying. Our parents and teachers relentlessly told us to take our life seriously and work hard. Never took it seriously did we? But at ITC we do. ‘Karaoke with toastmasters’ was an ameliorated version of ‘coffee with toastmasters’ during which we appreciated the diligence showcased by members in the previous term and voted for the outstanding toastmasters in different fields.

Best Prepared speaker: Manish Pathania

Best Table Topic speaker: Kannav Chadha

Best Toastmaster: Kannav Chadha


The Expression "I never could make a good impromptu speech without several hours to prepare it." - Mark Twain.

But time is a luxury that we do not provide in our annual DC level extempore speaking contest. In this contest participants are given 2 minutes to speak impromptu on a topic.

Winner: Puneet Nagpal, 1st runner up: TM Kannav Chadha, 2nd runner up: TM Megha Jain

International Humorous speech contest -club level “Even seals can’t resist a splash of laughter”

And keeping that in mind every year our parent organization Toastmaster’s International (TI) organizes a humorous speech contest in which toastmasters of ITC participate and the winners advance to the area level, to compete with the winners of other clubs.

Winner: TM Manish Pathania, 1st runner up: TM Kushal Ashok

Winner’s note: Since the inception of time people have branded humorous people as unintellectual, contrary to the popular belief, I think that humor is the best way possible to convey your message. I think it takes a genius to turn a somber message into a humorous speech, entertain people and leave them with a message. And perhaps that was the idea of Toastmaster International when they started this humorous speech contest. The noblest thing that you can do in your day is to spread a smile and that’s what I did.

International table topic contest Club level Coherence of thoughts and presence of mind are the inherent qualities of a great leader and to test that, Toastmaster’s International organizes an annual table topic contest for the members. The winners of a club advance to the area level, to compete with the winners of other clubs.

Winner: TM Shivam Mukhi, 1st Runner up: TM Kushal Ashok

International Humorous speech and International Table topics contest- Area Level ITC was the proud organizer of the above contests at the Area Level and the winner of both the contests was a representative from our club.

Winner: TM Manish Pathania


My Name is… TM Bibek Singh

My name is …Bond…James Bond!

We all are familiar with this famous dialogue of every James Bond movie. He has been introducing himself in the same fashion in all the movies and now, it has become a trademark expression.

Friends, it is very important to introduce effectively as that makes others feel more comfortable and allows you to make a good first impression. Self-Introductions Researchers believe that when you introduce yourself, you should: 1. Stand up straight. If you are sitting or doing

something else, stop immediately and greet the person as it feels the other person being respected.

2. Look at the other person. ‘Direct eye contact’ plays an important role while introducing.

3. Offer your hand and shake hands firmly. Please do not wait for the other person to offer a hand-shake.

4. Smile and say your name as you are shaking hands, clearly and loudly enough to be heard easily. This shows the other person that you are confident. Also slow down as you say your name. Don’t shy away from repeating, if required.

Make a friendly statement. (Say, “Nice to meet

you.”).

TM Bibek Singh, CTM has been associated with toastmasters for more

than a decade. He is currently associated with Infosys Toastmasters

Chandigarh.


Remember that introductions are just the first step in a conversation. Therefore, introductions should be short and conversational. So - share something about yourself, and then ask a question that invites the other person to join the conversation. After you've met someone for the first time, you should end

the conversation by restating that you enjoyed meeting them.

Say something like "I'm delighted to have met you. I hope we

can talk again soon." or "It was great meeting you. Hope to

see you around."

If the same person is able to address you with your name during your next meeting, it means that you were able to self-introduce yourself effectively in your first meeting. Introduction to the audiences

Introducing yourself to an audience depends on the context and situation. However, it must be remembered that maintaining an eye contact and confident body postures are still a must. Note that it's also important to state your name; even if you're addressing a small audience that knows you well. Don’t just say – “You know me, don’t you?” This should be avoided as it takes away the seriousness of the atmosphere even if you were smiling. The message is that you need to take your introduction seriously…else audience won’t take you & your presentation seriously

After you've said your own name, just give your audience an idea of what your presentation will be about. This should be no longer than one or two sentences, unless you have been asked to elaborate. You can just say, "Today, I'm going to talk about …," or "I'm going to discuss the importance of ….”. At this point, you must re-introduce yourself. It means that

you can share some more information about yourself that

is

relevant to the topic. For example – if you are about to share tips on weight loss, then probably you can mention that you yourself have benefitted from these tips or you have undergone a dietary course from a reputed institution, or you have been following such articles recently, etc. Similarly, if you have to introduce someone else to an audience, make sure that you have the right inputs about the speaker’s background prior to the meeting. You may also like to consult the speaker before the meeting about the way in which speaker would like to be introduced. The idea of the introduction is to increase the excitement level of the audience and add to audience’s comfort level by implicitly answering – “why does the speaker have the authority to speak on this subject?” In the Toastmasters’ World Luckily, Toastmasters provides us a platform to learn & practice this art of introductions. For example -

Ice-Breaker Speech: A new member’s first speech. It is all about introducing yourself to the existing members of the club for full 5-6 minutes. So it’s not just about telling your name but also about sharing your hobbies and past experiences on common grounds.

Master of Ceremonies (MoC): Every meeting has an MoC who gets a chance to introduce prepared speakers and their evaluators. The effectiveness of an MoC is to be (also) measured by the manner in which speakers are introduced.

Project Speeches: through the prepared speeches, you get a chance not just to elaborate about your hobbies, strengths, Ø knowledge and experiences; but also get an opportunity to re-discover yourself. In essence, you introduce yourself to yourself and then present your re-discovery to an audience!

To conclude, introduction is an art that can make or break a relationship. It looks simple, but is an important skill. Although everyone is expected to be proficient, many of us are uncomfortable when asked to introduce (either ourselves or someone else). A key to a good introduction is preparation and practice (together with a healthy dose of enthusiasm). These need not take long once you understand how to go about them. In short, all it takes is a careful approach, little effort & few retakes, to become a …Bond…James Bond.

During my stint as a VP membership, the most common question that I got from the people washow it was to help me? The only answer I had and still have for all those people is a quote by PauloCoelho from one of his famous novels ‘Veronica Decides to Die’, “People never learn anything by beingtold, they have to find out for themselves”. So if you have not yet attended a meeting, plan to attendone soon. You will get the answer to all your questions.

Usually people make 2 assumptions when they decide not to join Toastmasters. First is, sincethey are technology driven people and they don’t intend to join politics, they don’t need public speakingskills. Second is, since they give good presentations in their project, they don’t need toastmasters. Theanswer to these assumptions was given by a senior Infosys employee, who after attending our meetingregretted that he didn’t join toastmasters when he got a chance almost 10 years back in the HyderabadDC. One thing that most people don’t realize is the skills you acquire while mastering the art of publicspeaking, are the core skills you need to deal with people. Whether you are a politician or a softwareengineer, you have to learn to present yourself, survive and excel in your team. Through this article Iwant to emphasize on the areas besides public speaking, in which Toastmasters will help you improve.

1 The best part about our club is the diversity in the mindsets of the people that we havehere. We have all of them from the future technocrats to future management gurus,from writers to poets, from musicians to singers - we have them all. Close interactionswith all these people motivated and inspired me to widen my interests and explore newareas of learning, I hadn’t tried before. There is so much that I have learnt from each oneof them.

2 I think Toastmasters has made me more tolerant and receptive towards others’ ideas. Thediscussions that I had with the members during the meetings were very interesting. Wegot so used to arguments that even outside Infosys, whenever we guys used to hang outtogether we always discussed current debatable topics. The most important lesson for mein these discussions was to respect the opinions of other people even when I wasn’t ableto relate to their points of view.

I

3 Career Advancement- Toastmasters helps us to achieve our career goals irrespective ofour interests. In today’s world if you cannot network socially, you cannot succeed in life.You just cannot be an introvert. In Toastmasters you will definitely find people who havesimilar career goals. You will get a chance to exchange ideas with them and that willdefinitely help you fulfill your dreams.

4 Last but not the least, Toastmasters is a great place to make friends and meet newpeople. Organizations in general are great places to meet people, but I would say thatthe Toastmasters atmosphere facilitates it even more. I have met many people throughToastmasters, including many people I might not have otherwise had the chance tomeet. One of the reasons I feel Toastmasters makes it easier to meet people is becausethere is a strong emphasis on being very supportive of the people around you. It’s toobad that this attitude isn’t ingrained in all our dealings with other people, because itreally makes it much easier to make friends. Every meeting that I attended was amemorable one and this last year was one of the most fun-filled years of my life.

The fear of publicspeaking outranks the

fear of death by amargin of

Two-to-one

To conclude, I would like to quote a survey reported in the Book of Lists,“The fear of public speaking outranks the fear of death by a margin oftwo-to-one” So if you are still deciding, go ahead and join it. As MotherTeresa once said, “Yesterday is gone. Tomorrow has not yetcome. We have only today. Let us begin…”

ANKUR GUPTA

A River Of Memories

Ankur Gupta

A Best Ploy

Angels edgy and skies too dark,Heavens face a truth so stark.Times agone, the worldly stage hath to set,Gods rave, unto the brutal gaffe is met.The potion hombre hath gone too wrong,Some hence are now beasts oblong.Gruesome, grave them men may be,Some remedy there ought to be.Cupids run to raise the cry,Tell the gods, the seas gone dry.

The herds of saints and angels muster,As lord addresseth a larger cluster.“Listen to me, ye all dears,I’ve got the rains to quench your fears.I’ve found the brush to paint therainbows,I’ve got the panes to cover the windows.To neat the horses I’ve found the mane,To hold them instead I’ve found the rein.It hath to curb the malefic demon,I give to thee, ‘a humble woman’.

O, unrivalled lady,The universe is appalling and shady.Tame the monstrosity down yonder,Do not let the humanity flounder.The power that will vest inside,Shall give thou light and be thy guide.Be submissive, free and blissful,If need be, then ghastly dreadful.

Although, thy sinuous mind’s bestowed by me,I still hunch afore thee to be on my knee.Accept at once this prayer so lowly,Thou art supreme, sacred and holy.”

“Lord almighty thou art supreme,Men are parlous and obscene.Reveal the leading mercy stash,Let these throats obtain a gash.”Appeasing phrases the creator said,“Not a drop of blood shall be shed.I want ye all to be so nice,A blest ploy we shall devise”The deity saunters across the cloud,And muses on the commotion loud.

Da

sure more often than not we girls have felt ourselves captured inI’ma body of contrasting personalities. When we’ve been pampered to thehilt as a daughter but taught to be fiercely independent as a son. Whenwe possess oodles of confidence, but are willingly demure if expected ofus. When we’ve chastised ourselves for paying too much attention tolooks but stood for hours in front of the mirror contemplating what theright look for us is after all. When we’ve often mocked pretty girls (bywhich I’m sure you know what I mean; but I’d rather spell it out, wellthose girls who are simply vapid and dumb) but never shied away fromblushing when we’re complimented on our style. When we are notbothered about how people criticized us for that dress that didn’t fit toowell but known to be vain at the same time.

Dame’s Dilemma

here are far too many instances that I can quote to fill up the entire newsletter.TWe girls have found ourselves at crossroads, experienced a dichotomy ofsorts, unable to co-relate the girly girl who we all are at the coreand the new age competent woman we aspire to become.We continue to stay confused.

say not! Let your down and delve into that newIapplication you downloaded on your coveted iPhone.Don’t let the shingles of stereotypes bind you. Break freefrom the antiquated web of notions and the miasma ofrotten thoughts that dare to define what girls should orshould not do. Don’t be afraid of judgement. Becauseevery Tom, Dick and Harry will pass a comment on yourshort dress, your shopping sprees or the gossip sessions.But would feel threatened to appreciate you if youdeliver a spectacular presentation at your work place, orif you drive better than two-thirds of the men populationin the city or if you handle your finances in a way whichcould give any CA a run for his money.

e a bit of both. Learn to be yourself and put an endBto every dame’s dilemma. It’s time to live your dreamand not pay heed to criticism or judgments. Embraceyour womanhood and nurture every opportunity thatcomes your way to be progressive. Even as your ownscepticism and the prejudices of others continue todefine your life; take charge and live your life on yourown terms. It’s absolutely normal to be in adichotomous state. As a girl you have as much right tobe the quintessential diva as to leave your imprints onthe sands of time with your mental prowess.


The Human Touch TM Chesta Garg

At the risk of appearing anachronistic I am saying it out loud, "I have had

enough of technology!"


At the risk of appearing anachronistic I am saying it out

loud, "I have had enough of technology!" I do understand

that being a Computer Science engineer who is

employed with Infosys Limited, these words seem not

only anachronistic but also hypocritical. But I request

you, my patient and sympathetic reader (mind it, I am

buttering you), to give me a fair chance to justify my

words.

Haven't we heard that excess of anything is bad? So why

can't it be the same for technology. Any typical day at

work involves typing spells broken by mouse

movements, even I feel like a robot at times; when there

seems to be little difference between my response and

the recorded voice at the end of the line.

So excuse me if the abundant (read, excessive)

technology bogs me down and even a little human touch

is welcome. How did I realize this? No, I wasn’t sitting

under the Bodhi tree when the enlightenment dawned

on me. It was any other day and I was walking out of my

working area after a long day at work; feeling tired,

dejected and gloomy. I wasn’t really looking at anybody

when somebody’s eyes caught my attention. I could feel

compassion and empathy in those eyes and cheerfulness

in the smile on that face. It took me a few moments to

realize that it was the “guard uncle”, the familiar face

who always smile

and waves when we pass each other! That day too he

gave me a half salute, and involuntarily I smiled and

reciprocated the action. Needless to say, I felt joyous

once again. On looking back, I realized that similar

situations happen a lot of times. It could be a good friend

giving you high-five or just an acquaintance you chance

upon after a long time. I also understood that I cannot do

away with technology, I won’t be able to quite frankly,

but I am definitely going to strive and have more of the

human touch in my life.

What is the book about?

It is a romantic novel, about two charactersAbhay and Anamika, who meet in the beautifulcity of Chandigarh. It is a story about theirlove, their fears, their secrets and their past.

Why is the book titled as ‘A Warm Winter’?

The first meeting between the characters on acold winter day, which leads to the start oftheir romance.

Who are your favourite writers?

My favourite writers internationally are J.K.Rowling, James Hadley Chase, Mario Puzo to namea few. In India, my current favourite writer is AmisTripathi of the ‘Shiva Trilogy’ series.

Name one of your favourite lines from a book.

‘I will make him an offer he can’t refuse’ from thebook ‘The Godfather’ by Mario Puzo.

Preachers of Gore

Far was the taste of triumph, and the drying drop of water,I must though try to be little wry, but God be an ancient plotter…My pride inside had lost the stride, and oh my prudence lied,I grew up hard into a bard, with no one by my side…

Stolen went the dough I made, In virtue then had I paid,Numerous did the pangs arise, but I was still calm and staid…Brothers lost their lives in me, Immortal I thought they were,I though let them be forgiven, by reason of bearing skin and fur…

Scads of dungeons thrown at me, mortal blood bedecked the floor,Cruel bawdy they mocked at me, those blasphemous preachers of gore…Hone your weapons my vicious friend, face me once and do not pretend,Hit me stern and let me burn, I’ll fail and be mute with nothing to mend…

Your ritzy eyes and smug surprise, on all my silent lashes,It’s a silent slap on a barren face, and all those bygone flashes…I know you are and sure would be, proud of the savage modus,Silent I came, silent I lived, and so I seek, a silent exodus…

VASU SHARMA

O OngerLIVE

They are coming closeno corner to hidethough this place seems so wideits getting enigmatic outsidei am runnig, all scaredno stars , not even moonlightgod give me power and strengthagainst the darkness i could fight

All of a sudden i realizedi am NO LONGER ALIVEthis is not a wellrather i have been sent to hell'cause as a human i committed crimesnever helped the poornever ever went to a shrinei was avaricious and meangod punished me for my sin

My end is nearonly haunted voices i could hearrunning at my pace , gaining momentumi stepped and reached a wellfilled with bloodacting as a berth for all deadi pushed hard to escapebut couldn't find another waygod it is only youwho can help me rescue

Rambling in a crowded streeti can feel the thunderfear i'll be lostevery person resembles to a ghosti feel chokedi feel suffocatedCan't sniff fresh airGod save me from such vampires

Samta Garg

GMAT is just the tip of the iceberg. GMAT score is important but unlike CAT, it is notyour direct ticket to a business school. The real fight and test of your patience beginswith the application process. I would devote 3-4 months (max) to GMAT prep and 6months (min) to the application process.

Build your profile. Do not sit idle and do not be satisfied with those few extra-curricular bullets you have on your resume. Toastmasters Club, a marathon, a startup,a CSR initiative, and an internship opportunity – whatever it is, your answer should beYES..!!

Do not apply to a school just because it is a ‘SAFE’ bet. You might end up not joining itlater even if you have no other options because it was never the school you wanted togo to in the first place. Why waste your time, money and efforts?

There has been a sudden uprising in last fewyears. I am not the one to talk about politics;I am talking about the rise in the number ofGMAT takers leading to the first sepoy mutinyagainst the autocratic rule of CAT. I joined thisrevolution in 2010 and being GMAT pro, I will not talk aboutGMAT vs CAT as it will be quite biased. However, I would talkabout a few points which the new entrants should considerbefore joining the rebellion.

“It’s easier than CAT”, “Everyone is doing it”, “I ain’t gettingan onsite, let me create one for myself” – If your train ofthoughts stopped at any of the aforementioned stops, Pleasedo not join the revolution. For those who already have takenup the swords i.e. the Official Guide for GMAT, some points foryou to consider

Vikram Shandilya

Every school has a different identity and a different personality. One school might be good inconsulting, the other in marketing. One might be competitive, the other might be collaborative.One will have a smaller class size, the other will have a huge strength. One will offer you a collegetown environment; the other will offer you the blings of a big city.

Do not run blindly after the rankings, reputation or scholarships. Think of the school as yourfriend/partner for life. Choose a school whose personality matches with yours.

Start your research soon. Do not select schools first andthen research on them. Start research, talk to the students, likethe school, and then apply. Get an ISD pack on your phoneconnection and ring at least 2-3 students from each school youare considering. Know your seniors; it will give you a reflection ofyour future peers. You are going to spend the next 2 years ofyour life with them day in and day out. Join a school where youlove the ‘people’, not just the placement stats.

It was dark when I reached home. I had just gotdown from my bike, still holding the handle and tryingto locate its side-stand to put it in a leaningposition. I was tired of exhaustion and hung over by anot-so-good day at work. I had read somewhere that whenyou name ‘bad’ as not-so-good, it does you less havoc.I was being welcomed by my solitary home, which I hadabandoned in the morning to be occupied at night. Ineeded some company, the company of my bed and blanket.

Just then, I was startled by something that clungto my leg suddenly and abruptly. Without having time tothink and analyze what it was, and out of sheer fearand curiosity, I shrugged it off my leg with a fearfulmurmur. It was the pup whom I had given some milk inthe morning. Just then I saw, another pup, his siblingvery close by and also their mother. A few days ago,the mother had delivered some cubs and the children inthe street had a merry time playing with them. Now,only two cubs remained; the fittest ones to survive.The two cubs were filled with excitement, wagging theirtails and jumping, on their hind legs. I wondered whythe day’s activities did not exhaust the two. Theircoming to me every day had become a routine affairsince the last few days. They were licking and smellingmy feet, in a playful mood, while their mother watchedthem. She trusted that I would not do them any harm, soshe let them come close to me.

I opened the lock of my house and hushed the dogs,

preventing them to enter the gate of my house. Theyalways mess around and I was in no mood to clean the

A Cold Night

house at midnight. They still remained outside, wavingtheir tails, merrily jumping as if some long lostfriend had arrived after several years. I was tired,but I opened my fridge and took out some milk. Theweather was cold. I lit up the gas and after twominutes of heating, poured the milk in the earthenutensil which my mother used to feed the dogs. When Icame outside, the dogs were still there, but weresitting quietly. On seeing the milk, they were back inaction, jumping and waving their tails. I slipped theutensil outside from under the gate, and the two cubswere on to it, each trying to have the maximum share.The mother came forward but the cubs did not let herhave anything. The duo had it all and neatly cleanedthe utensil of every drop.

I wondered that the scarcity of resources had

made them selfish and self-centered that they did notbother about the mother who had given them birth andhad taken care to let them survive. Still, I could notdislike the cute little creatures that were in fullexcitement in this cold, dark, gloomy night with noother visible creature around.

Ashish Kumar

Passion is PowerWhen you read this article, please do not take

passion literally in terms of love and compassion.Passion here refers to passion to an activity, or ahobby, a desire towards something, a want. And themetaphor, ‘Passion is Power’ is true. When we arepassionate about something, we tend to do more andbetter than what is expected of us in that field. Andbeing passionate about a particular thing, may alsolead to balance in other things in life. Suppose you arepassionate about travelling, then you not only seesights and meet new people, but also inculcatediscipline in life. You learn about planning, organizingrationing, socializing and being on your toes. If youare an avid reader, you not only learn newthings and enter new worlds, but alsoform a good habit, and then it doesnot seem like an effort anymore.

on activities other than work, on basis of urgency. Butto totally let go, is to let go of your own nature. It isbeing a different person altogether. Suppose you arepassionate about music, and with all your study oroffice commitments, you are unable to practice. Thenthough a metr will not

You also improve your language.Similarly, there can be manypassions, like music, gardening,coin collecting and so on, whichteach you more than what theyare meant to indirectly. But themain question arises, that are wealways able to follow our passion,and are we able to find time for it? Inreality, with our work and other commitments,we let go of the things we love to do. But that iswrong. It is still okay to minimize the time one spends

though a meteor will not strike you or you will not suddenly become depressed, but your craving for thesame will not end. The reason being that passion, apart from all things, brings peace. And to compensatewith peace, is same as compensating with the goal of your life.

A last thing to mention is that passion also brings rewards, and today, through social networking sites andvideo websites, people are not only expressing themselves, but also becoming economically independent.

To end I would say, be passionate, be true. Priyam Kumar

go

Who am I?

I am contractions or maybe clarityIt is a dichotomy and yes a little phonyI am virtuous and so am I viciousIt is the darkness and so it is the light

The calm ocean mulls in meThe chaotic storms wage in meEveryday I live and dieEveryday I laugh and cry

I am a friend or maybe an enemyIt is my sympathy and yes my apathyI am an angel and so am I a devilIt is my boon and so it is my bane

The eternal peace lives in meThe hellish fire burns in meSomeday I will find out whySomeday I will know who am I

Chesta Garg

December 2013: It wasa time to buy a newphone but my budgetwasn't too much andhence I had to settle fora mid-range phone.

There were manyoptions such asSamsung, Lumia orSony, however, I wentdown for a meek brandthe Micromax.

I loved the phone'sdesign and the featuresit offered at a reallycompetitive cost, butlittle did I know, that allhell was about to break

loose. No, the phonedidn’t break, but myrelatives and friendsdid. They freaked outsaying, “What! YouBought a MICROMAX?”

Don't you know it's a second grade brand?” I ampretty thick skinned when it comes to criticism, henceI didn't bother much, and all the same, I came acrosswith a lot of interesting comments around that phoneand I can now categorize people.

Group 1- The hypocrites:He- "Nice phone, spending too much on a phone is awaste of money and by the way these new companieshave to settle their markets in India so they will makegood phones."

Me- "So why don't you buy a Micromax?"

He- "Oh No! I amgetting a new iPhonefrom US my uncle livesthere"Me-"Oh!!"

Group2- The offenders:

She-"Wow what aphone. Looks stunninglybeautiful which brand isit, Nexus 5 or Note3"Me-''Micromax"

She- "Oh!".

Me- "What Happened?"She- "Nothing Bye!”Group 3- The empathizers:Me-''I got a new Micromax phone."He-"I have Xolo”Me & He( Crying together) - "We understandeach other!"

Ladies andgentlemen, welcometo the India's ITIndustryorganizationalstructure whereiPhone users areGeneral Managers,Samsung's are theManagers, Xepria'sand Lumia's are theLeads and the pettyKarbon Micromaxusers are stinking

Software Engineers.Isn’t it ironic that welive in a nationwhere millions die ofhunger yet iPhone 5sells out in one day?We live in a nationwhere youth isfixated to buy a 30thousand phone justto play temple run.

Admit it, we buystuff that we don't

need. But importantquestion is: why?

Welcome to theworld of sillycompetition, it alltook off when your

"Pummy Aunty"(Fake Name) cameto your house withthe result card of herdaughter to proclaimhow well she had

scored, while you were just a dim-witted guywho flunked in his Hindi exam (Who fails inHindi? Well, sadly I did). You poor soul, havebeen encoded that the world is a harsh placeand the only way to survive here is to compete.This probably is the reason why you show-off to

Start

I Bought A

prove others that youare no less than them.You, once, cheated inexams to save yoursanity before PummyAunty and today you

almost bought a 40Kphone for the verysame reason, untilsomething hit you,something so profoundthat it would change

great speakers).

And for that 40K phonego ahead, buy it, butnot because you haveto compete, butbecause it has some

rat races. And onebeautiful thing is thatsooner or latereverybody gets it.However, some realizeit too late. So don't

who codes so well orthe girl who speaks sowell (And if that's thecase come toToastmaster you willmeet an awful lot of

utilitarian value in yourlife.

So, in the conclusion, I'llleave you with a simpleline "Every day when

I wake up I remindmyself- I am nothere to compete butto enjoy."

Your misguidedperspectives.

“It’s the individual skillsand the attitude thatmatters. Nothing and, Irepeat, nothing elsematter."

Wouldn't world wouldbe a better place ifeverybody could getthis simple thing. Nosuperfluous buying, No

be that person and startappreciating theintangible qualities of aperson and not thematerialistic things.Let's appreciate the boy

Tushar Tilwani

Humble Phone

INTELLIGENCE

LOGIC

JUDGMENT

everal years back thereSwas a guy named Jimmy. He gotfed up from his daily life anddecided to learn meditation and artof living. So he joined a monasteryin the Himalayas.

Everyday a large number ofdisciples gathered to listen to thepreaching given by Guru which wasfollowed by a meditation session.And before the meditation sessiondisciples would catch a black catand would tie it up and then wouldplace the tied cat on Guru’s lap.Then Guru would start caressing thecat and would start the meditationsession. After the meditationsession the cat would be untied andset free. This was a daily ritual.

he guru was very particular about this ritual; heTwould only start the meditation session when a black catwould be tied and was placed on his lap.

One day the disciples were unable to find the cat. The gururefused to start the meditation session. After many hours ofsearch they were able to find a black cat. They tied it andplaced it on guru’s lap and thus meditation got started.

Our friend Jimmy was quite puzzled at the mystery of thistied up cat. He could not understand the significance of thisritual and how this ritual was connected with meditation.

He asked around but no one knew why this ritual wasperformed. Then someone told him to ask a wise oldman who lived in a cave up the hills. So curiousJimmy climbed the hill and met the old man andasked him the significance of this ritual.

Old Man replied:

Son, one day, several decades ago, when the then“Guru and his disciples started their meditation session, a cat that lived in themonastery made a lot of noise and distracted and disturbed there meditationsession. So the guru ordered that the cat be tied up during meditation session.This practice of tying up cat continued every day. Even after the death of theGuru, the next guru continued this tradition. And till date this is followed. Cats

kept on dying and a new cat was brought for meditation session.”

The Mysti

CUSTOMS

BELIEF

Friends, in the name of tradition, we unquestioningly follow traditions and

customs and perform all types of ceremonies without understanding the spirit behindthem. I often wonder why we accept customs and traditions without understanding their

significance, quite like a blindman led by others. What Icannot fathom is whywe blindly followrituals without examining theirtrue meaning, logic andsignificance or why we followcustoms, traditions and ritualsthat are obsolete and have losttheir significance and outlivedtheir utility?

WHY?

RITUALS

Gunpreet Singh

cal ‘CAT’


YEAR BOOK

Infosys Toastmasters Chandigarh

April 2013-14

Anirban Sengupta

“Delhi Born , Confused Bengali” Ankit Anoop

“Associate, Silent Bob.”

Ankur gupta “The Designer”

Ashish Kumar “The Artist”

Bibek Singh, CTM

“The Guide”

Chesta Garg, CL “The universal Mentor”

Gunpreet Singh “The back-up Joke Master”

Isha Chhatwal, CL “Ms. Dedicated”

Kannav Chadha, CL “The wizard of ITC”

Kavish Rastogi “Laid back guitarist”

Kiran Saxena “Ms. Wikipedia”

Kushal Ashok “The man with million ideas”


Manish Pathania, CC “BackPacker”

Maedha Batra, CL “The alumnus”

Natasha Garg, CL “Miss Dependable”

Nikhil, CL “The Founding member”

Priyam Kumar, CC, CL

“Author - The 7th Semester”

Rajeev Parmar “Jack of all trades”

Ravi Garg “Hard Worker”

Samta Garg “Awww”

Saurabh Thareja

“The Techie”

Shalini Jubli “The new girl”

Shivam Mukhi “Mr. Chivalrous”

Shray Sharan “The LabelLed Black”

Shruti Chopra, CL “School Principal”

Tushar Tilwani “The go-getter”

Vasu Sharma “The Russell Peters”

Vikram Shandaliya, CL “Corporate Romeo”

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