let's speak 10th edition

December 27, 2014 Edition 10

MEDLEY TOASTMASTERS CLUB

LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL OR CHALLENGING…? CC 1 – ICE BREAKER

Life is so beautiful. Life is full of challenges. Overcome the challenges

with courage.

Good Afternoon Toastmasters, and guests. I am Karthikeyani. Born and

brought up in a beautiful village called Odathurai near

Gobichettipalayam in Erode district. It was a place where director

Bagiyaraj shot most of his successful movies. My father is a retired

headmaster who taught me the social skills and my mother is an agriculturist cum house wife who taught me

the reward of hard work. I have 2 sisters and one brother and I am the eldest among them.

I was put up in a boarding school at the age of five. I learnt the taste of getting first rank in the class. The

society made me the role model for my siblings since I was the eldest.

Till my 12 Th class apart from one or two occasions I never missed to be the topper of the class and I was

the school people leader for two years. All teachers liked me. Many students made me a role model for their

career. So I was always proud and felt on top of the world. Life was so beautiful….

Those days I did not realize that the world is so big and we are like a fish in the ocean.

Even though I was a topper in the school, unfortunately I didn’t get into any professional course in

college. I was dejected. I realized that life is also full of challenges...

Reluctantly I took up my UG at erode. My father wanted me to do PG at Chennai and also encouraged

me to prepare for IAS i.e. civil service exams. My mind was so blank. With an ambition, I moved to Chennai to

do my PG. In Chennai, I experienced the other side of the world. The competition was so high. I sensed that I

had to struggle a lot to achieve the goal. After completion of

my PG with Gold medal, I went to Delhi for Civil service

coaching. Getting into civil services to become an IAS is not

that much easy.

Preparing for civil service exams is playing a snake and

ladder game. To taste the success one should clear all 3

stages. It would take one year to clear all levels. After hard work

preparation I cleared First stage….I felt I was once again on the top of the world. Second stage cleared, I

was flying in the sky as if I have got IAS. I attended the Interview, but didn’t get through. My dad and mom

were more upset than me. Again I started my preparation from first level.

Challenges need to be faced with courage…. Life is beautiful...

After three years of hard work it paid me by qualifying in the state service. My parents were satisfied and

were looking for a boy for my marriage. This time I was not in a position to postpone my marriage.

As Heroine is from Gobichettipalayam a shooting spot, the Hero is also from another shooting spot

Pollachi. He is a software engineer. He has an ambition to go to US. He did know the importance of the


LET’S SPEAK

TM KARTHIKEYANI

Life is beautiful. At times, it

looks as if very challenging. If

we move forward with courage,

again life becomes so beautiful!

M E D L E Y T O A S T M A S T E R S C L U B

service. A challenge for me. Again with courage, convinced him and he changed his mind. Now we are

living in Chennai with our son. He is supporting me a lot at all times.

Life is beautiful. At times, it looks as if very challenging. If we move forward with courage, again life

becomes so beautiful!


TURN SCARS INTO STARS CC 2 – ORGANIZE YOUR SPEECH

Some of the best music was composed by Beethoven. What was his

handicap? He was deaf. Some of the best poetry written on nature

was written by Milton. What was his handicap? He was blind. One of

the greatest world leaders was US President Franklin D. Roosevelt. What

was his handicap? He served from a wheelchair.

Toastmaster of the day, Toastmasters & Guests: Good Afternoon

Read the life histories of people who have turned a negative into a

positive, adversity into advantage, stumbling blocks into stepping stones. What is the common thread? They

refused to let disappointment and failures pull them down.

Wilma Rudolph was born into a poor home in Tennessee. At age four, she had double pneumonia with

scarlet fever, a deadly combination which left her paralyzed

with polio. She had to wear a brace and the doctor said she

would never put her foot on the earth. But her mother

encouraged her. She said “With God given ability,

persistence and faith, you can do anything you want”. Wilma

said, “I want to be the fastest woman on the track on this

earth.” At the age of nine, against the advice of the doctors,

she removed the brace and took the first step the doctors had

said she never would. At the age of 13, she entered her first

race and came way, way last. And then she entered her second, and third and fourth and came way, way

last until a day came when she came in first.

At the age of 15 she went to Tennessee State University where she met a coach Ed Temple. She told him, "I

want to be the fastest woman on the track on this earth." Temple said, "With your spirit nobody can stop you

and besides, I will help you."

The day came when she was at the Olympics and at the Olympics you are matched with the best of the

best. Wilma was matched against a woman named Jutta Heine from Germany who had never been

beaten. The first event was the 100-meter race. Wilma beat Jutta Heine and won her first gold medal. The

second event was the 200-meter race and Wilma beat Jutta a second time and won her second gold

medal. The third event was the 4x100-meter relay and she was racing against Jutta one more time. In the

relay, the fastest person always runs the last lap and they both anchored their teams. The first three people

ran and changed the baton easily. When it came to Wilma's turn, she dropped the baton. But Wilma saw

Jutta shoot up at the other end; she picked the baton, ran like a machine, beat Jutta a third time and won

her third gold medal. It became history: That a paralytic woman became the fastest woman on the track on

the planet undisputedly.


LET’S SPEAK

TM ILANGATHIR

Success doesn't always go to

the stronger and faster man,

But sooner or later, the man

who wins is the man who thinks

he can!


What a lesson to be learnt from Wilma. It teaches us that successful people do it in spite of, not in absence

of, problems.

I was quite decent in studies since kindergarten. My parents ensured I received the best possible things in

life. When I was in my class XI, my parents bought me expensive material to prepare for the All India Pre

Medical and Pre Dental Test. I was supposed to prepare hard but I procrastinated things. I did not do justice

to my parents’ dream. I was never serious in becoming a doctor.

As the Higher Secondary exams drew nearer, the newspaper boy, milk man, temple priest, neighbors,

parents, teachers, friends, cousins all seemed to have one common objective in life: seeing me become a

doctor.

The weight of everyone’s expectations had become too much for me to handle. I crumbled under

pressure. I feared failure. I started taking things lightly; I thought I could write improvement exams and get into

a medical college next year.

I wrote my higher secondary exams, without any serious preparation when several other students where

literally burning midnight oil, trying to grab that elusive medical seat in their dream college.

The results came as a surprise everyone around me, except of course, me. I had secured only 75% when

people around me would have not even been satisfied with a 95%.

It was then, the unthinkable happened. There was a case filed in the Madras High Court asking to disallow

students to write improvement exams that would allow them to boost their scores. My parents were visibly

devastated. My dad was not going to risk my education. He forcefully made me join an Engineering college.

I never really wanted to become an Engineer. I had been defeated. I did not know what to do.

At Engineering, I could not really focus on studies. I was stressed. I had spoiled my parents’ dreams. I had

wasted a beautiful opportunity. Felt very bad. I spent sleepless nights. I wanted to correct my mistake

desperately. I gathered enough sanity to think clearly about my situation. I decided I had to restore my lost

pride and it had to happen through my studies. Four months after I joined Engineering, the first semester

exams arrived. I had prepared with every sinew in my body with a singular focus of achieving excellence.

The results came; I had scored a heavily satisfying 87% bagging the zone’s top score. My parents were

smiling again and I never took my foot off the gas since then.

Setbacks are inevitable in life. A setback can act as a driving force and also teach us humility. In grief you

need to find courage and faith to overcome the setback. We need to learn to become victors, not victims.

You cannot allow defeat to intimidate you. We are the masters of our destinies. When you are hit hard by life,

there is no point in lying low or feeling sad. Rebound and feel good.

If you think you are beaten, you are. If you think you dare not, you don't!

You think you'll lose, you've lost; Success begins with your will;

It's all in the state of mind. Success doesn't always go to the stronger and faster man,

But sooner or later, the man who wins is the man who thinks he can!

Over to the TMOD!


TRAGEDIES & COMEDIES CC 3 – GET TO THE POINT

The other day I was sitting with my daughter on her studies. That day

I was going through a chapter in English about William Shakespeare.

When I asked my daughter about the different categories of plays

Shakespeare had written she replied that there were 3 viz., Tragedies,

Comedies and Historical. I agreed but mentioned that there were 2

slight variations in some of the plays, which I would define as “Tragic

Comedies” and “Comic Tragedies”. Essentially it means a Play with a

tragic beginning and a good ending and in the second case a play with good beginning and a tragic

ending.

Dear Toastmasters and Guests, like is full of Tragic Comedies and Comic Tragedies.

1st Incident:

Quite some years back when I was in Delhi, which I call the “Sin City” my mother was getting worried, my

weekends in Delhi were spent in Discotheques and she wanted to put an end to it. She pressurized me to get

married and I finally relented to see a girl in Pune who seems to have passed my parents test. Even though

the ritual was something I didn’t look forward to, I reluctantly pulled myself through and boarded the

Rajdhani Express from Delhi to Mumbai. At my brother’s house in Mumbai everyone was in high spirits

including my little nephews and they were looking forward to the trip next day to Pune.

Early next day morning we started our road trip to Pune and my sister-in-law never left a chance to pull my

leg throughout the Journey. Finally when we were nearing Pune I was slightly pensive and thought that it was

not a great idea to embark on this trip. Nevertheless we landed at the Girl’s house. Some more of the girl’s

relatives also landed up making me feel more nervous. I looked out excitedly when a lady made a grand

entrance but then, “it was the Girl’s mother”. Finally after much waiting the girl came out and seemed to be

almost on the verge of a nervous breakdown. In the midst of an entourage of 25 people I tried to make

stilted conversation, which was no avail. Timidly I asked the Girl’s mother if I could speak to the girl alone.

My prospective mother-in-law gave me a stern look. Now I understood why mother in laws are a hated

tribe. Reluctantly she agreed and took us to another room. I started to speak and looked around to find my

prospective MIL still hovering around. I asked “Ma’am can I have some private time with your daughter”.

She looked at me for some time and then said “ OK, only 5 mins”. When I again attempted to make a

conversation, it didn’t go past monosyllables.


LET’S SPEAK

TM BALAMURALI


I was in a fix and could not make up my mind. To be or not to be was the question. How many of you

were in a catch-22 situation like this? For me the entire trip seemed to be jinxed. We left the place and I was

very confused. Not one to leave a chance to have fun my Sister-in-law asked me if I had made up my mind.

I said “Bhabhi, I am not getting any connect with her and she hardly talks”. My Sister-in-law said, “ Balu,

this is the only time you will get to talk, after marriage she will only talk anyway, so what is the big deal. Ask

your brother if you want”.

I looked at my brother and his sheepish expression told me a thousand things. When I boarded the train

my booking was not confirmed and I had to make a hellish journey in an unreserved compartment

confirming that the entire trip was a disaster.

However few months down the line I finally met and married a person whom I liked and that other girl

found a NRI groom. Eventually things worked out for us, even though not together. My bride seeing trip was a

tragic-comedy finally.

Incident 2

Last year, I had a membership to a golf club and I decided to make the best use of it as one of my friends

goaded me to it. I felt very confident as I thought Golf is just like

cricket “Only a bat and a ball”. So on a Saturday I landed at

the Golf track for a coaching session and a beaming coach was

waiting for me. He welcomed me warmly and enthusiastically

gave me a golf stick. When he offered to teach me I said that I

do know the basics and asked for the Golf Ball. What

happened next was straight out of the coaching manual – not

Golf but Cricket. I played a beautiful cover drive. The coach was aghast at my impertinence. I said “Don’t

worry, I will take care from now on”. After which I played some brilliant shots, all cricketing ones like Cover

drive, lofted short, square drive etc., by this time the coach was almost in tears. He said “Sir, for this you could

have gone to a cricket ground”. I replied “If kapil dev can play golf shots in cricket, I can also play cricket

shots in Golf”. The training session ended with me feeling elated about my success in Golf and I turned up

again the next week.

I was looking for my coach and a new person landed up and introduced himself as my coach. Before I

could play my first shot, he held my arm and forced me to get my posture right. By the time I got my posture

right, my knee was aching and I was itching to play the shot. As I took aim, the coach again intervened and

held my arms firmly saying that I should not bend it. I had no choice but to follow his instructions. By the time I

played 10 shots, my entire back was aching. Somehow I thought I saw a devilish smile on the coach’s face.

But he was so polite to me that I had to trust him. After another 20 shots, which the coach strictly tutored, I

was sweating profusely and my entire body was aching. I left the golf track never to return again. What

started as a fun activity eventually turned out to be dreadful like a typical “comic-tragedy”

We have a choice to engineer

our attitude to what life gives us

whether they are tragic-comedies

or comic-tragedies


Dear Toastmasters and Guests, the other day during April, my mother mentioned that it was a new year’s

day and offered me a brew which tasted sweet, salty, tangy and bitter a very interesting concoction. She

mentioned that life is full of different flavors like the concoction she gave me and it is one whole package

and we don’t have a choice to pick and choose. However we have a choice to engineer our attitude to

what life gives us whether they are tragic-comedies or comic-tragedies.

Over to you Toast Master of the day.


MEMORIES NEVER DIE CC 4 – HOW TO SAY IT

Dear Toastmaster, Fellow Toastmaster and guests:

February 23, 2009...5.30 am.... I was in a deep sleep. I had reached

the final episode of a wonderful early morning dream session. I always

prefer to dream in the early morning because I am told that early

morning dreams come true.

All of a sudden I got up. I looked through the window.

Wow! What a superb scene.

This is the first time I see crack of dawn in Kuwait. I always get up after sunrise.

Suddenly the phone rang.. .. it was call from my friend...He conveyed an exciting news.

I rushed to TV room. Grabbed remote control and surfed the channels quickly to watch the live telecast of

the dazzling Oscar Night.

The shimmering stage of the magnificent Kodak Theatre in Hollywood appeared on the TV screen. I waited

anxiously. My heart burst with pride when the Slumdog Millionaire team bagged Award for Best Sound Mixing.

I had a personal reason for jubilation. One of the winners, the diminutive Sound technician Resul Pookutty was

my hostel mate in Law College. It was truly incredible moment to watch a person personally known to you

receiving the most coveted honor in cinema.

After receiving the award he gave a stirring acceptance speech. Apparently emotions overpowered him.

His deference to the Primordial Sound ‘’OM’’ gave me goose bumps. He said, I quote, “I come from a

country and a civilization that gave the universal word. That word is preceded by silence, followed by more

silence. That word is 'Om.' So I dedicate this award to the people of India Unquote.

It was the most befitting tribute to mother India. In modern terms, the best marketing tool for India.

For a while nostalgic memories took me back to law college hostel days where he kept a low profile and

moved around with a couple of like-minded friends. While we wandered aimlessly through the corridors of

Law College he spent his time in Film Societies and with Film

experts. He was in a learning process. He had set a goal

and knew the means to reach there.

We called him film freak and pseudo-intellectual. But he

ignored extraneous distractions.

Even his Law College life was a transit point in his journey

towards the final destination.

I still remember the passion with which he narrated the

experiences of his first Interview in Pune Film Institute.


LET’S SPEAK

TM SUNIL JOSE

I looked through the window.

Wow! What a superb scene.

This is the first time I see

crack of dawn in Kuwait.


We were sitting in a common friend’s room in Law College Hostel. Unfortunately only a few of the listeners

paid any attention. For most of them he was spoiling his time.

But we failed to see the flair in his eyes.

While I was immersed those wonderful old days, the sound of applause brought me back to my TV room.

The world cinema was congratulating Resul for his feat. I joined them to salute the avatar of determination

and diligence. It was the most memorable day of 2009. Over to TMOD.


LUCKY BREAK CC 5 – YOUR BODY SPEAKS

Imagine being in the party Capital of the world, Amsterdam in The

Netherlands, staying in the most luxurious accommodation of its kind,

surrounded by beautiful ladies all the time, who hold your hands

without twitching their eyes, ready to serve you without any

expectation 24/7, the bed is a very cozy adjustable bed, the coziest

you have ever slept on, room service does not mean leaving the food

tray on the table, but feeding you with a spoon, entertainment non-

stop with a huge Plasma TV which telecasts all of your favorite programs. You can stay there as long as you

can and the vacation is granted by your company. Not just that, the bill for the stay will also be picked by

your company. That, my friends, is the epitome of a lucky break. I have been there and also learnt valuable

lessons in the process.

TMOD, fellow toastmasters and guests.

On September 5, 2007, my hopes were sky high and my dreams were larger than the largest galaxy, when I

boarded Lufthansa flight to Amsterdam to work.

Couple of months later, I tried my hands, actually my legs, on ice skating at Winter Efteling Theme park. I

learnt very quickly that while Ice skating, one should bend the knees and put the majority of one’s weight

forward, because you cannot fall forward.

I quickly learnt how to skate and picked up pace. What a brilliant feeling. Just then I realized I did not know

how to stop. A colleague who was heavier that I happened

to do the same mistake and to make things worse, was set on

a collision course with me. When the collision happened, by

the virtue of his mass and greater speed, he managed to

push me on to the floor and fell on top of me. It was a heavy

duty strength stress test of the ice versus my left arm. That was

my first lesson, Ice though thin, is way too much stronger than

a thicker human. I was taken to the clinic in the theme park.

I had imagined the clinic to be dim light with an old doctor

wearing specs and coughing once a while. My first lucky

break. There were 4 beautiful young dynamic ladies and the

room radiated with vibrant light, I still am unsure if it was their

glow or the bulb which brightened up the room. All of them

took a special interest in me and were taking turns to hold my hand and check if it hurts. The left hand

refused to cry in pain and was extremely to receive a royal treatment. They strapped my arm and

recommended that I should be taken to Ziekenheus Hospital. Second Lesson, at times it is lucky to even be


LET’S SPEAK

TM CHANDRAMOULI

Just before I left, I told my

favorite lady in the hospital, that

their treatment helped me leave

with a mended arm, a heart

shattered into pieces and I will

miss them all forever. I did not

forget to thank god for my lucky

break.


the one who falls and take a hit, luck works in mysterious ways. Then, came the most wonderful 10 days of

stay in the luxurious Zeikenheus Hospital which hosted the most luxurious rooms with cozy, fully adjustable

beds. Nurses and doctors, mostly beautiful ladies, giving special attention since, I had not family there to take

care and company took care of the bills. It was a multiple fracture that my left arm proudly sported to get all

the royal treatment and attention of these ladies. To make things lighter, I used a lot of humor to make them

laugh.

One fine morning, a nurse woke me up with an empty 12 litre can in hand. She uttered two words, Urine test. I

responded spontaneously with a laugh. I know I am slightly er em a lot on the heavier side, but that does not

mean I need a 12 litre. She also could not control her laugh when she said it was for a specific test where I

had to collect urine for an entire day in the can. I said I am ok as long as there next task was a stool test. This

taught me the third lesson, a good sense of humor, helps you forget even your tumor.

Friends, if in England, breaking a wish bone is getting lucky, in The Netherlands, breaking your arm in multiple

places, just makes you the luckiest person alive. With all the lessons I learnt, wonderful memories and a heavy

heart, I left the hospital.

Just before I left, I told my favorite lady in the hospital, that their treatment helped me leave with a mended

arm, a heart shattered into pieces and I will miss them all forever. I did not forget to thank god for my lucky

break.


THE MINT STREET PARADOX CC 6 – VOCAL VARIETY

How often have you faced a situation when you didn’t agree with

something, but decided to go along with the group? What could be

the reason ? We all think dispute is an issue – could agreement within a

group be also a problem?

Good afternoon Toastmaster of the Day, toastmasters and guests.

It was a Saturday and Ramesh was getting ready to take his family for eating out. His son Rahul said “Dad – I

need a change of place”. Ramesh “Rahul – Shall we try the Pav Bhaji shop in the mint street”. Rahul “Is it not

too far”. Ramesh said “Yes – but, it is supposed to be really good”. Rahul said OK and Ramesh looked at his

daughter Harini who said “If Rahul wants to go, I’m fine. Ramesh’s wife said “Looks like all of you are keen and

let us go”. They crawl thru the traffic to mint street, relish the Pav Bhaji and as they reach home, Ramesh is

proud that he could take them to a new place –(pause) until Rahul said “Dad – We should have gone some

place near by”. Ramesh was surprised at this reaction – “Rahul - You wanted a change”. “Yes Dad – But it

was just too far”. Ramesh looks at Harini and she said “ I came only because Rahul wanted to. I don’t want

to eat pav bhaji today”. His wife told him “Actually, that place wasn’t great. I thought you wanted to go –

didn’t want to disappoint you”.

Ramesh was perplexed on seeing this paradox– where no one individually wanted to go but the entire

family ended up going. How do you explain this ?

Couple of weeks later, He had to fly to Mumbai urgently for

an assignment – The CEO of the company Newfuel explained to

Ramesh on how the company had declining revenues

and profits and wanted his help. After initial discussions

Ramesh found out that a particular project X is the main culprit.

He asked the CEO about it. The CEO said “This is the most

talked about project within and outside the company –

converting peanut oil to jet fuel and this is very close to Jyothi –

head of sales and Sidharth the R&D head. I’m eagerly waiting

for this to start generating revenues”.

Ramesh met Jyothi and after all the discussions asks her opinion on the project X. Jyothi said “This is what

the CEO puts in maximum effort and it is very close to him and also the brainchild of Sidharth – But I’m not

sure about this as it is hurting the company”. Ramesh asked her “Why don’t you express your concern to the

CEO”. She said “Ramesh - This project is very close to CEO and SIdharth. Though I’m concerned, I don’t want

to criticize now and also I’m hoping they’ll be able to pull it off somehow”.


LET’S SPEAK

TM MOHAN S

All 3 of them realized that

they individually had concerns

but were assuming things which

was not correct. They continue

discussing and finally The CEO

decided to shut down the project


Ramesh finally met Sidharth to get direct information on project X. SIdharth said “It started as a research

paper 3 years back – everyone was excited – it Became a full blown project now – But, in the last 2 months, I

felt we don’t have the right technology now and may be it was a bad idea to start this”. Ramesh asked

Sidharth “Why don’t you tell the CEO”. Sidharth said “He will be very disappointed if I tell him now –as he and

Jyothi absolutely believe in this project. Also, I don’t want to risk my job now, by suggesting to shut it down

myself”. Ramesh told Sidharth “ you should take it head on and tell your CEO and that might help your job

also”. He left the meeting hoping Sidharth will take the right decision. He was also amazed as he saw the mint

street paradox in play here.

In the meeting next day with the CEO and his team, Ramesh looked at Sidharth before presenting his

findings – Siddharth started “Let me go first – I wanted to say this for the last 2 months – I feel we should

assess this project and may be shut it down now as we don’t have the right technology”. The CEO said

“What? I thought you and Jyothi were absolutely sure about this”. Jyothi said “I was also thinking about this

for some time and didn’t know how to tell you”. All 3 of them realized that they individually had concerns but

were assuming things which were not correct. They continue discussing and finally The CEO decided to shut

down the project

As Ramesh flew back to Chennai, he was thinking of his new found paradox and decided he has to use it

apply this to any situation.

Next time, when we see the Mint Street Paradox in play – can we take a step back, assess the situation for

real risk vs. perceived risk and take the right decision rather than assuming things ?

Over to you TMOD.

Just before I left, I told my

favorite lady in the hospital, that

their treatment helped me leave

with a mended arm, a heart

shattered into pieces and I will

miss them all forever. I did not

forget to thank god for my lucky

break.


ANIMATED LESSON CC7 – RESEARCH YOUR PROJECT

I don’t think cartoons are only for kids, but I think kids will love anything

as long as it’s visually interesting. This is a quote by John Kricfalusi

Good Afternoon Fellow Cartoon companions..

Thousands of years ago in Africa, ancient mankind drew some of the

character art on the walls of their caves. The most common pictures were large wild animals.

Fast forward now to Ancient Greece where the Greeks were some of the first to create art called Mosaics.

These were pictures created using all kinds of different materials like shells and glass, and put together like a

jigsaw puzzle. These types of early cartoon images were used to show stories of gods and heroes – many of

whom are the basis for shows we watch today.

Modern cartoon first appeared around the early 1900. Different types of cartooning began to emerge

and they are classified into the following five groups: illustrative, comic strips, gag strips, animated and

political. Kids and families across the world began to see different cartoon pictures placed side by side, each

scene telling a different story.

In 1914, a cartoonist named Winsor McKay created Gertie the Dinosaur – the first character to be played

out on moving picture projectors. McKay would interact with his cartoon as part of the show, appearing to

direct Gertie to eat, drink and dance. But if she misbehaved he would scold her and “make” her cry!

Cartoons did not evolve on their own, various influential people made their own lasting mark on this art

and communication form. The first and foremost important person from the field of animated cartoons is Walt

Disney. His first cartoon character was named Oswald Rabbit. This was first comic strip as well as his first

cartoon series.

As time change, cartoons and the way in which they are made also changed. During 1995, Disney joined

up with Pixar to create Toy Story, the first full-length feature film created entirely on a computer. Toy Story’s

success led to the production of other computer animated movies. Even the Avatar is an example for the

recent development of the animation movies. Now a days many of the movies started using cartoons as a

part of their movie to attract the audience.


LET’S SPEAK

TM SATEESH KUMAR


Now that you have heard the evolution of cartoons, you will listen to the reasons behind creating these

few characters.

The origins of Donald Duck’s name was said to have been inspired by Australian Cricket Legend Donald

Bradman. In 1932 Bradman and the Australian team were touring North America and he made news after

being dismissed for a duck against New York West Indians. Walt Disney was in the process of creating a

“friend” for Mickey Mouse when he read about Bradman’s dismissal in the papers and decided to name the

new character “Donald Duck”. Disney came up with Donald's iconic attributes including the short-temper

and sailor suit (based on ducks and sailors both being associated with water).

Another cartoon character Popeye has helped boost spinach sales in United States. Using Popeye as a

role model for healthier eating was a great success. A 2010 study revealed that children increased vegetable

consumption after watching Popeye cartoons.

Now that you have known the evolution and reasons, there are some life lessons which can I have learned

from the characters of a cartoon.

The characters really amazed me were Tom and Jerry. A cat, large, gray and devilish, an astute glance in

his yellow-irised eyes, and a mouse, small, brown, innocent yet cheeky, chase each other around a kitchen,

demolishing the ice box, ironing board, plate rail, a whole sink full of dishes and littering the floor with egg

shells, dripping yolks and oozing jam. Finally the winner will be the little mouse.

My life lessons out of these small characters are two:

One - If you are witty and poised then your size does not matter at all. A weak might get frightened for a

moment but can win over the stronger with intelligence and great wits. Jerry doesn’t do heroic works; he just

makes the best use of his brain and wins. If you ever feel lost, humiliated, disappointed, or weak, return to

yourself and try to explore your strengths. “you never know how strong you are… until being strong is the only

choice you have.”

Two - “Confidence matters”. As Eleanor Roosevelt rightly put it,

“Nobody can make you feel inferior without your consent.” Jerry

ultimately wins and brims with confidence. He knows very well how

to escape all the obstacles regardless of how many times he

stumbles on it.

Cartoons reflected the changes in our society as well as evolve with it. The style of cartoons has changed

over time from the more factual and serious in nature to the more comedic and lighthearted in nature.

Cartoons, animations are not just entertainment for kids but also they have history, reason and Lessons to

be learned.

What is the lesson you have learned from cartoons, TMOD.

Cartoons, animations are not

just entertainment for kids but

also they have history, reason and

Lessons to be learned.


UNEXPECTED TEACHERS CC 8 – GET COMFORTBLE WITH VISUAL AIDS

When you want to learn something what do you turn to? Books? –

That’s what I did Few Days back.

I have a library of books – on all kinds of subjects and few days back

I was looking thru the shelf to pick up and read one. As was at the end

of the bookshelf, I saw the shelf full of toys hidden behind the door. As

my daughter is getting ready to go to college this year, the toys which

once occupied prime space have been retired to a corner. I was a little sad that these wonderful toys have

served their purpose of giving joy once have been pushed to a corner.

Suddenly, the first unexpected teacher sprung up.

Good afternoon Toastmaster of the day, fellow toastmasters and guests

The first teacher is our good friend ET – the master creation of Steven Spielberg. How many of you have

seen this movie? I saw exceptional CREATIVITY of Spielberg. He

created an Alien which should be looking different, have some

human elements and also behave like a human. The head is

slightly large and protruding, the neck is flexible, the wrinkles on

the skin to make ET look different, the uneven fingers and the

Star like Toes. All of this to make it look like a human being yet

brings out fine differences. Is it how the Alien would look like – We

don’t know. But, this Alien was etched in the memories of millions

around the world.

What happens when a small golden fish with a faulty fin gets

caught and taken away to a fish tank in a Dentist place? Does

the Father give up? Absolutely not. He says “I’ll get my Son

back”. As you see in the movie “Finding The Nemo”. The entire

story is about PERSEVERENCE and he launches on an epic trip

travelling thru all kinds of problems and gets his son back. When

there is such a strong purpose, you’ll get help on the way. Our

absent minded DORY jumps in to support the Dad in this mission.


LET’S SPEAK

TM MOHAN S

Friends, I was sad that these

toys served their primary purpose

and retired to one corner of the

room. I also Realized each one

of them had a deeper story and

teach exceptional lesson like

CREATIVITY,

PERSEVERENCE,

FRIENDSHIP, THINKING BIG,

Creating HAPPINESS and

HARDWORK.


What do you need to THINK BIG ? A paper and pencil ? OR something more. His first creation was stolen

by a bigger company and he worked on creating a cartoon out of a mouse by THINKING BIG and creating a

single theme HAPPINESS which he took from a set of cartoons, to movies and also the biggest and best

theme parks in the world. Walt Disney could THINK BIG with almost nothing in front of Him. He not only created

the Best Cartoon of all time, multiplied into several businesses. Look at our cure little Mickey – the eyes, the

ears, limbs which resembles human beings and became the darling of the world. That’s How you can think

BIG and create HAPPINESS along the way.

What is a big deal about a Bird’s Face ? How hard do you have to work to create one ? The team at

ROVIO, the Finland based Gaming company created hundreds of versions with exceptional ATTENTION TO

DETAIL and lot of HARDWORK to bring the Angry Bird’s face which possible PC, Laptop or mobile. This also was

the game which made ROVIO big almost after 40 previous attempts to create various games. The team

believed in creating something new and kept on working on it setting a hard standard.

Friends, I was sad that these toys served their primary purpose and retired to one corner of the room. I

also realized each one of them had a deeper story and teach exceptional lesson like CREATIVITY,

PERSEVERENCE, FRIENDSHIP, THINKING BIG, Creating HAPPINESS and HARDWORK.

Over to you TMOD


THE RIBBON MOMENT CC9 – PERSUADE WITH POWER

Can you remember the very first time, you received a ribbon?

Do you remember the feelings that went through you?

TM of the day, Fellow TMs and Friends,

I received this ribbon for delivering my Ice Breaker. I immediately

wanted to show this ribbon to my family. I was eagerly waiting for the

presiding officer to close the meeting.

As soon as the meeting was adjourned, without waiting even for a second, I just rushed… to collect my

snacks. After finishing the 2 pondas, I asked for 2 more pondas. Finally, I left the hall, because, all the pondas

were over. When I reached home, my wife was busy in the kitchen preparing dinner. I showed the ribbon to

her. She looked mildly interested, but not so impressed! So I went on to explain what this ribbon is all about,

the kind of preparation and practice I put in, the competition I was up against …

After listening all these, she said “Instead of spending the week-end with family, you go to some Postmaster

club, just to bring this ribbon…?” Only two categories of people know the power of silence; Great saints and

typical family men. I silently walked out of the kitchen.

I approached my elder daughter who is in her 3rdstd. She was sincerely watching chutti TV.

“See Amritha. Daddy got a ribbon in his club today!”

“Daddy, for my uniform, I need to wear only white color ribbon. This is not acceptable. My teacher will

punish me if I use this. Huh!”

My second daughter doing her LKG came into the room (with joy), “ Appa, you have come from the

club”. She jumped on me and started searching “Where is it daddy?”

“See it is here da chellam”

“No daddy”. She continued searching in all the pockets.

“Where is the chocolate daddy? Last week you brought a chocolate from the club.”

“Oh. That was for answering the listening quiz. This week I delivered a speech. So they gave me this

ribbon”

“No! I need only the chocolate.”

She threw the ribbon on the floor and ran away.

I wanted my family to recognize and celebrate my ribbon moment. They totally ignored it and continued

with their work. I was really depressed and discouraged.

With a lot of fretting and fuming I took the ribbon. I asked myself “Why didn’t my family recognize and

celebrate my ribbon moment?”


LET’S SPEAK

TM RAMALINGAM


Trying to find out an answer for this question led me to another question. “Have I celebrated the ribbon

moments of my family?”

When my younger daughter eagerly shows a star on her palm given by her school teacher, do I recognize

and celebrate? It is a ribbon moment for her.

When my elder daughter says “Daddy, I have learned the 13th table. Can I tell you now?”

I say “Nokanna. Now I am busy. As soon as I finish my work, I will ask you”

Instead of recognizing and celebrating their ribbon moments, I ignore and throw away their ribbons. They

were just returning the favor.

Friends, Instead of celebrating these little ribbon moments of our everyday life, what do we celebrate?

We celebrate birthdays, New Year, festivals. To celebrate a birthday all you have to do is… not die for 365

days. Nothing more.

What else do we celebrate?

We celebrate when we achieve a bigger goal, a long term goal.

For Chandramouli, buying a flat is a long term goal. Immediately after purchasing a flat, C’mouli will worry

about buying a SECOND flat.

For Guruprasad, becoming a DTM is a long term goal. Immediately after becoming a DTM, Guru will worry

about completing his SECOND DTM.

For Sarathy, getting married is a long term goal. Immediately after getting married, Sarathy will worry

about ….

…about informing his father and mother that he got married!!

Either we celebrate useless birthdays or wait for celebrating bigger goals. When we do achieve a bigger

goal, instead of cherishing and celebrating, we just worry about our next goal.

Why don’t we celebrate the little ribbon moments of everyday life?

I went back to my daughter, “Amritha, Yesterday, you were telling me that, you have learned 13th table.

Can you tell me now?”

She immediately started telling me the table.

As soon as she completed the table, I just hugged her and said “Very good. You told 13th table without

any mistake. Very good. Very good”

She kissed me and told “ Very good. You also got a ribbon. very good. very good”

“Appa, shall I study 14th table now and tell you?”

“Ok”

She switched off chutti tv and started studying the 14th table.

When I recognized her ribbon moment, she reciprocated and

celebrated my ribbon moment.

When I celebrated her ribbon moment, she got motivated

and started studying 14th table.

Not celebrating these ribbon moments demotivates and

discourages you.

Celebrating the little ribbon moments spreads a lot of positive energy; it keeps you charged for the bigger

goals of life; it makes you reach greater heights.

Every day there are ribbon moments. We just have to notice them.Can you take a moment, today and

every day, to recognize and celebrate the ribbon moments around you?

Toastmaster…

Cartoons, animations are not

just entertainment for kids but

also they have history, reason and

Lessons to be learned.


CC VS CL CC10 – INSPIRE YOUR AUDIENCE

You start in the morning to work.. in a hurry.. Just when you step outside

your house.. a black cat crosses.. Do you think it is bad omen? Do you

neglect it as superstition and walk past? All those who were able to

make it to the 200th Meeting of Medley, in the next 10 minutes, you

would search self for answers bigger than this.

Questions.. I was and am always known for. Being a curious child, I

never stopped questioning.

I learn by childlike curiosity.. My father on the other hand stands by Classical learning. When he asks me to

do something which is a part of the tradition. My most common question was why? His only reply was..

because it is tradition and you are not supposed to question it.. Just do it.. It was always a battle between

Classical learning and childlike curiosity. By virtue of being the head of the family, the battle ended why my

dad declared it to have ended.. at the very beginning..

Me being me would never be satisfied. Would always clarify with my granny. My granny has a meek

appearance, weighing a shade under forty kilograms, has very brilliant and shining eyes. She always had

convincing answers to my questions.

I still remember asking my Granny, why should I believe in astrology?

She asked me.. ‘Do you believe in gravity?’.. Puzzled just a bit, I said ‘Of course, yes’. ‘Good then, gravity is

a study of force exerted by two bodies with a mass on each other.. So, moon exerts its gravity on earth. The

nature of the force is determined by the elements that make up the body. For example, moon is made of

elements which make it create high and low tides. Also affect the mind of people on earth. That is why; the

instability of one’s mind is greater during full moon.’ ‘That

makes sense, granny. But what has it got to do with

astrology??’ ‘Astrology is a study of 9 such heavenly bodies,

based on its composition, distance and position, the impact it

creates on a person due to its force. It is just a pure

mathematical calculation’. That is the thing with my granny;

she gives the most logical explanation to the seemingly

meaningless questions that I ask.

That day a couple of things happened..

- I started to consider Astrology plausible

- Till then I just thought that Traditions are a waste of time.. They hinder ones progress. They are

meaningless. That day I realized that classical learning might have a meaning attached to it.


LET’S SPEAK

TM CHANDRAMOULI

So the next time someone

introduces a tradition, with the

mind-set of a curious Child ask

them.. Why..


I started to search for reasons behind traditions. The search was persistent. You should have seen the

questions I would shoot at the person who introduces a new tradition to me. When answers did not come, I

started to search for answers by myself.

I also questioned tradition.. For example, why do we pray before we eat? or Why do they cremate the

dead in some cultures and bury them in other? I figured some logical

convincing answers. These kinds of answers kept me excited. I started to wonder if all of the traditions

make sense.

I knew just the person to ask the question.. My granny replied ‘Not all traditions are applicable today. Let

me tell you a story. There was a cage in which they had 5 monkeys. They would hang a bunch of bananas

from the center. When any of the monkeys tried to reach it, there would be a person who will spray water

with a great force on the rest of the monkeys. Slowly, they learnt that they should not allow the other monkeys

to reach for the banana. Over a period of time, they stopped communicating between each other and

became recluse. The monkeys were replaced one by one and the tradition of pulling the one who reaches

for the banana continued and so did the silence and animosity. Finally, all the monkeys were replaced and

the man with the hose in hand was removed. Still these monkeys pulled anyone who tried to reach for the

banana. If you blindly follow a tradition that is when it stops being a tradition and starts being a superstition’

Listening to this I realized that Classical learning and Contemporary curiosity are not up against each

other... But complement each other. Traditions are practices which had reasons for which they were

followed. So when one passes it from generation to generation, it is the responsibility of the receiver to

understand the reason behind the practice and judge if it is applicable today or not. Only then follow it.

Bhargava Gita says that one of the many ways to glory is the path of truth and knowledge. Question

everything that you are being told only with the intention of learning the truth, find your truth and the path will

revel itself..

You know that in toastmasters to become a Distinguished Toastmaster, the journey starts with both CL and

CC. The same way, I urge you to look at the classical learning and be a Curious Child to find out.. Why?

So the next time someone introduces a tradition, with the mind-set of a curious Child ask them.. Why..

TMOD..

let's speak 10th edition

Documents

beautiful village

medley toastmasters

tm karthikeyani life

civil service exams

ice breaker life

civil service coaching

state service

years of hard work