sandsoftime_aug10

7/30/2019 SandsofTime_Aug10

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Ten Years of glory ............

ol 10-1 Club 2913, Area 33, Division J, District 79.

Sands of Time


2/18

From the Editors Desk..

It has indeed been an honor for me to be chosen as the VV PR of Star of Arabia, a

position that I would never have thought of taking up a few years back. As a child I was never

considered to be a great writer or a speaker. Being the youngest in the family and also with my

elder siblings and cousins being experts in this art, I got little chance to exhibit my literary /

oratory skills. I too did not bother much to compete with them. I was then more interested in

taking up Science subjects with a dream to become an architect.

However destiny takes its own course. I ended with a job that required a lot of number

crunching, analyzing, making presentations and to top it all training! I still remember the day

when I had to make my first presentation in front a crowd of 200 odd staff, my legs felt like

jelly, my throat dry and worst of all, I could hardly hear my own voice ! It was then that I

realized how important it is to develop the art of communication which somehow had taken a

backseat in my life. Over the years I improved. I joined the Toastmasters and then came another

realization that there were miles to go.. Today as I sit down to compile this newsletter I

reflect upon my childhood dream of becoming an Architect. The only difference is that now it

is not with the bricks, paints and cement but with words, sentences and paragraphs.

I would like to thank all the members who have not just contributed but also supported and

encouraged me to publish this newsletter. It has indeed been a great experience putting

everything together. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed putting them together.

Happy Reading!

Sumi ta Narayan

Vice President Publi c Relations

The Toastmasters Vision

Toastmasters International empowers people to achieve their full potential and realize their dreams. Through our

member clubs, people throughout the world can improve their communication and leadership skills, and find the

courage to change.

The Toastmasters Mission

Toastmasters International is the leading movement devoted to making effective oral communication a worldwide

reality.

Through its member clubs, Toastmasters International helps men and women learn the arts of speaking, listening,

and thinkingvital skills that promote self-actualization, enhance leadership potential, foster human understanding,and contribute to the betterment of mankind.

It is basic to this mission that Toastmasters International continually expand its worldwide network of member clubs,

thereby offering ever-greater numbers of people the opportunity to benefit from its programs.


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Contents

We must be the change we wish to see in the World.

SOA President MTMRevathy speaks page 4

Taking on the mantle of a President of an illustrious chapter

such as Star of Arabia is a daunting prospect.

Immediate past President TM Hari speaks. page 5

SOA 20102011 EXCOM members.. page 6

A decade to show off Founder member & mentor

of SOA, DTM Balaji writes what makes him proud. page 7

Mallika speaks about her Top 10 Reasons to join

the Toastmasters Club.. .. page 9

Language makes a difference .. how ?

TM Avinash comments.. page10

SOAs FIFA whats it all about

writes TM Hemant . .. page 11

Eating Right . MTM Connie shares hermantra of Eating right . page 12

Guests comments.... page 13

Laurels & accolades... .. page 14

You could be a Winner.. page 15

Do you want to become a member? page 17

Ds


4/18

From the President.

We must be the change we wish to see in the World, said Mahatma Gandhi.

In my own way, I have taken the first step by accepting the challenge of being the President of Star

of Arabia for the year 2010-11. Why is this a challenge?

My predecessors have set very high standards for Star of Arabia, and have proved, through their

commitment and sense of responsibility, that nothing is impossible. They have raised the bar, and

challenged the new Executive Committee to scale the heights. We accept the challenge, and will

strive to maintain, if not improve, the quality of the Chapter in the coming year through creativity,commitment, innovation and sheer determination.

The Chapters goals are always intrinsically linked to those of each individual, and these get

transformed into achievements of the Chapter. While each one of us has the determination to

become better communicators and leaders, we also have an obligation to help other members tread

the path to achievement. It is only through giving that we receive / achieve more, and it is a

valuable and satisfying learning experience, as well. Star of Arabia has always prided itself on

being a wonderful family that is committed to excel.

The current global economic and social environment presents challenges that impact virtually every

sphere of our lives. These challenges demand change; changes in the way we view situations, and

changes in the way we do things.

As Albert Einstein said, All meaningful and lasting change starts first in your imagination and then

works its way out. Imagination is more important than knowledge.

I have no doubts about our ability to make a difference. The imagination has been fuelled, the fire

within has been kindled.

We will keep the Star of Arabia flag flying high.

With my best wishes..

Revathy Venkatr atnam


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From the Immediate Past President.

Taking on the mantle of President of an illustrious chapter such as Star of Arabia

is a daunting prospect. The rich tradition and excellent track record crafted by my predecessors

was sure to be a hard act to follow.

As in previous years, though, Star of Arabia elected a very competent and talented Executive

Committee, and we can look back at the year with a sense of pride and satisfaction that the flag

continued to fly high.

The chapter was, once again, recognized by Toastmasters International as a Presidents

Distinguished Club - an acknowledgement of achievement.

More fundamental, however, is the fact that the chapter has grown in stature through the

addition of some very fine and enthusiastic new members who blended in well with the

experienced ones who have, over the years, worked hard to build Star of Arabia into one of the

finest chapters in the GCC.

The wisdom, the commitment and the spark of every member of the family needs to be

acknowledged.

The chapter is in very capable hands, and I have absolutely no doubt that Star of Arabia will

continue to shine.

A Hariharan

Achievements of the Year

Awarded the Presidents' Distinguished Club recognition

Achieved a perfect 10 Distinguished Club Points for the second year running

Four Competent Communicator and two Advanced Communicator Awards

Chair Education & Training, Division J.

Division's Ambassador to DTAC from Star of Arabia

Successfully organized Youth Leadership Program

Won "Best Speaker" awards at Area level in three categories Conducted Training sessions for corporate entities through Speaker's Bureau.


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Meet our new SOA 20102011 EXCOM Members

We believe in trying to do

things differently, we have been

the first to have all Ladies

EXCOM committee

This a mixed group, one being

the senior most and another the

junior most, do you think they

can manage?

.....this Chapter is in Very

capable Hands......

???


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A decade to show off

DTM Nagabhushan Balaji . Mentor and founder member of Star of Arabia

In the year 1900, when Dr. Ralph Smedley thought of an idea while having a toast with his

friends, little did he realize he was creating a stepping stone to success for many in this

world. During the year 1924, when the so called thought of organization was registered as

Toastmasters International, he might have not visualized the enormous success story.

However, one thing he decided was to commit himself towards his goal. Today there are

12500 clubs in 106 countries and around 250,000 members who are benefiting and learning

from this organization every second, minute, hour and day.. I suspect that his vision might have

been that if any individual thinks of public speaking & communication at any time of the day or

night, there should be a club in some place of the world at that moment conducting a

meeting!!!!

When Toastmasters movement was started in the Middle East in the year 1983, I am not sure

that the people involved had an idea that we would be called a District, let alone think of

being the number one District in this world. They too had one amazing conceptthey were

committed towards their goal.

In the year 2001, when some Toastmasters thought of expansion, they must have come up with

a thought of one more chapter. However, they were sure that they were creating a success

phenomenon with one thought - they too were committed towards the goal of ensuring that

this creation was the best.

While deciding the name for this chapter the entire group invested their time, effort and

eventually succeeded in the best oneSTAR OF ARABIA. Not only was the chapter namedafter the Arabian Peninsula, the newsletter was named SANDS OF TIME so that it could

remain for time immemorial.

Associated with the chapter from the time of conceiving and inception I cannot express in

words my happiness that we have completed a DECADE in existence.

Till date we have been very strong in terms of teamwork, fun, learning, knowledge sharing and

not to forget QUALITY. Such quality meetings are the dreams of many Toastmasters within

UAE and outside. We created and exist as a family wherein the bunch of children play, fight,


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challenge, compete and encourage one another to perform at our best and eventually hold the

flag of SOA as high as we can. . Take a look at the standard Agenda format and you can read

the success story written all over. What do you think would the MENTORS & SPONSORS of

the chapter would feel about this achievementall I can say on their behalf is WOW WE

DID IT.

Star of Arabia is also known for creativity, innovation, camaraderie and above all successful

leaders. . This success story would not have been possible if all these leaders and the members

had not believed that THEY COULD DO IT. I have been through the happiness, the sorrow,

the successes, the failures, the emotions and every facet of Toastmasters which members of

SOA have gone through from the time of its birth and I will not hesitate to state that this is a

great SCHOOL of learning where an individual can walk in free, join the family and

eventually explore the process of learning. .

During this tenth year and with the new EXCOM (an all ladies affair) in place, let me say

THANK YOU to all the Presidents, their Committees and the members of this GREAT

FAMILY. Without you, this would not have been a success story. Without you, this cannot be

a success story for another decade and without you, Star of Arabia would not be known as a

FORCE TO CONTEND WITH.

Idioms:

An idiom is an expression, word, or phrase that has a meaning that is separate from the literal meaning of the wordsof which it is made.

Have an Axe to Grind: To have a dispute, resentment, or grudge.

Wear Your Heart On Your Sleeve: To openly and freely express your emotions.

Make No Bones About: To state a fact so there are no doubts or objections.

Usage

Irfan was a person who wore his heart on his sleeve. He was the kind of person who would speak his mind outwhether people liked it or not. He, however, had an axe to grind with Balaji, having had several arguments with himin the past.

When Irfan took up the TMOD role, Revathy realized Irfans motive and made no bones about it that she was

expecting a cordial meeting where members come to learn rather than seek to take revenge.


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Top 10 Reasons to join the Toastmasters ClubDr Mallika Ramanathan- founder member of Star of Arabia speaks about herself and why she

joined the Toastmasters Club

Mallika has always enjoyed being with people ever since childhood and has taken lead roles in

various activities like debates, elocution, plays etc. Nov 2, 1995, Mallika and her husband Ram

went to attend the Introductory Toastmasters meeting conducted by Mr. Vijay Manikoth who

had recently moved in from Bahrain to Abu Dhabi. By the end of the evening both of them

were quite taken in by the concept. Soon they formed a chapter with a few wonderful friends -named it - "DUBAI CHAPTER" . The members grew in numbers to 45 and it was time again to

break away and form a new chapter. With like minded people like Balaji, Balu and a few

others, Mallika moved out of the DUBAI CHAPTER to form the STAR OF ARABIA

CHAPTER 10 years ago.

The top ten reasons to join toastmasters (as quoted by Mallika)

1. To hone my public speaking skills

2. To speak to all types of audience comfortably by understanding the pulse of the

audience and speak accordingly

3. To improve my leadership skills and learn to make a point effectively

4. To develop listening skills and understand other persons views

5. To form enduring friendships

6. To learn to work as a team

7. To value and appreciate feedback about myself8. To learn to think on my feet and speak in any given situation

9. To develop a sense of humor

10.To give back to the society what I have learnt from the Toastmasters by way of

conducting Youth Leadership programs that would help young people to develop

communication and leadership skills

Quote:

Say not always what you know, but always know what you sayClaudius


10/18

Language makes a difference

TM Avinash D'souza

The panda eats, shoots, and leaves. This statement implies that the panda is no cuddly animal but a

mean beast which satiates himself before turning to slay others around and hastily making an exit. But

the authors original intention was to describe pandas as creatures that feed on shoots and leaves.

Further, by saying the panda, we seem to refer to a particular panda which has these traits.

Take the case of the word only. The word only places a certain emphasis on the word immediately

following it in a sentence and hence inappropriate placement can change the meaning. Try using the

word only at various places in the following sentence:

I have a wife!

Only I have a wife (No one else has a wife)

I only have a wife (I have nothing else)

I have only three wives (No more than threechanged for emphasis)

I have a wife only (Same meaning as I have only a wife)

The Toastmasters program is well aware of the importance of language in effective speech making and

has dedicated an entire project for that purpose Project 4: How to Say it.

Our choice of words affects the quality of our speeches. As the Basic Manual rightly puts it Many

words carry special associations or suggestions beyond their dictionary meanings. For example : when

we use the word cheap, are we meaning that it is inexpensive, affordable, bad quality or below our

standards? Words such as good and bad are used to describe a variety of things into two distinct

categories when there can be shades ofgrey. I had a good breakfast could mean anything from I had

a sumptuous breakfast to I had a nutritious breakfast.

We need to use words which provide an accurate description of what we intend to convey. A simple

word like smell has different synonyms which provide different perspectives. Some of these are aroma,

essence, fragrance, scent, perfume, odour, stink and stench. These adjectives have specific connotations.

Aroma is associated with food, while stench can be associated with garbage.

If you desire to be an accomplished speaker, then polishing your language is as

important as vocal variety and gestures in delivering effective speeches.


11/18

For (your) I nformation, For (your ) ActionWomens ExCom Team

TM Hemant Mundhra

SOAs FIFA stands for For (your) Information For (your) Action. FIFA organizes many

tournaments but what takes all the limelight is the FIFA World Cup and the team who wins.

This year at SOA there is a different kind of team at the helm, a team of unique composition on

two counts. First one is obvious. Its an all women team. Second one is not so obvious. While

President is the senior most member of the club, Sergeant-at-Arms is the junior most.

Often the gender of this team may have been a subject of humor in all toastmasters competition

more so in context of being the better half, this team appears to really means business,

especially going by their initial interactions and deliberations.

Innovations and inventions are an important aspect of life. We have chosen to be innovative this

year by electing an all women ExCom.

This is what our woman President had to say in her very first address, Innovation begins

when contemplation is done with concentration. The new Executi ve Committee wil l innovate,

and carry out activities that will further improve on the quality of club meetings and

structure of the chapter, and significantly add value to each one of us

This is our FIFA for 2010-11, For (your) information, For (your) action! Listen to them.

Name of book Author Member Name

Don't sweat the small stuff Richard Carison Hariharan A

Get up and go Stuart J Murphy Sheela Albert Ronald Lobo

Julius Caesar William Shakespeare Sarvat Nazir Baluch

Law of attraction Michael Loiser Nilesh Bandekar

Monk who sold the Ferrari Robin Sharma Nelson Menezes

My experience with truth Mahatma Gandhi Hemant Mundhra

The 48 Laws of Power Robert Greene Balaji Nagabhushan

Roots Alex Hailey Umesh Gajria

Shame Jesvider Rita Pokharel

The Alchemist Paulo Coelho Revathy VenkatratnamThe Diary of Anne Frank Anne Frank Mir Irfan Hussain

Two States Chetan Bhagat Raghunath Nair

Who moved my cheese Spencer Johnson Sasikumar Gopalan

Who will cry when I die Robin Sharma Ronald Olivera

BOOK CLUB

List of the some of

the favourite books

SOA members

may contact the

owners (names

mentioned against

the book) and

borrow / exchangethe books


12/18

Eating Right .

MTM Connie Theresa Quadros gives her mantra of Eating right.

The physical body what we can see in the mirror is called Ananmaya Kosha according to

Yoga. Its a reflection of anna or food we eat and what time we eat it. To bring about a

difference in the way we look, we have to change what and when we eat. To be leaner, toned

and healthy we have to follow the 4 Basic Principles of Eating Right.

Four Principles of Eating Right

Principle 1: Never wake up to tea or coffee

When you sleep your blood sugar level drops at night. Its

our responsibility to bring our blood sugar up to an

optimum level. So to keep our bodys fat burning tissue

alive we must eat.

Tea as a stimulant increases our blood sugar level butprovides zero nutrition. Start with a fruiti.e. an apple.

Principle 2: Eat every 2 hours

Our stomach does not understand that we have meeting,

presentations or deadlines. Its on its mission and it keeps

secreting hydrocholoric acid and keeps asking you to eat.

Every two hours eat foods like peanuts/walnuts, a piece

of cheese, a laban , a cucumber or curds these foodswould also give you energy to go on through the activity

and stress levels will reduce. When you eat every 2 hours

you will also start having small meals. So the body will

see no reason to start storing fat.

For Lunch do not eat more than 3 things at a time eat

roti, sabzi and dal or rice, curd and sabzi. Avoid eating

meat as this will slow you down. Dinner eat only 2 things

eat roti plus sabzi or dal plus sabzi and here you canhave your non-veg

Principle 3: Eat more when you are more active and

less when you are less active

Always fine tune your eating to your activity. Eating more

food when yourre more active will make your body an

efficient calorie burner. There will be an increase in the

metabolic rate which will help you stay energetic and helpyou to lose fat more effectively.

Principle 4: Finish your last meal at least 2 hours prior

to sleeping

When you eat too late the food remains undigested and

bacteria act upon it. This can turn the healthiest of meals

into toxins. Toxins lead to acidity, bloating, constipation

and gain in body fat. Eating 2 hours before bedtime willlead to most of your food being digested before you go to

bed which will lead to sound sleep and leave your body

free to do its repair work and more effective in burning

fat.

F inally . Be consistentand see the dif ference in f ew months or 6 months or 1 year.

Little son was under bath faucet, and his mom was washing his hair. She said

to him, "your curly hair is growing rapidly! You need a haircut again." The Little son

answered, "Mom, if you stop watering it, it will not grow so fast'.

Abdulla Mohamed Al Rais


13/18

Guests comments...

A woman went to police station to file a report for her missing husband.

Woman: I lost my husband.Inspector: What is his height.Woman: I never noticed.Inspector: Slim or healthy.Woman: Not slim can be healthy.Inspector: Color of eyes.Woman: Never noticed. Inspector: Color of hair.Woman: Should be black.Inspector: What was he wearing.Woman: I don't remember exactly. Inspector: Was somebody with him ???

Woman: Yes my Labrador dog (Romeo), tied with a golden chain, height 30 inches, healthy, blue eyes, blackishbrown hair, his left foot thumb nail is slightly broken, he never barks, wearing a golden belt studded with

blue balls, he likes non veg food, we eat together, we jog together. The woman started crying.Inspector: Let's search for the dog first!!!

Mi r I rfan Hussain

DearRevathy,The 227th meeting was a real classicmeeting in all respects. It not onlybrought back memories of the pillarsof SoA, but had each and everymember present looking back in time.

To sum it up, 7 words below :

Thanks once again for the invite. Itruly enjoyed each and everymoment.

V Vibrant

I Interesting N Novel T Touching A Appealing G Gratifying E - Electrifying

With warm regards,

Shalini MenezesKanoo ToastmastersDubai

Hi Sumita

It was a pleasure meeting you and themembers of the Star of Arabia last week.

I enjoyed your meeting -- it was a differentexperience from our meetings in Kuwait. Ishall tell our club EXOM to look intoincorporating some of your meetingtechniques into our club meetings especially

the fact that you have the TM anchor themeeting till the end. We have three segmentsanchored by the TM, the TTM, and the GErespectively.

I loved the fact that members have theopportunity of using microphones whendelivering their speeches. This is one weaknessof all our clubs in Kuwait -- none have thisoption.

Also the meeting set up was great -- veryprofessional and mimics a typical business

type set up. We join TM to become betterspeakers not only at our club meetings butmore importantly at our workplace.

Overall, your meeting was memorable andhighly rewarding.

Anil LoboKuwait


14/18

Laurels & Accolades

King of the Ring Contest

Lagoons Toastmasters organized the King of the Ring Contest recently. Toastmasters

Hemant Mundhra and A. Hariharan represented Star of Arabia, and took part in the segment

named Businessman's Contest.

The eight contestants in this segment were asked to develop a brand name, logo, theme, and an

advertisement for a new mobile phone, with the message having to state five key features as

well as the selling price. Twenty minutes were provided to contestants to put together their

thoughts and prepare their preparations.Each contestant was given two minutes to present his

concept/idea to a panel of 8 judges + the audience. The judges were permitted to ask two

questions to each contestant by way of seeking more explanations/clarifications/details.

TM Hemant Mundhra said :

"I have never made a fisticuff to give someone a punch in life but always

fantasized about it. So when I read the name of the competition 'King of

the Rings' in an email from President Revathy,I registered myself to give

my first punch of life. I did but fall short of that knock out punch by 'one

more'. But thoroughly lived that competitive flavour. As the greatest

boxing champion of all time Muhammed Ali said once, A true champion is one who has fallenflat in the ring, down and out but then rise for that one last time to give a knock out punch",

though the ring would be a new one next time but punch will truly be a knock out one."

TM Hariharan said :

The Businessmans contest was a test of quick thinking, creativity and

innovativeness, and i t was challenging to let mind think outside the box

and come up with a concept that was interesting, original,

unconventional and thought-provoking. It was fun, too.

TGIS meeting : winner Table Topics

Mir Irfan Hussain was the clear winner in Table Topics speech at TGIS club

held on 10TH July 2010

Well done Hemant , Hariharan and Ir fan! You displayed very eff ectively why Star of Arabia

is demonstrably dif ferent and enjoys a fine reputation i n the Toastmasters f raterni ty.


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You could be a Winner too !!!!

Photo Caption Contest:

Suggest a good caption for the

Picture and you can win a prize.

Send your caption to :

[email protected]

15th of September 2010.

CROSSWORD:

Solve the crossword and win a prize : All the words are

available in the newsletter. : Send your caption to

[email protected] 15th of September

2010.

ACROSS:

3. Seemed far-fetched in 1983

6. Shepherding the club's flock

9. Use the sandwich in this

11. We are one of these celestial

objects

14. Put these together to welcome

15. Take a bow and receive this

17. Blocks to climb on

18. Communication - our credo

19. Raising the bar

20. Older and younger included here

DOWN:

1. Is worth a thousand words

2. This is me

4. Tab on the countdown

5. Visionary who played a kind of

tune

7. Catalyst for change, I say

8. Directs, cajoles, performs, inspires

10. Adjectives carry these specifically

12. You win some, you lose some

13. Wear it on the sleeve anyway

16. Motivate just at the crest of

achievement

1 23 4 5

6

7 89

1011

1213 14

1516 17

18

1920
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]


16/18

SOA Moments

It can be fun Too !Some moments of the meeting with VINTAGE as theme of the TM meeting and

the dress code being Vintage/ ethnic. There was a prize to be won for .. !

Greeting & Networking

Yet

another

Ribbon

This speech is interesting,I hope I dontt forget to

keep track of time

Toastmastering is

serious business....

I have coloured

my hair to get that

vintage look

My classy Vintage

glasses & professor

look should make me

win the prize

.... well my kurta &

handprinted bandhni

dupatta gives that

ethnic look..

...... dressed for the occasion

Oops! We did

not read the last

email sent...


17/18

Do you want to become a member?

Toastmaster International is a non-profit organization and a leading movement

devoted to bringing out the best of communication and leadership skills among individuals.

This organization can help you lose the fear of public speaking and learn skills that will enable

you to be more successful in whichever path of life you have chosen. You will provide and

receive constructive evaluation and will learn by speaking to groups and working with others in

a supportive environment.

Why Star of Arabia Toastmasters Club?

Star of Arabia is a long established Toastmasters Club with a fine reputation for excellence.

Members have chosen to join us for the following reasons :

- A large membership base, which means a big audience for giving speeches.

- A mixture of various nationalities and cultural background, which enables exchange ofideas from different perspectives.

- Members' profile varies in terms of age, profession and work experience.

- We have set up an Award to recognize outstanding achievements by members in

Toastmasters' speech contests.

For more information, please contact our

VP Membership to arrange for a visit to

one of our regular meetings to experience

Toastmastering in person or you may

logon to our website :

http://starofarabia.freetoasthost.net/

Star of Arabia Toastmasters(SOA) meets at Al Futtaim Training Center at Rashidya every

alternate Sunday in a month at 7.15pm. Guests are welcome. For information on membership,

please call Vice President - Membership : Sarvat Baluch at +97150 1755765 or E-mail :

[email protected]

Sands of Time is the official publication of the Star of Arabia Toastmasters, Club #2913, Area 33,

Division J, District 79, Dubai, United Arab Emirates. It carries official notices and articles regarding the

activities and interest of the organization, but responsibility is not assumed for the opinions of the authors

of other articles.

Published By : Star of Arabia Toastmasters, Dubai.

Editor : Sumita Narayan

URL : http://starofarabia.freetoasthost.net
http://starofarabia.freetoasthost.net/http://starofarabia.freetoasthost.net/mailto:[email protected]://starofarabia.freetoasthost.net/http://starofarabia.freetoasthost.net/mailto:[email protected]://starofarabia.freetoasthost.net/


18/18

Your feedback

is important

to US ...

Do send in your feedback to :

Sumita [email protected]

Revathy Venkatratnam [email protected]
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]

sandsoftime_aug10

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