Q3 Autumn
2014
MINDSpark The Quarterly Newsletter of the Orator’s Club, Pune
In This Festival Edition Solecism A fresh new look at some common Grammar mistakes.
Club Round Up What? When? Where? Who? How? Need we say more?
Voices Compositions from the Toastmaster’ Club Members
I, think. Write what you think. Don’t think much on that!
Gathering Paradise Something. New. Period.
Black & White An argument for the sake of an argument.
The Editorial Team Editor in-Chief: Editors:
TM Ankur TM Diana TM Deepthi TM Jasmine TM Nitesh
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The Editorial The Triumph of Man
Dear Reader, “What man can be, he must be!” maintained Maslow in his Need Theory that befuddled psychologists for an intemperate amount of time. This one elegant sentence suddenly required of man to go beyond his cogwheels of work and live life the way he had wanted to in order to be what he could be. That is, if he knew what he could be in the first place? What first taught man to achieve, go beyond his usual self, do his duty and transgress the hitherto restricted boundaries of humanity to expand them? It was religion. Theology has had the power to drive people in the directions that people wouldn’t otherwise think. What else, for example, could implore Emperor Ashok into giving up the annihilation of fellow humans and make peaceful co-existence state policy? And what prompted Gautama Siddhartha to abrogate princehood and wander in the woods despite the welters of worldly callings? They each connected their individual dilemmas – bereavement, ephemerality of beauty, etc. – to the issues of the larger world – peace, co-existence, abnegation of the extreme, etc. – and extracted the essence which they finally promulgated to the world; ditto for writers about the pantheon of Hindu Gods – Valmiki, Ved Vyas, Tulsidas, etc. – and the icons of Semitic religions. What was learned by them, in turn was taught by them.
1.
What is the structure of this society and what are its continuous features?
2.
Where does this society stand in the course of human history?
3.
What kind of men and women exist in this social structure and what kind of characteristics of theirs are manifested in this?*
And when their imagination, based on facts prima facie, conceives an answer to these questions, it becomes enlightenment which is understood by all. Wonderfully though for the adherents of all religions, the people who made them were indeed Gods and worthy of being worshipped. As a rationalist, I think if some people in flesh and blood could at several independent times in history conjugate such marvels of societal understanding, anyone can. Ask any mathematician and he’ll tell you how. Therefore I argue that festivals are important. They celebrate – besides the cosmic – the societal forces that drove the people who made religion an inextricable part of anthropological evolution by codifying it into neat sets of do’s and don’ts which gave mere humans paths to move on in order to achieve that vicarious sense of sociological imagination. That, is the most powerful gift of religion and worthy of being celebrated every single day. Happy celebrations, every one! -TM Ankur Mathur, CC 3
*Paraphrased from The Sociological Imagination, Chapter One: The Promise, C. W. Mills (1959)
This sociology of scale – like the economics of scale – was called the sociological imagination by C W Mills in his seminal essay The Promise. Promulgators of religion are masters of this imagination and can extrapolate it into spheres that are inconceivable for others. They ask, as he did, but three questions:
The Editorial
CONTENTS …………………...3
TM Ankur Mathur, CC
President’s Message
…………………...5
TM Sunil Pawar, CC, ALB
Club Round Up
…………………...6
TM Shashank Jha, VP-Education
Solecism
…………………...7
TM Diana Davis
I, think: Public connect (Complied by: TM Jasmine Musa)
Voices: My Adrenalin
…………………...9
…………………...11
Pratik Chimane
Black and White:
…………………...12
TM Nitesh Pachwarya
Gathering Paradise: PPS
…………………...13
TM Ankur Mathur, CC
The Word List
…………………...14
TM Nitesh Pachwarya 4
The President’s Message -TM Sunil Pawar The theme for this edition of newsletter is FESTVALS! And alongwith the whole of our country, our Orators Toastmasters Club is also in a fervent mood of celebrations. We are not only celebrating of the numerous festivals of this vibrant country of ours but we, as Toastmasters, have a few more reasons to be part of the revelries. Deepthi Valsan’s speech was published in The Hitavada (a newspaper circulated in Central India, including Nagpur). If her sixth speech could achieve this, imagine what’s in store as she moves forward. I request you to read the speech linked here. Our club held two club-level contests, both of which helped us not only witness enthusiastic competitions but also find out club nominees for the next level of contests: the Area-level contests. And the reasons to celebrate are not finished yet…both of our club representatives – Amit Jha and Ankur Mathur won at the Area level too! I won’t divulge too much of the details…read the rest of the newsletter to find out. Amit and Ankur would be representing Area – E3 at the Division-E contest to be held at Infosys on 11th October. We all wish them the best of luck and let’s try our best to support them with our presence at the competition. Enjoy your read!
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CLUB R
UND UP
-TM Shashank Jha, VP-Education
Amit Jha and Ankur Mathur have come out on top in Humorous speech contest and Speech Evaluation contest respectively at the Area Level competition. The duo is going to represent our club at the division level on 11th Oct. We all wish them to succeed at the division level and represent our club at division level.
As a part of learning program, Orator Toastmaster had organised a unique workshop on “email-etiquettes�. As a club we received a great response and seeing the enthusiasm of the people, Orator toastmaster club intends to conduct many more educational sessions. As a part of our PR campaign, we have achieved a new height. For the first time, we are participating for the poster contest as part of the run up to the Division Level contest.
The club officers of Orators Toastmaster club attended the Officers training program, which resulted in a vital DCP points for the club. The Orator Toastmaster club added 5 new members and as a club we are excited to have new Toastmaster and wish them all the best in their toastmaster journey.
TM Deepthi Valsan published her speech as an article in the Hitvada (Nagpur) on 27th August 2014. We are proud that her written word was published and read by thousands across the nation.
There has been a re-alignment in the club area. We have been shifted from Area F to Area E, which means no further travel to Goa.
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What is tense?
Progressive Tense
Tense is a method that we use in English to refer to time - past, present and future. It comes from the Latin word time, tempus.
It denotes verbs that are used to express the progress by steps or degrees. In other words it can also be explained as prolonged or continuous activity as opposed to momentary or habitual activity.
The Present Tense It denotes a tense of verbs used when the action or event described is occurring at the time of utterance. The Past Tense It denotes a tense of verbs used in describing actions, events or states that have been begun or completed at the time of utterance The Future Tense It denotes a tense of verbs used when the action or event described is to occur after the time of utterance. Simple Tense The simple tenses are used to show permanent characteristics of people and events or what happens regularly, habitually or in a single completed action. It does not therefore, involve the use of any auxiliary verb in addition to the main verb.
Perfect Tense It denotes a tense of verbs used in describing an action that has been completed by the subject. In English this is a compound tense, formed with have or has plus the past participle. Sometimes you need to give just a little bit more information about an action or state...and that is where the perfect tenses come in Conditional Tense It consists of a clause, conjunction, form of a verb or whole sentence expressing a condition on which something else is contingent. Continuous Tense Continuous tenses are used to say that something continues without interruption, a prolonged pattern, an unbroken series. 7
MAKING SENSE OF TENSE -TM Diana Davis
Simple Tenses
Affirmative/Negative/Question
Simple Present
A: He speaks. N: He does not speak. Q: Does he speak A: He spoke. N: He did not speak. Q: Did he speak? A: He will speak. N: He will not speak. Q: Will he speak? A: He is going to speak. N: He is not going to speak. Q: Is he going to speak?
Simple Past Simple Future I Simple Future II Progressive Tense Progressive Present Progressive Past Progressive Future I Progressive Future II
A: He is speaking. N: He is not speaking. Q: Is he speaking? A: He was speaking. N: He was not speaking. Q: Was he speaking? A: He will be speaking. N: He will not be speaking. Q: Will he be speaking? A: He will have been speaking. N: He will not have been speaking. Q: Will he have been speaking?
Perfect Tense Present Perfect Progressive Past Perfect Progressive
A: He has been speaking. N: He has not been speaking. Q: Has he been speaking? A: He had been speaking. N: He had not been speaking. Q: Had he been speaking?
Conditional Tenses Conditional I Simple Conditional I Progressive Conditional II Simple Conditional II Progressive
A: He would speak. N: He would not speak. Q: Would he speak? A: He would be speaking. N: He would not be speaking. Q: Would he be speaking? A: He would have spoken. N: He would not have spoken. Q: Would he have spoken? A: He would have been speaking. N: He would not have been speaking. Q: Would he have been speaking?
Continuous Tenses Present Continuous Past Continuous Future Continuous (with “Will” and “Be going to”)
A: He is speaking N: He is not speaking now. Q: Is he speaking? A: He was speaking. N: He was not speaking when he was told to. Q: Was he speaking while you were listening? A1: He will be speaking. A2: He is going to be speaking. N1: He will not be speaking. N2: He is not going to be speaking. Q1: Will he be speaking? Q2: 8Will he be going to speak?
A Reader Connect Initiative by MINDSpark -TM Jasmine Musa Crackers lighting the nights, sweets raising the glee With blessings showering from heaven here comes Diwali…! This is what we feel about Diwali. It’s not just a ritualistic festival but its yearly time to get recharge for a new fresh year ahead. Diwali is the biggest festival in every Indian household and family. It’s a yearly reunion time for families separated by thousands of miles. Similarly for my family it brings a special joy every year. Diwali preparations start from “Nauratri “itself. We start cleaning our house painting and rejuvenating it to welcome goddess Lakshmi with both hands. This festival carries a special meaning to us as it is believed that goddess Laxmi comes to bless on the first day of Diwali called “Laxmi Pooja “ on this day we pray worship goddess Laxmi with seasonal flowers fruits and garlands. We have special ambrosia of puffed rice and sugar for her. On all 4 days of Diwali we get up before sunrise, it is a tradition which is followed across the length and breadth of India. All the family members have special bath called “abhyangsnaan” which includes fragrant oils and potions. The next day is for husband-wife and father-daughter relations. On that day a father blesses his daughter and gifts her something precious. Also, a husband has to gift something to wife and give her a trust and commitment that I’ll stand by you in good or bad equally. This day reminds us of our family duties and how we value our near and dear ones. The final day is dedicated to the relationship of brother and sister on this day both the brother and the sister gift each other something and remind each other of a lovely bond they share. Diwali carries a lot of significance in the Indian culture, it means inner enlightenment, victory of divine over evil and a celebration of wonderful relations we have. I cherish and love this tradition because it gives me some extra energy to tackle the problems I face around the year. It reminds me of the importance of various relationships I possess. Finally it compels me to introspect and find the inner light which guides me in tough times. Every year I and my family celebrate Eco Sensitive Diwali by saying “NO” to fire crackers and “YES” to life…!” -Pankaj Pagare 9
Here’s a unique story of Diwali that I think very few people would know: According to the Skanda Purana, the goddess Shakti observed 21 days of austerity starting from ashtami of shukla paksha (eighth day of the waxing period of moon) to get half of the body of Lord Shiva. This vrata (austerity) is known as kedhara vrata. Diwali is the completion day of this austerity. This is the day Lord Shiva accepted Shakti into the left half of the form and appeared as Ardhanarishvara. The ardent devotees observe this 21 days austerity by tying 21 threads on a holy urn and 21 types of offerings for 35 days. The final day is celebrated as kedhara gauri vrata.
If you have a story about festivals...
-Rajshree Borkar
During Ganesh Chaturthi, which celebrates Lord Ganesha's birthday, another deity who is worshipped is Goddess Gauri. Goddess Gauri is Lord Ganesha's mother. And considered to be one of the many forms of Shakti, the Mother of the universe, with lots of power. Goddess Gauri is symbolic of fertility and motherhood and of the victory of good over evil. On the day of “Gauri Aavahan (Invocation)” we invite Goddess Gauri to our home. First her footsteps are symbolically drawn at the threshold of the home with kumkum (vermillion). A married woman of the family brings the idol inside the home. We create Gauri idol at home with the help of a stand, body parts. We drape a sari on to the stand and body. And then keep face part onto it. Then bedecked in gold jewelry and decorate the place. Goddess Gauri is then worshipped with an aarti and prayers. The next day “Gauri Poojan”, a special meal called “Naivedya” (holy offering) is cooked for Goddess Gauri and this cooked food, along with sweets and fruits are offered to Goddess Gauri. On the same day ladies called for “Haldi (turmeric, considered auspicious among the Hindus) -Kumkum” function to home. Then on third day of Gauri Visarjan (immersion) detach all things and keep it at a careful place. It’s a great feeling to establish Gauri and worship Her. -Sheetal Kenjale
On the second day after Diwali, we celebrate Annkut which confirms the festival also as a harvest festival. We make a pulses and rice porridge and a curry of seven vegetables to be offered to the Gods before it is consumed. On the second day after Diwali, at my home, we pray to anoint the inkpot and an ink pen by tying the holy thread around them and a special offering of puffed rice, chick peas and coriander seeds is prepared. A new year of education and abundance is wished for and this lends the festival a unique touch. -Ankur Mathur 10
...mail them @ MusaJ@BV.co m and we’ll feature it!
VOICES MY ADRENALIN -Pratik Chimane My father gifted me a pair of wheels on my 12th birthday and since then hardly anything has stopped me – exceptions being some chance encounters with pigs. That was the time when the learning itself was the adrenalin. They say smart people learn from their own mistakes while wise people learn from others’ too. I guess I was just smart enough so I had to fall, I had to trip, I had to get hurt badly to learn. I once tripped with my friend who was riding pillion. We were riding down the slope and I had to bypass a car that suddenly stopped in front of us. Then tripped with another friend (that’s what friends are for, to trip with) when I was teasing him, we were both riding alongside each other and the Cshape handles got entangled. Once I was riding pillion on the carrier with a friend when my ankle got stuck in the spokes of the moving wheel. All these incidents notwithstanding, my adrenalin just grew with me. In college days, one wishes to find his/her adrenalin. Well, I knew mine and gifted myself another pedalomotive on my 19th birthday. That’s when I decided to explore Pune. I got myself the big map of Pune city and would just draw up some route from the hostel to some adrenalin and back. Now I have a faster one which I gifted myself on my 23rd birthday. It is a joyride to and from office every day. It is just a joyride because the adrenalin takes more now. These days I find my adrenalin outside Pu-
ne, on the way to Saswad, Chakan, Tikona and further and farther.
at peace. Letting go memories both good and bad and starting afresh every day, every time.
Sometimes I get bad dreams, like I was mugged on the way by some thugs, the gold-chainsnatching-goons (guess they got tired of the gold and now snatch just any chains). My adrenalin gets stolen and I am lost somewhere far away from home. There is no way out and there’s no one to help, like I lost my breath.
It has taught me that ups and downs will come and go in life, but at the end of the day, it will all even out. Believe me, it does even out literally too because no matter how high I reach in terms of altitude, when I return home, I am at the same altitude I was before, and after all the pain and perspiration, the delta altitude is still zero! (Apologies! That’s the engineer in me.)
I get nervous the night before every ride. But some things are more important than fear. It’s the belief, it’s the thrill, it’s the toil, it’s the breeze, it’s the adrenalin. After conquering a steep gradient, when I start descending, the breeze caresses my face as if Mother Nature is touching my cheeks and kissing my forehead, asking, “Are you alright son? Does it hurt? ” and I reply, “I am ok mom, as long as you’re with me.” It has taught me so many things like hope, patience, endurance, humility, and letting go. Hope, that I will find a way to my destination no matter what hurdles come in my way, be it the rain, the sun, the darkness during a night ride, the tough gradient of the road; I know I will triumph. Patience, giving me the sense that I cannot rush, that things will work out somehow, that time heals the toughest wounds. Endurance, that the hardship, the pain is nothing before my consistent effort. Humility, that Nature is the ultimate force and when I surrender to it, I will be 11
Zero reminds me of its synonym, cypher. We are all caught in a cypher. Life gives everyone his/her share of joys and worries. Life is such a vicious “cycle” that you think you are growing but the cypher is growing with you. You grow from stroller, into bicycle, into motorcycle, into a car; but be it anything, the cypher is something common, something universal among them. The bigger the joys are, the bigger the worries will be. When you realize this, you will look at life from a better perspective. It will help you understand others. It will make you a better person. Apart from being philosophical, I like numbers too. I want to complete 1000 km within 11 weeks on this new faster one I have, and am very well on track. For me, be it any destination, it was and always will be just the journey and its adrenalin. I wish I could get more. This is a Cyclist for life, keep going.
BLACK & WHITE Q. Is it advisable to plan leisure trips during festival times? FOR
AGAINST -TM Komal Mahajan
-TM Milind Sabardande
Life is too fast these days; people get vacations only on Festivals in offices and schools. I think this the best time to go for a holiday with family and spend some quality time with them. It’s not necessary to go a place where there is lot of rush, I agree it will be unsafe.But,we can plan accordingly and select a destination where there is peace and safety. If we are enjoying each and every moment with your family it is a real festival indeed. Money can’t buy Happiness. At the end of the day, you will enjoy the memories with your family. People here in India like to go for Tirth Yatra’s after their retirement and when all the responsibility of life is over. I don’t think they face any health issues at that time. They just enjoy it.
Don’t agree with what is written? Then worry not! Write into us at Davisd@bv.com or Mathura@bv.com 12
People are more important than places. I must say the quality time can be spent at home, relaxing and sharing the workload of your spouse or helping children in their study and caring for parents.
Ultimate destination where you can get peace and safety is your home sweet home.
You can celebrate the festival at home and do all the rituals required on a specific festival. Even if the festival is of other religion, you can learn their culture and enjoy with them.
You can save all the hassles like ticket booking, accommodation and above all the extra amount required. This can be spent in a right way.
Parents might be left out at home and they are a part of family. They might feel uncomfortable travelling long distance and this can ruin the whole outing. Better to travel when everyone is in good frame of mind and there is relatively low rush and hassles.
What happens when some free spirited individuals, with a penchant for storytelling channelize their creativity to creating a restricted medium of expression and invite the whole world for free to experience it? The answer, ladies and gentlemen, is the Pune Poetry Slam! Emily Dickinson, that most difficult of all modern poetesses, describes poetry as a “fairer house than prose”. However, PPS maintains that there is nothing at all that betters poetry than prose, insofar as comparison goes. That should give heart to all those prose lovers since paragraphed words are given among canton bound lines as well, since poetry recited by poets/poetesses at the PPS need not always rhyme. “There are people who come to us from several backgrounds, some from the professional, published world of poetry and still others who just come to appreciate the art and listen to quality stuff”, says Nandini Varma, one of the coordinators. What is interesting though, is that for all those who want to graduate from being mere spectators but are hesitant to write their first poem, volunteers from the Airplane Poetry Movement conduct workshops too. “Although we’re not tied up with any other club and PPS functions separately, members from APM do join us and they run clubs in New Delhi, Bangalore and Bombay”, maintains Ms Varma. PPS is held monthly. Averaging
over
twenty-five
members’ attendance in every meeting, since November 2013 when it started, Pune Poetry Slam has made a mark. What draws a lot of people is the fact that it doesn’t cost anything to attend. Nandini says that the event is financed by her and a group of other individuals from their own pockets. “Since the number of people volunteering to fund is high, it doesn’t pinch much”, she says. The other advantage is the format of the Slam session. It requires people to present original poems of less than 4 minutes in a competition format that gets voted upon at the end. If you don’t want to compete, there is a free-for-all session called ‘open-mic’ at the end. But what attracts people most is that they got to meet likeminded people in casual surroundings where each one understands and appreciates the talent of a particular genre that s/he brings to the club. This not only makes it an eclectic mix of people and ideas, it betters everyone as they all learn mutually.
GATHERING PARADISE THE PUNE POETRY SLAM
As a Toastmaster, there are several things to learn from participating in this venture. First, presenting a poem is much like presenting your speech. You are nervous and it helps you build confidence. While writing speeches isn’t always possible on each and every topic, poetry writing, even on pedestrian topics is possible and quite acceptable
as well. This was indicated by the New York School of poets. Secondly, it is important to bear in mind that creativity within the boundaries of restraint that happens while writing poetry makes one more comfortable with unknown situations and territory – something that as a Toastmaster, comes handy especially while giving Table Topics. Analogous to the boundaries of metre, rhyme and lyricism are those of convolution, cogence and content in a speech. While analysing speeches may oftentimes not be as challenging for the more accustomed Toastmaster, try evaluating a poem and you will open a new treasure trove of perspectives. Right from ferreting meaning to scrutinizing subtlety inclined towards political correctness, poetry will expose you to the kind of evaluation – albeit mental, not actual – which will challenge convention. And finally, because we live in this world of prosaic formulations all day, as working professionals and as speech writers/presenters, isn’t it time to unwind with our fellow brethren from the “fairer house than prose?” Think about it. It’s only fair. Next session: 27/09/ 2014 Venue: Artsphere, Kalyani Nagar, Pune.
13 With inputs from Ms. Nandini Varma.
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TO WHOMSOEVER IT MAY CONCERN: Here’s a list of all the sources, significant that were used in the making of several illustrations in this edition of the newsletter.
1.
http://dontgiveupworld.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/wallpaper-gautam-buddha.jpg
2. http://darkroom-cdn.s3.amazonaws.com/2013/02/REU-INDIA_2.jpg 3. http://realbharat.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/Mohtashemi17102013T185649.jpg 4. http://www.kombination.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/vintage-microphone-setsirisilapasuwanchai.jpg 5. http://img.gawkerassets.com/img/192273ag5jds5jpg/original.jpg 6. http://vistahigherlearning.com/media/catalog/product/cache/2/ image/9df78eab33525d08d6e5fb8d27136e95/h/e/he-spanish-grammar.jpg 7. http://www4.ncsu.edu/~hubbe/MyMuseum/Tour3.jpg 8. http://old.ianlord.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/1bigjpg1.jpeg 9. http://i01.i.aliimg.com/wsphoto/v0/848939763/100-hand-painted-free-shipping-Tropicalplants-shrubs-font-b-banana-b-font-font-b-leaves.jpg 10. http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-KGFrjKAe5h4/UWaReSgW4NI/AAAAAAAAKuY/AiBmIJ5bQ0I/ s1600/Vallamkali.jpg 11. https://www.coupa.com/images/content/blogs/procurement_conversation.png
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For electronic circulation and public distribution. Not for profit. For membership contact: TM Amit Jha, VP-Membership
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