This document is the first newsletter of Infosys Toastmasters Club in Chennai titled "ITC's Imprints". It features articles from various Toastmasters leaders welcoming the new newsletter and wishing the club success. It also includes updates from club meetings and recognition of member achievements. The overall theme is about embarking on a new journey and pursuing goals with commitment.

1. ITC’s Imprints
E D I T I O N # 1 D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 2
INSIDE THIS
ISSUE:
From the editorial
team
Infosys Toastmasters, Chennai
Imprints of the
Icons
Proudly Presents
Imprints of the
President
Its Premier Newsletter Edition
Awards and
Recognition
Imprints of fellow
Toastmasters
30 seconds to
fame
Guest feedback
Say cheese!
Credits
Theme : The dawn of a new era

2. From the editorial team
PAGE 2
Dear all,
It gives us immense pleasure to present to you, the first ever newsletter of
Infosys Toastmasters, Chennai (ITC) – “ITC’s Imprints”. We believe that each
Toastmaster at ITC makes an indelible mark which gets etched in the
history of our club and so the name “ITC’s Imprints”.
TM Monisha A new beginning! The dawn of a new era! Yes, that’s the theme of this very
Monikanta Rajan special edition of our newsletter. Embarking on a new journey rekindles the
achiever within each of us. A new era is marked by reflections, resolutions
and rejuvenation. We are at our inspired best and are driven to pursue with
greater hope, belief and bigger dreams that we truly believe in.
We have come here to seek a new beginning between our vocal chords and
glossophobia; one based upon mutual interest and mutual respect. We do
so by recognizing that change cannot happen overnight. No single speech
can eradicate years of lack of self-belief. Growth is gradual and steady if you
attend the meetings regularly and participate consistently. We live in a
TM Diwakar Labh
hectic and busy world. Shuffling among family, work and social
commitments, it is easy to get exhausted and believe professional
development is expendable. But rewards come to those who are patient
and those who are persistent.
In Toastmasters, we have a supportive environment which gently pushes us
out from our comfort zone to emerge as great speakers & leaders and
ensures that we don't miss out on the fun part too. To all our fellow
Toastmasters, keep the enthusiasm soaring. And the rest, look, if you had
one opportunity to seize everything you ever wanted would you capture it
now or just let it slip?
TM Jagannath
Panigrahi Happy reading!
ITC’S IMPRINTS

3. Imprints of District 82 Governor
PAGE 3
Infosys Toastmasters is a club that believes in being Toastmasters in every
sense of the word - it is a pleasure to see them actively participating in all
club, Area and Division activities, whole-heartedly and sincerely. The results
are there to see - a higher degree of commitment and dedication resulting
in a higher degree of professionalism in the club itself and in the workplace.
The publishing of a newsletter is no ordinary task - it requires a great deal
DTM Nina John
of co-ordination between the editorial team and the members, it requires a
great deal of patience and chasing up of writers to ensure deadlines are
adhered to, an entire gamut of organizational and leadership skills that will
stand every one of the members in good stead. Above all, it provides
members a chance to hone their writing and creative skills, talents that may
have been long dormant or never even recognized earlier. It is also an
opportunity to discover how writing for reading pleasure and writing for a
Did you know? listening audience can be quite different.
Here's wishing the editorial team all the best, and wishing Infosys
Rhythms" is the Toastmasters a happy journey in the world of Toastmasters.
longest English
word without the
normal vowels,
a, e, i, o, or u
ITC’S IMPRINTS

4. Imprints of Division ‘M’ Governor
PAGE 4
Infosys Toastmasters club is one of the farthest Corporate Toastmasters
clubs in the city, located in the beautiful campus of Mahindra City. It is one
of the fastest growing baby clubs of Division M. On the helm, under the
leadership of TM Arun, the club has revitalized with lots of love for
Toastmasters. The club has achieved the DCP (Distinguished Club Program)
status already for the year 2012-13. Their contributions which unfolded
TM Dhanraj Nadana during the mega event of the year, Felicitous & Crescendo Twin
Conference, will be remembered.
With the club marking their 25th meeting with great pomp and glory and
also bagging the Smedley award recently, I am proud to see how each
Toastmaster has joined hands to help each other grow. Toastmasters create
a platform for individuals to hone their speaking / writing skills and also to
Did you know? learn a lot from fellow Toastmasters. Helping each other to develop their
hidden talent, brings out the true leadership abilities. The “learning by
"Underground" doing” in Toastmasters is the experience one can get out from the regular
club meetings. The exhibition of the inherent leadership skills will be
is the only word
demonstrated during the course of the journey. My best wishes to
in the English
TM Monisha and her team for “ITC’s Imprints”.
language that
begins and ends
with the letters
"und".
ITC’S IMPRINTS

5. Imprints of Division ‘G’ Governor
PAGE 5
CONGRATULATIONS, Infosys Toastmaters!
It is indeed a proud moment when you launch your very own Newsletter
and I have all my respects and admirations for the creative minds and
efforts that go towards bringing the Newsletter into existence.
At Toastmasters, we all come in together on a quest for self-development.
We march towards this self-development by way of practicing and
supporting one another to become better speakers and leaders. The focus
DTM Karthik is on developing communications, and one of the finer ways of doing this is
Srinivasan
by proactively participating in the publication and release of the
Newsletter, because communications is not just speaking & listening, but
also reading & writing!
Did you know? A Newsletter, once it becomes a regularly distributed feature among all the
members within and outside the Club, can not only provide general
information of interest but also provide a platform of higher learning &
There is a seven
expression in specific areas such as contests, special events, publicity, etc.
letter word in the
With the release of the Newsletter, a new era dawns in the growth &
English language
progress of Infosys Toastmasters. Dawn is the time of the day when light
that contains ten
first appears in the sky, just before the sun rises. Dawn also indicates
words without
something beginning to develop or coming into existence. May this dawn
rearranging any of bring forth to every member of Infosys a journey into leadership filled with
its letters, sunshine and hope!
"therein": the, Every time we blink, it’s the Dawn of a New Era… face it with a smile!
there, he, in, rein,
her, here, ere,
therein, herein.
ITC’S IMPRINTS

6. Imprints of Area ‘M1’ Governor
PAGE 6
The ushering in of a new era that fosters new ideas, fresh thoughts and
abundance of opportunities for self-learning and development among the
youth in today’s world is always a welcome sign in any forum especially in
Toastmasters where a novice leader realizes and augments his or her
hidden talents and potential to a very high degree. A year into the
movement and he/she would find himself/herself to be a mountain of
possibilities and ideas which were hidden on account of their fears, lack of
enthusiasm, self belief and many other limiting factors. However few words
TM Rajeev Nambiar of caution - only individuals who are totally committed with their mind,
body and soul will be able to realize and augment their potential and
talents to an incredible extent and for those who think that mere joining
the movement would propel them to become top class leaders with luck
here and there and without the required commitment and sheer hard work
will be in for a rude shock to find out that at the end of a year they are in
Did you know?
the same position as they were when they started their journey of “Self
Development”.
"The letters ‘a’,
Dear friends as the saying goes, “There is no substitute for hard work”. The
‘b’, ‘c’ and ‘d’ are
same saying applies to a great degree in this movement too “Where leaders
not present in are made”. Thus as an individual you have to learn to propel yourself with
the numbers commitment, character and lots of focus to become the leader who can
from 0 - 99. lead others with utmost efficiency and effectiveness. In other words, a
good leader is one who has the ability and capability to lead from within.
Because if a leader can’t lead himself then how can he lead others to realize
their goals and objectives in reality.
So my dear Toastmasters, as Swami Vivekananda aptly put it decades ago -
“Arise, Awake and Stop not till the goal is reached”.
Be the leader you want to be so that you augment many more leaders to
become the leaders they want to be.
Happy Toastmastering!
ITC’S IMPRINTS

7. Imprints of Past Division ‘G’ Governor
PAGE 7
“ Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path
and leave a trail”.
I get reminded of this Ralph Waldo Emerson’s quote whenever I think
about Infosys Toastmasters, Chennai (ITC) and its leaders. There are 3
categories of leaders in this world.
1) Builders: You give them a vacant land. They involve a number of people
TM Saravanan and build a beautiful castle, plant trees, develop gardens. They do things
Velrajan that benefit NOT only the current generation, but also the future
generations.
2) Maintainers: You give them a vacant land. They put a fence around and
protect it. They pay daily visits and make sure that NO HARM is done to it.
Did you know? However, the vacant land continues to remain vacant.
3) Destroyers: You give them a vacant land. They don't care about the land.
"The sixth sick They let weeds grow. They let people dump garbage into it and the land
becomes a dump yard.
sheik's sixth
sheep's sick" is The champions of ITC – Anand Narayanan, Arun Kumar, Monisha, Vishnu &
Dhanalakshmi converted the vacant land into a beautiful castle. They
said to be the
played a key role in getting the club chartered. From just a desire, it
toughest tongue
became a dream. From just a dream, it became a passion. The passion
twister in
turned into performance and the performance produced the results.
English.
Today, ITC is one of the rising stars in the skies of Toastmasters in Tamil
Nadu. The club has produced so many new champions and leaders. Kudos
to each one of you! You have not only made ITC proud, but the entire
Toastmasters community in Tamil Nadu too.
Many of us joined Toastmasters because we wanted to develop our
communication skills. Later we realized that we can also groom our
leadership skills by performing various roles. Toastmasters is a voluntary
organization and you don't get paid for your service. However, with all the
skills and experience that you gain here, imagine the difference you
would make at your workplace where you are getting paid to build a
great product; where you are getting paid to build great teams; Where you
are getting paid to bring the best out of people.
ITC’S IMPRINTS

8. PAGE 8
What Toastmasters can DO to you is largely dependent on what you DO in
Toastmasters. To perform various roles in Toastmasters, you don’t need to
have the capability. You can develop the capability over a period of time. All
that you need to have is commitment to do things; passion to achieve
success and willingness to learn. With these qualities of leadership, you can
easily build clubs - where everyone would like to visit, join and realize their
dream of becoming a better speaker and leader.
Happy Toastmastering !
Did you know?
A sentence that
contains all 26
letters of the
alphabet is called
“pangram”. Ex:
Pack my box with
five dozen liquor
jugs.
ITC’S IMPRINTS

9. Imprints of ITC’s Club Mentor
PAGE 9
Toastmasters – Toasts you for your life to taste better
With the start of this Toastmasters club in Infosys, it has marked a new
beginning towards making people effectively communicate, articulate and
lead by example. The club is already witnessing immense growth in its
members and it has also unleashed that hidden potential that already
existed in some. The common comments that I hear from people are “I fear
talking in front of an audience, What if I am called to the stage and I am not
TM Anand
able to talk on a given topic, I am not confident enough in English language”
Narayanan and so on. My question for you is “Wouldn’t you come out of your shackles
and speak in front of an audience who wouldn’t mock at you but would
rather be supportive enough to help you speak and to understand your
concerns when you are not able to speak? Wouldn’t you like to be amidst
people who encourage you to make mistakes and learn? Wouldn’t you love
to be in a positive environment where the word discouragement is out of
the dictionary? Wouldn’t you prefer ‘Learn by doing’ to teaching and
pampering? Wouldn’t you want opportunities to come your way like
meeting stalwarts of public speaking, getting to participate in contests at
Did you know? the area, division, district and finally in the International arena in the US”?
If your answer to each of these questions is a ‘Yes’, then toastmasters is the
way – it is indeed a dawn of a new era.
The past tense for
the English word
“dare” is “durst”.
ITC’S IMPRINTS

10. Imprints of the President
PAGE 10
“ A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step” a quote by
Lao Tzu formed the main theme of our first meeting of Infosys
Toastmasters, Chennai way back in April 2012. True to this quote, what we
took as a small step then went on to make that first giant stride with the
club getting charted in May 2012.
When Anand wanted me to take the role of the President, I was clueless as
to what the role demanded both during the club meetings and outside the
club. We had the chartering ceremony & swearing in of office bearers, at
TM Arun Kumar
the end of which I was expected to give a 3-5 minutes acceptance speech. I
have never before seen a President’s acceptance speech. As this happened
in May, most of the office bearers were already serving their terms and
hence I did not get a chance to see how it should be presented. Taking
inputs from Anand, I delivered a speech highlighting just the areas which I
would focus during my term, (a) Building a guest-friendly club environment,
(b) When pursuing DCP goals, will ensure that the quality of the meeting
roles or the speeches is not compromised and (c) Giving each member a
Did you know? complete Toastmaster experience by encouraging them to attend
community club meetings and to participate in events of Area and Division.
The longest one Even today after 6 months from the club getting chartered, despite the fact
that 12 members left us, Infosys Toastmasters, Chennai has provided the
syllable word in the
best club environment for all the guests walking into our meetings (we get
English language is
6 – 10 guest every meeting) without compromising on the quality of the
“screeched”.
meeting and engaged most of the club members in various events of the
Area and the Division! This wouldn’t have been possible without the
relentless effort of members of the club, PR Campaign team and the
members of the Executive committee.
By far these are the most cherished moments in my life to see the club as a
baby crawling, sitting and now standing on its own feet. I envisage it to
grow up strong, compete in a race and win laurels for all its stake holders.
With this I applaud the newsletter team (Monisha, Jagan and Diwakar) for
taking that extra effort and going that last mile to make our first ever club
newsletter the one we would all enjoy reading. I wish them all the very
best.
ITC’S IMPRINTS

11. Awards and Recognition
PAGE 11
The following is the education tracker of our members for the
communication and leadership tracks.
Competent Communication Tracker
TM Anjana
TM Arun
TM Barath
TM Diwakar
TM Hari
TM Hugh
TM Jagan
TM Monisha
TM Palani G
TM Palaniappan
TM Rajshree
TM Rakesh
TM Sai
TM Saravanan
TM Sathish
TM Shaharyar
Did you know? TM Sumitha
TM Varun
TM Vidiya
TM Vijayshree
The oldest word TM Vishnu Kumar
TM Vishnu Teja
in the English
TM Vivek
language is 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
No. of projects completed
“Town”
Competent Leadership Tracker
TM Arun
TM Diwakar
TM Hugh
TM Monisha
TM Rajshree
TM Rakesh
TM Saravanan
TM Vidiya
TM Vijayshree
TM Vishnu Kumar
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
No. of projects completed
ITC’S IMPRINTS

12. Awards and Recognition
PAGE 12
Imprints of ITC
 The milestone meeting #25 was celebrated by conducting a Tall tales
contest which was a great success.
 Within 5 months of chartering, the club was able to gain 5 DCP
(Distinguished Club Program) points and get the status as a
“Distinguished Club”.
 The club has added 5 new members in August - September 2012 cycle
and bagged the Smedley Award (Award for membership building) from
Toastmasters International.
 TM Rajshree and TM Hugh Conan represented the club in the Area level
Humorous Speech and Evaluation Contests in Sept 2012 and TM
Rajshree emerged as the second runner up at the Humorous Speech
Did you know? Contest.
The word
 TM Vishnu is the first member at ITC to complete his CC (Competent
“almost” is the
Communication) and CL (Competent Leadership) tracks.
longest word in
English language
with all the
letters in
alphabetical
ITC’S IMPRINTS

13. The rays of hope
PAGE 13
If you had queried a person in his 20s about his goals in 1960s, his answer
would have been, “I am an overachiever -my three children are playing in
backyard and the fourth one in my wife’s womb”. If you had posed the
same question to the then youngster of 1970s, his reply would have been “I
want a government job”. If you ask the same question to today’s youth,
response would be “I want to start my own company!”. This sets the stage
TM Vishnu Kumar,
for us to broaden our minds and views.
VP - Education
It is not an exaggeration to consider the current generation as beacons of
new dreams, new hopes and new aspirations as they want to jump across
the hurdles and stand out as champions. It is inspiring, meaningful and
impactful when our world faces numerous socio-economic problems. The
onus of taking the trickle down economy to the poorest of the poor and to
Did you know?
the last mile is on us to make a world a better place to live in.
To nurture our dreams and shape into reality, we have to solve too much in
Ernest Vincent
too little time; we have to imbibe the knacks of great leaders to spread our
Wright's novel
wings; we have to constantly reinvent ourselves to reach the pinnacle in
Gadsby: our field. And these things are challenging when life and work take turns
Champion of on the pivotal of communication and collaboration.
Youth - a story Equation of communication boils down to listening, critical thinking and
of more than feedback. The conundrum of collaboration involves time management,
50,000 words in planning and implementation, organization and delegation. Where else can
which the letter
you find a better solution for change, a paradise for reinvention and a
temple for transformation to groom yourself as a better leader for a better
‘e’ never
world, than in Toastmasters!
appears.
Friends, when we constantly and consistently strive together for a better
future of needy people the Dawn of the new era lucidly signifies the rays of
hope emanating from Generation Y.
ITC’S IMPRINTS

14. Dawn of a new era in senior citizens’ life
PAGE 14
According to an estimate of United Nations nearly 40% of senior citizens
living with their families are reportedly facing abuse of one kind or
another, but only one in six cases actually comes to light. According to the
United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, one out of
every ten people on the planet is now 60 years of age or older .
In such a scenario, it becomes inevitable to give our attention to these
aging millions who are waiting for a new dawn where they are showered
TM Diwakar Labh,
Treasurer
with love, care and support.
With the fast changing socio-economic scenario, rapid urbanization,
higher aspirations among the youth and the increasing number of working
women, roots of the traditional joint family system has been eroding very
fast. Majority of older people are forced to live alone in their own houses
or they are dumped by their own children in old-age homes. Social
marginalization and negligence in old-age lead to violation of Human
Rights of Older Persons. Ironically, in India older generations are unaware
Did you know? of their human rights as 85.9% older persons have never heard about
Human Rights of Older Persons.
"Queuing" is the
only word with Every individual has the right to healthy aging which not only comes about
five consecutive
medically, but also via social relationships and gratification.
vowels. The UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights has recognised Human
Rights for senior citizens. The Government of India has enacted legislative
acts like The Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and senior Citizen Act
(Senior Citizen Act), 2007. Under these acts parents can claim maintenance
from their children. But money cannot take place of emotional support and
care.
Today it seems that privatization and globalization have filled our pockets
but emptied our ethics, it has made us so techno philic that we like the
touch screens in our phones more than the touch of our loved ones. We kill
our time on Facebook, Twitter, weekend parties but feel bored in the
company of our loving parents. Let’s take out some time from our busy
schedules for our parents who are growing old and need our love and care.
Let the elderly people age gracefully with dignity. Let’s vow to bring dawn
of a new era in senior citizens’ lives.
ITC’S IMPRINTS

15. PAGE 15
5 reasons why you don't need an MBA!
Let’s start with a simple question, why do you need an MBA? By now you
would have memorized the 2 paragraphs that you have written on every
application form. If you want to do an MBA for any of the following 5
reasons, let’s get into details. After all “The devil is in the details”
1. “ I want to earn more than 10 LPA”.
a) What if your placement year is similar to the situation which B-Schools
faced in 2009? Even IIM Grads were struggling to get into PSU for just 6
TM Saravanan, LPA.
Secretary b) CTC 10 LPA including all unbelievable & unachievable targets actually
amounts to 8 LPA. If you continue working with current employer for 2
more years and move to another company with a hike, I am sure you
will be somewhere near to it.
c) Don’t underestimate your investment in terms of fees and opportunity
cost for 2 years. I know few management Gurus who have been paying
their Educational loan for more than 10 years.
Did you know?
2. “I want an IIM or some B-School brand for my life”.
A ghost writer
a) Once there were only 5 IIMs, now 12 and may be 20 tomorrow. There is
no life time brand even for IIMs.
pens an
b) After certain years of experience only your skills and achievements will
anonymous
speak for yourself.
book.
3. “I cannot tolerate this IT sector any more and I want to enter into any
other sector”.
a) I am sure that MBA would not give a relief. 70% of sales roles combined
with some financial analyst roles are not a cake walk when compared to
IT industry.
b) There is high probability you may end up in a sector which is not the
one what you were aiming to enter. Maybe again to IT.
c) Have you tried changing sectors now? I feel MBA route is not the
shortest.
ITC’S IMPRINTS

16. PAGE 16
4. “I want to start my own venture”.
a) Go and learn more about the specifics of your industry and start. MBA
education is not about it.
b) If you say “I need to think about the industry during my MBA “, you are
going to be late.
5. I am a Manager material with proven leadership qualities.
a) Good, you have those qualities. Develop those in places where leaders
are needed.
b) You cannot improve your leadership qualities amongst self-proclaimed
leaders in B-Schools.
c) Be aware of the fact, B-School is a place where ‘Pebbles are polished
and Diamonds are dimmed’.
But in spite of knowing these details even before doing an MBA, the ‘logical
Did you know?
decision making’ MBA aspirants will go ahead with their MBA plans, as I did
few years back.
The most used
letter in the
English alphabet
is “E” and “Q” is
the least used
ITC’S IMPRINTS

17. Living with this world
PAGE 17
I have heard lot of people saying “life is a race” . I have even heard people
saying “In life, you have to do or die” . Life is a pretty hard race to run and is
also a damn tough fight.
Every day runs on expectations! A poor man runs for his everyday food
expecting to become rich one day. A middle class man runs for securing his
life expecting to get into the richer class. A rich man runs for accumulating
more and more wealth . Do you actually think only the rich man is enjoying
TM Vidiya Prasanth,
Asst. VP - Education
his life? Absolutely not! The poor enjoys lot of love and affection and he has
time to take care of everyone. The middle class man enjoys calculated
luxury and he shows calculated love as well. The rich man enjoys surplus
wealth and whatever he knows in the world has a price tag. We can't deny
that there is no love in rich people's hearts but it’s very meager. Every
human being is so desperate for something or the other and no one is an
Did you know? exception.
The word
"lethologica" Everyday runs on hope! Thinking of making a better tomorrow for the next
generation, we stretch ourselves to get the most out of today. We start
describes the
everyday with the hope that world would not end on 21st December. We
state of not
start everyday with the hope that there will be peace in the world soon.
being able to Whether it happens or not, we still hope. To script a peaceful life in this
remember the world you need to have less expectations, surplus love and excessive hope.
word you want.
Life is not a race to win. It’s a holiday to relax and enjoy.
ITC’S IMPRINTS

18. A tribute!
PAGE 18
T
“ he dawn of a new era” was what Nirmal dreamt of. Not for himself, but
for the environment! A true environmentalist who practiced what he
preached and rescued creatures from being killed.
Some have dogs as their pets, some fishes and some birds, but he preferred
to pet snakes! He was primarily trained to be a snake rescuer. Living in a
city with forests in close proximity, it was only natural for snakes to
frequent the human habitat. He had handled over 1500 snakes and took
TM Rajshree Nancy,
Asst Secretary
them safely to the forests and released them. Though snakes are one of
the most deadly creatures, for him, they were the most wonderful
creatures and stressed on the importance of snakes in maintaining the
ecological balance. He preached about the only four varieties of snakes in
India that are poisonous which have to be handled with care. He used to
play with the non-venomous ones, train the venomous ones and keep them
as pets. He had handled the king cobra twice with ease. He trained many
Did you know? nature lovers to handle snakes. He conducted awareness programmes to
erase the misconceptions about the slimy creature from the minds of
The infinity sign school and college students. Whenever he held a snake, it seemed as if the
is called a snake was comfortable in his loving hold and hardly made an attempt to be
lemniscate.
free of it. He, in fact, enjoyed the snakes squirming on him. Ironically, on a
fine dusk, the same species for which he had dedicated his life to protect,
stung his life out of him at an age when life begins. Though he was not as
famous as Steve Irwin, national newspapers bore testimonials on the
phenomenal life that he led and the impact of his work on the
environment. The world has lost a great man; his loved ones have gained a
God and for him, it’s yet another ‘Dawn of a new era’!
ITC’S IMPRINTS

19. The dawn of a new era
PAGE 19
I sat bolt upright in my bed with a cry, slamming my hands down onto the
mattress. It was 1 a.m. and I just had a terrible nightmare - that it was the
morning of an exam, and I hadn’t completed the syllabus. I have had this
nightmare all my life. Even on the night after my graduation, I had the same
nightmare. It was then that I realized that I had taken the last exam of my
TM Anjana Pradeep life. It was the dawn of a new era in my life.
Starting today, I want each and every one of you to enter a new era in
which the primary judge for your success will be: “YOU”.
I will be sharing some pointers on how to emerge successful on your own
terms.
Point 1: “Follow your passion, and success will follow you”.
Don’t make the mistake of waving off your talent, simply because you
Did you know?
won’t be a ‘star” or get rich off it. Just go after it with a fire in your belly
and the mantra “YES I CAN”. At the end of the day, if you can face yourself
"Polish" is the in the mirror and say “I am happy”, then you are a success.
only word in the Point 2: Go in actual pursuit of your own happiness.
English language Most of us fail to realize that happiness is not a “someday somewhere
that when phenomena”. True happiness lies within you, waiting to be discovered.
capitalized is Waste no time in searching for it in the world outside. Go in actual pursuit
changed from a of your own happiness.
noun or a verb
Point 3: "The time is always right to do what is right."
Decide to do what is right - today and every day. You will find
to a nationality.
yourself building a life that matters. When the day arrives that you are now
calling "tomorrow," you will call that day "today" and a different day will be
called "tomorrow."
The time to make amends is now. It’s the dawn of a new era for each and
every one of you. It’s time to stop living your life for other people and start
living it on your own terms.
ITC’S IMPRINTS

20. This day, that age
PAGE 20
With a gentle breeze flowing through my stiff and curly hair and my legs
swaying from left to right, I scanned the sea to understand the ebb and flow
of the tide. The skies were overcast and the bullock cart I was travelling in
pushed through the muddy roads of the village. A civilian said pointing at a
house, “Thambi, Antha veedu nambalodathu than. Poi oyvu
yeduthukonga.” (Brother, that house belongs to me. You can rest there for
a while.) I understood the reason behind the gesture. He did not want me
to get drenched in the rain. I told him to go inside and that I would follow
TM Hugh Conan
Doyle
him. He obliged.
I, for a moment wondered if I had said the right thing. All of a sudden I
noticed a tiny drop of water splash on my right nostril. I understood I was
caught up in the middle of nowhere as I had taken a long walk towards the
seas. Then came another drop and another. I had no option but to get wet
Did you know? in the rain. It started pelting down within seconds. I stood still. I tried
counting the number of drops that fell on my sulking face but I failed
Switching letters miserably. I took a step forward and shook my leg. I saw a fisherman
coming out of his hut. So did another. One by one everyone in the village
is called
came out to relish nature’s pleasant blessing in the form of a downpour.
spoonerism. For
Each of them was on their feet. I had been to several dance competitions
example, saying but this seemed to outdo them all. I hardly knew any of them but without
jag of Flapan, considering me to be a stranger almost all of them took turns to share some
instead of flag of dance moves with me.
Japan And lo! Whilst in the middle of such celebrations, the church bell struck
hard. The clock showed 5.30. It struck again and again.
I opened my eyes and realized the alarm was screaming to remind me I was
late for work. Back to square one. No time for playing; neither in the rain
nor to take a dip in the sea. Client calls awaiting morning chores. I heard a
sudden cry of pain from outside and realized it was the ambulance. My
mother came in and said “Son, it’s dawn.” I smiled and understood that it
was the dawn of a new era. An era where business is religion and money is
God.
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21. Dawn of a new era...
PAGE 21
It was 1906 and the Bambatha rebellion was keeping the British busy and
occupied. It was a Zulu revolt against colonialism. There was one
diminutive, puny man with bright eyes assisted by twenty other fellow
countrymen helping the injured soldiers by posing as stretcher-bearing
corps. He decided to turn his back and face the colossal might of the
colonial troops with a sharp weapon – by spirit and heart. This noble soul,
going by the nomenclature – Mr. Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, went to
become Mahatma of India, liberating India from the clutches of nefarious
TM Sai colonial rule. His methodology – Satyagraha or non-violent protest
Venkateshwaran
metamorphosed into a beacon of light, swallowing time zones with a new
era dawning over the horizons of the under-represented.
At a distance, in the USA, leaping years forward to 1963, a man delivered
his speech – “I have a dream”, and nineteen months later he was honored
with the Nobel Prize for peace. This man, Mr. Martin Luther King, Jr.,
Did you know? brought down racial inequalities and its squalid themes to its knees by
delivering the new era of non-violence again, with a profound impact
reverberating over the entire North American nation.
The dot on top
of the letter 'i' is Down south, a man chained for decades, dealt a heavy blow to apartheid
with a new missile – made of Gandhi’s principles, the non-violence. It was
called a tittle.
1993, after sixty seven years of struggle for social justice, this gentleman -
Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela was bequeathed with the coveted Nobel Prize
for peace. The new era of non-violence resuscitated itself, in the place it
was born, transmogrifying itself from a little spark to an inferno with its
gargantuan tongue devouring the policies of racial segregation.
This era of non-violence, though one hundred years old, is still new and
takes various forms at several places of need and stops only to spring out
again at a different place at a different time. This shall last long, longer than
the longest of the eras, extending over epochs to arrive, masquerading into
newer forms into will and heart of the societies and its progenies inheriting
the land.
This is a new era – The era of non-violence, advocated by Gandhi.
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22. Digitization of humanity
PAGE 22
You wake up in the morning to the digital melody of your phone alarm.
You are not yet fully awake, yet your hands involuntarily login to Facebook.
Welcome to the digital era, where machines control man and man has the
6th finger – his mobile phone.
Look around you. Everywhere you go, you have machines telling you what
to do. You want to drive somewhere? Ask the complex GPS satellite
thousands of kilometers away in space instead of the shop keeper standing
less than 5 metres away! That is the satire in the world today. We’d rather
TM Varun B.
trust machines than our fellow human beings.
Krishnan
Call up customer care with an issue, and the first thing you hear is a
computerized voice welcoming you to customer care. After a few million
minutes of hearing cheesy music and ads being played in loop, you finally
hear a customer care executive saying some name so fast you can’t hear it.
When you state your problem, they will boost your confidence with words
like ‘Definitely we will help you in this regard sir’, only to be followed a few
Did you know? minutes later with, ‘Sorry sir, the computer says it’s like that, so we can’t
“Dreamt” is the help you in that regard’. We have forgotten the human touch in the
only English mechanized world. We are rapidly becoming machines ourselves, drained
of consideration for our fellow human beings.
word that ends
in “mt”. Booking a train ticket? Never go to the booking center. Just log on to IRCTC
website and then post on Facebook that the site is too slow and inefficient.
Of course it’s going to be that if it is overloaded with some 100 times its
capacity!
We people should re-learn the art of getting something done without
dependence on technology – we have come to a stage where we want to
do everything with the click of a mouse or a few swipes on our Smartphone.
So, slow down. Let your phone run out of charge, it’s not like a meteor just
wiped out your family, it’s just your phone going to sleep. Try actually
meeting that friend of yours instead of just liking his pictures on Facebook.
Drown out the IVRs and replace it with human voices (even animal sounds
are fine). Try not to photograph everything – sometimes there is no better
camera than the eye, and no better film to process it than the brain. Be the
master of technology, not the slave. Live free.
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23. 30 seconds to fame
PAGE 23
This column is the result of a telephonic impromptu session wherein the
Toastmasters were given 30 seconds to think and express their thoughts on
“How they correlate to the theme ‘The dawn of a new era’?”
“I want an equal society where there is no barrier between the rich and the
poor. There should be equal opportunities for everyone.”
- TM Barath Sastha Selvaraj
“People should stop blaming others and should start taking the blame on
themselves. They should be more responsible and the sense of
responsibility must begin from each one of us. One is responsible for one’s
own destiny. People must own up their actions and work for their dreams
to make life better and live happily.”
- TM Hari Srinivasan
Did you know? “The dawn of a new era will be an era of mobile technology which is gradu-
“Four” is the ally becoming the center of our lives. Where hearts cannot penetrate ,
only number
mobile phones are pervading the human space. With the touch of your fin-
gers, the world gets zipped to the pocket. Shortly, I can call it as a Personal
whose number of
Assistant for every human being.”
letters in the
- TM Karthikeyan Kuppusamy
name equals the
number. “There should be no weapons and no wars. Peace and joy should spread
everywhere.”
- TM Kulasekara Pandian
“In my opinion, anything that is different from what you normally do is a
new era. A new era is indispensable for something good to happen and for
something that is positive.”
- TM Palani G. Sankar
“The first thought that comes to my mind is happiness. When we look into
the future, we don’t hope for something bad to happen. We look forward
for something new which makes us and our life happy.”
- TM Rakesh Thayyil
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24. 30 seconds to fame
PAGE 24
“Women are bound to fulfill so many responsibilities in both their personal
and professional life. They are answerable to lots of people. They think that
they can handle both personal and professional life perfectly, but
unfortunately that doesn’t happen. They finally end up getting more
stressed compared to men. According to me, men should step forward to
help women and share their responsibilities. They should not dominate
women. Men and women should help each other thereby everyone’s life
will become simple and with this attitude people can achieve whatever
they want.”
- TM Sangeetha C.
“When I think of a new era, I feel the old things should vanish and the new
things should emerge. According to me, the new era should have social
acceptance, equality and respect for everybody.”
Did you know? - TM Sandeep Kumar
“Bookkeeper”
“People should help each other to whatever extent possible. We have got
and only one life and we should always be happy. There are problems at every
“bookkeeping” facet of life. So people need to help each other and get them solved.”
are the only two - TM Sathish Kumar Natarajan
words in the “I dream of a new era where there is no poverty, no illiteracy, no war and
English language no nuclear bomb. I want people to be happy.”
with three - TM Shaharyar Danish Khalique
consecutive “In a new era, I expect dignity of labour and respect for every single person.
double letters. And all people should be educated for a better tomorrow.”
- TM Sumitha T.V.
“A new era should be the dawn of new ideas or new thoughts which can
improve our lives and bring about a revolution. It could be, for instance, a
new technology. In the case of mobile phone or Facebook, our lives have
changed so much from the 1990s to 2012.”
- TM Vignesh Venkateswaran
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25. 30 seconds to fame
PAGE 25
“When I think of a new era, it’s happiness and things that make people
happy that come to my mind. People should be grateful and they should
not be greedy or jealous.”
- TM Vijayshree Mahesh
“I am excited about the hot topic “The end of the world”. I don’t know if
this would really happen. But if this is the case and if there’s a new dawn, I
want corruption and the clashes between people to die. People should
realize their mistakes.”
- TM Vishnu Teja Sunkaranam
“From my perspective, a new dawn can be either in terms of technology or
in the way we interact with people. These days, people rely more on
Facebook than on actual social networking. They are more dependent on
Did you know? technology. They are losing their inherent skills and are forgetting
The word everything over a period of time. Sending a letter/postcard is losing its
“queue” is the charm. Gone are those days when people eagerly waited for 10-15 days to
only word in the get a letter or money via post. People have lost patience today and so they
English language send e-mails. But on the positive side, there is more transparency today.”
that is still - TM Vivek Khare
pronounced the
same way when
the last four
letters are
removed.
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26. Guest feedback
PAGE 26
“The meeting was pretty nicely put. The content was good, it was real
pleasure listening to people”.
- Sumit Pant
“Meeting was good, well organized and completed well within the time
schedule. It is a good platform to check concurrent knowledge and know
about current happenings”.
- Jitendra Katiyar
“I had been a toastmaster in my college for few months. Toastmasters is
really wonderful and improves self-confidence to speak in front of a group .
I should really appreciate you guys for your wonderful meetings”.
- Preetha Subramaniam
Did you know?
“I attended the first meeting just out of curiosity. It was an amazing
learning experience. Each meeting had something as take away. The three
The word
different categories (prepared speeches, table-topic and feedback) are well
“alphabet”
thought and they contribute to make each meeting a special one”.
comes from the
- Nikhil Chandrakant Vichare
first two letters
“It was a pleasure to sit through the meeting. It’s a single forum to speak
of the Greek
out yourself adhering to the best practices of public speaking. The meeting
alphabet :
in my words:- P-Pleasurable, L-Lively, E-Ecstatic, A-Adorable, S-Suave,
“alpha” and
A-Awesome, N-No-frills, T-Talismanic”.
“beta”.
- Tushar Kanta Jena
“My friends used to say that I may be good in technical skills, but I need to
improve my communication skills to express my ideas effectively. I think
Toastmasters would help in improving my communication skills”.
- Pandurengan Jegadeesan
“I was impressed to see a Toastmaster handling the audience during a
social gathering and so I dropped by to see the Toastmasters meeting at
Infy. Most of the meetings were quite enjoyable. I felt that participating in
the proceedings would help strengthen my skills as well”.
- Malavika Murali
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27. Say cheese!
PAGE 27
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28. Credits
PAGE 28
EDITORIAL TEAM
TM Monisha Monikanta Rajan
TM Diwakar Labh
TM Jagannath Panigrahi
PROOF READERS
TM Anand Narayanan
TM Varun B. Krishnan
ADVISOR
TM Arun Kumar
OFFICE BEARERS
President - TM Arun Kumar VP - Education - TM Vishnu Kumar
VP - Membership - TM Rakesh VP - Public Relations - TM Monisha
Secretary - TM Saravanan Treasurer - TM Diwakar
Sergeant At Arms - TM Jagannath
MEETING DETAILS
When : Every Wednesday (unless it’s a public holiday) 4.45 - 6.15 PM
Where : B5 - Piraeus (Ground floor)
You need not be a member to attend our meetings.
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