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Dear Capitolites:

It has been a pleasure for me to be not only a member but also to

have had the opportunity to be part of the Executive Committee

steered by our President Naseema Khan during the 2014/15 peri-

od. It was actually thanks to Naseema that I took up the VP Public

Relations position a year ago – at the election time I was in Salt

Lake City and Naseema contacted me searching my acceptance of

the nomination. My first reaction was – can I do it? Am I up to the

job? But since VP PR involved writing, photo-documenting the

meetings and creating events on Facebook which are activities

right up my alley – I said “Yes” and I have never regretted the deci-

sion.

As the VP PR, I had a valuable chance not only to observe but also

be part of the process of planning the future direction the club is

taking. Being a member of the Executive Committee gave me an

understanding of all the work that goes into keeping the club

afloat.

Preparing this newsletter was also a great opportunity to learn new

skills, brainstorm for ideas and innovative approaches with others

and most importantly, bringing the result of our team effort to you.

The newsletter is also my swan song as I pass the baton of VP PR-

ship on to TM Anita but as VP Ed for the 2015/16 season, I will

never be far away.

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Nancy, a Frequent Guest And the Newsletter’s Co-

editor

CSTM is a club that I hold close to my heart – for

all the support and fun that club members always

offer to each other. It’s a different atmosphere

when you walk into CSTM – you know you are

with like-minded people – and that immediately

makes me feel at home where I belong.

I love the club for the spirit of friendship that is

palpable in the meetings – throughout all the

years. Here’s extending my whole-hearted support

and wishes for the newsletter release.

Cheers!

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1. Welcome to the Capitol Speakers 2015 Newsletter

2. Editor’s Note - Elena

3. Co-editor’s Note – Nancy

4. Table of Contents

5. President’s Note – Naseema

6. 2014/15 Executive Committee

7. TM Vijo - Toasts and Masters….

8. TM Binu - DTAC memories

9. DTM Bobbie’s Witticisms

10. TM Crawford - More of Less, an extract from the club-level

winning speech, Contest 2014

11. TM Vijay - Fear the Fear, extract from CC Project #10

12. TM Elena - the Silent Blessings of Silence - an extract from

CC Project #10

13. TM Mani - Contest Judges, Backbones of Morality

14. New Voices—Karthik and Shamsuddin

15. Familiar Voices - Varuna and Pranavesh

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Then I took another leap when members made me the face of the club, i.e. the PRESIDENT. It was their faith in me that made me

strong and helped me to take our club to another level. I can’t describe how overwhelmed I am to see Capitol Speakers earn the distinc-

tion of President’s Distinguish Club for the second time in a row.

As President, my mission was to always keep members united in all situations, in good times and bad, and to keep the club free from

politics.

I am delighted to see all the members together like a bunch of grapes and I hope this spirit will continue for years to come.

Now as my term is coming to an end on 30th June, I feel that a part of me is going away although I will still continue to serve my

CSTM family as a member and incoming Area Director.

My journey wouldn’t have been so enjoyable without the contribution of each member to my role. Hence I would like to whole-

heartedly thank all the members & guests who have given me a bit of them during my tenure, and made Capitol Speakers one of the

most friendly clubs in town.

Be happy always!

It has been an immense pleasure to serve Capitol Speakers for one and a half years.

Capitol Speakers has never been only a club for me – it is more of an extended family

where I have learnt so much about the beautiful language English, leadership and

many other aspects of life.

Later, I opted for the position that I loved and became Vice President Public Relation

(VP PR). Thanks to this position, I was more likely to interact with people from differ-

ent walks of life and discover new perspectives. This role brushed up my PR skills and

gave me greater confidence to tackle various people.

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President

VP Education (acting)

VP Membership

VP Public Relations

Secretary

Treasurer

Naseema Khan

Elena Rezuchova

Leslie Saldanha

Elena Rezuchova

Manimaran Srinivasan

Sunil N. S.

Sunil N. S.

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When I first heard the name toastmasters, I thought they are a bunch of people who

have some association with food. I came in gingerly for a toastmasters meeting and

sat down waiting for “toasts” to be served. And then the “toastmaster of the day”

who I presumed was the main cook - came in and started speaking about how im-

portant it was to never give up. I was baffled and listened on. At every point, I kept

on expecting the food to be served. But they did not distribute any. After every

toastmaster, came another toastmaster – and what followed were an assorted array

speeches. And yes – the speeches were like a mini pizza – with an inspirational base,

topped with oxymoron mozzarella. A team of evaluators very soon got into action.

Sometimes it sounded like my mother in law firing my sister in law about how she dint stir the dishes the right way.

As I had my first taste of toastmaster's meeting, (both the mini pizzas and the speeches); I made sure to continue tasting all forthcom-

ing meetings of the club as well. And very soon, I stepped up as another “toastmaster” to serve my dish on stage. I could instantly feel

the warmth, power, energy and positivity the TM platform could provide on everyone’s self paced journey.

Many a times, I have had to walk into unfamiliar places or meetings to encounter those strangers you get to meet are toastmasters.

The moment you say toastmaster - comes that connection – that feeling of belongingness - that feeling of family. And soon all barriers

are broken – from acquaintances – you become friends. It’s like you then suddenly found the meat that went missing in your sandwich.

Yes! I joined the family to enjoy every bit of it – to listen to mesmerizing words, to enjoy the company of like minded people and to

learn from them, to be inspired and laugh my heart out at the same time, and not the least, to enjoy the delicious smelling mouth wa-

tering food…. While, even without my knowledge it started to give me a greater self confidence, better listening skills, ability to think

on my feet, skills to be a better leader, widening my interests, and incur valuable friendships. And I keep coming for every toastmas-

ter’s meeting, Coz at the end of the day – it’s like the Lay’s campaign – None can eat just one”.

Before I stop I leave you with a question, do you want to stop with just one?

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All credit for the DTAC 2015 winning tag line goes to my beauti-

ful wife Limcy Thomas.

If you support others, success will knock on your door too.

DTAC 2015 was the first ever district conference I have attended.

I learned a lot from all the great leaders. Humbleness was built in

each of them, including everybody from the International Presi-

dent of TMI DTM Mohammed Murrad to the volunteers.

I only provided the tag line. What really mattered was how these

leaders applied it and made the conference a grand success. It

will truly be remembered in the history of DTAC.

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You don’t find a happy life. You make it. (Camilla Eyring Kimball)

The most beautiful people we have known are those who have known defeat, known suffering, known struggle,

known loss, and have found their way out of the depths. (Elisabeth Kubler-Ross)

The search for happiness is the main reason for unhappiness.

If your eyes are positive, you will love the world, but if your tongue is positive, the world will love you.

Keep choosing happiness daily and happiness will keep choosing you back.

Kindness makes you the most beautiful person in the world, no matter what you look like.

We don’t meet people by accident. They are meant to cross our path for a reason.

At the end of the day, before you close your eyes, be content with what you’ve done and be proud of who you are.

Bobbie’s

Selection of Witticisms

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MORE OF LESS

From the Club-Level Winning Humorous Speech by TM Crawford,

2014

'More of LESS' has become our lifestyle today. Does this oxymo-

ron confuse you? Let me elaborate further. We are living in a

world of “LESS”. Our mobiles are wireLESS, our phones are cord-

LESS, our cooking range is fireLESS, our cigarettes are somke-

LESS, our dresses are sleeveLESS, our marriages are childLESS, our

society has become careLESS and our politicians are shameLESS.

This leaves me speechLESS.

On my recent trip to Dubai, I had a chance to meet my school

friend Jack and his wife Mona at the airport. I think that Jack had

got a good job in Dubai and wanted to show off his new status. He

and his wife insisted, even forced me to join them for dinner at

their house. As we entered the airport parking lot, Jack ran to the

car and opened the door for his wife. A man opens a car door for

two reasons - either the wife or the car is new. In my friends’ case,

it was the car, of course. He told me that the car was the latest

model. It was keyLESS, gearLESS and tubeLESS. I was really im-

pressed with the car, but not with Jack’s driving - it was reckLESS.

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Vijay - “The Boy Who Feared Mr. Fear, the Man Who Conquered Mr. Fear….”

“In Kuwait, a friend persuaded me to join the Holiday Inn health club. While others enjoyed swimming in the pool, I had

to be satisfied with the treadmill and bike.

After about six months, I gath- ered enough courage to enter the

shallow end of the pool - just 1 meter deep. Occasionally, I would

try to float holding the rails with both hands, one foot still on the bot-

tom of the pool. Friends told me to relax but Mr. Fear was my

best buddy. Later, I bought gog- gles which reduced my fear - now I

could keep my eyes open under water. I also watched numerous

swimming lessons on YouTube.

And then came the turning point! One fine morning, I made up

my mind. I spoke to my God: “God, I know you have brought me

to Kuwait and to this pool for a reason, so you will not let me

drown.” Suddenly, I felt relaxed and fearless and Wow! I was float-

ing! Yes, I did it!! I knew at that moment that I had pushed Mr. Fear

out of the swimming pool…

In the picture above, Vijay is demonstrating “floating”.

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The Silent Blessings of Silence

Elena

“In the hospital where my father worked was

a sign that said SILENCE HEALS. As a little girl,

I didn’t understand the simple message. Now

I do and I have become a passionate warrior

for silence, even though I am not very suc-

cessful because most people do not take me

seriously because they do not understand the

value of silence and the danger of noise.

WELCOME TO one of my battlefields - the

health club – judging by the loud music, the

members and instructors must all suffer from

a complete loss of hearing and if they are not

deaf now, they will definitely need hearing

aids in a few years. Instructors mistakenly believe that the louder the music is, the more energetic the class

will be, and the more calories people will burn. I’m not sure there is a relationship between the volume of

music and calories burnt, but I DO know that there IS a proven, direct, undeniable relationship between loud

music and hearing loss.”

Red Canyon, Southern Utah, a perfect oasis of heavenly peace, 2014

Silence is the sleep that nourishes wisdom. (Francis Bacon)

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CONCAVE EFFECT - A new Toastmaster or One has to overcome a handicap, may engage our feelings of sympathy.

CONVEX EFFECT - When a person has a strong favorable trait, we tend to judge them more positively on other aspects as

well.

COLOR BLINDNESS EFFECT: “Familiarity breeds contempt” i.e. I heard this speaker when he /She competed in the

past / Division contest and did a marvelous job.

Dear Contestants – Imagine you are Batman. Many people in the field are waiting for you to commit a mistake and get out.

Don’t worry. Be confident. Don’t even rely on your Partner Batsman, as your hard work alone will pay back.

CONCLUSION - If I am a JUDGE in the 2016 Contest, I will discharge my duties honestly by keeping any sort of pitfalls at

bay.

God forbid, if I am a contestant, give me the first prize by implementing the above 3 effects. Laugh out loudly.

CONTEST JUDGES – BACKBONE OF MORALITY according to Mani Maran

I broke ice (i.e. gave my ICE BREAKER SPEECH) 5 years

ago, and today I request all Judges not to entertain any sort of

bias which will BREAK SPEAKERS’ TRUST in the contest.

JUDGES, you must play your role honestly like “UMPIRE

DICKIE BIRD”.

You must avoid allowing friendship, affiliation, sex, religion,

etc. influence your decision. Especially be aware of the fol-

lowing 3 pitfalls:

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Karthik & Shamsuddin - New Voices

We have joined the Capitol Speakers Toastmasters Club without any preconceived ideas as to what the club

is all about or how we will benefit. We hope that being active in the club will help us grow both personally

and professionally.

Our first milestone will be the ice breaker. Our intention is to express ourselves and not to worry about im-

pressing the audience. We believe that the club provides a nourishing environment which will have a posi-

tive impact on us.

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‘Oh, it was wonderful to be part of Capitol Speakers”, “Thank you Capitolities” etc.etc…

No, this is not what I want to say, I am sure the readers read a lot of words like this.

After playing hide ‘n seek with different Toastmaster Clubs for 365 days, I chanced up-

on the CSTM Iftaar meeting in Aug 2013 at Better Books, Salmiya . After my encounter

with the first CSTMite, TM Leslie, right at the door, I thought to myself, “Ok, this looks

like I can meet handsome faces, I think this is the right club”. But, it was only after

attending the meeting that I realized that CSTM was much more than handsome faces.

The camaraderie, warmth, bonding and knowledge sharing that I experienced from the

very beginning made me join CSTM right away. The rest is history…8 months of bound-

less learning, fun, achievements and timlesess friendships. That’s what I got at CSTM.

Long live CSTM!

A Familiar Voice from Cardiff - It Must Be PRANAVESH!

My time with the Capitolites was so amazing that I can’t believe 2

years had passed since I joined the Club. The vibrant members and

the environment have helped me hone my public speaking and

leadership skills. Even after leaving Kuwait for my masters program

in the UK, my heart is still with the Capitol Speakers club and so

during my short visits to Kuwait at Christmas and Easter, I set aside

some time to attend the club meetings. I still don’t consider myself

a former member. I am just an old member ready to rejoin the

club!

Capitol Speakers CAN IGNITE THE INNER FIRE IN YOU TO DREAM BIG!!!

By Varuna

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Debate—2014

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IFTAR 2014

AREA LEVEL CONTEST 2015

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Vijo Kanattu Jose

Elena Rezuchova

Kamran Mirza

Anita Mendes

Isha Sadiq

Manimaran Srinivasan

Sunil N.S.

President

VP Education

VP Membership

VP Public Relations

Secretary

Treasurer

Sergeant at Arms

For more information, please contact Vijo Kanattu Jose at +965.9603.1006 or

Kamran at +965.6648.9302 or

Visit us @ http://capitolspeakers.toastmastersclubs.org/

We meet every 2nd and 4th Saturday in SPCL, Rhumaithiya from 4:45 pm to 6:45