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Editorial Dear Readers,

TCS Maitree Toastmasters Club, Mumbai started in 2004 with

few enthusiastic Toastmasters and within a blink of an eye

will complete a decade on 02nd June, 2014. These past 10

years have been glorious and rewarding for the club. Achiev-

ing milestones year after year, the club has pinned up awards

in every area and desires to reach the zenith of success.

Post winning the ‘District 41 Best Newsletter award’, we are

back with a Bang! In this power packed edition we have some

really inspiring write-ups from our very talented Toastmas-

ters, who have displayed their prowess in writing.

Welcome to the fourth edition of Communiqué!

We would like to thank each and every member of our club

for their enthusiasm and efforts in helping our club scale

newer heights.

Looking forward to your suggestions.

From all of us in the Editorial team - Happy Reading!

Please send your feedback, comments

and creative ideas for future issues to:

mumbai.toastmasters@tcs.com

Editorial Team

Surabhi Kinariwala, Nilufer Dmello,

Surabhi Shrivastava, Ashutosh Chaturvedi

I nside this issue

English Semantics…. …………………...3

Facing the demons within……..……… 4

Veteran Corner…………...…………… 5

The ‘small’ experience ……..…...………7

Best Practices….…. .....…..……...…….8

People Speak….…. .....…..…………….9

Shades Of Art….…. .....…..……...…….11

Ignited Minds….…. .....…..……..…….12

Toastmaster's Day out ..…...……...…...13

Rendezvous….…. .....…..………..……15

Speech Marathon Session……….....….17

Every Dream has its price …...…….…18

Eloquence 2014 ………………….....….19

Dream.. Dare.. Do ...... …………...…….20

President’s corner ..... …………...….….21

The Glittering Gold .... ….…………..….23

Triple Crowns…………………………..24

Achievements………………………….25

Know Your Ex-Com …...…………….....27

3

P Suresh

Parthasarathi Suresh is an

alumnus of Indian Institute

of Technology -Bombay. He

was one of the founding

members of TCS Maitree

Toastmasters Club in Mum-

bai. For the past decade he

has been a part of Delivery

Excellence Group and cur-

rently heads it in the Compo-

nent Engineering Group.

E nglish Semantics

As I was go throughing my Indian Ex-

press paper during the last London

Olympics, I came across this news

item which debates what is correct

grammatically. Grammar does have a

record, as the Oxford English Diction-

ary recognition of the verb

'medalling' as something that existed

from 1822 as written by Lord Byron

who, incidentally not only wrote a

memorable poem on the Prisoner of

Chillon; but also engraved his signa-

ture on a pillar at the Castle of Chillon

which I had seen on my trip to Lau-

sanne, Switzerland.

I believe that communication in Eng-

lish is a challenge that has to be regu-

larly addressed. The mistake that was

deliberately made at the start of this

piece was originally from a project

leader who would keep saying ,he is

She told me about the various bene-

fits of joining Toastmasters. As they

say “A journey of a thousand miles

begins with a single step”. In Febru-

ary 2004, with the support of Ms. Ni-

na Screwvalla and Mrs. Mala

Ramadorai, who were a part of the

TCS Maitree team, we set up the first

TCS Maitree Toastmasters Club in

Mumbai. We were delighted to have

Ms. Screwvalla and Mrs. Ramadorai

in the inaugural session to share their

views on importance of communica-

tion and leadership skills.

The Toastmasters method of im-

provement includes structured

speeches, impromptu Q&A based on

the theme of the session, evaluation

of speeches by a peer, special role

players like timer, grammarian and ah-

counter. The intention of these peer

“A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step”.

reviews is to non-threateningly coach

peers to improve themselves based

on a plan. After a defined number of

speeches which have been made and

evaluated, the speaker receives the

designation Competent Communica-

tor award. Toastmasters is a place

where you are showered with oppor-

tunities to keep on learning.

go throughing the documents instead of 'going through the docu-

ments'. There are many instances when project teams cannot com-

municate in appropriate language with their customers; both oral and

written. In some cases, lack of confidence keeps them silent during

meetings. This problem kept recurring when I was in a Financial Ser-

vices relationship, and when I mentioned it to my Quality Assurance

Facilitator (QAF) Nagaraj Bhat. He told me about an organization called

Toastmasters which helps people improve their communication skills in

a structured manner. He introduced me to Toastmaster Saswati Mitra.

4

Harshit Shah

An avid fitness freak, he likes

to stay updated with the lat-

est happenings in the field of

technology. Exploring differ-

ent places whenever given a

chance is his hobby. He as-

pires to become a great ora-

tor one day.

F acing the Demons within

It all started when I created my email id and named it after one of the world’s

finest orator till date – Adolf Hitler. I’ve always been an admirer of the way in

which he persuaded people by his words. Steve Jobs is another epitome of a

great orator. The way in which he conducted his keynote conferences was simp-

ly mind-blowing. There are many such examples which have time and again

shown us the power of Public Speaking. I had never mustered enough courage

to display my oratory skills in public. Stage fear was the result of this hesitation.

Nothing in the world

scared me but facing

the audience. Then

came a day that

changed it all. After

working in TCS Mum-

bai for a couple of

months, I received a

mail from my HR re-

garding TCS Maitree Toastmasters Club session. The What? When? questions

started popping in my head. My curious mind urged me to contact Toastmaster

Indrajit – President of the club at that time. He gave me all the details of the

upcoming club meeting. For me it was no different than love at first sight. I was

in awe of the way meetings were conducted and the format followed. I decided

to become a lifetime member of the Toastmasters Club.

Ever since I joined the club, I have been constantly learning something or the other through every Toastmasters ses-

sion. By regularly attending these sessions I have improved a lot in my public speaking skills. Apart from acquiring

public speaking skills, I have made a lot of friends who are like a family. The mentoring program at Toastmasters

amazes me .The time and effort invested by mentors to help their mentee is commendable. This club has opened a

Pandora’s Box of talent that was hidden within me. I never knew that I could dance with a group of people and in

synchronization with the beats. My dancing potential was unveiled when we performed a flash mob during the Divi-

sion Level Contest. It was truly a wonderful experience.

Toastmasters Club has helped me fight my demons and provided the faith that I can become what I desire to be.

Toastmasters Club delivers what it promises, its mission statement being : “We provide a supportive and positive

learning experience in which members are empowered to develop communication and leadership skills, resulting in

greater self-confidence and personal growth.”

5

I was always passionate about public speaking and guiding my colleagues with their

time on stage. It was by a sheer chance that I came across TCS Maitree TM club in 2008. The

club was new and so was I. It was the perfect platform to enhance my speaking skills with

great orators and leaders like Jayesh Anandpara and Ajay Bijoor. I always had the Ex-Com

team to help me organize sessions, especially Tenny Jose ,the then VP Education . TCS host-

ed almost all major events in the Division. It would get crazy at times, putting together

things during such big events, but the support and learning was immense. It was all this ex-

perience that helped me become the Division Governor for Division D and achieve the Presi-

dent's Distinguished Division award.

— Adit Paul , DTM, President, 2009-2010

Toastmasters International helps TCSers in orbit shifting leadership. I was introduced to

Toastmasters by Jayesh Anandpara in Aug 2009. I arranged a demo session for my team

which turned out to be successful. We had our first session in the presence of Arvind, Juzer,

Shaheen and Yasha. I would like to thank Shabbir, Adit, Fadhel for providing their continu-

ous guidance to the club. The club flourished with the help of Mohit, Namrata, Atrayee,

Rajiv Perumal, Anushree, Sreejith, Surabhi and many other enthusiastic Toastmasters. The

club has moved from being frivolous to winning the Golden Gavel twice since 2009. It feels

nice to see so many TCSers participating in our sessions. I am sure Toastmasters will play a

major role in taking TCS to the next level.

— Anurag Sinha, President, 2011-2012

Art Buchward rightly said “The best things in life aren’t things”, and Toastmasters just

reinforced that quote by giving me what I’d call the best intangible gift I could ever ask

for. I still remember my first day with TCS Toastmasters at the Malad Conference Room

and TM Aditya (one of the best host/speakers I’ve come across) gave a speech to get

things started. Little did I know then, that this conference room would be

my Thursday morning home! I grew in confidence with my speeches, made friends with

fellow toastmasters and harnessed my need to compete at the division/district level com-

petitions .Toastmasters made sure that I always looked at a bad situation as a potential

topic for my next speech.

— Rajiv Perumal, CC,CL, VPE 2011-2012 ”

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Veteran Corner

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11 speeches, 3.14 leadership roles, friendship with wonderful people, 100% confidence

(wait its 125%) and close to 5 years. From a hesitant new member to a careless inactive gen-

erous donor moving on to become "Mr. President" (still gives me a high) and fulfilling the

dream of achieving coveted Golden Gavel for the 1st time in our club’s history, Toastmasters

has brought me closer to my dream of becoming a person I always wanted to be and I am

sure this wonderful journey will always have lots to offer. I just need to be active, keep my

mind open and embrace the amazing learning with open arms. — Mohit Chhabra, CC, ALB, President 2012-2013

15th May, 2010 - I attended a TM session on a Saturday morning for the first time and

then what followed was an ineluctable odyssey of more than two years on every alter-

nate Thursday. The journey from being an audience, member and then an Ex-Com to even-

tually being a CC and CL was rewarding and fulfilling. I realized my potential, ameliorated

my oratory and leadership skills, made amazing friends, heard innumerable stupendous

speeches, attended informative sessions and contests in these couple of years. There are a

lot of things I owe to this club. I always believe that a part of me is in TCSTM and a part of

TCSTM is in me.

— Namrata Srivastava, CC,CL, VPM 2011-2012

While penning down my Toastmasters memories, I remember my first session in

which Kriti Telang delivered her P1. I was spellbound by the way the session was con-

ducted. This journey of Toastmasters, which began somewhere in Sept 2011, has been

filled with fun, emotions, and lots of learning. It’s a platform where I not only learnt

but also shared my own experiences in the form of speeches. I got rid of stage fright,

learnt to be punctual ,an effective team member and a leader. I am looking forward

to capture many such memories at Toastmasters. I want to thank all who have been a

part of this wonderful journey.

— Rashmi Singh, CC, CL, VPM 2012-2013

In April 2012, I received a mail from the HR with the subject line “Let’s talk about Fash-

ion”. I was confused at that time ,why so many people want to meet in a room and discuss

about fashion? Vanshika Shrivastava clarified my confusion and encouraged me to join Toast-

masters. My Toastmasters journey has been a roller coaster ride. I enjoyed various club

officer roles but being the club newsletter editor was a tough task for me. I was lucky to have

Vanshika, Ankit, Parakh, Surabhi, Ashutosh and Nitin as part of Ex-Com team. Collaborative-

ly we dedicated an astronomical amount of efforts to achieve multiple accolades for the club.

My involvement with TCS Maitree Toastmasters Club is the one of the greatest experience

that has enriched and supplemented my public speaking skills.

— Indrajit Suryawanshi, ACB, ALB, President 2013

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7

Raunak Kulwal

He is joyful , positive and en-

thusiastic person. who is al-

ways up for new things. He is

fond of music, games, Travel-

ling, making new connections

and Dreaming big. He believes

“Life is simple, we are the

one's who make it complicat-

ed.”

2nd January, 2014 , I wanted to start the new year with something that is pro-

ductive and satisfying. While going through the unread mails, I found a mail

from the HR about an invitation to the Toastmasters session.

I was clueless about what exactly happens in a Toastmasters session but the

urge to get the ball rolling forced me to attend the session. I reached the loca-

tion in the nick of time. I was in a conference room packed with 20 unknown

associates . The session began and as time passed by I was completely sold out

to TOASTMASTERS.

After listening to prepared speeches, I was astounded and influenced by the

speakers’ efforts and the quality of speeches. I was still pondering about the

speeches when all of a sudden the Table Topics round started. It was the most

exciting and breathtaking round. At the end of the session, I was impressed by

the strict timing guidelines and was able to appreciate the value of time in life.

I was left with various questions deep down in my heart and mind. Who are

these people? How can they be

so systematic and so honest?

What is their objective behind

it? Are they paid for such ses-

sions and speeches? Are they

preparing for some exams or

interviews? With time and by

attending more sessions, the

T he ‘small’ experience

“Toastmaster has given a new imagination , direction and perspective to life.”

clouds of queries drifted away. In March, I became a member of the club. And from that day, my journey in Toast-

masters has been tremendous and memorable. I have witnessed some superb speeches and met many wonderful

people in such a short span of time. I try to attend every session and regret when I miss one. If I feel that a session

could have been better, I provide my feedback. Toastmasters Club has redefined the path of my life. Meeting a

bunch of enigmatic, energetic and enthusiastic Toastmasters has given a new direction and perspective to life, a

new imagination and great confidence. That Best Speaker ribbon always inspires me to do better. I have learnt to be

more punctual, observant, efficient, focused and to be more confident. Be it a struggler or a winner, everybody has

only 24 hours in a day and 168 hours in a week. Unless we get the best out of our time, we cannot get the best out of

our life. So spend time, energy and life on more meaningful activities and people; and the most important person:

yourself.

8

Nilesh Mishra

A techno savvy geek who

loves gadgets. Adventures,

fun and humor is in his nerves.

Having a special affection with

music and cricket, he is also a

foodie. He is passionate about

art be it photography, poetry,

dancing and theatre

B est Practices It is said that the only way of finding your limits is by going beyond them; into the

impossible. We all might have a defined process of doing things, but there is al-

ways a scope for improvement. Challenges urge us to improve. It’s the challeng-

es, that have driven TCS Maitree Toastmasters Club, Mumbai for the last 10

years, since its inception on 2nd June, 2004. Below is a list of few of the best

practices of

our Club,

which help

us in serving

the mem-

bers better,

engaging

more guests

and con-

ducting ex-

citing meet-

ings.

Easy Speak: easy-speak.org , an automated online tool, helps us to track all

Toastmasters related activities such as member details, mentor assignment,

booking speeches/roles in advance, tracking member and DCP progress. This

results in a much more efficient, transparent and always-updated meeting plan.

Unique Poster Design: Images are more effective than words, especially when we need to engage 25K+ employees

of TCS Mumbai. The poster, which is sent to all TCS Mumbai employees, has a basic introduction to Toastmasters, our

Club and what we do. The icing on the cake is an attractive image of the meeting theme.

Meetings at different locations: In the megacity Mumbai, employees work at different locations and attending all

Club meetings becomes a challenge. To give full benefit of Toastmasters to members and guests, we conduct meet-

ings at 4-5 different locations, thus organize 5-6 meetings every month!

Icebreaker for guests: Our club provides the guests with an opportunity to deliver the Project 1 from Competent

Communication manual before joining Toastmasters. It helps the guests take that first step, overcome fear and get

motivated. Not to mention, this helps the Club too in converting more and more guests to members.

Thanks to the effort of the Club officers, enthusiasm of the members and the help of Area/Division/District leadership,

this year our Club has scored a hat-trick of President’s Distinguished Club (10/10) status.

9

P eople Speak

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Hi Mohammed , Indrajit, Vanshika and Gopal .A

big Thank You to all of You . Because of You we

could make this demo meeting successful. Look-

ing forward for the same cooperation.

Thank you Chinmaya ,Surabhi, Pramod, Rishabh,

Ashutosh for being there for the demo meeting at such a

short notice. I really appreciate. I don’t have everybody’s

email id so please forward this email to them or thank

them on my behalf.

Congratulations Indrajit. It just seems like yesterday that

I attended the 50th Session. Wow Time Flies and its been

a wonderful journey for TCS Maitree. Keep up the spirit

and keep the enthusiasm high. I am sure TCS Maitree

would soon be amongst the best clubs in India.

Please accept and convey to the members of TCS

Maitree Toastmasters Club my heartiest congratulations

on this momentous occasion. I am proud of the way the

Club is progressing and the quality of the meetings.

Parag Karve

Area K1 Governor

Hitendra Bhadang

Area K2 Governor

DTM Brillian S.K. D41 Lt. Gov. Marketing

Arvind Nair Div K Governor

Congratulations! from the Maitree family for

the Golden Gavel Award. Indeed it a decade

of many achievements through the persever-

ance of TCSers, and you all make us feel

proud to be a part of this organization.

Nina Screwvalla Global Head,TCS Maitree

11

S hades Of Art

Kriti Telang

An artist by heart., she

joined Toastmasters in 2011 .

She loves to portray her

emotions on canvas. She is a

great fan of Indian classical

music , dance and theatre.

“All the world's a stage, and all men and women merely players.

They have their exits and entrances, and one man in his time plays many parts.”

I love this life which is a stage for all, but I also love the life which I live on the

stage, of the stage and for the stage. Be it a dancing performance, a Toastmas-

ters speech delivery, a musical performance or a theatrical act, I enjoy them all.

As a kid I used to think good performance comes naturally to good actors. Soon

I realized, that it was a myth when I witnessed good actors struggling with dia-

logues and expressions. Since childhood, I always had a keen interest in theatre

and when I came to Mumbai, I took this interest to the next level.

I started watching plays at

different theatres like Prithvi

Theatre Juhu, NCPA

Nariman Point and Sathey

College, Vile Parle. The first

play that I witnessed was

"Dinner with Friends" star-

ring TV actor Harsh Chaya

and movie actors Perizad

Zorabian and Tisca Chopra. I

started watching plays more frequently. A few of the good plays which I would

suggest you all to watch are Naseerudin Shah's "Arms and the Man", Manav

"Shakkar ke panch daane", "Laal Pencil”, Rangbaaz theatre group's "Junglebook".

The best thing about theatre is its dynamic nature. All the performances are live and every performance is unique. To

make my passion a reality, I frantically started searching groups that I could join. As I work on the weekdays, I opted

for a class "Rangsutra" headed by Mr. Kishore Chandra Shrivastava that operates on weekends.

My first performance was a 2-3 minutes role in two of their plays named "Intezaar" and "Sugandhi" based on the

writings of Urdu writer Munto. I realized that I was struggling with delivery of dialogues as my English speaking was

only limited to corporate communication and a little daily communication. My interest for Toastmasters went a notch

higher. My thirst to seek more led me to complete my ‘Competent Communicator’ Manual. Nowadays, when I pre-

pare my speeches, I incorporate the essence of theatres which I have learnt along the way. The difference between

Toastmasters and theatres is that theatre has dialogues, we perform with other actors where as in Toastmaster

performances are monologues. My dream is to present a monologue at Toastmasters which is both flawless and

entertaining.. Fingers Crossed!

“All the world’s a stage and all men and women merely players…”

12

I gnited Minds

The Toastmasters from our club were privileged to be addressed by the Division I Governor, DTM Farida Dias. Her

magnetic persona truly reflected her 30 years of experience and expertise in Soft Skills, Executive coaching, Psycho-

therapeutic Counselor, Behavioral Management Consultancy and Training. Her educational session titled "Evaluate to

Motivate" gave in-depth perspectives to the significance of a speech evaluation. She manifested various techniques

and exemplified the art of presenting evaluations ;thus emphasized on the importance of a speech evaluation for

both the speaker and the evaluator. She suggested that with each evaluation, evaluators hone their listening, im-

promptu speaking, decision making and organizing skills. An evaluator should understand that his/her evaluation

builds the speaker's future journey at Toastmasters. The gathering was in awe with Farida's grace and grandeur of

her presentation. It was a great learning experience.

—Toastmaster Surabhi Kinariwala

There was laughter in the air when District Champion of Humorous

Speech Contest 2011, Toastmaster Vikram Poddar, started off with

his educational session on “Elements of Humor”.

His winning speech video from District level humorous speech con-

test, made the gathering laugh their heads off. He analyzed every

aspect of that speech to elaborate how humor is created and sug-

gested tips to enthrall the audience. He explained how structuring a

topic using mind maps and connecting it with its related ideas can

do wonders in fabricating effective and creative humorous speech-

es. He illustrated the reversal technique to transform a simple obser-

vation from daily life into a hilarious joke. The use of analogies in a

speech to spark off humor was his paramount advice for the audi-

ence. He suggested that jokes used in a speech should be very relevant and easily comprehended by majority of the

audience. He made the session entertaining and educational with his charisma.

—Toastmaster Ashutosh Chaturvedi

Evaluating right

“A successful person is one who can lay a firm foundation with the bricks that others throw at him or her.”

Spreading laughter

13

T oastmaster's Day out

8th March , the International Women's Day was celebrated at Toastmasters to salute all the women Toastmasters of

Divsion D & K . Our beloved TM & LGM Brillian had planned this event. The event was unique as all the role players

were female toastmasters .The ladies of TCS Maitree Toastmasters Club, Mumbai participated enthusiastically in the

event .TM Shruti Pandit was the vibrant Toastmaster of the Day. General Evaluator TM Nilufer Dmello was appreciat-

ed for her confidence on stage. TM Surabhi, being the Table Topic Master came up with many interesting prompts to

captivate the audience.TM Seema Chandran played the role of the Grammarian with poise and panache. TM Neha

Tandon utilized this unique opportunity to deliver her Project 2 from Competent Communication Manual. She mes-

merized the audience with her vocal skills &

her speech. TM Surabhi and TM Nilufer

demonstrated the multitasking trait of wom-

en and took up the Evaluator roles as well .

TM Surabhi Kinariwala was awarded the

Best Evaluator ribbon for her motivating

evaluation. She shared the award with TM

Neenu Kewlani– a member of Mumbai

Toastmasters Club. It was a delightful and a

proud moment to observe women in Toastmasters being appreciated & recognized.

— Toastmaster Neha Tandon

T oastmaster's Day out

Every artist needs a platform to be successful. For me , public speaking is an art and Toastmasters is the canvas on

which I can portray my creativity. It provides me a platform to hone my skills.

I was the host for a Road Show in Pune , which was attended by more than 100 TCS associates , I was the anchor at

a closure meet which was attended by associates of six different cities through video conference, I also conducted

a retirement function. After every event, be it small or large, the smile of satisfaction on my face is beyond words.

The confidence that I gain when the crowd enjoys the interaction and cheers with applause, motivates me. Toast-

masters deserves a huge credit for helping me carve a path to reach towards my goals.

—Toastmaster Surabhi Shrivastava

Walk the Talk

The Brave Beauties

14

Book Talk - IRC Yantra Park - 23rd April ,2014

Being a Toastmaster is an awesome experience. I

was invited at Yantra Park Information Resource

Center to present my views on any book of my

choice. I opted for one of my favorite book "The

Alchemist" by Paulo Coelho. The thrill of being on

stage where people are eager to listen to you is

exactly a kind of high a Toastmaster desires. I had

the amazing company of Toastmater Shruti Pandit

on stage. The audience was different, the topic

was different, the setting was different. I felt like I was delivering my P1 all over again. I felt the butterflies in my stom-

ach as they called my name "Ankit Jain " when I was expecting Toastmaster Ankit Jain .The spirit of Toastmasters and

the aim to make our club proud took over and made me speak for 20 minutes. After the talk people appreciated me,

and IRC staff felicitated us with token of appreciation. I felt happy that my Toastmasters experience helped me con-

tribute to people’s knowledge .

. —Toastmaster Ankit Jain

" So when you feel like hope is gone... Look inside you and be strong

And you'll finally see the truth... That a hero lies in you "

These were the few lines with which I commenced the felicitation ceremony for the 11th batch of the Advanced Com-

puter Training Centre for the visually impaired conducted by TCS. M N Banajee home for blind was a supporting hand

for the 45 days educational program. The event was organized at the prestigious TCS house in Mumbai

The euphoria was elevated by the presence of Dr. Mukund Rajan - Brand Custodian & Chief Ethics Officer, TATA Sons,

Member Group Executive Council, Mr. Ajoyendra Mukherjee, Executive Vice President and head of Global Human Re-

sources, TCS , Ms. Nina Screwvalla, Global Head of TCS Maitree. The dedication and determination of the 12 visually

impaired trainees and their trainers was appreciated by one and all. It was indeed a privilege to be the Master of Cere-

mony and contribute to this thoughtful initiative by TCS Maitree team. I realized that no physical or mental constraints

should stop us from dreaming and achieving our dreams. A round of applause helped me calm my nerves and the

Toastmasters pin then did wonders. I was happy that I could represent TCS Maitree Toastmasters Club at such an glori-

ous event and make our club proud.

—Toastmaster Surabhi Kinariwala

Extending horizons

The Real Heroes

15

It’s been a year since you joined TCS Maitree Toastmasters, how did the journey begin?

“My first rendezvous with Toastmasters happened in Chennai during my graduation. Since then the magic of Toast-

masters has been captivating me. I vividly remember the first meeting I attended at TCS Maitree Toastmasters Club as

I returned home with lots of learning and the Best Table Topic Speaker ribbon. ”

From a member in the audience to the Club’s Vice President Education, how has it been like?

“To describe the whole experience in few words , I would say it has been “Fun, Friendly and Fulfilling”

as it had promised to be. Be it a spectator in the gathering, a role player in a session or Vice President

Education of the Club, I have strived to absorb all the learning around me to become a better leader and orator. The

member in the audience wants to stride and the VP Education gets to flaunt her golden pin with pride.”

Your humorous speech "Did you hear that?" took you to the Area Level. What was your inspiration be-

hind that speech?

“My contest speech revolved around the fact ,how the God’s most exquisite and talented creation devotes most of

her time and energy in gossiping. Girl’s hostel chit chats, office washroom discussions and kitty party talks were my

source of inspiration to frame the speech. I just wanted to convey my message to all the men out there that for us gos-

siping is not a habit but an addiction.”

What other activities are you interested in other than Toastmaster?

“Being a software engineer by profession I am attracted towards the binary world. I am a trained Bharatnatyam danc-

er and also love to sing. I dream of writing, producing and creating an animation movie one day, that should be in the

must watch movie list on IMDb.”

R endezvous

Her face brims with serenity and her smile is contagious.

She is a power-packed girl with a strong determination and

music is the food for her soul. A desirous writer and a

philanthropist, when it comes to accomplishing tasks, she

settles for nothing but perfection. In the last TM year, she

has represented the Club at Area level in the Humorous

speech, Table Topics and Evaluation Contest. Here are

some excerpts from a recent conversation with the im-

mensely talented orator, Surabhi Kinariwala, VP-Education

of TCS Maitree Toastmasters Club, Mumbai. Toastmaster Namrata

16

In 1.5 years you have represented TCS Maitree Toastmasters Club twice at Area level. How does it feel ?

“It always feels great to represent our Club at a contest. The best part of the whole process is that I get to push myself

to deliver the best each time. I have gained a lot even when I did not win a particular competition. For me it was less

about winning and more about learning. The spirit with which people compete at a Toastmasters contest isn’t worth

missing.”

A much discussed statement - six monthly executive committee is a better option than a full year term

executive committee. Your views ?

“In my experience, 6 monthly Ex-Com is a better option as we get to experiment more with the roles. The more we

experiment, the more we learn. I was the Club Treasurer for 6 months where I learned to manage the Club’s accounts

and then I was given the opportunity of taking charge as the Vice President Education which enhanced my decision

making skills to a great extent.”

Any personal and professional changes which you have seen in yourself ever since you joined Toastmas-

ter?

“Surabhi to Toastmaster Surabhi has made me

a better listener, an avid reader and definitely a

better observer. It has taught me the traits of

being patient and the art of managing stress

situations. I have started appreciating different

views of people and learned to see the Big Pic-

ture. I wish the learning never stops and I am

able to return to Toastmasters at least a bit of

what I have received from it.”

Finally, what do you have to say to the people who want to join Toastmasters?

As Henry Ford once said “Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at twenty or eighty. Anyone who keeps learning

stays young.” I can assure that at Toastmasters you stay young forever. It is a platform that allows you to do what you

think you can’t, helps you discover your hidden talents and you helps you grow each day as an individual. At Toastmas-

ters, they say that you will never learn to swim by staring at the water. Just dive in and enjoy the adventure.”

“Anyone who keeps learning stays young”

17

TCS Maitree Toastmasters Club conducted the Speech Marathon on 1st of Feb 2014. The session was graced by

Dr. Reet Arora, LGET District 41. She conducted an educational session on ‘Everybody has a story: How to make

a speech’.

The program kicked off with some wonderful speeches. Some inspired me, some led me into an infinite loop of

introspection, some made an adrenaline rush in me and I was thinking about what an amazing world we all live

in. As the first half of the day’s program concluded everyone eagerly awaited for Dr. Reet’s session. She took the

dais and true to her profession of a dentist, wore a bright smile that put a cheerful grin on everyone’s face.

Dr. Reet started off by nar-

rating a story of her child-

hood when she had to

woo her parents into buy-

ing her a bicycle. Her style

of storytelling was filled

with tiny little nuances of

drama and emotions

which seemed to strike a

chord with the audiences.

It was amazing to see how

she transformed her ordi-

nary story into an interesting one and teleported the audience back into her childhood. I was really curious to

find out the way in which she managed to keep the audience engaged throughout her talk. She gave us a few

suggestions to narrate a compelling story. Dr. Reet told us about how she used to always pen her thoughts

down as and when events occurred in her life and about how she maintained a journal of events which she could

use for her next speech. With a smile on her face she ended the session on an inspiring note which left us want-

ing for more.

— Toastmaster Nilufer Dmello

S peech Marathon Session

“One must keep observing, keep writing and keep speaking about the things

that amuse us in our daily lives ! ”

18

Lekha Menon

An avid reader, who is pas-

sionate about poetry, she

dabbles in random activities

like writing poems, pencil

sketching and creative crafts.

Her dream is to travel to new

places, learn about new cul-

tures and admire the magnifi-

cent beauty of our world.

E very Dream Has Its Price Every dream has its price

Blood, Sweat, Sacrifice

Tasted after failure, tears and hopeless sighs

Would Success seem sweeter twice?

Hands that dare to reach towards the skies

Cannot let the sun blind their eyes

The highest peaks are there to achieve

Only by those that dare to believe

Don't let the misfortunes shake your soul

Or shift your eyes from the ultimate goal

The road to paradise is paved with stones

Self-doubt, setbacks, too many unknowns

The seas may seem turbulent and deep

But you cannot judge its depth unless you leap

The thrill of swimming against the tide

Can't be experienced by admiring the waves from the sea-side

Cleanse your soul, listen to the inner voice

Let go of every grudge, every artifice

Dare to open your mind and you'll realize

Where your heart's true desire lies...

“

”

19

E loquence 2014 TCS Maitree Toastmasters Club, Mumbai successfully organized Eloquence 2014 - Club level International Speech

and Evaluation Contest on 2nd March ,2014. The event was a grand success. Members and guests actively participat-

ed by taking up various roles as contestants, role players and audience.

Toastmaster Deepika, the Sergeant at Arms kept the event lively with her lucid thoughts and shared them generous-

ly with the audience. Toastmaster Ashutosh, the Contest Chair for the International Speech Contest explained the

rules and guidelines for the contest and conducted the contest with great enthusiasm. Toastmaster Natarajan, the

Chief Judge ensured that all contestants and role players were in good standing.

The other role players were Shatabdi Paul, Rishabh Singla, Nilesh Mishra and Rashmi Singh as Sergeant at Arms,

Seema Mane, Neha Tandon and Anurag Sinha as Tally Counters, Surabhi Shrivastava and Akanksha Gaur as Timer.

The second innings of the contest, the Evaluation Contest, was conducted by Toastmaster Harshit. The contestants

were successful in binding the audience to their thoughts while giving their evaluations. The contest concluded on a

good note with a charged up audience and smiling winners. Each one had a take away from the event. The winners

from the Club level participated at the Area level contest and won accolades.

International Speech Contest

Contestants: Ankit Jain, Chinmaya Dave, Parakh

Kukreja, Pramod Mohandas, Sameer

Patil, Surabhi Kinariwala,

Winners: Pramod Mohandas

Chinmaya Dave

Evaluation Speech Contest

Contestants : Ankit Jain, Chinmaya Dave, Nilufer

Dmello, Parakh Kukreja, Pramod Mo-

handas, Surabhi Kinariwala

Winners: Pramod Mohandas

Surabhi Kinariwala

“Winning isn't everything--but wanting to win is.”

20

D ream.. Dare.. Do..

6th April ,2014, the Sangam auditorium of TCS Yantra Park ,Thane was filled with energy, enthusiasm and excitement

of the Division Level Contest – Inspire 2014.

The gathering had members and guests from different clubs across Division D&K. Each one had to come to cheer

their club participants and learn from the experience. Members of TCS Maitree Toastmasters Club, Mumbai took part

both in contest organization and participation with great zeal. Sergeant -at-Arms Toastmaster Nilufer Dmello called

the event to order. She did her role with great efficiency. Toastmaster Surabhi Kinariwala took responsibility as the

Contest Chair for Division D evaluation contest. Toasmaster Chinmaya participated in the International Speech con-

test . “The Carpenter” was magical as he delivered his speech with great calm and composure. He was the first run-

ner up in the speech contest. Toastmaster Pramod participated both in International speech and Evaluation contest.

He enthralled the audience with his confidence on stage and energetic delivery. He stood first both in International

Speech and Evaluation contest.

“Winning is only half of it. Having fun is the other half.”

The surprise element of the event was the display of

dancing skills by the TCS Maître Toastmasters team.

They kept the audience spellbound with their Flash

Mob performance, and left the audience saying

‘Encore, Encore!’ The Division Contest set an exam-

ple of how dedication and team work can create

wonders. The event was successfully hosted and eve-

ryone left feeling happy and satisfied.

Toastmaster Pramod : You made us proud! He stood first both in International Speech and Evaluation contest at

Division level and made us all happy and proud. He hails from Mumbai,

the city of dreams but only trusts hard work and perseverance to

achieve his goals. A die-hard football fan and an ardent lover of music,

he also believes that reading good books is a medicine for the soul. His

tryst with Toastmasters began 10 months ago at TCS Maitree Toast-

masters Club. His dedication and passion led him to represent the Club

at Oration 2014 in Goa. He competed both in International Speech con-

test and Evaluation contest at the District 41 conference. He opines

that Toastmasters is not just a part but a way of life. We wish him a suc-

cessful and a wonderful Toastmasters journey ahead.

21

Firstly, congratulations on reaching the Division level of the International Speech contest. How does it

feel and what was the inspiration behind the much talked about speech, ‘The Carpenter’ ?

“Thank you. It was the very first time that I participated sincerely in a Toastmasters contest. Prior to this, I participated

just because there was no representation from the club. The feeling was amazing. The inspirations behind this speech

were two songs: One is “Fix You” by Coldplay and the other is “Mirrors” by Justin Timberlake. And the chair came

somewhere in my dreams (laughs).”

How was it both participating in the contest and mentoring a fellow contestant who eventually won the

Division contest against you?

“For me it was never like a competition between me and someone else from the Club. I always wanted a contestant

from our Club to reach the District level. For my speech, I had worked on the content for more than a month and had

written and rewritten the speech. Hence for Division level preparation, I focused more on my delivery and for Pramod,

the speech content.”

You delivered ‘The Carpenter’ at your Club, at the Area level and then finally at the Division level. How

was the response from people who had seen you perform from the Club to the Division level?

“The response from people in the audience, be it my mentor, my roommate or other Club members, helped me to en-

hance my speech. Most of them gave me a positive and specific feedback which helped refining the speech. I am grate-

ful to all of them for their feedback and support.”

P resident’s Corner

He happens to be an ambitious and adroit boy from the

Pink City, Jaipur who in no time made a stirring mark on the

entrenched canvas of the TCS Maitree Toastmasters Club,

Mumbai. He is my friend, my mentee and has a knack of

excelling in whatever he does. He is an avid reader and a

culinary aficionado. In a recent conversation with

Chinmaya Dave, we talked about his achievement as a

contestant and as a President. Toastmaster Namrata

22

Who according to you is “the hero of the speech”?

“There is always something which makes a winning speech stand out. It is that ‘magic’ ingredient or factor. For exam-

ple, for Darren LaCroix’s speech, it was falling on the stage; for Persiyan Vasilev’s speech, it was the pauses. But with-

out a doubt the content is the maker or the breaker of a speech. A well written speech with a clear cut message is al-

ways a winner.”

What challenges do you face as a President of a Club which expands to 4 locations in Mumbai and has

over 5-6 sessions in a month?

“Keeping all the members engaged is one big challenge. My focus has been more on the growth of existing members

rather than getting new members. It is very unfortunate when a member stops coming to the sessions and not take

roles or deliver speeches. Another challenge, which is also an opportunity, is spreading the awareness of our Club and

Toastmasters among TCS Mumbai associates.”

Easy-Speak is another thing which you are credited to for bringing in our Club. How has it been useful?

“Who credited? My bank balance is still the same. Jokes apart, our Club has used Easy-Speak for meeting management

and role booking. As our Club has expanded, both in terms of members and locations, it has been of tremendous help.

Also, through Easy-Speak, our mentor-mentee relationships were updated and visible to all. However, Easy-Speak has

lots of features which we must use. We can only go uphill from here.”

Finally, Golden Gavel for the 2nd time in a row. Excited? What are your expectations from Orations 2014?

“Golden Gavel has become a benchmark for excellence now. Thanks to the past Ex-Com members, Club members, Divi-

sion and District Leadership, we are able to see this day. As for Oration 2014, we have got representation in both the

Speech and the Evaluation Contests from our Club, which is great (the weight of expectations… oh so heavy!). Also, a

whopping number of 11 members from our Club are going to Oration this time, so we want to have fun.”

Any message to people who are reading this and want to know about Toastmasters?

“Just attend a few Toastmasters sessions at our Club or anywhere in the World. As I said, it’s not just about giving

speeches or taking roles. There is a whole buffet out there and you will be never run out of choices. Once a Toastmas-

ter, always a Toastmaster.”

“Once a Toastmaster always a Toastmaster”

23

T he Glittering Gold

“A goal is a dream with a plan and a deadline”

We dreamt for gold, we strived for gold and with pride

and honor we earned the gold.

The criteria that was met by our club to win the Golden Gavel award for 2013-14 are as follows:

Achieved 10/10 DCP goals.

All 7 Club Officers were trained in OTP.

A minimum of 6 unique members earned at least one educational or leadership award until 30th April 2014.

The club conducted the Moments of Truth module from the ‘Successful Club Series’.

At least 5 members were trained as judges having attended the Judges training and at least 2 members attended

Chief Judges Training post July 1, 2012 and before 31st March 2014.

Submitted the reports of Club Speech Contests.

Membership dues payment of at least 20 members were uploaded within the mentioned duration.

Both the President and Vice President –Education of the club attended District Council meetings at each of the

two District conferences.

24

T riple Crown Winners

You need to attain any three of the following to be eligible for winning the Triple crown Award: Competent Communi-

cator, Advanced Communication Bronze, Advanced Communication Gold, Competent Leader, Advanced Leadership

Bronze, Advanced Leadership Silver and Distinguished Toastmaster. These four members from our club achieved the

feat and contributed towards winning the golden gavel. They will be honored at District 41 Semi- Annual Conference:

Resonance 2014, which will be conducted at Delhi in the month of November 2014.

Ankit Jain, CC, CL, ALB

.

Mohammed Babrawala, CL, ACB, ACS

Chinmaya Dave, CC, CL,ALB

Surabhi Kinariwala, CC, CL, ALB

His innovative ideas and enthusiasm towards Toastmasters makes him unique. His pas-

sion and determination helped him achieve the communication and leadership awards.

Known as the encyclopedia of Toastmasters in the club, the President has played a

captain’s innings. You can learn umpteenth number of things from his speeches. He

worked diligently to achieve the communication and leadership awards.

He manages to attend sessions at multiple clubs, perform his duties as the Area Gover-

nor and also monitors his communication and leadership track. He is always ready to

help when the club needs him.

As the Vice President Education, she guided the members to track their communi-

cation and leadership goals and simultaneously accomplished the Toastmaster

goals she had set for herself.

25

A chievements

Toastmaster Adit Paul touched the pinnacle of the Toastmaster journey and earned

the Distinguished Toastmaster (DTM) award. He eats, sleeps and breathes Toast-

masters.

Toastmaster Indrajit Suryawanshi has earned Advanced Communication

Bronze (ACB) and second Competent Leader (CL) Awards. The humor in

his speeches and his passion for Toastmasters is unbeatable.

Toastmaster Shruti Pandit has earned Advanced Communication Bronze (ACB) Award.

She is also the President of Mumbai Toastmasters Club. She is vibrant and has a vision

both for herself and her club.

Toastmaster Rashmi Singh has earned Competent Leader (CL) Award.

She is a silent hero. She was there for the club when it needed her contribution .She has

played a major role in bringing the club to where it is today.

Toastmaster Shabbir Dholkawala has earned Competent Leader (CL) Award.

He likes to trek and also meet new people. He is a Toastmaster in true sense of the term.

26

Toastmaster Vanshika Shrivastava has earned Competent Leader (CL) Award. She

is an enthusiastic Toastmaster who has contributed a lot towards the growth of

our club.

Shatabdi Paul is an artist who can make

anything and everything look beautiful.

She won award for creating the Best

Logo in the contest conducted by Divi-

sion D & K.

TCS Maitree Toastmaster Club’s Newsletter, Communique! (October

2013 edition) was selected as the Best Newsletter among all the

submissions in District 41. The editors Toastmaster Indrajit Surya-

wanshi, Toastmaster Nitin Adhlakha, Toastmaster Shatabdi Paul

and Toastmaster Surabhi Kinariwala invested their time and efforts,

and created an interesting and an informative newsletter. The Club

was awarded the prize at Oration 2014, Goa.

Toastmaster Sreejith Gopalan has earned Competent Communicator (CC) Award.

He is an avid football fan and a great orator .

27

President:

Chinmaya Dave, CC, ALB

A movie buff, a gamer and a so called "IT Professional", an apparently quiet yet active per-

son, he loves to enthrall people around with his subtle sense of humor. For him, Toastmas-

ters is a way of life. He loves to watch contest speeches. As he always says, "Once a Toast-

master, always a Toastmaster".

Vice President Education:

Surabhi Kinariwala, CC, ALB

A sincere and enthusiastic Toastmaster, she is always ready to take up new responsi-

bilities. She loves meeting new people which is one of the many reasons why she is a

part of the Toastmasters family. Music being her first love, she is a creative writer too.

She believes in dreaming big and enjoying each moment to the fullest.

Vice President Membership:

Ankit Jain, CC, ALB

Determined to make a dent in the universe, Ankit joined Toastmasters in January. Apart from

speaking ,he also loves reading, writing and trekking. He aspires to become a writer one day. So

far, he has enjoyed every moment at Toastmasters.

Vice President Membership - Buddy

Nilesh Mishra

A Storyteller, a Foodie, a Workaholic and an Expeditor, Nilesh is in love with theatre, acts, music

and poetry. At Toastmaster, he explores and furnishes himself to be an excellent Orator.

Vice President Public Relations

Parakh Kukreja

A club hopper who believes human touch is the art of Leadership. He is enthusiastic, fun

loving and energetic. He is Interested in trekking, travelling and visiting other clubs. Parakh

does what he is best at - building Public Relations and the brand TCS Maitree Toastmasters

club, Mumbai.

K now Your Ex-Com

28

Treasurer:

Deepika Singh

In Deepika’s words, “Being an introvert ,speaking in front of a gathering was a challenge for

me before joining Toastmasters .Now not only do I have the confidence to speak but also

know how to deliver it in the best possible way. Initially I was lazy but as I started attending

more sessions and taking up various roles and delivering speeches, I became passionate about

it and soon it became a habit to start the day early for Toastmasters. Never did I fathom that I

would take up the role as a Treasurer of the club and develop the ability to think like a leader.”

Secretary:

Sameer Patil

Passion towards learning new technologies makes Sameer a good software engineer. For

him, a perfect weekend starts with an exercise session followed by a cartoon movie with

his son and ends with any book near my pillow.

Immediate Past President:

Indrajit Suryawanshi, ACB, ALB

A football fanatic and a movie buff, Indrajit loves to entertain people using his witty sarcasm.

He believes that practice makes you perfect and perfection builds your confidence. To be

perfect the only mantra is practice. He believes that Toastmasters offers the platform to

practice in a completely safe and fun filled environment where one could practice not only to

be a better communicator, a better leader but also a better individual.

Sergeant At Arms:

Ashutosh Chaturvedi

A believer in the saying "Successful people don't do different things, they do things differently.",

Ashutosh believes that punctuality and perfection in whatever task you undertake are the most

important attributes for one's success. In his journey of 12 months he has experienced , ex-

plored and enhanced himself not only as an orator and leader but also as a better human being.

TCS Maitree Toastmasters Club, Mumbai

“Making Effective Communication & Leadership a TCS-wide Reality”

Meetings are held fortnightly in Andheri/ Malad and in Powai office. Meetings are open to all

TCSers. A typical meet has 30 members and guests, who participate in the Club's Communication

and Leadership program.

Malad/ Gateway Park, Andheri : Every alternate Thursday: 9.30 AM to 11.00 AM

Powai : Every alternate Friday: 9.30 AM to 11.00 AM

Yantra Park, Thane : Every alternate Tuesday: 9.30 AM to 11.00 AM

F ollow us on

Club # 616631 Mumbai, Maharashtra, India

Copyright © 2014 TCS Maitree Toastmasters Club, Mumbai

All rights reserved

The journey began a decade ago…

As we look back at the years gone by,

we see those moments of pride and unbridled joy,

that spirit of passion and love that fosters,

our wonderful journey as Toastmasters.

Toastmasters for Life…..