GoldRunners - Club Level Glitterati Contest Presentation

Club level Glitterati presentation held at Infosys Toastmasters Bangalore on 3rd Oct.
As per rule, the presentation should be auto timed 5min total time and 20 slides max  of 15 sec per slide. Following is my team presentation:

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AT THE CROSSROADS

He was standing at the crossroads, thinking on the feet. He fell down on his knees and murmured in the betwixt and between.
“Will the ‘rising sun going down’ rise again?”

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Toastmasters Value Coin

Thank you DTM Raj Kumar Bansal for hounring me with this value coin, brought directly from the World Convention of Toastmasters International 2017, Vancouver. It will inspire me to become a great leader like you are today. 
#Toastmasters #worldchampionshipofpublicspeaking#WhereLeadersAreMade #respect #service #integrity #excellence 
Infosys Toastmasters Bangalore

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Trust and verification

Madam Toastmaster, fellow toastmasters and dear guests, Good evening!

Today my speech contains 3 acts. These acts may resemble some situations you might have experienced in your lives. I would like to have your attention for next 10 minutes.

Act 1

A century back, on the North Eastern shore of India, there was a concert (Satsang) organized in the honor of a holy man of that time. Just before the ceremony, the main singer backed out due to some personal reasons. A local boy, Narendra, with good vocals was put in as a replacement. The program was a huge success despite having a novice singer. At the end of the program the priest approached the boy and asked him, “Oh dear boy! For me you are an avatar of Lord Vishnu! You have got a heavenly voice, please come to my temple.”  

The priest was a very well-known holy man while the boy was an atheist. When the boy was with his friends, he made fun of the holy man.

 The Holy man went back to his Temple and asked the Goddess, Kali, “O Mother! Please send Narendra to me! When are you sending him?  Please send him soon!!”

While the boy kept on refuting the madness of the priest, the priest kept on requesting his Goddess to send his disciple, the same way, every day for several days.

One fine day, the boy approached the priest, questioning him, “Who are you? Why am I getting pulled towards you?”

“I knew you would come. My mother listens late but she does listen to my prayers.”

From that day onward, the boy never left his master.

The boy was none other than Swami Vivekananda and the master Swami Ramakrishna Paramhansa.

Act 2

Two people - one boy and one girl were truly, madly and deeply in love. One fine day, the boy asked the girl, “If something happens to me, will you still love me and be there for me?”

The girl said, “What kind of question is this? Of course, I will be there for you.”

The Boy said the same thing to the girl.

Seeing how deep their relationship was, their parents started putting pressure on them to leave each other and focus on their careers. One day, the girl approached the boy and cried, “My parents have found a match for me and they are putting pressure on me to get married.”

The boy said, “Don’t break, I am there for you.”

Soon, the boy started getting serious towards his career and got an admission call from one of the most prestigious colleges in the world. However, he refused the admission as his priority at the moment was his love. He didn’t tell his decision to the girl and waited for an opportune time. On the other hand, the girl had also made up her own mind about the current situation.

Later that day, the girl finally told him, “You know, last night I didn’t sleep properly. Both my parents were crying.”

“I love you very much. I can do anything for you. I want you to remain happy in life. But you know, last night, I thought a lot. I realized, we may have been together for a year, but my parents have been with me all my life. They have made me what I am today.”

The boy asked, “What have you decided?”

The girl said, “I love you very much. You are my life. But I also love my parents. I don’t want to lose them because of you. So, I will marry the boy my parents choose. “

“What have you decided?” the girl asked the boy.

The boy said, “I also wanted the same for you.”

The boy didn’t tell the girl that he had said “No” to his dream university - just because he wanted her to be happy.

Act 3

As most of you know, I live in E-City. But before that, I lived in JP Nagar, where the house owner seemed like a trustworthy fellow. But his true intentions came out the day I vacated his flat. That day the owner returned my deposit by paying 62000 in cash and 38000 as a cheque. I vacated happily. Next week, I got a call from bank that the following cheque had been bounced due to insufficient funds. I followed the flat owner for 4 months, applied personal and police threat. Then I got my many back. That two in 3 installments.

Ladies and gentlemen, in all three acts, the situations unfolded due to the trust of the protagonists.

In the first act, I discussed trust in the divine. We call it faith - the trust that we have in our kith and kin, where you never doubt them. However today, we hardly find anyone who can qualify for our faith. You should trust but verify. We don’t have anything or anyone to have faith in. This is what the world has become today.  Ramakrishna Paramhansa’s faith in Maa Kaali and faith in Narendra joining him is rare today. It’s purely emotional.

In the second act, the boy trusted his girlfriend and said no to a life changing career opportunity. He was at a loss because he trusted her feeling for him without verifying her situation. Trust cannot be given in the absence of logic. Emotion drives away logic. Trust is an emotion but verification is logic.

In the third act, the subject had to incur losses due to professional courtesy. Here, I gave him my trust as I lived on his property for over three years.

Believe me, you can trust a flat or a flat owner, but you should not trust owner who keeps your deposits.

Trust but verify.

Now, I would like to conclude by modifying what I just said.

Trust but … ??? when you can. Thank you Toastmaster!

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Toastmasters Club level Associate President Election Pitch

"What you do has far greater impact than what you say.” Steven Covey says.

Respected Election committee, fellow Toastmasters and dear guests, Good Evening!

I have been a Toastmaster for last one and half years. I always think Big, but this doesn’t give me a certificate to lead from the front. However, my past work experience gives me authority to keep dreaming Big.

I have a vast industrial and entrepreneurial experience. In my past roles as the AVP and VP of Membership, I have helped add 77 new members with more than 80% retention rate. I have tried to build a healthy, competitive learning experience through my iEvolve initiative that has helped us grow together.

My active participation in speeches, contests and visits to other clubs have given me better understanding of club functioning.

As a Club Associate President, my focus will be member, office and club.

For members, theirs dreams will by my dream. I have already developed a meaningful connection and trust with members, and I intend to continue the rapport.

For office, the officers’ tasks will be my tasks. I intend to lead the team by example.

For club, the club’s growth will be my growth. I intend to see my club as the TOP club in District 92.

Vote for Surety, Sustainability and Supremacy.

Vote for me. 

Result: I won the club level Assoc. President Election by 33-11.

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Toastmasters is a place where you learn to Influence without Authority

Based on numerous feedback from evaluators, I hired one personal Tutor for my Accent and Grammar improvisation. The Tutor has more than 10 years of experience and he is always in demand. I told my reasons for signing up for courses. He was impressed with my sincerity. However, he was not so impressed with the idea of Toastmasters. As he assumed it as less productive forum.

The course went smoothly, I learnt and re-learnt many basics. Now, I'm at the conclusion of the course where I am realizing that I'm still making the same mistake with 'Sh' sound and other tough phonetics. My weakness with 'Articles', 'Genders' and other 'Determinants' are still there but I'm able to find my mistakes easily. I think, learning is life long process. So, I am evolving. I am satisfied with my Tutor.

Coming towards the 'Influence' part, I believe I'm highly influenced by my tutor. So does he. In the beginning, my tutor was apprehensive about the idea of Toastmasters. Now, in the end, he is joining Toastmasters. He visited Mecon Club and Dhavani club. He is joining Dhavani this week. He is giving his CC1 on coming Saturday and wants to complete his communication manual soon.

Ladies and gentlemen this the real testimony of 'Influence without Authority' which I can only learn in Toastmasters. Where a non-Toastmaster becomes a Toastmaster after meeting a Toastmaster. 😄
What's your story?

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Power of Toastmasters - an anecdote

I have a friend on facebook. I hardly have ever talked to him like 70% of my social friends. He is my friend from long, i think from the time of Orkut. Like, I migrated to facebook, our friendship too was migrated to facebook.

During all this years, he never liked, shared my thought of fb feed. I maintained the same benevolence to him and to most of other social friends. However, I believe we keep peeping into each other's lives through our popular posts.

Last night all of sudden, he pinged me to ask if I know any Toastmasters club in Navi Mumbai. And, I gave him huge list. And, he thanked me first time.

The moral of the story is whatever you do, wherever you may go, people are least bothered. But, when you're in Toastmasters, people will come back to you, as you add values to others' lives including yours.

More reasons to continue being in Toastmasters. 👍

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Reason to be Wise

'Novice to Wise'- when I first heard the theme, my curious mind experienced a blank out in the vicinity of information overload.

How do you travel on the journey from a novice to the wise?

Will elaborating the old principles be appropriate or should I invent something new? Will my personal experience be meaningful?

Being the sole navigator of my ship of wisdom let me use my experiences. A looking back at what I have done provides me numerous reasons for continuously improve my life. Those reasons have evolved from traditional as well as disruptive thinking. However, if I narrow it down those to one reason, then it would be having a definite reason to achieve success in life.

Yes, if your reasons are clear, you will reach somewhere someday. In pursuit of your reasons of existence, you will acquire required skills and abilities, invent your own tools and means. When all is said and done, you will get that something in your life for which you were once prepared to challenge everything.

Not to mention, if you talk about Toastmasters; Toastmasters transforms you in various ways. If you have definite reasons to be here, Toastmasters will positively aid you to get closer to your goals in life.

If you ask me about this - why do I feel I am getting wiser in Toastmasters?

The answer is very simple. I have a definite reason to be in Toastmasters, and that reason is- ‘One day, I want to become one of the best communicators of our time’. This single reason pushes me every second to stretch my oratory limits to attain a new dimension in life.

Toastmasters has definite projects that help an individual evolve to a better communicator and leader, especially, its competent communicator manuals. These assist you in exploring different dimensions of communication. If I go into my chapters of learning in Toastmasters, it has been a rewarding journey so far. I keep learning by taking project speeches and leadership roles.

In my first project speech, I explored my entire life in 600 words, wherein, I particularly discussed my letter to my father as a teenager that helped me become bold in life.

For my second project speech, I created a fictional character whose ancestors experienced all the historical milestone events in the last 5000 years in India. This rally rounded me to master my speech organizational skill and give a purpose to speech.

In my third project speech, I tried to find ‘what we talk about when we talk about love’. That led to extraction of innumerable lovely moments of my life.

For my fourth project speech, I talked about ‘my resume of failure’ where I analyzed my failures better than my successes that made me feel proud of my successful failures.  

In my fifth project speech, I discussed our uncontrolled population and satirical surgical strikes of fertility. Here, speech research led me to the discovery of my own family tree which could be traced way back to 1860.

In my project speeches and about 20 leadership roles, I have explored so much that they offer me authority to talk about the intriguing theme of wisdom. Envision my conviction level after all 40 project speeches and leadership projects to become a Distinguished Toastmaster (DTM). A mere imagination of my future in Toastmasters gives me invincible confidence.

Do you want to experience the same surety?

If Yes, then, find your reason to continue being in Toastmasters!

More power to you all!

-Resonating Mithilesh

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Competent Communicator - Mithilesh Kumar

As they say, it is the first significant milestone in Toastmasters.
Thank you Infosys Toastmasters Bangalore !

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With International President of Toastmasters International

A current 'President' with 'Future President'😊
With Toastmasters International 's International President Mike Storkey

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Coronation - Toastmasters District 92 Annual Conference 2017

The saga of Coronation 2017 continued into its' glittering 2nd day, with awards, educational sessions, and fun unlimited! The 2nd day was also witness to the Table Topics Contest of District 92, where the best faced off against each other, to determine who would be crowned the best of District 92!

Coronation Diary
For a Toastmaster who is serious to get something out of Toastmasters, annual conferences like *Coronation* opens up new horizon. I experienced many such unprecedented moments.

One during ISC contest:
1)Being one of the SAAs who helped putting mic, i got view from the other side of the podium that gave me a different perspective.
1.1) I have seen a pin drop silence before a speaker starts speaking.
1.2) I have seen entire audience crying (when second placed Shridhar finished his speech.)
1.3) I have never seen real magic on the stage that can burn paper, bring still rod from towel and deliver powerful speech. (The first place Saveen's speech)
1.4) I have seen a speaker making audience standing on their chair ( DJ's Speech)
1.5) I have seen someone singing on toilet seat and making sense( KVM Kishore's speech)

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Toast of the Week - TM Mithilesh Kumar

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Save me if you can

Once upon a time there was a boy who liked a girl. He never missed a chance to ask her out. However, he hadn’t had any success in his quest for love. One fine day, the girl came to him and asked him to drop her to a place nearby. He booked an Ola cab but the driver didn't turn up on time and the girl left with some other guy. Disappointed, dejected and depressed in love, he tried to take his life, but failed miserably. Then, he called God for help. Seeing his sincerity, God appeared and asked him for his wish.

The boy said: God save me...

God replied: as jpg or pdf???

Boy cried: Why are you joking God???

God said: Oh my digital Kid! What do you think; having credit card, paytm money, and some free Ola coupon will take you to your dream girl?

Boy: Yes God, I'm an Infoscian and my company pays me well. I lead a lavish life.

But, still your dream girl chose an other boy! Because, doing cashless transaction and faking lavishness will never increase your bank balance and chance in love, God chided him.

Where's your savings?

Start saving. Get your own car.

And, all your dreams will be fulfilled.

Amen!

God disappeared.

Mr. Toastmaster, fellow Toastmasters and dear guests good evening.

The protagonist in the story lost his girl due to lack of savings. Most of us often land in the situation where we have to face embarrassment due to our financial health. So, following one God's advice, I asked another God, "How do I save money?"

The Google God gave me thousands of ways; here are some interesting ways to save money.

While I read these, please repeat this after me if you want to save money too.

1.     For all the TV buffs with big spectacles please say,

“I will Turn off the television.”

2.     For all the shopaholics please repeat after me,

“I will write a list before you go shopping – and stick to it.”

3.     For all the Workoutaholic and runners please say after me,

“I will drink more water.”

4.     All the cool people out there, please repeat after me,

“I will quit smoking.”

5.     All the green warriors out there, please say after me,

“I will turn off the lights.”

6.     All the digital warriors, please repeat after me,

“I will quit using credit cards”

7.     All the dreamers out there, please say after me,

“I will share my dreams with people I love”

8.     All the diners out there, please repeat after me,

“I will prepare some meals at home”

9.     All the movers and shakers out there, please say after me,

“I will never over speed my vehicle”

10. All the creative people out there, please repeat after me,

“I will exercise more”

Wonderful! Thanks for being so sportive.

This what they say online mostly in west.

However, I believe and have realized that you don't need to refer to western gyan to learn a way of life. In fact, our Indian minimalistic way of life is the best way to lead a happy life- Frugality leads to prosperity. If you want to learn how to save more then look at our parents, especially our mother. You will find plenty of ways. If your girlfriend/boyfriend leaves you, because you don't have a car, then believe me, he/she's not meant for you. Be intelligent with your hard earned money and life decisions. You will lead a happy life. Start saving money the way your parents saved to raise you and make you what you are today.

Happy savings!

Amen!

Over to you Mr. Toastmaster!

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Republic TV: Lalu-Shahabuddin expose - Personal Account

While Arnab is exposing present, let me give a spotlight to past that affected my academic career.

I matriculated from the same place, once revered for being the birth place of our first President Dr. Rajendra Prasad, now dreaded home of Mafia Don Shahabuddin, known as Siwan.

It was April, 2001. In DAV Siwan, I was writing my 10th board paper, that day the subject was Sanskrit. The exam was being conducted on extreme vigil, no cheating was allowed which is rare now a days. Being a meritorious student, i was engrossed in explaining a Chankya shloka of question paper. Suddenly, there was an uproar... "Run for cover... Run for cover... There is firing outside". Terrified by sudden outburst, all examinees went down under their benches for cover. Then they retreated from the back door.
The examination was abandoned.

This all had happened, because there was an open clash between Shahabuddin's goons and Siwan police led by then brave SP C K Anil. Shahabuddin's goons started vandalising public property and rioting. This indecent is infamous in Indian history where brave police embarked into Shahabuddin's village, Pratappur to capture him.

My remaining exam happened after 4 months. In spite of loss of track in prepration, i still managed 76% in tough Bihar School examination Board. My other schoolmate who wrote his exam from Patna, secured 85% and 4th place in state board merit list ( who later became an IAS Officer).

I still regret my choice of center and circumstances. Will any punishment to these infamous outlaws would buy back my golden tims and chance?

I challenged the circumstances and secured a better career path. How many are out there who can fight like me? I guess, very few. Hope time will change. My country will rise.

Amen!

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Exercise and Type 2 Diabetes

    'Better to play football than read the Gita'

Mr. Toastmaster, fellow Toastmasters and dear guests, good evening!

Diabetes is on the rise. No longer a disease of predominantly rich nations, the prevalence of diabetes is steadily increasing everywhere, most markedly in the world’s middle-income countries. When diabetes is uncontrolled, it has dire consequences for health and well-being.

The goal of treatment in type 2 diabetes is to achieve and maintain optimal BG, lipid, and blood pressure (BP) levels to prevent or delay chronic complications of diabetes. Many people with type 2 diabetes can achieve BG control by following a nutritious meal plan and exercise program, losing excess weight, implementing necessary self-care behaviors, and taking oral medications, although others may need supplemental insulin.

The maintenance of normal BG at rest and during exercise depends largely on the coordination and integration of the sympathetic nervous and endocrine systems. Contracting muscles increase uptake of BG, although BG levels are usually maintained by glucose production via liver glycogenolysis and gluconeogenesis and mobilization of alternate fuels, such as free fatty acids.

Some research findings

Here I have four categories of findings:

A: Randomized, controlled trials (overwhelming data)

1.       PA causes increased glucose uptake into active muscles balanced by hepatic glucose production, with a greater reliance on carbohydrate to fuel muscular activity as intensity increases

2.       PA can result in acute improvements in systemic insulin action lasting from 2 to 72 h

3.       Resistance exercise enhances skeletal muscle mass

4.       At least 2.5 h/week of moderate to vigorous PA should be undertaken as part of lifestyle changes to prevent type 2 diabetes onset in high-risk adults

B: Randomized, controlled trials (limited data)

1.       A combination of aerobic and resistance exercise training may be more effective in improving BG control than either alone

2.       Both aerobic and resistance training improve insulin action, BG control, and fat oxidation and storage in muscle

3.       Individuals with type 2 diabetes engaged in supervised training exhibit greater compliance and BG control than those undertaking exercise training without supervision

4.       Persons with type 2 diabetes should undertake at least 150 min/week of moderate to vigorous aerobic exercise spread out during at least 3 days during the week, with no more than 2 consecutive days between bouts of aerobic activity

5.       In addition to aerobic training, persons with type 2 diabetes should undertake moderate to vigorous resistance training at least 2–3 days/week

6.       Supervised and combined aerobic and resistance training may confer additional health benefits, although milder forms of PA (such as yoga) have shown mixed results.

7.       Efforts to promote PA should focus on developing self-efficacy and fostering social support from family, friends, and health care providers. Encouraging mild or moderate PA may be most beneficial to adoption and maintenance of regular PA participation. Lifestyle interventions may have some efficacy in promoting PA behavior.

C Nonrandomized trials, observational studies

1.       Although moderate aerobic exercise improves BG and insulin action acutely, the risk of exercise-induced hypoglycemia is minimal without use of exogenous insulin or insulin secretagogues. Transient hyperglycemia can follow intense PA

2.       The acute effects of resistance exercise in type 2 diabetes have not been reported, but result in lower fasting BG levels for at least 24 h postexercise in individuals with IFG

3.       Milder forms of exercise (e.g., tai chi, yoga) have shown mixed results

4.       Blood lipid responses to training are mixed but may result in a small reduction in LDL cholesterol with no change in HDL cholesterol or triglycerides. Combined weight loss and PA may be more effective than aerobic exercise training alone on lipids

5.       Recommended levels of PA may help produce weight loss. However, up to 60 min/day may be required when relying on exercise alone for weight loss

D Panel consensus judgment

·         Individuals with uncontrolled proliferative retinopathy should avoid activities that greatly increase intraocular pressure and hemorrhage risk

Exercise plays a major role in the prevention and control of insulin resistance, prediabetes, GDM, type 2 diabetes, and diabetes-related health complications. Both aerobic and resistance training improve insulin action, at least acutely, and can assist with the management of related symptoms, but exercise must be undertaken regularly to have continued benefits and likely include regular training of varying types. The inclusion of an exercise program or other means of increasing overall PA is critical for optimal health in individuals with type 2 diabetes.

A REPORT ON DIABETES

Definitions

·         Diabetes is a chronic, progressive disease characterized by elevated levels of blood glucose.

·         Diabetes of all types can lead to complications in many parts of the body and can increase the overall risk of dying prematurely.

·         Type 1 diabetes is characterized by deficient insulin production in the body. People with type 1 diabetes require daily administration of insulin to regulate the amount of glucose in their blood.

·         Type 2 diabetes results from the body’s ineffective use of insulin. Type 2 diabetes accounts for the vast majority of people with diabetes around the world

GLOBAL BURDEN

·          Globally, an estimated 422 million adults were living with diabetes in 2014, compared to 108 million in 1980.

·         Diabetes caused 1.5 million deaths in 2012. Higher-than-optimal blood glucose caused an additional 2.2 million deaths, by increasing the risks of cardiovascular and other diseases.

·         Forty-three percent of these 3.7 million deaths occur before the age of 70 years.

·         The majority of people with diabetes are affected by type 2 diabetes.

COMPLICATIONS: Diabetes of all types can lead to complications in many parts of the body and can increase the overall risk of dying prematurely. Possible complications include heart attack, stroke, kidney failure, leg amputation, vision loss and nerve damage. In pregnancy, poorly controlled diabetes increases the risk of fetal death and other complications.

ECONOMIC IMPACT: Diabetes and its complications bring about substantial economic loss to people with diabetes and their families, and to health systems and national economies through direct medical costs and loss of work and wages.

PREVENTING DIABETES: Type 1 diabetes cannot be prevented with current knowledge. Effective approaches are available to prevent type 2 diabetes and to prevent the complications and premature death that can result from all types of diabetes. These include policies and practices across whole populations and within specific settings (school, home, workplace) that contribute to good health for everyone, regardless of whether they have diabetes, such as exercising regularly, eating healthily, avoiding smoking, and controlling blood pressure and lipids.

MANAGING DIABETES:

·         The starting point for living well with diabetes is an early diagnosis – the longer a person lives with undiagnosed and untreated diabetes, the worse their health outcomes are likely to be.

·         For those who are diagnosed with diabetes, a series of cost-effective interventions can improve their outcomes, regardless of what type of diabetes they may have. These interventions include blood glucose control, through a combination of diet, physical activity and, if necessary, medication; control of blood pressure and lipids to reduce cardiovascular risk and other complications; and regular screening for damage to the eyes, kidneys and feet, to facilitate early treatment.

Famous Personalities with Diabetes

 

Sources/ References

• 1.       World Health Statistics 2014. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2014.
• 2.       WHO methods for life expectancy and healthy life expectancy. Global health estimates technical paper WHO/HIS/HSI/GHE/2014.5. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2014.
• 3.       United Nations Population Division. World population prospects – 2012 revision. New York: United Nations; 2013.
• 4.       WHO methods and data sources for country-level causes of death 2000–2012. Global health estimates technical paper WHO/HIS/HSI/GHE/2014.7. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2014.
• 5.       Global Burden of Metabolic Risk Factors for Chronic Diseases Collaboration. Cardiovascular disease, chronic kidney disease and diabetes mortality burden of cardiometabolic risk factors from 1980 to 2010: a comparative risk assessment. Lancet Diabetes Endocrinology. 2014;2:(8)634–647.
• 6.       Noncommunicable diseases progress monitor, 2015. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2015.
• 7.       Mission and Vision. Medford, Massachusettes: Management Sciences for Health; 2015.
• 8.       International Drug Price Indicator Guide, 2015. Washington DC: Management Sciences for Health; 2015.
• 9.       Measuring medicine prices, availability, affordability and price components Geneva and Amsterdam: World Health Organization and Health Action International; 2008.

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Emigration

Today he woke up early, earlier than his usual timings. He offered his prayers to the Almighty after a very long time. He called up his mother spoke to her for a while. He then went to his daughter’s room, put his hands on her sleeping little cheeks and kissed her forehead. Next, he moved to his study room. He gave a look at the array of books he had accumulated over the years. He arranged the scattered stationary in a neat manner on the table, ticked that day’s date in the calendar, opened the chest of drawer, picked his best performer of the year badge and pinned it on his front shirt pocket.

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Surgical Strike

The date was 3^rd May, 2016. Infosys Toastmasters Bangalore was conducting its 563^rd Meeting at Infy Amphitheatre. The entire audience were awakening for the theme ‘the Mother ­­­­earth’; I was reawakening for a new role in my life. ­My mom and in-laws were also arriving. I was sitting on the steel chair, in the fifth floor of that modern age temple. My hands were crossed, pondering simultaneously, the past, present and the future. Around 3 pm, the doors opened and a man in white overcoat appeared and told me, “Congratulations Mithilesh! You have been blessed with a baby girl. Go and see her.” I rushed to her, saw her smiling while sleeping in an electric cradle. I became immobile for a moment. No thoughts were forthcoming. The big responsibility of parenting had endowed upon me and my wife.

Mr. Toastmaster, fellow toastmasters and dear guests,

Good evening!

I was happy at the end of the day as I also started contributing to my country like most of my fellow citizens. The baby was a result of my constant effort towards adding one more Indian citizen and my surgical strike happened nine months ago, yielded a wonderful result in my baby girl.

My daughter is the 60^th member of a family clan which was started more or less 125 years ago. When I went to my native village last Diwali, I discovered my family growth started way back in 1860 AD. A man named Jagannath, my great great grandfather moved to the banks of river Gandak in search of a fertile land. He not only found fertile lands, but also got abundant fertility for future surgical strikes. Those surgical strikes started growing, way faster than his crops did. Now after the 3^rd and 4^th generation, Mr. Jagannath’s family has 60 living members. Here is his family tree, where I am at the 4^th generation and my daughter is the 60^th member.  

Family tree …

Ladies and gentlemen, today I am a happy father. So are my other family members. My family which started as a 2 members team, has now grown 3000% in just 125 years.

Isn’t it impressive?

No credits for any celebration here as the effects of population explosion in my family is detrimental. The current condition of my village is that you can hardly find a roadside property even if you have money. Sometimes the land cost is way much higher than what you pay in Bangalore. The similar high demands have been created for resources like water and providing quality education to the kids. The overpopulation has even resulted in chaotic property disputes in my family. Friends, this is just my family tree. I am sure most of you would have come from similar family trees, sustaining big bang family explosion and surgical strikes.

India as a nation considers every citizen as her family. So, whatever happens in a family is bound to impact the fortunes or misfortunes of the country at large. She has to face the challenge of population explosion in order to feed its entire 1.3 billion citizens and facilitate avenues for the growth.

So, What’s the solution then! The hard truth is that there is no viable solution to minimize the ‘Surgical Strikes’.

I am a Toastmaster and my speech is not ‘Prime Minister’s Man ki Baat’!

However, we can work around the problem!

India’s massive population has been proved to be a boon for its economic growth. We overcame global slowdown like subprime crisis, Brexit - due to our massive population. In fact, this century is being cited as Asia’s century only due to the large young population of India. Many multinational companies have already set shops in India banking on the huge populace and efficient human capital. India is in fact the first go-to market for any Company’s growth. Precisely, the young human capital of India is driving the world economy today.

So to conclude, instead of whining about ‘surgical strikes’ let’s celebrate the benefits a large family brings to the nation.

Well, Speech apart, I am hopeful for my second child in a few months from now. Over to Mr. Toastmaster!

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Resume of my Failure

"Do not go gentle into that good ,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light."

The Above couplets inspire me to get going in my darkest hour. My life, so far is all about rising again and again against the dying of the light. I have never found luxury to go gentle in my life. As my failures were never gentle to me.

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Toastmasters tall tale contest speech

Recording

Script

History of Rama Krishna Venkatasubbaiah

Dated May 326 BC, on the banks of River Jhelam, on North-eastern boarder of India, in the wee hours there was a mass attack against King Porus's left flank by the Great Alexander's army. The heavy armor-piercing bows of Indian unarmored soldiers were proving inaccurate on slippery ground. The 200 elephants were busy in guarding the frontal attack.  Alexander's horse archers were showering the Indian right cavalry wing. And his armored Companion cavalry was overwhelming the Indian left cavalry with Alexander leading the charge.

While the rest of the Indian soldiers were struggling in the battle, one man was guarding his king with his full vigor- The mahout of the king. He saved his king’s life before getting slain.

The bravery, war skills and princely attitude of King Porus’s mahout led the genesis of my Today’s central character- Rama Krishna Venkatsubbaiah.

Mr. Contest Chair, fellow toastmasters and dear guests, good evening!

Meet a Karorpati clerk in Bruhat Bangalore Municipal Corporation, Rama Krishna Venkatasubbaiah. Rama, a fan of actor Shiva Rajkumar, is a jovial, down to earth, highly ethical, multi-lingual man who sometimes misses his Brahmanical rituals but never misses under the table offerings.

Rama’s impeccable command of Hindi came from his mother Laxmi who eloped with his father, a bloodline of great Rajendra Chola, during posting in Tata Steel, Jamshedpur, leaving behind her land lord family that had lost their fortune. Rama’s grandfather was an active contributor to Congress during freedom struggle.

Rama's remaining ancestors were related to Rajputana, Mughals, Delhi Sultanate, Gupta period, Maurya, Vedic era, Harappa. In logical sense, he is a true descendant of an Indian gene. In true sense, we all are different but one. On the contrary, we civilized animals have divided ourselves amongst nonsensical castes, regions and religions, and each division vouches for its superiority over others.

Rama's historically unparalleled genealogy gifted him with the most special skills ever discovered by mankind. As in - He got Sanitation and Purity from Harappa, Valor from Magadha and Mewar, Ingenuity from the Delhi Sultanate, Patriotism from the Freedom movement.  

He is also carrying with him the early human deadly sins - Lust, Gluttony, Greed, Sloth, Wrath, Envy and Pride.

In spite of having 5000 years old illustrious past we are still lagging behind all the major economies of present time – America, Australia, Canada, Singapore who don’t have even 300 years old history.

In the past, our rulers often lost their ways by dividing us in the narrow confinement of caste and race, as a result we were defeated several times from the likes of Alexander to the British.  At present, we 1.3 billion human survivors, are still fighting with each other for regions, religions, castes and caste based reservations and being played by the ruling class.

It is us who will create our history not our past or the lineage. So, dear friends, let us stop judging people based on name, place and identity and start respecting ability, quality and diversity.

On this note, let me close the history of Rama Krishna Venkatasubbaiah.

Over to you Mr. Contest Chair!  

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Toastmasters Speech CC3- What We Talk About When We Talk About Love

The Delivery

The Script

What We Talk About When We Talk About Love

!  True Love is all about Inspiration!

[Start with props: mirror, goggle and perfume and blazer for role playing. Start with stern amazement in voice!]

What!?! What are you all looking at? Cant’ you see that I am going for a Date?

You can clap for me and my date if you like …! J J J

[Stop for a second, remove goggles, turn mirror aside and come back to normal]

Even though, she is my 21^st date, I still have faith that this time I will get my true love who would inspire me.

Ladies and gentlemen do you remember the time of our childhood when our mom used to put beautiful covers on our textbooks?

In one such incident, I still treasure the day when I was leaving for a boarding school, first time in my life. My mom put covers on my books and put them in my trunk. During my stay in hostel, I was unknowingly taking care of those books as if those were my favourite toys. One year passed and covers were as my mom put them on. Next year in new class, the books got changed but I treasured one portion of a cover where my mom had written my name in her beautiful handwriting. I kept that piece of paper in my literature book for a year between the pages and in the same state. I continued keeping the piece of paper the same way till I got matriculated from a different school. For me, my mom was always there in my literature book. Today, I feel that I am still holding my mother’s love together with me, as it is evident from my immense love for literature. The purest form of love is inspiration. My mother’s love had inspired me to love books and literature.

Mr. Toastmaster, fellow Toastmasters and dear guests, good evening!

One of my friend still wears the same watch that was gifted by his beloved. Even though, the watch is not working now, he feels the same ticking sound in his heart and he believes it helps him stay ahead of time. He is holding that love and care for ‘time’ from his love. His love inspires him to always be on time.

In my case I still keep the same purse for the past few years as it makes me believe that my purse will go thicker as imbibed by the gift presenter. Here my love inspired me to go for savings.

People collect and treasure gifts and artefacts to hold and immortalize the love and teachings of their creators. We have museums and memorials that hold back love of our past generations. The past artefacts in the museum inspire us to make our present and future lovable.

Today, in this lovely crowd we have many people among us who still hold the same love as they did when they joined this institution and keep going with the flow. It is the sheer love that has made DTM Raj and TM ISK keep going on in Infosys Toastmasters club Bangalore. It is our love for self-growth that inspires us to come here again and again, week after week.

One of my friends left his well-paying Investment Banking job in Wall Street to come back to Kolkata and held his love together for his ageing parents by spending time with them in their last days. His parental love inspired him to take that bold decision in his life.

One of my old friends recently asked me the secret of my fitness, I replied, “These days, I run. You should also run.” You won’t believe, I saw her with a medal of completion of a 5k run within a month. She used to comment on my runkeeper’s update with lines like – “I have just completed 12 hours of sleep LoL :D ”. It’s the love that made her run so diligently even after long time of separation. It’s the love that inspires her to do the unthinkable.

We often fall short in pursuit of our ambitions and goals as we stop holding together the love and inspiration that had brought us at first place. Move in – move out, let in – let it go but don’t let go of the love that has inspired you to feel and be special. Love is not physical attraction, it is all about inspiring people and getting inspired by our loved ones.

So my lovely friends are you holding back the love that inspired you?
If yes, then let go of your inhibitions and spread the message of love.

If not, let me inspire you to believe in love again!
“It is better to have lost and loved than never to have loved at all.”
Hold on to the love that you get daily from everyone and get inspired, else you will regret when they are gone. Believe in love and its inspiration, to make your life more lovely and beautiful!

Over to you, our lovely Toastmaster!

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