`

6

Why do books make

our lives awesome?!

“I could smell the flowers, touch

the bark, sit next to the characters

and feel the breeze from his

stories. Now and forever, Ruskin

Bond will be the only Bond that I

will absolutely revere!”

Read on, to find out how books

changed TM Devipriya’s life.

Someone the other day asked me, what kind of books I

generally read. That got me thinking.

Books have always intrigued me, for as long as I can

remember. Me ‘n’ books, we go a long way…even before I

could actual r-e-a-d! My mom says that when I was a

toddler I used to sit calmly in a corner with my sister’s

books all propped around me, examining them one by

one(handling them gently with utmost care mind you),

flipping through the pages and gawking at them

attentively, a thought that makes me flash a proud grin

even to this day (despite my mom stressing repeatedly that

almost all the time I held them upside down! :P).I studied

in ICSE board till my tenth grade and believe me when I

say I had some of the best English teachers in the whole

wide world. English classes were the time when I felt

‘alive’ and I felt at home, as a fish in a pond. I absolutely

relished every single short story, play and poem that I

learnt as part of my curriculum.

I vaguely remember the first books I read in my kinder

garden…a series called Peter and Jane that came in bright

orange and blue colors. Then there were the Timeless

Fairy Tales which made our first ever rendezvous with the

Ginger Bread Man, Cinderella and Alice happen. Then

came the abridged version of classic novels, The Great

Illustrated classic series such as The Wind in the Willows,

Oliver Twist and Around the world in 80 days. But my personal

favorite (and also of my classmates {including boys}

was…well, Heidi, ’coz I think it was around that time the

cartoon series also aired, thereby explaining the high

demand for the book). It was then time for some action

and escapade, which heralded the era of The Secret Seven and

The Famous Five! Ah! We would never forget the spirit of

adventure those books brought forth during our innocent

childhood days!

Years rolled by and in came the smartest amateur sleuth

ever known to Mankind...Nancy Drew! Carolyn Keene was

our number-one-favorite author back those days (Only

years later did we realize that Nancy Drew series was

actually ghostwritten by a number of authors under the

pen name of Carolyn Keene!). All of us rushed every

Thursday during our ‘Library hour’, to get our hands on

the best mystery stories, as vouched by the previous

readers. I still remember all those titles, Nancy Drew and

the Mystery at Lilac Inn, The Secret of Shadow Ranch, The

Password to Larkspur Lane and so many! Those were

memorable days and so were the epic clashes between

Hardy Boys fans and the Nancy Drew fans! I was such a

loyal Nancy Drew fan that I have not read a single Hardy

boys book all these years ;) We were soon becoming teens

and voila there was the entire Sweet Valley Junior High

collection! When I was in my 8th grade, my best friend

gifted me a brand new Sweet Valley Junior High book for my

birthday! I still remember the euphoria!

A few more years down the lane and I was introduced to

our homeland Indian authors. I started reading

R.K.Narayan’s books. And it was interesting relating to

Swami and friends running around our very own Indian

streets, after continued exposure to western characters and

lifestyle. Then magic happened. I chanced upon a copy of

‘Treasury of Stories for Children’ by Ruskin Bond in our club

library. I was blown away by Bond’s unique style of vivid

narration. I could smell the flowers, touch the bark, sit

next to the characters and feel the breeze from his stories.

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7

Now and forever, Ruskin Bond will be the only Bond that

I will absolutely revere! :D

The Harry Potter decade… We were the privileged lot

who grew up with the cast of the movie and the release of

the books! What can I say except that it has been a magical

ride! Harry Potter formed an inevitable and decisive part of

our childhood. And yes I cried with the world when it was

all over. Made us realize that we had indeed grown up!

How can I forget Chicken Soup for the Soul series? Those

books made me realize the power of words and emotions.

I laughed and cried to the stories of people residing

thousands of miles away (Though now you find so much

CSFTS titles around that you don’t feel like picking up

one)! I then moved on to Jeffrey Archer books. I started

off with his short story collection and loved the ingenious

yet simple (and profound!) twists he gave to his tales. And

I eventually moved on to his epic novels such as Kane and

Abel and the sequel The Prodigal daughter. Then there was

Dan Brown who shook the whole world with his dynamic

books. My personal favorite was Angels and Demons that

redefined the word thriller! With that came a string of

authors such as John Grisham, Nicholas Sparks, Mario

Puzo, James Patterson, Steig Larsson, Stephanie Meyer,

Rhonda Byrne, Khaled Hosseini , Mitch Albom and so

much more.

Then there was the phase when I was reading all Man

Booker Prize winning stories such as Life of Pi, The God of

Small Things and The White Tiger .Then I started reading any

book that had the following three words on its on its cover

page: New York Times bestseller. Later, I moved on to

reading world’s best-selling books (check out this page

called List of best-selling books in Wikipedia), such as The

Catcher in the Rye, And Then There Were None and The Hobbit.

22 years on, I am currently in the phase where I drastically

keep changing the genre of the books I read. For instance

in the past three months, these are the books I have read:

A book on Network marketing, a book on brain power, a

self-help book, a book on India after independence and I

am currently reading a book that speaks about Carbon

footprint. So there you go , the answer to your question of

‘What kind of books I generally read!’

Cheers to all the book lovers out there!

P.S. As for the others, well it is never too late! Go to the

nearest library/bookstore and pick out that one book that

calls out to you and…let the adventure begin! :D

P.P.S Recent update. I am totally drawn to children’s

literature. In fact, at a recent book fair I got myself three

of Dr. Seuss books and two Disney novels!:D

__________________

Making a Difference – The Alpha way!

When people put their heads

together, a million new things

come to be!

Alpha Toastmasters has at times

morphed into something more

than a public speaking forum.

Here’s a brief from TM Akilesh

on one such CSR initiative in

collaboration with TCS Maitree,

Chennai

TCS is marching strongly as the leading Indian IT

service provider. It is not only employee empowerment

which contributes to this, but also the CSR initiatives

which make the TCS brand a powerful, towering,

respectable figure in the market.

One such initiative taken up by TCS Maitree was to help

the Security Guards at TCS Siruseri improve their spoken

English. TCS Maitree approached our Division Governor

DTM Suganthi. Fortunately my association with

Toastmasters and prior teaching experience at NGOs had

me all prepped up take up this program, wherein I had the

opportunity to work closely with senior members of the

TCS Maitree team.

After spending over 50 hours on designing the course

curriculum for 24 classes and taking it up to TCS Maitree,

we conducted a survey to see if anyone was interested in

this initiative. The response we received from fellow

TCSers who volunteered to help facilitate the sessions was

overwhelming. Dedicating about half an hour every day

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8

for brainstorming ahead of the class and an hour every day

at the class itself, we understood from the energy and zeal

reflected by the Security Personnel that they were looking

forward to such an opening. In fact, a few of them had

already begun learning on their own using Oriya to English

self-learning books and this opportunity was well received

by them.

The classes began in October 2013 and ran into

completion in Jan 2014. We have tried to create an all-

round learning experience for the Security Guards by not

limiting to just spoken English, but also extending to

behavioral aspects while performing their job roles.

Hopefully, we have helped them enough to stride

confidently in their daily life.

__________________

This isn’t just

‘Alpha TM Club’

It was one of those lazy afternoons at work. After the

heavy, sumptuous lunch, I was planning to leave home by

4 PM as there was not much work in the module. I was

awakened from an afternoon nap by the stereotypical

announcement. But this time, it was not usual. It was a

“Call for Life @ Siruseri”. I happened to be one of the

fortunate people who were a part of the 100th milestone

meeting of TCS Maitree Chennai Toastmasters - the

meeting that marked the inception of TCS Alpha

Toastmasters. Roasting was the theme and I was

spellbound by the speeches of TCS Stalwarts speakers. It

was love at first sight for me with Toastmasters. I couldn't

resist the temptation to join this esteemed group.

It was yet another unforgettable afternoon. I

entered the training room at EB-5 ground floor and to my

surprise I was warmly welcomed by a gentleman who

seemed very familiar. Yes it was none other than DTM

Oommen T.John who won the best speaker award on the

100th meeting. I never had received such a warm welcome

anywhere in my life. For a moment I thought I would be

charged at the end of the meeting as we got special

attention though we were just guests. Luckily we weren't

charged though DTM Suganthi's humorous speech that

day was worth a million bucks. At the end of the meeting,

DTM Oommen asked us to take our time to think before

joining the club and we took exactly 7 days to deliver our

Ice breakers. It didn't take much time in socializing with

Alpha Toastmasters and the credit for this should go to

TM Sharanya & TM Manikandan. We joined the club, gave

our ice breakers and took up the role of officers, all

together and on the very same day.

Alpha meetings today attract a minimum of 30

people, back then we would have been really happy to see

just 18 people turning up. I still remember a meeting

which only had 10 members and we were o short of 2 role

players. Although the attendance was low, our speakers'

speeches were a real treat for the small audience. I was

mesmerized by the stage presence of Oommen John and

there were times that we would wait for the entire meeting

to just listen to our Chief's stupendous evaluations. He

injected the spirit of Toastmasters into anyone, willing to

learn anything about communication or leadership skills.

He guided all of us like a godfather and laid a strong

foundation for the soon-to-be world's best club.

The next leader who really inspired me was TM

Ranganathan. The primary reason was his unassailable

commitment as an officer. Ranga still holds the record of

attending the highest number of Alpha meetings. I took up

the role of VP-Membership for the term that started in Jan

2013. My primary goal was to improve the membership

base but I had a very difficult time getting even 20

members for a meeting. A difficult start indeed; I was

desperate to add members to the club. But I realized that it

won't work that way. The best way to add members is to

have a quality meeting. We had a series of quality meetings

and as a result, we added almost 30 members by the end of

our very first term.

Membership addition triggered the much needed

confidence among us. During the month of April, we

shifted focus to educational awards. We ran special

meetings for 2 consecutive months without compromising

the quality of speeches. When the term ended in June, 41

awards were filed by our Alphas. We produced the highest

number of Competent Communicators in the entire

District for the year 2012-13. We naturally became the

“World's best club”.

The second term started off with

the cracker of a contest in the

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name of elections. It should

probably be marked as one of the

most contest elections in the

history of Toastmasters. We had

more than 2 nominations for all

the officers’ post except for the

role of Treasurer. Consequently ,

Alpha had one of the best set of

officers in the next term.”

The second term had its own crests and troughs. The pride

of Alpha was marked when 3 of our members represented

Alpha in Division level contests with TM Kannan

emerging as one of the runners up in humor speech

contest. We had our very own Rahul Shankar organizing

the fast paced communication program “Speech Craft”

which was a runaway hit. The omnipresence of Alpha

members was felt in all the division events. Nevertheless

the exit of DTM Oommen T John was a death blow to us,

we still miss him in the meetings. But as they always say

“Life has to move on.” Toastmasters teaches us the same

invaluable lesson. It also saw numerous Toastmasters step

up and execute additional responsibilities in conducting

smooth meetings.

Alpha meetings are a learner's paradise but the

best part is “it is packaged with fun”. I learned how to

always be back stage and yet make an impact from TM

Aswini. I learned how to provide a perfect launch pad for

role players and speakers by being punctual and organized

from TM Sharanya. I can mention all our members’ names

for the exhibition, but I don’t want to take up space in this

special Vintage Edition. I thank every one of our members

for providing me a great learning experience and am

indebted to Alpha for life. This is not just Alpha TM Club;

this is one big happy family – The Alpha Family

~ Ayyappan

We, the Alphas…

“Toastmaster Sharanya on what sets the Alphas

apart.”

We have our own club mission - to learn and to have fun

We consider our meetings to be informative and stress

busting

We feel positive and good after every meeting

We demand speech slots

We yearn to be on stage

We enjoy roasting Ayyappan!

We love to watch the war of words between Ranga and

Rahul.

We watch in awe and take notes when DTM Oommen

John evaluates.

We clap magnanimously!

We naturally enjoy each and every meeting

We are generous in giving feedback!

We are the personification of encouragement and

appreciation.

We make the fullest use of Table Topics!

We have loads of fun and often experience a laughter riot!

We roar with laughter at all our members' jokes

Our eyes sweat when we hear an emotional speech!

We cringe at cell phone messages during meetings

We become exceedingly serious during evaluation section!

We enjoy our time on the stage!

We realize the value of Toastmasters!

We work hard to make each and every meeting a

qualitative and successful one

We believe we are one family

We are the Alphas!!!

______________

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10

Life of an Alpha

“Life is paranoid, we never get the expected outcome

at the expected time but it comes as a surprise in

more than one way.”

Some times with aspirations we turn our life upside down.

We search for what we dream, a source of knowledge,

opportunity and many a times just pure fun and of course,

love. We spend all our time and energy only to find it

accidentally. Many of you might assume this is a love story,

but unfortunately it is not. I used to spend a lot of hours at

the library and much more time on Wikipedia. I was a

clueless, direction-less and aimless guy, I still am. I am a

voracious reader, an outspoken debater, a thinker but

never knew where and how to use all this. Knowledge if

not used is worse than ignorance; I knew this but was

again clueless.

One eventful Thursday, my friend asked me to come along

with him for a session. I too was feeling sleepy and being

seated just beside my manager, going back to ODC was a

dangerous option. But surprisingly, this became one

among those few sessions where I did not sleep. Rather, I

almost fell from my seat laughing. It was a humorous

speech contest. Then the next Thursday and the one after

that, I began to attend meeting after meeting at Alpha

Maitree Toastmasters Club. Then an ice breaker marathon

was held. The TMOD was 'the toastmaster of our club',

the ever charming, ever enchanting chief Oommen John

and the TT Master was TM Sumit. And that’s when I

didn’t just break Ice but crushed a rock. No, I did not give

my CC1, but my first table topics. I always thought that if I

go on stage, I wouldn’t be able to utter a word. But I did. I

have an experience of going on stage and returning

without uttering a word in college. But listening to

speakers like chief, Ranga, Rahul and Sumit created a thirst

in me for public speaking. I probably have the second

highest attendance (without membership) in the club. The

first goes to my friend Aakash, who later joined and did all

the roles but never gave a single prepared speech. One

day, three people broke the ice. I saw them for the first

time that day and later, one of them, Ayyappan, inducted

me. Chief, the mentor for the whole club was assigned my

mentor. Each meeting passed with chief asking me when I

was planning to give my speech. These questions were

answered in monosyllables. Later, I started sitting away

from his sight. I still had stage fear. Soon Ayyappan would

ask me to deliver my first prepared speech and suddenly

most in the club. But they did not nag me. Instead, they

motivated me. By then I had won two best TT speakers

and had a secret resolution to begin my CC journey only

after winning one more. I did win one more and then,

there came 'Ashwin with an extra I', breaking the Ice and

the self-created shell once and for all. I had never before

thought I could make so many people laugh. At the end of

my speech, chief passed me a chit with feedback and later

Ranga evaluate my speech. The feedback, I still have with

me. I finished my CC journey within 5 months and it

remains one journey through which I virtually saw my own

improvement. These were the people who inspired me to

think, articulate and deliver.

Alpha is not about delivering a speech that you have

already prepared but it’s about spending time thinking,

writing, rethinking and finally delivering it. It isn’t about

just memorizing the speech but bringing the body, mind

and speech all in action at the same time. All along this,

like all other toastmasters I had a parallel track, CL manual.

Playing roles later at area and division level I learnt to

manage time and taking responsibilities. Evaluating

speeches I learnt to notice the intricacies of a speech.

Becoming mentor, I gave back to fresh joiners what I got

and still getting from seasoned toastmasters.

All of us know that Toastmasters International is a forum

for public speaking - is that all? This article is proof that

Toastmasters and particularly Alpha, is a place where we

interact with like and unlike minds, put our mind to work,

speak and even write. It’s a one stop destination for

learning, self-improvement, finding inspiration, making

friends, fun and finally, escape from our busy work

schedule.

I had a thirst for writing, but it only started to become a

reality after being here. I always had some ideas, thoughts,

creativity but I started to put them on paper here. I was an

introvert, but it was the company of toastmasters that

made me an extrovert or should I say ambivert.

Learning could be fun at many places, but in Alpha fun

teaches you.

~TM Ashwini

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11

“Dreams are free”

Read on as TM Faraz weaves a

scene to life

It was late afternoon. Her eyes took a break and

gazed outside a large window at the Connomera public

library. The sky was clear with the sun about to call it a

day. But she noticed some dark clouds hovering across

the horizon. And in no time, the whole sky was engulfed

by the clouds. It was completely dark, as if the sun had

deceived people. The warmth of the noon was no longer

there. The temperature began to drop in no definite

pattern. Within minutes it was freezing. She could barely

feel her fingers. She looked around but didn’t see any one.

She didn’t remember being in the company of anyone

either.

Veronica, 22, was a beautiful and dusky girl, adorned

in old world charm. She was there reading "The book of

the dead". She was determined to finish it that day. The

library was her favorite place to relax and escape the hustle

and bustle of the city. She has been going there for years

but today it felt different.

As she was turning pages with her numb fingers reading

things she thought she'd regret, she heard a whisper. She

ignored it. But the strange noises continued. It was as if

someone wanted to talk to her desperately. The cold in the

room was unbearable now and she turned around to find

herself all alone. Unable to compose herself, she decided

to leave. She stood up and as she was slowly walking she

noticed that the temperature was inconsistent in the floor.

She had read about cold spots being a sign of supernatural

entities. This was because the spirits feed off on the energy

from the surroundings making it cold. Veronica didn't

want to be there anymore. She grabbed the book and

rushed to the librarian. She couldn't see a single person in

the hallway. She was alone. She finally managed to reach

the librarian. The librarian was there with a bright smile as

always to greet Veronica. She was her only friend in the

new city. Being an avid reader, Veronica didn’t socialize

much. The librarian started off by saying "I knew you'd be

here”. She insisted on Veronica borrowing the book. The

librarian then says "You must finish this book for the good

of it". The librarian was behaving strange and unlike

herself.

Veronica took the book and ran across the hallway. In

seconds, she was out. As she was exiting through the gate

the watchman stopped her. The watchman asked her what

she was doing inside so long. He showed her a sign which

read "Closed", indicating the library had been closed the

whole day. Veronica asks the reason for the same. "The

librarian passed away the other night", says he. Hearing

this sent shivers down her spine. All of Veronica's strength

was lost, she could barely stand. She then reached out for

the book she collected from "the librarian" a while ago.

She was shell shocked. The cover was blank. The pages

were blank too. She couldn't believe what she was seeing.

As she was turning the pages, a bookmark fell from them.

She bent over to pick up the bookmark, held it in her

hands and turned it over. The bookmark read "Dreams are

free" .She wakes up in heavy sweat, panting and looks at

herself in the mirror (Sigh).

The Social Animal

The Internet has drastically

changed the way we choose to

express ourselves. With

technological advancements,

come cons we fail to see. Ilu

Jain shares his perspectives on

social networks and the role

they ought to play in our lives.

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12

How do you stand up for an issue (anti-smoking,

corruption, rape etc.)?

- By ‘liking’ a post shared by someone in FB related

to the issue?

- By ‘sharing’ a post related to the issue?

- Or even better, by posting a status on your wall

regarding the issue?

How do you wish your friend on their birthday?

- By posting ‘Happy Birthday’ on their wall

- By texting/Whatsapp them Happy Birthday

How do you enjoy your trip?

- By clicking countless photographs at every place,

thus preparing for your next potential DP in FB?

How do you socialize with people?

- By texting/Whatsapp them?

- By chatting with them in FB?

If your answer for the above questions is “yes!”, then you

are missing out on something very important, something

very substantial and something very meaningful,

something that our forefathers call ‘Life’!

We live in a virtual world. We live in WTF generation –

Whatsapp, Twitter and Facebook. Technology has enabled

us to connect with people whom we otherwise wouldn’t be

able to connect with, but that doesn’t mean you leverage

technology to connect with people whom you can talk

with verbally, face-to-face.

I’m not against technology or social networking, Agreed

that it is one of the greatest inventions of the 21st century

and the best possible medium for communication.

However there are lots of things you miss when you

restrict yourself predominantly to a virtual environment.

There is a “real” world out there. There is “life” out there!

The whole point of the Toastmasters is to meet real people

and break out of that self-created imaginary shell to which

you confine yourself. When I look back at my four month

stint at the Toastmasters so far, I know I have gifted

myself the best thing I possibly could have. Le Motif! A

driving force in life! I have made more friends, real friends

in Alpha Toastmasters, than I have made in my 15 months

with TCS!. I realized that to experience real things, you

have got to use your lips more than the keypad.(No pun

intended! :P) .

As we the “Alphas” reach our milestone, I’d like to go

forth in a life with a message to myself and to fellow

Toastmasters -

“Don’t insult the gift of life by

limiting opportunities for

yourself. Speak your heart out!

The fun, confidence and

satisfaction that you get from

being real is unprecedented and

unparalleled! ”

So the next time you face an issue that concerns you, speak

out!

If it’s your friend’s birthday, call him/her to wish him a

“Happy Birthday” or even better wish your friend in

person if you could!

If you travel, Enjoy the places you travel to, absorb the

spirit of the place instead of merely clicking photographs

for your Facebook post!

And the next time you want socialize and network with

real people - Well, Join Alpha Toastmasters!!

Proud to be part of The Alpha!

Sincerely,

Ilu Jain

VP-M, TCS Maitree Alpha

Toastmasters Club

______________

Which Club Officer are you?

Our officers are the heart and soul of the club. Amidst

busy work schedules, they run a constantly active club.

They lead teams, deliver speeches, engage crowds,

welcome guests, mentor budding Toastmasters, strive

constantly to better themselves and set an example for the

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13

rest of the club. The personalities of our vibrant officers

impact the decisions and activities of Alpha. If you want to

find out which club officer you are most like, then go

ahead and take this quiz.

1. Why did you join Toastmasters?

A. You wanted to improve public speaking

B. You wanted to meet new girls/guys

C. You got caught sleeping in the ODC so you come

to meetings to sleep here instead.

D. You wanted to make new friends (Your old

friends got smart and stopped returning your call.)

E. You like to keep busy

F. You thought it was secret club with secret

missions

G. You like to try new things.

2. While writing a speech which topic are you most

likely to pick? A. Reading, travelling and cuisine

B. Romancing a girl

C. A deep, meaningful message

D. Humour

E. Family

F. Secret undercover missions you have done for the

government

G. Adventure

3. While a member is onstage delivering a speech

you are usually –

A. Listening intently

B. Break into applause every now and then

C. Sleeping

D. Sniggering silently at some joke only you can

understand

E. Nodding your head vigorously

F. Looked bored and indifferent

G. Guarding the door

4. If you could be a club officer you would choose

to be?

A. The PR so you can exercise your writing and other

artistic skills

B. The treasurer so you can use club money to fund

your dates with beautiful girls/guys.

C. The Secretary so you can proudly claim to be a

club officer and yet do no work but writing

MOMs

D. The VP of Membership so you can talk to new

people (the ones who already know you won’t

come near you)

E. The VP E because though no one knows what

you do exactly it looks like you do something very

important

F. The president because you are secretly a control

freak and you like the idea of a seat of power.

G. The Sergeant at Arms so you can stand on stage

and be the center of everyone’s attention

5. What makes you stand out or popular in the

club?

A. Your well delivered speeches

B. Your reputation as a compulsive romantic

C. Your way with words both spoken and written

D. Your height. You are so tall that when you stand

you stand out.

E. Your longstanding membership

F. Your dedication to the club

G. Your enthusiasm

Write down the number of you choices. If you have a

maximum number of A’s or B’s, then you are most similar

to the Club officer corresponding to the number. To read

a few words about your Club Officer - Read on!

A – You are TM Hemalatha

She loves reading books and blogs. If you talk to TM

Hemalatha you’ll notice that she moves her hands a lot.

She is a black belt in Karate. Do make sure those hands

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14

stay well out of reaching you. In her free time she likes

teasing Ayyappan.

B – You are TM Ayyappan

TM Ayyappan loves marketing, educational videos (wink,

wink!) and girls. If you start a conversation with TM

Ayyappan, he will probably tell you about his romantic

escapades. In his free time he unconsciously works as a

marketing agent for Amway.

C – TM Vijayalakshmi

TM Vijayalakshmi likes doing nothing but reading. If you

start a conversation with her she will either say things that

let you mouth hang open or politely yet reticently reply. In

her free time she likes to day dream and figure out how to

get a Booker prize.

D – TM Ilu Jain

TM Ilu Jain likes the movie Lion King. If you talk to TM

Ilu Jain you’ll soon begin to wish you hadn’t. In his free

time he likes to update his status on media sites like

Facebook and twitter. He is the 7UP dude of the club.

E - TM Sharanya

TM Sharanya likes singing and animals. If you talk to TM

Sharanya, she’ll nod her head so frequently you’ll get dizzy

just watching her. In her free time she does the Club

Secretaries work. She is the nicest, politest officer Alpha

has seen.

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15

F – TM Rahul Shankar

TM Rahul likes Toastmasters, travelling and espionage. If

you start a conversation with him you’ll probably begin to

wonder if he is drunk or just stoned. In his free time he

likes to go on secret missions for the government or cook

up lies that claim he does.

G – TM Saranya Garimella

TM Saranya likes branded clothes and expensive watches.

If you talk to her you’ll catch her enthusiasm. It’s

contagious. In her free time she provides tips to Ayyappan

on how to impress a girl.

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Melbourne Memories

The world is a book and those

who do not travel read only one

page. TM Hemalatha gives us her

perspective on Melbourne,

Australia.

Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by

the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do.

So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor.

Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream.

Discover. Mark Twain - who said this - not only wrote

adventure. He lived it.

Suspense, mystery and discovery have always ignited the

curiosity of the human mind. There is something about

venturing into an unknown land that no video game, book

or song can recreate. In this vintage edition, I share with

you some interesting things that happened on my trip to

Melbourne, Australia - also my first trip overseas!

`

16

I visited Melbourne in fall. Browned maple leaves sailed

through the air and covered sidewalks as the gentle wind

blew. The delights the city had to offer were many and we

wouldn't have time for all. So let’s get to the best of it.

The first best thing about Melbourne is its people.

Melbourne is home to people from diverse cultures and

backgrounds. At Melbourne Central, people rush past you

in pursuit of success and happiness. They roll up their

sleeves and get to work. There are hot donuts,

hamburgers, exotic coffees and cheese on sale. Street

magicians and performers are by the dozen. Towers spiral

into the sky and people flit in and out like industrious ants.

A few miles away, in the suburbs, the city kicks back and

relaxes. Everybody stops to say "Cheers". You see

Japanese, Koreans, Indians Romanians, Russians and the

locals. People from different corners of the world brought

together by one thing - their zest for life.

In this time and age, when we're busy from the moment

we open our eyes we forget life's simple pleasures - an

indefinite walk in the woods with a friend or simply staring

into space. We're so busy with drowning in technology and

chasing things that don't mean anything to us…

Melbourne reminded me that "I was the center of my

world! Nothing or no one else! "

Our second day, we were gathered at Federation Square -

which is the city center for the opening ceremony of the

Martial Arts Games. After the ceremony, we were seated

on some stairs facing a lake and lush gardens. The skies

were clear that morning and out of the blue came an

airplane. It didn't rush past us in a second; rather it made

loops and lines with streams of white smoke. In a matter

of minutes, there was a note, on the sky, which said "Marry

me Joanna!” An insider tip to all the boys - No girl is

saying no to you if you declare your love for her with a

note in the infinite blue skies. If you don't have time for

thoughtful gestures, what do you have time for?

Another incident happened during our visit to the zoo.

We'd taken the tram and were finding the main entrance to

meet the rest of the gang. We passed a long line of buses

and suddenly someone called out to us - "Hello there!" and

walked up to us. The voice belonged to 70-year old Peter.

He drives school buses and had brought some

kindergarteners to the zoo. He enquired whether we were

Indians and when we said yes, he asked us a favor. Peter

had an "Indian" girlfriend and she was teasing him

endlessly and calling him "Dadima". Peter wanted to know

what it meant and how he could tease her back. So there

we were in Melbourne giving this Australian tips to

impress his girlfriend and grinning from ear to ear.

The next best thing about Melbourne is that it’s one of the

most livable cities in the world. And to tourists, Melbourne

is a dream. Clean wide roads, pavements and streets.

Bicycle tracks, generous gardens and avenues. It’s easy to

get around Melbourne. And easier still with all the little

details the State government has in place. I prepared a

great deal for my trip. I spent entire weekends surfing the

net about Melbourne, what to see, what to do, what to eat,

what’s cheap and what’s not. One thing I wasn't prepared

for was the literature that Melbourne threw at me. As soon

as we cleared immigration, we were handed the official

Melbourne Visitor Guide. You may think it’s a 4-5 page

pamphlet. But no; It has every detail you'll need to enjoy

your stay and is 200 pages long! And it didn't stop at the

airport. There's information available in stores, museums,

trams, trains, buses. . On a tram, there's a pamphlet

guiding you through attractions present on the way! You

could glean enough knowledge from the pamphlets

everywhere to write a book about Melbourne. And for

someone like me, who loves to read even product labels

and nutrient information, it was heaven

The third best thing about Melbourne was its nature and

wildlife attractions. Melbourne Aquarium with its

marvelous array of sea life and penguins. I even got a

chance to hold a starfish in my hand! But nothing beats the

grand oceanarium. In the basement of the aquarium

complex, is a little sea; where sting rays, say 10 times as

large as Akilesh glide through the gentle water, in harmony

with exotic reef fish, sharks, and jelly fish. Walking

through the oceanarium gives you a 270 degree view of sea

life. You might as well be meditating under the sea; such is

the serenity that you feel when you see it!

`

17

I visited Melbourne in Fall. Browned maple leaves sailed

through the air and covered sidewalks as the gentle wind

blew. The delights the city had to offer were many and I

came back rested, rejuvenated and set for the race that life

is, for us! Discovering Melbourne was also in parts re-

discovering myself, a chance to stop and think about

where I stand and where I want to go! And… there are

miles to go before I sleep and miles to go before I sleep.

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