An Orator par Excellence !

I am sure all of you might be interested to know the one whom I would call 'The Orator par Excellence'. The world has seen many eminent speakers, all of whom are spectacular in their own way. I do not intend to compare them all. Instead, this post is meant to jot down just a few thoughts about one great orator-Mark Anthony.

Anyone who is interested in public speaking or attracted by the way the eloquent greats deliver their speeches, would not have missed out on Mark Anthony's famous speech, delivered after the death of Julius Caesar. Caesar was a close friend of Mark Anthony. 

Why do we consider Mark Anthony's speech with high respect ? What is special about it ? Yes, Mark Anthony is too good an orator, though he says 'I am no orator'. For me, the most striking aspect is the context of his speech. Before Mark Anthony started speaking, the whole crowd was against Caesar. Brutus and co had made the public believe that Caesar was ambitious. And everyone knew that Mark Anthony was a close friend of Caesar. The mob wouldn't listen to Mark Anthony either !

To speak out the truth and to make the public realise the truth is a tough job. He had to grab the attention of people. And then he had to frame his words in such a way that the public doesn't turn against him and Caesar. And he did that in style. That is the skill of Mark Anthony, the orator. That is why, we all respect Mark Anthony and his speech. Undoubtedly, he is too good an orator.

A TWIST IN THE TALE

The elections to decide the representatives of our hostel were held day before yesterday and the results of the same were declared yesterday. I thought I would share with you a ‘tale’ that happened during the election.

Let me start the story. The central character here is Mr.A (not to disclose his name). Mr.A is a very good friend of mine. He is also a keralite like me. He decided to contest for the post of Social and Cultural representative. I was pleased to hear this because in my perspective, he is someone who has the calibre to come forward and work for others. I say this because many a time, I have seen him paying attention to those around him and helping them as and when needed.

He became a part of one of the panels (there were two panels in total).

To counter any unforeseen circumstances, a dummy contestant also filed the candidature for the same post. The ‘dummy’ would withdraw at the last moment if everything is fine with Mr.A’s candidature. Meanwhile, the onam celebrations organised by the association of keralites happened to be at the same time. The onam celebrations made us all very busy and was very entertaining. But, this took away some important time and Mr.A could not do a proper campaigning. By the way, Is campaigning important ? Yes, because it gives an opportunity to present the candidate’s credentials to others, especially to the new faces, to whom all the contestants are strangers. Well, Mr.A lost that chance to some extent.

However, we were all optimistic. The day of counting came and it started in the evening. Not much information was available in the initial phases of counting. At about 10pm, at almost half way mark, we came to know that Mr.A’s opponent was having a slight lead. Anyway, the lead wasn’t strong and hopes were still alive. I came to know that it would be late when the results come out. As I was feeling sleepy, I went to sleep. At around 12, I heard a noise realising that the results of election has been declared. I had opened my eyes, but was still sleepy. I thought I would sleep now and that I shall check the results the next day morning.

The next day morning, as I woke up, I was very curious to know the results. I went downstairs, towards the notice board and there I saw the results displayed. And guess what-Mr.A had lost. Another talented contestant bows out of the race !. But more surprise was in store..Mr.A’s opponent hasn’t won either !..Yes, you guessed it right, the ‘dummy’ stole the show by winning the post by a narrow margin. Everyone was stunned. The ‘dummy’ himself was taken aback. The ‘dummy’ could not withdraw his candidature in time as he too was busy with onam celebrations, about which I had already told you. But he had let everyone know about this and had asked everyone not to vote for him !.

At the end of the day, it is all the same for us. Another talented good friend of ours is going to be at the helm of social and cultural affairs of our hostel. Had the ‘dummy’ withdrawn earlier, both of our friends, both of whom have good calibre, would have gone out of race. So, the twist in the tale wasn’t bad for us, but for the disappointment of Mr.A.

The Fun Filled Weekend

I enjoyed the last weekend to the brim. Probably, the best I had till now. There were an array of activities following one after another, starting with the freshers day on friday to the elocution competition on monday. Let us peep into it...

The freshers party which we hosted was held on Friday (7 September 2012) evening. An evening meant to welcome our juniors. When I talk about freshers party, my mind goes to the farewell party that we had hosted. That was the evening, when I was back on stage after a long gap. That was the evening which saw my anchoring debut. Though I had public speaking experience, I knew that anchoring was a different ball game. To add to it, we-the anchors-decided to recite a poem ! My prejudiced mind told me  'Poetry is not my cup of tea'. However, I was impressed with the poem and so we decided to go with it  (The poem was 'Waqt' by Javed Akthar. The hindi part was dealt by the co-anchor and I was doing the English translation part). By God's grace, both of them (anchoring and the poem) worked out well. And that gave me loads of confidence. And guess what, this Friday evening for freshers party, I am there on stage-yes, you guessed it right, I was one of the anchors ! The effort that we, had put in and the success that followed filled our hearts.

Saturday and Sunday were the days of onam celebrations. I am a student of IIT Kharagpur and we have an association of keralites here- Tech Keralites. The onam program was organised by tech keralites. The first day was meant for games and the second day for cultural activities and the much awaited onasadya (the feast). This time, I was more involved in the background work than last time. And it was fun. The whole program happened to be thoroughly entertaining. This was probably the best of onams celebrated at kharagpur till now. Well, Is it true that these days Onam-the traditional festival of Kerala-is celebrated more outside Kerala than in Kerala ? I leave it to you to figure out. But, now I understand that, once I leave kharagpur, I am going to miss the association and the celebrations.

Monday evening was also special. It was not as flamboyant as the ones mentioned above. But it is definitely close to my heart. Guess what-I did my debut as a judge ! As a part of the intra hall english elocution competition (held in another hostel), I was told to be one of the judges. And I grabbed the opportunity with both hands because I knew that to be a part of a judging panel is a rare opportunity. I knew that it brings with it lots of responsibilities. Being on a judging debut, I was a bit tensed.  But I found that I was not too bad a judge for this program. The co-judge was a friend of mine and was very cooperative as well. At the end of the program, we have positive deliberations. At the end of it all, I believe we gave the correct judgement. A moral boost for a judge on debut.

All these together made the weekend a memorable one for me.
There are many things-small or big-that make us happy.
There are many opportunities-small or big-that polish our skills.
And most of them find a place amongst the best moments of our life....

'THE BIG GAMES'

This is the time when the best sportspersons in the world gear up to prove their mettle, because the big stage, the Olympics is ready-this time at London. The best in the world compete with each other to finish on top of the game.
The intense preparation and hardwork gives them the much needed confidence. Some succeed in finishing on the right side of the results, while some others miss out.

A group of dedicated people from our country also perform at this 'big stage', eager to prove their mettle.
The hope of a billion rest on their shoulders.
The pride of a nation relies on their performance.
They have already bagged a silver and two bronze medals, making the nation proud. Hopefully, more medals will follow. While Vijay Kumar was the one to bag the only silver, Gagan Narang and Saina Nehwal finished with bronze. Though Saina Nehwal had the assistance of luck, her efforts cannot be overlooked. As the saying goes, 'Fortune favours the brave'. She was rewarded for her hardwork.

India's medal tally has been improving in the recent olympic games.Last time, at the Beijing olympics, an Indian bagged gold in an individual event (Abhinav Bindra). Hopefully, this time the medal tally would be even more attractive.
Let the olympians make the country prouder with more of those medals.

THE SULTAN OF ROCKETRY

Today, our country hold a respectable position in the field of space science and rocket technology. The Space era started growing in India under the inspirational leadership of Dr. Vikram Sarabhai. He succeeded in instilling the faith and motivation in others and this has taken Indian space research thus far.

However, another interesting point is the fact that rocket technology took shape in India much earlier than this. The sultan of Mysore, Tipu Sultan was the one who used this against the British. The Rocket technology was used to fight the opponents in the warfare by the Mysore Sultan and this, without any doubt troubled the British. The sultan was the one who laid the seeds of rocket technology in our country.

The British, took a few samples of those 'rockets' back home. In an effort to unravel the mysteries, they disassembled the samples and this probably helped the space age to evolve. It took many more years for our country to master this technology.

After all, though the basic principle of rocketry is Newton's third law, which is well explained in just a single sentence ('For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction' ), it takes lot more effort to make it a reality. That calls for the need of Engineering and a strong leadership to marshall the troop .

THE VETERANS

Veterans in any field deserve respect, for they are the ones who have been there for long and possess the treasure of experience. Experience makes one wiser. So, the veterans are the 'wise heads'.


The Indian Cricket team today has one of the strongest batting line ups (at least on paper !), the terrific trio of veterans in the middle order being one of the significant reasons. The wall (Rahul Dravid), the little master ( Sachin Tendulkar) and the very very special laxman have taken the responsibility of the middle order of Indian batting lineup on their shoulders for almost a decade and a half.
        In the autumn of their careers, they would love to don the role of nurturing youngsters so as to build a team for the future.

A look at the Mollywood film industry (I am more exposed to malayalam film industry as it is my mother tongue.) would show two stalwarts decorating the throne. The Big M s of Mollywood (Mammooty and Mohanlal) have been doing this for the past three decades or so. They, who too were once nothing more than raw talent, had to through tough phases and working under directors of immense calibre, polished the talent in them.
      But, recently there were some rumours that they were not giving the youngsters a chance. As already said, youngsters wouldn't get a greater stage to groom their careers than when working with the seniors. And more importantly, if any young actor is good enough to replace the 'old' superstars, they cannot be neglected for long.


Experience gives wisdom.
And the wise men guide others forward !

Veterans are to be valued and
youngsters are to be nurtured !

THE NEWSMAKER 2011

The program organised by manorama news channel (malayalam) to find out the newsmaker (among the keralites) of the year 2011 was over when they declared the business magnet Kochouseph Chittilappilly to be the chosen one.


The process involved seeking public opinion and talks with the shortlisted candidates. After the primary round which saw many familiar names surfacing, four candidates were shortlisted for the final round, which involved the Kerala Chief minister Shri  Oomen Chandy, IT minister Shri P.K. Kunhalikutty, film actor Shri Salim Kumar and Shri Kochouseph Chittilappilly.

Among the above four, the chief minister was obviously in the news for many reasons ranging from the palmolein case to the mullaperiyar issue and more.

The year 2011 was one that Salim Kumar would cherish . An actor who was more or less constrained within the tag of a 'comedian' stunned many by doing something which even many frontline actors couldn't. Probably, director lal jose's 'achanurangatha veedu' was the film which gave the new dimension to  Salim Kumar's career. However 'Adaminte Makan Abu', fetched him the Kerala state award and made all the keralites proud by winning the national award for the best actor. Moreover, he drew inspiration from the story of the film and decided to sponsor one financially constrained person to go on a Haj trip. A benevolent gesture indeed !
And those probably brought his name to the final round of newsmaker contest.

However, it was Shri Kochouseph Chittilappilly who was chosen to be the newsmaker and rightly so. He caught the media attention mainly because of two instances. One of them was when he decided to donate his kidney. He is said to have enquired about the consequences of  the same and finally made the decision. He, being financially well placed, was not in any sort of compulsion to do the same.
A deed worth applauding !

Kochouseph Chittilappilly

He also found a place in the news when he raised his voice against the 'nokkukooli' (which means the labourers were supposed to be paid even if they do not work). The labourers told him at one of his worksites that anyone except Shri Kochouseph Chittilappilly , would not be allowed to carry the loads, if they themselves were not given that 'privilege'. However, Kochouseph Chittilappilly, who already had some labourers appointed in for the same, did not panic. He faced them boldly by carrying the load himself, thereby raising the voice against the labourer's daylight robbery.
Again a social cause !

Though the other three were also good competitors, I thought Shri Kochouseph Chittilappilly had the edge over others, considering the nature of the deeds that he was involved in. And many more probably thought it that way.
And that makes him the newsmaker 2011.

INSPIRATIONS

Every single person draws inspiration from others in many different ways. Some motivate us to march forward, while some others make us wiser and throw a new ray of hope. The impact that each person has on others would be different.

When I went through the initial orientation part in the 'Wings of Fire' by honourable Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam sir, I started pondering over the 'inspirations' and that resulted in this post. It is interesting to read how a few people with a different outlook could instill faith and curiosity in a village boy who later became one of the most respected scientists of the country and also became the President of India. He also talks about the broad mindedness of his father and neighbours which enabled them to sail past the boundaries of religion with ease and treat all of them as equals. The professors at various institutes, played their roles to perfection by helping him in his quest for knowledge with a strong desire to 'fly'.

Years later, the missile man of India is the inspiration for many youngsters with his uncompromising quest for knowledge, and his humbleness even after conquering great heights. I was fortunate enough to see kalam sir a couple of times. The first of them was when he visited our school about 9 or 10 years ago. He, being the chief guest was offered a chair on the dias. But we saw him talking to our principal and others, without taking the seat on the dias. We didn't know what was happening. A few minutes later, he came down to us and said he wanted to sit between us and not on the dias ! A chair was then placed amidst us for our guest and he started talking to us. He always loves to talk to students.  Probably he wanted to nourish the young buds and develop the curiosity in those young minds.

I too have been inspired by many in many ways. Some traits of certain people attract us, which some personalities influence us immensely. This is true for everyone. To list all of them is next to impossible and so the list is cut short. The great wall of Indian cricket, Rahul Dravid is a person I admire. He knows what he is capable of, and what he is not. He always stays within himself and never gets affected when others do something more stylish. He remains unaffected, which is extremely attractive.

To express things briefly is very difficult. Hence to convey a message in simple, brief words needs a great understanding and experience of the matter. For that matter, I find many quotations interesting. Many of them convey a good message or motivates others. They do help us to look at things from a different perspective.  Einstein once said that he possessed no special talents except that he was passionately curious. These words, simply includes all that is needed to convey the message. The talents needed for a scientist cannot be described in simpler words.
 
The motivations that one has in life influences his character, the thought process and his deeds.
They ignite the inner spark to give the firepower.