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Sands of Time

Vol 10-1

Club 2913, Area 33, Division J, District 79.

Ten Years of glory ............

From the Editors Desk..

It has indeed been an honor for me to be chosen as the VV PR of Star of Arabia, a position that I would never have thought of taking up a few years back. As a child I was never considered to be a great writer or a speaker. Being the youngest in the family and also with my elder siblings and cousins being experts in this art, I got little chance to exhibit my literary / oratory skills. I too did not bother much to compete with them. I was then more interested in taking up Science subjects with a dream to become an architect. However destiny takes its own course. I ended with a job that required a lot of number crunching, analyzing, making presentations and to top it all training! I still remember the day when I had to make my first presentation in front a crowd of 200 odd staff, my legs felt like jelly, my throat dry and worst of all, I could hardly hear my own voice ! It was then that I realized how important it is to develop the art of communication which somehow had taken a backseat in my life. Over the years I improved. I joined the Toastmasters and then came another realization that there were miles to go.. Today as I sit down to compile this newsletter I reflect upon my childhood dream of becoming an Architect. The only difference is that now it is not with the bricks, paints and cement but with words, sentences and paragraphs. I would like to thank all the members who have not just contributed but also supported and encouraged me to publish this newsletter. It has indeed been a great experience putting everything together. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed putting them together. Happy Reading!

Sumita Narayan Vice President Public Relations

The Toastmasters Vision Toastmasters International empowers people to achieve their full potential and realize their dreams. Through our member clubs, people throughout the world can improve their communication and leadership skills, and find the courage to change. The Toastmasters Mission Toastmasters International is the leading movement devoted to making effective oral communication a worldwide reality. Through its member clubs, Toastmasters International helps men and women learn the arts of speaking, listening, and thinking vital skills that promote self-actualization, enhance leadership potential, foster human understanding, and contribute to the betterment of mankind. It is basic to this mission that Toastmasters International continually expand its worldwide network of member clubs, thereby offering ever-greater numbers of people the opportunity to benefit from its programs.

Contents
We must be the change we wish to see in the World. SOA President MTM Revathy speaks Taking on the mantle of a President of an illustrious chapter such as Star of Arabia is a daunting prospect. Immediate past President TM Hari speaks. SOA 2010 2011 EXCOM members.. A decade to show off Founder member & mentor of SOA, DTM Balaji writes what makes him proud. Mallika speaks about her Top 10 Reasons to join the Toastmasters Club.. .. Language makes a difference .. how ? TM Avinash comments.. SOAs FIFA whats it all about writes TM Hemant . .. Eating Right . MTM Connie shares her mantra of Eating right .
D s h f a a s j

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Guests comments.... Laurels & accolades... .. You could be a Winner .. Do you want to become a member?

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From the President.

We must be the change we wish to see in the World, said Mahatma Gandhi. In my own way, I have taken the first step by accepting the challenge of being the President of Star of Arabia for the year 2010-11. Why is this a challenge? My predecessors have set very high standards for Star of Arabia, and have proved, through their commitment and sense of responsibility, that nothing is impossible. They have raised the bar, and challenged the new Executive Committee to scale the heights. We accept the challenge, and will strive to maintain, if not improve, the quality of the Chapter in the coming year through creativity, commitment, innovation and sheer determination. The Chapters goals are always intrinsically linked to those of each individual, and these get transformed into achievements of the Chapter. While each one of us has the determination to become better communicators and leaders, we also have an obligation to help other members tread the path to achievement. It is only through giving that we receive / achieve more, and it is a valuable and satisfying learning experience, as well. Star of Arabia has always prided itself on being a wonderful family that is committed to excel. The current global economic and social environment presents challenges that impact virtually every sphere of our lives. These challenges demand change; changes in the way we view situations, and changes in the way we do things. As Albert Einstein said, All meaningful and lasting change starts first in your imagination and then works its way out. Imagination is more important than knowledge. I have no doubts about our ability to make a difference. The imagination has been fuelled, the fire within has been kindled. We will keep the Star of Arabia flag flying high. With my best wishes..

Revathy Venkatratnam

From the Immediate Past President.

Taking on the mantle of President of an illustrious chapter such as Star of Arabia is a daunting prospect. The rich tradition and excellent track record crafted by my predecessors was sure to be a hard act to follow. As in previous years, though, Star of Arabia elected a very competent and talented Executive Committee, and we can look back at the year with a sense of pride and satisfaction that the flag continued to fly high. The chapter was, once again, recognized by Toastmasters International as a Presidents Distinguished Club - an acknowledgement of achievement. More fundamental, however, is the fact that the chapter has grown in stature through the addition of some very fine and enthusiastic new members who blended in well with the experienced ones who have, over the years, worked hard to build Star of Arabia into one of the finest chapters in the GCC. The wisdom, the commitment and the spark of every member of the family needs to be acknowledged. The chapter is in very capable hands, and I have absolutely no doubt that Star of Arabia will continue to shine. A Hariharan

Achievements of the Year

Awarded the Presidents' Distinguished Club recognition Achieved a perfect 10 Distinguished Club Points for the second year running Four Competent Communicator and two Advanced Communicator Awards Chair Education & Training, Division J. Division's Ambassador to DTAC from Star of Arabia Successfully organized Youth Leadership Program Won "Best Speaker" awards at Area level in three categories Conducted Training sessions for corporate entities through Speaker's Bureau.

Meet our new SOA 2010 2011 EXCOM Members

We believe in trying to do things differently, we have been the first to have all Ladies EXCOM committee

This a mixed group, one being the senior most and another the junior most, do you think they can manage?

.....this Chapter is in Very capable Hands......

???

A decade to show off

DTM Nagabhushan Balaji . Mentor and founder member of Star of Arabia In the year 1900, when Dr. Ralph Smedley thought of an idea while having a toast with his friends, little did he realize he was creating a stepping stone to success for many in this world. During the year 1924, when the so called thought of organization was registered as Toastmasters International, he might have not visualized the enormous success story. However, one thing he decided was to commit himself towards his goal. Today there are 12500 clubs in 106 countries and around 250,000 members who are benefiting and learning from this organization every second, minute, hour and day.. I suspect that his vision might have been that if any individual thinks of public speaking & communication at any time of the day or night, there should be a club in some place of the world at that moment conducting a meeting!!!! When Toastmasters movement was started in the Middle East in the year 1983, I am not sure that the people involved had an idea that we would be called a District, let alone think of being the number one District in this world. They too had one amazing concept they were committed towards their goal. In the year 2001, when some Toastmasters thought of expansion, they must have come up with a thought of one more chapter. However, they were sure that they were creating a success phenomenon with one thought - they too were committed towards the goal of ensuring that this creation was the best. While deciding the name for this chapter the entire group invested their time, effort and eventually succeeded in the best one STAR OF ARABIA. Not only was the chapter named after the Arabian Peninsula, the newsletter was named SANDS OF TIME so that it could remain for time immemorial. Associated with the chapter from the time of conceiving and inception I cannot express in words my happiness that we have completed a DECADE in existence. Till date we have been very strong in terms of teamwork, fun, learning, knowledge sharing and not to forget QUALITY. Such quality meetings are the dreams of many Toastmasters within UAE and outside. We created and exist as a family wherein the bunch of children play, fight,

challenge, compete and encourage one another to perform at our best and eventually hold the flag of SOA as high as we can. . Take a look at the standard Agenda format and you can read the success story written all over. What do you think would the MENTORS & SPONSORS of the chapter would feel about this achievement all I can say on their behalf is WOW WE DID IT. Star of Arabia is also known for creativity, innovation, camaraderie and above all successful leaders. . This success story would not have been possible if all these leaders and the members had not believed that THEY COULD DO IT. I have been through the happiness, the sorrow, the successes, the failures, the emotions and every facet of Toastmasters which members of SOA have gone through from the time of its birth and I will not hesitate to state that this is a great SCHOOL of learning where an individual can walk in free, join the family and eventually explore the process of learning. . During this tenth year and with the new EXCOM (an all ladies affair) in place, let me say THANK YOU to all the Presidents, their Committees and the members of this GREAT FAMILY. Without you, this would not have been a success story. Without you, this cannot be a success story for another decade and without you, Star of Arabia would not be known as a FORCE TO CONTEND WITH.

Idioms:
An idiom is an expression, word, or phrase that has a meaning that is separate from the literal meaning of the words of which it is made. Have an Axe to Grind: To have a dispute, resentment, or grudge. Wear Your Heart On Your Sleeve: To openly and freely express your emotions. Make No Bones About: To state a fact so there are no doubts or objections.

Usage
Irfan was a person who wore his heart on his sleeve. He was the kind of person who would speak his mind out whether people liked it or not. He, however, had an axe to grind with Balaji, having had several arguments with him in the past. When Irfan took up the TMOD role, Revathy realized Irfans motive and made no bones about it that she was expecting a cordial meeting where members come to learn rather than seek to take revenge.

Top 10 Reasons to join the Toastmasters Club

Dr Mallika Ramanathan- founder member of Star of Arabia speaks about herself and why she joined the Toastmasters Club Mallika has always enjoyed being with people ever since childhood and has taken lead roles in various activities like debates, elocution, plays etc. Nov 2, 1995, Mallika and her husband Ram went to attend the Introductory Toastmasters meeting conducted by Mr. Vijay Manikoth who had recently moved in from Bahrain to Abu Dhabi. By the end of the evening both of them were quite taken in by the concept. Soon they formed a chapter with a few wonderful friends named it - "DUBAI CHAPTER" . The members grew in numbers to 45 and it was time again to break away and form a new chapter. With like minded people like Balaji, Balu and a few others, Mallika moved out of the DUBAI CHAPTER to form the STAR OF ARABIA CHAPTER 10 years ago. The top ten reasons to join toastmasters (as quoted by Mallika) 1. To hone my public speaking skills 2. To speak to all types of audience comfortably by understanding the pulse of the audience and speak accordingly 3. To improve my leadership skills and learn to make a point effectively 4. To develop listening skills and understand other persons views 5. To form enduring friendships 6. To learn to work as a team 7. To value and appreciate feedback about myself 8. To learn to think on my feet and speak in any given situation 9. To develop a sense of humor 10. To give back to the society what I have learnt from the Toastmasters by way of conducting Youth Leadership programs that would help young people to develop communication and leadership skills

Quote:

Say not always what you know, but always know what you say
Claudius

Language makes a difference

TM Avinash D'souza
The panda eats, shoots, and leaves. This statement implies that the panda is no cuddly animal but a mean beast which satiates himself before turning to slay others around and hastily making an exit. But the authors original intention was to describe pandas as creatures that feed on shoots and leaves. Further, by saying the panda, we seem to refer to a particular panda which has these traits. Take the case of the word only. The word only places a certain emphasis on the word immediately following it in a sentence and hence inappropriate placement can change the meaning. Try using the word only at various places in the following sentence: I have a wife! Only I have a wife (No one else has a wife) I only have a wife (I have nothing else) I have only three wives (No more than three changed for emphasis) I have a wife only (Same meaning as I have only a wife) The Toastmasters program is well aware of the importance of language in effective speech making and has dedicated an entire project for that purpose Project 4: How to Say it. Our choice of words affects the quality of our speeches. As the Basic Manual rightly puts it Many words carry special associations or suggestions beyond their dictionary meanings . For example : when we use the word cheap, are we meaning that it is inexpensive, affordable, bad quality or below our standards? Words such as good and bad are used to describe a variety of things into two distinct categories when there can be shades of grey. I had a good breakfast could mean anything from I had a sumptuous breakfast to I had a nutritious breakfast. We need to use words which provide an accurate description of what we intend to convey. A simple word like smell has different synonyms which provide different perspectives. Some of these are aroma, essence, fragrance, scent, perfume, odour, stink and stench. These adjectives have specific connotations. Aroma is associated with food, while stench can be associated with garbage. If you desire to be an accomplished speaker, then polishing your language is as important as vocal variety and gestures in delivering effective speeches.

For (your) Information, For (your) Action Womens ExCom Team

TM Hemant Mundhra SOAs FIFA stands for For (your) Information For (your) Action. FIFA organizes many tournaments but what takes all the limelight is the FIFA World Cup and the team who wins. This year at SOA there is a different kind of team at the helm, a team of unique composition on two counts. First one is obvious. Its an all women team. Second one is not so obvious. While President is the senior most member of the club, Sergeant-at-Arms is the junior most. Often the gender of this team may have been a subject of humor in all toastmasters competition more so in context of being the better half, this team appears to really means business, especially going by their initial interactions and deliberations. Innovations and inventions are an important aspect of life. We have chosen to be innovative this year by electing an all women ExCom. This is what our woman President had to say in her very first address, Innovation begins when contemplation is done with concentration. The new Executive Committee will innovate, and carry out activities that will further improve on the quality of club meetings and structure of the chapter, and significantly add value to each one of us This is our FIFA for 2010-11, For (your) information, For (your) action! Listen to them.

BOOK CLUB
List of the some of the favourite books SOA members may contact the owners (names mentioned against the book) and borrow / exchange the books

Name of book Don't sweat the small stuff Get up and go Julius Caesar Law of attraction Monk who sold the Ferrari My experience with truth The 48 Laws of Power Roots Shame The Alchemist The Diary of Anne Frank Two States Who moved my cheese Who will cry when I die

Author Richard Carison Stuart J Murphy William Shakespeare Michael Loiser Robin Sharma Mahatma Gandhi Robert Greene Alex Hailey Jesvider Paulo Coelho Anne Frank Chetan Bhagat Spencer Johnson Robin Sharma

Member Name Hariharan A Sheela Albert Ronald Lobo Sarvat Nazir Baluch Nilesh Bandekar Nelson Menezes Hemant Mundhra Balaji Nagabhushan Umesh Gajria Rita Pokharel Revathy Venkatratnam Mir Irfan Hussain Raghunath Nair Sasikumar Gopalan Ronald Olivera

Eating Right .
MTM Connie Theresa Quadros gives her mantra of Eating right . The physical body what we can see in the mirror is called Ananmaya Kosha according to Yoga. Its a reflection of anna or food we eat and what time we eat it. To bring about a difference in the way we look, we have to change what and when we eat. To be leaner, toned and healthy we have to follow the 4 Basic Principles of Eating Right.

Four Principles of Eating Right

Principle 1: Never wake up to tea or coffee When you sleep your blood sugar level drops at night. Its our responsibility to bring our blood sugar up to an optimum level. So to keep our bodys fat burning tissue alive we must eat. Tea as a stimulant increases our blood sugar level but provides zero nutrition. Start with a fruit i.e. an apple. Principle 2: Eat every 2 hours Our stomach does not understand that we have meeting, presentations or deadlines. Its on its mission and it keeps secreting hydrocholoric acid and keeps asking you to eat. Every two hours eat foods like peanuts/walnuts, a piece of cheese, a laban , a cucumber or curds these foods would also give you energy to go on through the activity and stress levels will reduce. When you eat every 2 hours you will also start having small meals. So the body will see no reason to start storing fat. For Lunch do not eat more than 3 things at a time eat roti, sabzi and dal or rice, curd and sabzi. Avoid eating meat as this will slow you down. Dinner eat only 2 things eat roti plus sabzi or dal plus sabzi and here you can have your non-veg Principle 4: Finish your last meal at least 2 hours prior to sleeping When you eat too late the food remains undigested and bacteria act upon it. This can turn the healthiest of meals into toxins. Toxins lead to acidity, bloating, constipation and gain in body fat. Eating 2 hours before bedtime will lead to most of your food being digested before you go to bed which will lead to sound sleep and leave your body free to do its repair work and more effective in burning fat.

Principle 3: Eat more when you are more active and less when you are less active Always fine tune your eating to your activity. Eating more food when yourre more active will make your body an efficient calorie burner. There will be an increase in the metabolic rate which will help you stay energetic and help you to lose fat more effectively.

Finally . Be consistent and see the difference in few months or 6 months or 1 year.

Little son was under bath faucet, and his mom was washing his hair. She said to him, "your curly hair is growing rapidly! You need a haircut again." The Little son answered, "Mom, if you stop watering it, it will not grow so fast'. Abdulla Mohamed Al Rais

Guests comments...

Dear Revathy, The 227th meeting was a real classic meeting in all respects. It not only brought back memories of the pillars of SoA, but had each and every member present looking back in time. To sum it up, 7 words below : Thanks once again for the invite. I truly enjoyed each and every moment.

Hi Sumita It was a pleasure meeting you and the members of the Star of Arabia last week. I enjoyed your meeting -- it was a different experience from our meetings in Kuwait. I shall tell our club EXOM to look into incorporating some of your meeting techniques into our club meetings especially the fact that you have the TM anchor the meeting till the end. We have three segments anchored by the TM, the TTM, and the GE respectively. I loved the fact that members have the opportunity of using microphones when delivering their speeches. This is one weakness of all our clubs in Kuwait -- none have this option. Also the meeting set up was great -- very professional and mimics a typical business type set up. We join TM to become better speakers not only at our club meetings but more importantly at our workplace. Overall, your meeting was memorable and highly rewarding. Anil Lobo Kuwait

V Vibrant I Interesting N Novel T Touching A Appealing G Gratifying E - Electrifying

With warm regards, Shalini Menezes Kanoo Toastmasters Dubai

A woman went to police station to file a report for her missing husband. Woman: I lost my husband. Inspector: What is his height. Woman: I never noticed. Inspector: Slim or healthy. Woman: Not slim can be healthy. Inspector: Color of eyes. Woman: Never noticed. Inspector: Color of hair. Woman: Should be black. Inspector: What was he wearing. Woman: I don't remember exactly. Inspector: Was somebody with him ??? Woman: Yes my Labrador dog (Romeo), tied with a golden chain, height 30 inches, healthy, blue eyes, blackish brown hair, his left foot thumb nail is slightly broken, he never barks, wearing a golden belt studded with blue balls, he likes non veg food, we eat together, we jog together. The woman started crying. Inspector: Let's search for the dog first!!! Mir Irfan Hussain

Laurels & Accolades

King of the Ring Contest
Lagoons Toastmasters organized the King of the Ring Contest recently. Toastmasters Hemant Mundhra and A. Hariharan represented Star of Arabia, and took part in the segment named Businessman's Contest.

The eight contestants in this segment were asked to develop a brand name, logo, theme, and an advertisement for a new mobile phone, with the message having to state five key features as well as the selling price. Twenty minutes were provided to contestants to put together their thoughts and prepare their preparations.Each contestant was given two minutes to present his concept/idea to a panel of 8 judges + the audience. The judges were permitted to ask two questions to each contestant by way of seeking more explanations/clarifications/details. TM Hemant Mundhra said : "I have never made a fisticuff to give someone a punch in life but always fantasized about it. So when I read the name of the competition 'King of the Rings' in an email from President Revathy,I registered myself to give my first punch of life. I did but fall short of that knock out punch by 'one more'. But thoroughly lived that competitive flavour. As the greatest boxing champion of all time Muhammed Ali said once, A true champion is one who has fallen flat in the ring, down and out but then rise for that one last time to give a knock out punch", though the ring would be a new one next time but punch will truly be a knock out one." TM Hariharan said : The Businessmans contest was a test of quick thinking, creativity and innovativeness, and i t was challenging to let mind think outside the box and come up with a concept that was interesting, original, unconventional and thought-provoking. It was fun, too.

TGIS meeting : winner Table Topics

Mir Irfan Hussain was the clear winner in Table Topics speech at TGIS club held on 10TH July 2010

Well done Hemant , Hariharan and Irfan! You displayed very effectively why Star of Arabia is demonstrably different and enjoys a fine reputation in the Toastmasters fraternity.

You could be a Winner too !!!!

Photo Caption Contest: Suggest a good caption for the Picture and you can win a prize. Send your caption to : Narayan.Sumita@gmail.com by 15th of September 2010.

CROSSWORD: Solve the crossword and win a prize : All the words are available in the newsletter. : Send your caption to Narayan.Sumita@gmail.com by 15th of September 2010. Open to all.
1 3 4 2 5 6

ACROSS: 3. 6. 9. 11. 14. 15. 17. 18. 19. 20. Seemed far-fetched in 1983 Shepherding the club's flock Use the sandwich in this We are one of these celestial objects Put these together to welcome Take a bow and receive this Blocks to climb on Communication - our credo Raising the bar Older and younger included here

7 9

DOWN: 1. 2. 4. 5. 7. 8. 10. 12. 13. 16. Is worth a thousand words This is me Tab on the countdown Visionary who played a kind of tune Catalyst for change, I say Directs, cajoles, performs, inspires Adjectives carry these specifically You win some, you lose some Wear it on the sleeve anyway Motivate just at the crest of achievement

10 11 12 13 15 16 17 14

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SOA Moments

Greeting & Networking

Yet another Ribbon Toastmastering is serious business....

This speech is interesting, I hope I dontt forget to keep track of time

It can be fun Too ! Some moments of the meeting with VINTAGE as theme of the TM meeting and the dress code being Vintage/ ethnic. There was a prize to be won for .. !
...... dressed for the occasion I have coloured my hair to get that vintage look

My classy Vintage glasses & professor look should make me win the prize

.... well my kurta & handprinted bandhni dupatta gives that ethnic look.. Oops! We did not read the last email sent...

Do you want to become a member?

Toastmaster International is a non-profit organization and a leading movement devoted to bringing out the best of communication and leadership skills among individuals. This organization can help you lose the fear of public speaking and learn skills that will enable you to be more successful in whichever path of life you have chosen. You will provide and receive constructive evaluation and will learn by speaking to groups and working with others in a supportive environment.

Why Star of Arabia Toastmasters Club? Star of Arabia is a long established Toastmasters Club with a fine reputation for excellence. Members have chosen to join us for the following reasons : - A large membership base, which means a big audience for giving speeches. - A mixture of various nationalities and cultural background, which enables exchange of ideas from different perspectives. - Members' profile varies in terms of age, profession and work experience. - We have set up an Award to recognize outstanding achievements by members in Toastmasters' speech contests.

For more information, please contact our VP Membership to arrange for a visit to one of our regular meetings to experience Toastmastering in person or you may logon to our website : http://starofarabia.freetoasthost.net/

Star of Arabia Toastmasters(SOA) meets at Al Futtaim Training Center at Rashidya every alternate Sunday in a month at 7.15pm. Guests are welcome. For information on membership, please call Vice President - Membership : Sarvat Baluch at +97150 1755765 or E-mail : sarvat.bn@gmail.com

Sands of Time is the official publication of the Star of Arabia Toastmasters, Club #2913, Area 33, Division J, District 79, Dubai, United Arab Emirates. It carries official notices and articles regarding the activities and interest of the organization, but responsibility is not assumed for the opinions of the authors of other articles. Published By : Star of Arabia Toastmasters, Dubai. Editor : Sumita Narayan URL : http://starofarabia.freetoasthost.net

Your feedback is important to US ...

Do send in your feedback to : Sumita Narayan narayan.Sumita@gmail.com Revathy Venkatratnam - revathy.venkatratnam@gmail.com

Sands of Time