The document discusses the Taj Mahal and how it draws visitors from around the world who are in awe of its large size and beauty. It compares the Chennai Toastmasters club to the Taj Mahal, saying it has become a monument that people from different backgrounds are drawn to in order to improve various skills. The success of the Chennai Toastmasters club is attributed to the contributions of every member over time rather than any single individual.

2. -TM Kartikeyan Srinivasan
TAJ MAHAL known for it‟s larger-than-life size
and grace is a mausoleum of perfection. People
Inside this issue converge at the banks of the Yamuna from all over
the World to visit this monument. Some are awe-
struck by its size and strength, some find beauty &
romance in it, while yet others wonder at its
architectural marvel! But not a single person just
„visits‟ – each visitor is „moved‟ in some way and
takes a bit of TheTaj!
TM Kartikeyan Srinivasan
President CTM
From where I stand (and I stand pretty tall!)
Chennai TM is the Taj of Division G – the result of
years of painstaking labor and tiny drops of
contributions by the members. We now have a
rock-solid club that is one of the best and has
consistently been so. Come every Sunday 4-6 p.m.
Ruby Hall comes alive like it never has. CTM has
become that Taj which draws people from different
walks of life as well as from within the
Toastmasters community. Some come here to hone
their skills of communications, others to improve
their leadership skills, and yet others simply to
observe and absorb the beauty of the energy and
synergy that is CHENNAI TOASTMASTERS!
2

3. This position of The Taj among Toastmasters Club is
not the result of any one individual or group, but of
the contribution of every single member of the Club
who has taken active part in the building of this
Club. This Club has consistently created high quality
speakers and Leaders, who in turn have fostered and
nurtured others into Leadership roles before moving
on. Over the years, the Club has had 14 Presidents,
each one making the Club stronger by serving its
members with passion. Each President has left
his/her mark in our hearts & minds with their
service. Our 14th President TM Sadayappan , having
led in such great manner, is moving on to greener
pastures overseas and, as such, has passed the baton
of Presidency to me though somewhat pre-maturely.
While his presence will be severely missed, I am
looking forward to all your support to ensure that The
Club continues to build on its existing strength and the
Legacy of all the past Presidents. We are into the
Contest Season, International Speech & Table Topics!
CTM has always been a force to reckon with in the
Contest arena, and I am sure we will produce more
champions. Let us all join hands to raise and support the
Champions amidst us, and raise the bar so high that next
time some admirer of The Taj Mahal should write an ode
to the monument by comparing it to CHENNAI
TOASTMASTERS!
3

4. TM Rajesh Narayanan
“It’s hard to put in words the deep connection the People have to the forest.
They see a network of energy that flows through all living things.”
Says James Cameron in the award winning movie “Avatar”
It was 11th August 2002, the day I landed in US to start my career. I was full of
excitement ... not because that was my first visit to US... but, I was excited
because I was going to see the movie “Baba”. It was my first time of watching
the First Day ... First Show of a Rajni movie. The movie was supposed to begin
at 6:30 pm. We were in the theatre at 5:00 itself. There was huge crowd at the
theatre.
Despite having tickets, all of us were crazily standing with great
astonishment, and were very anxious. All the cars in the parking lot
were playing the songs from the movie “Baba cinema… cinema[Vocal
variety]… No one was listening as all the fans had the songs
memorized by heart by then.
Finally, THAT moment arrived and I was inside the movie hall. The movie hall was packed
with people. Fans yelling and shouting „Thalaivaaaa‟; people throwing paper all over, and
lighting camphor in front of the screen. All of a sudden, I hear a huge roar of whistling
noise when the name „Rajni‟ [Vocal variety with R… A… J… N… I…] appeared on the
screen.
Throughout the movie, I couldn‟t hear a single dialogue properly. When Rajni says „Baba
counting starts… 1,2,3..‟ the entire theatre was counting down with him”1,2,3” [Vocal
variety]. At the climax, the entire energy level was at its peak, and the entire theatre roared
when Rajni made a U turn from sainthood and an example of oneness. I felt as if I was in
Chromepet Vetri theatre or Albert theatre in Chennai, not in USA.
We were all software engineers, doctors, lawyers, architects, entrepreneurs and business
man. But on that day we were all Rajni fans. They shed their identities and rejoiced in being
his fans.
I see a lot of similarity between Rajni fans and toastmasters movement.
Similarly, we too are from different backgrounds. But at the end of the day we are all
toastmasters. When we walk in through that door, we shed our individual identities and
become one. We don‟t just focus on our individual goals but also help each other grow more
than willingly. As James Cameron says “Network of energy flows through us”. That is the
secret of Toastmasters movement.
4

5. There are three important lessons that I correlate from that experience which is very relevant
to us as toastmasters.
• We are not individuals… We are deeply connected network of individuals
• We help each other to grow and succeed
• We share our best practices
Firstly, Success of the toastmasters‟ movement is not because of the founder. It was because
of members who joined together willingly and working together passionately. In those days,
we did not have social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook, but we had Toastmasters
movement which was connecting us socially. We all cheered when TM Sandhiya and TM
Sadayappan won the division and district contest as we did in Baba movie
Secondly, mentors work hand-in-hand for the growth of mentees. They in turn became
mentor in the process. It grows exponentially not in addition or multiplication. They make
sure that the knowledge gets transferred from one to another.
Thirdly, we share our best practices across the board which normally won‟t happen in the
practical corporate world. We work in abundance mind set with collective goals. Instead of
asking “what is in it for me” we ask “What is in it for the club”. We shed our position, title,
background and come to each and every meeting with a wholeness attitude.
As Henry ford says “Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working
together is success.” That ONENESS is our success mantra in Toastmasters.
TM Vignesh Swaminathan
Holi Festival
Holi, the festival of colours, is celebrated on the day after the full
moon in early March every year. It is perhaps the most joyful
holiday ever. On this day, people try to paint each other with vivid
colours. The celebration often gets wild and rowdy. It's one of the
few times when men and women mingle freely and people use
tricks to try to spray their relatives and friends with colour.
5

6. It‟s also a time when distinctions of caste are forgotten. Sweets are served inside houses.
Thandai, a drink made with almonds and milk, and cannabis pakoras is extremely popular
on this day. Holi can also be called a youth festival, as it provides an opportunity for young
men and women to mingle freely and participate in dances and cultural programs in an
otherwise conservative society. Young men throw coloured powder and coloured water on
women. People roam the streets, squirting each other with coloured water from water pistols
and throwing coloured powders and water balloons off roofs. Everyone wears old clothes,
or, if invited to a party, crisp white clothes. In earlier times, people made the colours (called
gulal) themselves. They gathered the bright red and orange flowers from the tesu or palash
tree (also known as flame of the forest). They let them soak in water or produce colored
water or dried them in the sun on mats, then ground them into a fine dust. They also used
aabir, a natural colored talc. The colours mimic the colours of spring as at this time of the
year, a time when shades of red and yellow appear in the Gulmohurs (red flowers), silk
cottons and mango trees.
La Tomatina
La Tomatina tomato fight in Buñol near Valencia happens
every year on the last Wednesday in August though the
partying starts earlier in the week. The highlight of the
festival is the tomato fight which takes place between
11am and 1pm on that day. The Tomatina is only one of
the celebrations of a week long festival with musical
bands, fireworks, food, and over all fun. This is a war
were there are expected to be no winners, but where all have fun. The festivities begin in
the week leading up to La Tomatina with a celebration of the towns' Patron Saint.
Fireworks light the heavy summer sky while street parties
warm up at ground level. Rose wine flows and the hefty scent
of wood fired paella fills the air. But the majority of revellers
are here for one thing and one thing alone - the chance to run
amok with 90,000 pounds of gooey, squishy fruit - the rest is
just a bonus. The standard uniform is an old T-shirt, old shorts
and eye goggles. Nearly 140 tons of tomatoes are trucked in
from around the countryside and the argy-bargy begins with
the firing of a rocket.
6

7. The Battle of Oranges
The annual Battle of Oranges in Ivrea, Italy, is a tradition that dates
back to the Middle Ages when feudal Lords would hand out
` beans to the poor who would throw them back as a gesture of
disrespect.
Ivrea is today best known for its famous battle of the oranges. This involves some
thousands of townspeople, divided into nine combat teams, who throw oranges at each
other - with considerable violence - during the traditional carnival days: Sunday, Monday
and Tuesday. The carnival takes place in February: it ends the night of "fat tuesday", with a
solemn funeral. Traditionally, at the end of the silent march that closes the carinval the
"Prefect" says goodbay to everybody with the classical phrase "See you next (fat) thurday, at
1 pm" One of the citizens is elected Mugnaia. The legend has that a miller's daughter (a
"Mugnaia") once refused to accept the "right" of the local duke to spend a night with each
newly wed woman and chopped his head off. Today the carriages represent the duke's
guard and the orange throwers the revolutionaries. Spectators are not allowed to throw
oranges, but visitors are allowed to enlist in the teams. If they wear a red hat they are
considered part of the revolutionaries and will not have oranges thrown at them. During
the carnival the streets are lit up and filled with the scent of oranges. And regional
specialities are served in the streets – particularly fagioli grassi (fat beans). These are
enormous pots of beans, boiled with sausages and pork rind. They’re served free. Other
speciality dishes include cod with polenta, and delicious carnival pastries. Italian wines on
offer include white Erbaluce, sparkling Barbera and sweet Passito di Caluso. Those who
don't wish to take part are told to wear red scarves and hats but few escape the orange
firing line!
Summer Redneck Games
Summer Redneck Games to be held every July, in East Dublin.
The events of the festival include the cigarette flip, the mudpit
belly flop, bobbing for pigs feet, the big hair contest, the hubcap
hurl, the seed spitting contest, bug zapper spitball, dumpster
diving, and everyone's favorite, the armpit serenade. A fixture at this annual event is a
fellow by the name of L-Bow, a local asphalt technician who doesn't have any teeth. In
his soiled bib-overalls, smelly T-shirt, and ragged old shoes, L-Bow is the perfect
mascot for the Summer Redneck Games, which means he's the official torch-bearer.
With a propane torch adorned with the aluminum from a 6-pack of Budweiser, L-Bow
parades the athletes into the arena (a field) and lights the Ceremonial BBQ Grill.
7

8. Trishla within 2 years!
Next month – it could be
YOU!
Aditya: A defining moment in your life?
Trishla: When I joined Electronic media in
Few things you SHOULD
MOP. I was forced to talk, socialize and come
know to be friends with
out of my comfort zone. In fact for the first her:
time, I travelled in city busses.
A: What are your favorite topics to speak?
T: Emotional and Passive topics, Story telling
A: Your strength as a speaker?
T: My voice. It can influence people with it!
A: What would you like to improve?
T: My rate of words. It is too fast and most of
the time, people don’t understand what I say!
A: What do you see yourself as in future?
T: I would love to be in the sales and
marketing profession!
Evaluated by…Aditya!!
Trishla is a fine example of a person who was in
her shell being a protected daughter – to a
person who can now stand on her own feet! She
has molded her self into a good talker, good
socializer and a very good friend!
Trishla’s Gyan to new Toastmasters: There is nothing as strong as connecting to the
audience!

9. But still I wish I could go back in time
Time and space, like the essence of life,
Where we go on with an endless strife
Many a time do we look back and cry
At fate and doom with their smiles so wry
'Round I look and I feel my journey's fine
But still I wish I could go back in time
Peep into my life, you'll feel that it's flawless
Blessed with fortune 'nd luck that look so lawless
But inside is an ember that burns with such temper
That reminds me of all that I don't wish to remember
Regrets that simmer of love, faith or destiny of mine
And that's why I said I want to go back in time
I wish I could but I know I never would
Else tell me it'd, my future, of what I could and how I should
But now I know what time is for and that has me lightened
Time is to move on without fear or mercy, I'm enlightened
Had it stood, the world too would, chaos making it sublime
But I'm selfish and still I wish I could go back in time
- TM Adithya.V.S
My Potential!
CTM’s Credential!
I require
But little acquire,
And, if moved on with CTM,
I would procure a lot!
I conserve
But little preserve,
9

10. And, if moved on with CTM,
I would deserve a lot!
I concede
But little recede,
And, if moved on with CTM,
I would precede a lot !
I seek
But little meek,
And, if moved on with CTM,
I would speak a lot to score!
I seed TM M Kaveri Madhavan
But little feed,
And, if moved on with CTM,
I would lead a lot!
Guess the toastmasters who said this?
1."I'm a sea food lover. I love to eat whatever I see" ____________
2. "Toastmasters is like your favorite dish and you can never get enough of
it"___________
3."Watch out Watch out says the Crow" __________
4."My answers were expectedly more focused on personal life of Emperor Jahangir and
his romantic escapades with Anarkali than on the political/social/economic and cultural
aspects of the Mughal rule which was alluded to in the question paper. Well, Thinking
out of the box had always my forte and I was not going to allow the history exam to curb
my creative instincts"_________
5. "Contests are not to differentiate the bronze from the silver and the silver from the gold.
Contests convert a golden ore into a golden ornament" ___________
10

11. Answers:
1. DTM Nina John
2. TM Arna Chugani
3. TM Sadayappan
4. TM Shankar Source: TM Saro
5. TM Saro Velrajan Velrajan
TM Gowri Shankar
Last week, there was a construction work going on in my street.
I was baffled when a women carrying 12 full bricks in her head
and climbed three stories building. It didn‟t stop there, she
carried nearly 500 brick repeatedly. All this work for a mere day
wage of 700 Rs. Further research on her life gave this vital fact.
She hasn‟t visited the doctor for many years. Because that
amount of work increases the physical and mental fitness.
11

12. Working hard physically is closely related to well being. But, what
is the use of hard work without any purpose behind it. For
example, take a person going to gym to work out and be
physically fit. Ask this question "What is the use of raising the
same weight many times and finally placing it at the place where
he lifted it?” No use. Instead, one carry buckets of water for the
plants in his garden. Take the stairs instead of the lift. Help lifting
the bike which had fallen during accident. Many things similar to
this can be done which has the humanitarian side to it and also
provide the physical fitness we need. This is my first article in the
club newsletter and thanks for reading this till the end.
TM Thanigeaswara
We witnessed our club contests on 26th, February 2012.What an exciting
and enthralling event it was?
This was the first International and Table topics speech contest after the
birth of CSF. This time more opportunities were given to the new
toastmasters and it reflected in the role players list. This itself shows the
enthusiasm they have for toastmastering. We should congratulate the
contest chair TM Deepa B, who has done a wonderful job in organizing
such an event. As usual the hall was full including the balcony seats
( last table seats)! We had members from CSF TMC,
Chennai Wordsmith TMC, Medley TMC, Amazon TMC,
TCS TMC, Madras TMC, FosterWheeler TMC, CSC TMC
and many more guests to witness the contests. This it-self
shows the interests shown by the members of other
toastmaster clubs in CTM‟s contests.Their expectation
was very well satisfied by the contestants who delivered
wonderful speeches.
12

13. As a participant, I learned a lot in this contest. Participating in CTM contest itself a privilege
where great speakers and leaders like DTM Nina John, DTM Indira Jeyaraj, TM Abraham
Zachariah, DTM Lalitha Giridhar, DTM SasthaRam, DTM Aditya, TM Ravi Baskaran, TM
Saro, TM Rajesh Natarajan, TM Sadayappan and many more evolved at this very stage.
If we show sincerity, we can definitely raise to the levels and standards they have set. Dear
toastmasters let us congratulate the winners who had proceeded to the area level and are
going to hold the CTM flag high.
TM Gowri Shankar
I/ME/MYSELF
The misuse of “I” and “myself” for “me” is caused by nervousness about “me.” Educated
people know that “Ram and me are going down to wash the bike,” is not elegant speech,
not “correct.” It should be “Ram and I” because if I were washing the bike alone I would
never say “Me is going. . . .” If you refer to yourself first, the same rule applies: It‟s not “Me
and Ram are going” but “I and Ram are going.”
So far so good. But the notion that there is something wrong with “me” leads people to
overcorrect and avoid it where it is perfectly appropriate. People will say “The document
had to be signed by both Sudhir and I” when the correct statement would be, “The document
had to be signed by both Sudhir and me.”
All this confusion can easily be avoided if you just remove the second party from the
sentences where you feel tempted to use “myself” as an object or feel nervous about “me.”
You wouldn‟t say, “They sent the refund cheque to I,” so you shouldn‟t say “They sent the
refund cheque to my wife and I” either.
Trying even harder to avoid the lowly “me,” many people will substitute “myself”.
Conservatives often object to this sort of use of “myself” when “me” or “I” would do. It‟s
usually appropriate to use “myself” when you have used “I” earlier in the same sentence: “I
am not particularly fond of goat cheese myself.” “I kept half the loot for myself.” “Myself”
is also fine in expressions like “young people like myself” or “a picture of my boyfriend and
myself.”
13

14. On a related point, those who continue to announce “It is I” have traditional grammatical
correctness on their side, but they are vastly outnumbered by those who proudly boast “it‟s
me!” There‟s not much that can be done about this now. Similarly, if a caller asks for Amar
and Amar answers “This is he,” his somewhat antiquated correctness is likely to startle the
questioner into confusion.
Wrong Correct
“It is me who is responsible” “It is I who am responsible”
“It is you who is responsible” “It is you who are responsible”
Name CC1 CC2 CC3 CC4 CC5 CC6 CC7 CC8 CC9 CC10
Abhay Gandhi
Abhishek Singh
Aditya VS
Anantha Ram B
Ancy Mamachan
Aneesh
Anjaneya Sastry
Kantheti
Anuradha SVR
Ramprasad
Arna Shashi
Chugani
Arumugam
Ashok Kumar V
Bharat
Srinivasan
B Nithin, CL
Bharath Raja
Deepa
Bharatkumar
Guruvayurappan
B
14

15. Gowri Shankar
Gomathi S
Haritha Phalgun
Jananee
Ramakrishnan
Jayanth
Jagan
K.V.V.Giri
Keerthi M
Loganathan
Madhavan MK
Madhukumar R
Milton Mr
Mohammed
Musthafa Azeez
Nagendra
Bharathi
Prasanna
Pawan Kumar
Ryali
Pramoth
Prem Kumar
Ram Mohan In CTM
Reddy CC
Rajesh
Narayanan
Raju Bansal
RajaSekhar P
Ramnath
Rajaram
Sanjiv Ramesh
Sailesh Ganesh
Sakthi S
Prasanna
Sarguru
Srinivasan
Sarita
Ramachandran
Selvabharathi
Kalappan
Selvadurai
Subramanian
Sivaprakash
Sivaprakash
SriHarsha
Sravan
Subhashini
Raman
Sudha Rajesh
Sujith
14

16. Thanigeaswara
Anbarasu
Thothathari
Trishla Jain
Venkatakrishna S
Veknash Pillai
Vignesh
Swaminathan
Vijay Deep
Vishnu Raja
ACB1 ACB2 ACB3 ACB4 ACB5 ACB6 ACB7 ACB8 ACB9 ACB10
Prabakaran
Ramasamy, CC, CL
Rajesh Natarajan,
CC, ALB
Nina John, DTM -
2nd Round
Sadayappan T M,
CC
Shankar K, CC
Thomas Cherukara,
CC
Varadarajan, CC
ACS1 ACS2 ACS3 ACS4 ACS5 ACS6 ACS7 ACS8 ACS9 ACS10
Karthikeyan B,
ACB, ALB
Oommen John,
ACB, ALB
Ravi Baskaran,
ACB, CL
Srikanth S., ACB,
CL
Srinivasan
Kartikeyan,CL,ACB
ACG1 ACG2 ACG3 ACG4 ACG5 ACG6 ACG7 ACG8 ACG9 ACG10
Abraham
Zachariah, ACS,
ALB
Ramesh Daswani,
ACS, CL
Aditya
Maheswaran, DTM
Sastharam
Ravendran, DTM
Lalitha Giridhar,
DTM
14

17. 5th Feb,2012
Special Education session by Patriarch of CTM TM Ravi Baskaran on
Why should one participate in Contest?(333 meeting)
Best Speaker: TM Loganathan
Best Table topic speaker: TM Shankar
Best Evaluator: TM Deepa Bharathkumar
12th Feb,2012
New members induction program(334 meeting)
Best Speaker: TM Thanigeswara A
Best Table topic speaker: DTM Aditya Maheswaran
Best Evaluator: TM Kartik Srinivasan
19th Feb,2012
DTM Aditya Maheshwaran wins
“Young Achiever Award “ from Rotary Club
Best speaker :TM Selvabharati
Best Table topics speaker : DTM Aditya
Best evaluator:TM Kartik
Best role player of the month: TM Rajesh Narayanan
Incoming President
TM Kartikeyan
Srinivasan
Outgoing President –
TM Sadayappan
18

18. 26th Feb 2012
19

19. Editorial Team: TM Aneesh,
TM Guruvayurappan
Advisors: TM Shakthi , TM Deepa, TM Arumugam
Designer: TM Adithya VS
OFFICE BEARERS
TM Kartikeyan Srinivasan
TM Thanigeaswara A
TM Deepa B
TM S Sakthi Prasanna
TM Arumugam Mariappan
TM Sudha Rajesh
TM Vignesh S
20

20. Chennai Toastmasters Club meets every Sunday between 4pm and 6pm
At Presidency club- Ruby hall, Etiraj Salai,
Commander in Chief Road, Egmore, Chennai-600024- Near Spencer Plaza & Opposite to Hotel Kanchi
www.chennaitoastmasters.org,
For more information please contact, Thanigeswara Anbarasu @ 91-9841205333