Toastmasters P1 Speech

On the shivering cold night of 18^th December in the city of Jaipur, a man frantically paced the corridors of an up market hospital anxiously waiting for the doctor to come out of the Operation Theatre. The tensions of his grueling banking job fading away to give rise to possibly one of the biggest tension of his life - The birth of his first child. He was literally sweating in spite of the biting cold and his heart paced at a rate that is synonymous only with sprinters. It was around 8.45 pm the doctor came out of the OT to break the news of the birth of his son and that Ladies and Gentlemen, was the first mention of the person standing in front of you today.

Yes, technically you can call me a Rajasthani, although I am a hardcore fish eating Bengali and a fierce advocate of my city. I eat, sleep and drink Kolkata along with all the delicacies that the city has to offer. To put it simply, I love everything about Kolkata. I grew up in the town of Kalyani that is about a 40 miles form here and was not at par with the hustle and bustle of Kolkata. My sister is just 2 years younger to me but has always been the apple of my eye. It would surprise all of you to know that we haven’t ever fought. Sibling rivalry never existed between us. As both of my parents were working, it was me who took care of her when they were away. And she, the angel that she was or rather still is, never for once doubted my judgments. She takes my advice for everything even today although she is now studying in a premier institute in India. My dad is a retired banker and my mom a teacher. We are a very close knit family and for me, family takes precedence over anything else in this world.

My Schooling was from Don Bosco Bandel and like most other missionary schools this was a very strict school too. As a matter of fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if someday it won an award for being the strictest missionary school ever. To add to my woes, this was a complete Boys School. So you can understand the frustration and agony of me and my friends. The only silver lining was the existence of the all girls, Auxilium Convent right opposite to us and naturally you can imagine our excitement for School to get over. In school I wasn’t a very naughty kid and was pretty serious about my studies. I was an above average student all through. The teachers had only one complaint – “very talkative”. Indeed I was, and that is one trait I still possess. I was always involved in a lot of activities in school and it is where I developed a lot of leadership qualities and the eagerness to participate and take charge of things. I loved Cricket and Badminton and strummed my guitar whenever I got a little time. But before long it was time for boards and all non-study activities had to be put off. I didn’t get as much marks as everyone thought I would. Mom blamed the new mobile phone and my incessant texting. I think all of you can guess whom or rather who all I had been texting. 

I did my college from Techno India and since my childhood dreams of studying in a top college were shattered. I revolted. I revolted by doing absolutely nothing. I did everything other than studying in college. I took to extra-curricular activities like a fish takes to water. That is where I found my calling. I was always engrossed in organizing fests, running for sponsorships, managing the college magazine, anchoring shows and performing magic. Yes, I am a magician too and it’s a happy co-incidence that my name Souveek means Magician. I never missed college but hardly attended classes. In fact, I was so conspicuous by my absence that my teachers used to get surprised if I by chance happened to attend their classes.

It was not until when recession struck and companies froze recruitment that we realized we were in for trouble. It was much later that, TCS announced its plan to visit our college for campus recruitment! I was at a loss. When nobody gets placed, there is no worry but when all your friends get placed and you are left behind, there is nothing worse. I studied unrelentingly for the next 5 days, taking tips from my topper friends as to what exactly to study and finally on the day of the interview blurted out all that my friends had drilled into me. Incidentally, I was the only candidate selected from Electrical Engineering and naturally my topper friends kicked me and cursed me till they were tired. Sadly, its they who have had the last laugh. Let’s not elaborate on that, more so on a forum that is full of TCS associates.

To summarize I would say, I am a friendly, kind hearted guy. I am an extrovert in nature, yet have a layer inside me that is hard to reach. I love making friends and like to live life king size. So far, I would say life has been good to me, if you consider what it has given me. Of course there is no end to the list of complaints that one can make. My fierce optimism however keeps me going always. I strongly believe that no matter how hard the time is now, it will pass and will bring forth better opportunities, better moments. This my friends is I, Me, Myself in a nutshell.