Food, Conversations and High Spirits

Last Friday, Saturday and Sunday of my life were devoted to Ovation 2008, the Conference of District 82 of Toastmasters. The event saw Toastmasters from various places like Chennai, Hyderabad, Delhi, Chandigarh, West Bengal and even Sri Lanka stream into Namma Bengalooru to spend 3 fun filled days with the Bangalore Toastmasters, the hosts for the event.

The highlight of first day of Ovation 2008, according to me, was a spectacular dance performance by the Abhinava Dance Company. I have never ever seen such coordination and such rhythm from any dance troupe in my life!

The second day saw a lot of food for thought, in the form of educational sessions from world renowned trainers – the sessions ranged from how to memorize the names and faces of people, to tips on how to transform ourselves from ordinary to extraordinary, to identifying people’s communication styles and thereby dealing with them appropriately, to name a few.

The second day of Ovation 2008 also provided food for the fun loving souls inside each one of us, in the form of ‘Fun Nite’. It was nice to see people seemingly straight-laced, loosen up and dance away to glory as soon as the first few notes from the DJ console hit the air.

The third day of Ovation 2008 featured the speech contests. I am thankful I was not one of the judges – it would have been a very difficult decision for them to choose the best speakers when most speakers delivered near flawless speeches with aplomb. At the end of the third day, it was time to go home, back to the run-of-the-mill routine that awaited me from next day onwards.
I did pick up a lot of ‘gyaan’ during the 3 days at Ovation. But what will remain deeply imprinted in my mind is the camaraderie of the Toastmasters from Sri Lanka. The entire group knew how to have fun, even in an alien city, and keep the others entertained as well, with their amazing sense of humour, high spirits that never waned and easy going nature.

The event also gave me an opportunity to meet a whole lot of people, while preparing for the event and during the event, and indulge in some interesting, thought provoking conversations with them. I can’t think of any other way to have spent the 3 days more fruitfully than with great company, and chow for thought, stomach and the fun-hungry soul.

Amen!