Annual Toastmasters Event ‘Biographies & Press Conference’ organised by the Toastmasters Club
The Chitkara campus (H.P.) witnessed a momentous morning on the 8th of March, 2017. Students from both the campuses vis.-a-vis. H.P. and Punjab came together to make the event, titled “Biographies & Press Conference” as organised by the Toastmasters Club, successful. A total of about forty-six students participated actively with twenty as being the core speakers portraying themselves as renowned personalities – national and international and about twenty-six students participating as members of the journalist’s panel for the press conference hour. The speakers after their respective speeches were directed with a barrage of questions by the student press first followed by a question by the judge where again some of the participants featured themselves as confident and effective speakers capturing the attention of the audiences.
Students were fortunate enough to have some important insights from the doyen theatre and film artist Shernaz Patel who adjudged the contest. The actor Shernaz Patel is one of the fine actors that the film industry can boast of. Having acted in several noted productions she also owns a theatre group called RAGE. A versatile actor she has done some well-known theatre productions like Arms and the Man, Letters to My Daughters, Love Letters, The Class of ’84 and Molly Sweeny etc. Having played an important role in movies like Talaash, Rockstar and Black she also appeared in the Yash-Raj web-series production called “Bang Baja Baarat”.
Ten brilliant Students each from both the Campuses competed conquered the stage with their stimulating and inspirational speeches as the personality they were portraying. Barack Obama, Irom Sharmila, Shabana Azmi, Raghuram Rajan, Leonardo Di Caprio, Sushma Swaraj, Deepika Padukone and Peter Dinklage are some of the personalities, which were brought to life on stage by our prosperous students. A perfect platform for our future global citizens to showcase their talent and oratory skills!
A round of Press conference, thereafter, further tested their ability to handle on the spot questioning, stress and pressure along with spontaneity and the ability to think on their feet. Students from the Sufi Club did a commendable job as journalists and could have given the professionals a run for their money. Their research on the personalities was pretty evident from the volley of questions they fired at the contestants. Truly, they covered unknown nuances of their lives.
The hearts pounded aggressively during the moment of truth; the results, when the judge announced the results in the reverse order. The title of the Third Best speaker was bestowed on Chinmay Jain from Chitkara University, Himachal Pradesh, who essayed the role of Raghuram Rajan. The second Best Speaker was Siddharth Sriram from Chitkara University, Punjab, who lured the audience as Barack Obama. Finally, Haripriya Chauhan from Chitkara University, Punjab emerged as the Best Speaker of the Chitkara Toastmasters Annual Event Biographies and Press Conference 2017, who was impeccable as Irom Sharmila. Milind was titled the Best Journalist for asking relevant and intelligent questions. The best team trophy was bagged by the Chitkara Toastmaster’s International Club (CU Pb Campus). The journalist’s panel also had a winner named Milan Bhardwaj adding to the prestige of the H.P. Campus. It was an enriching experience altogether.
Ms Shernaz Patel during her interactive session with the students shared her valuable feedback and wished them luck in their future endeavours.
