Toastmaster CC Manual Project 4 : How to say it

General Purpose : To explain my point of view about celebrating festivals

Specific Purpose : To make audience think about the concept and introduce a happy attitude.

Why we should not celebrate only Diwali ?

I asked a monkey while he was jumping from one tree to another.

Mr. Monkey tell me here and tell me now.

Do you celebrate diwali, if yes, tell me how?

Monkey said , scratching his body.

No I don't and slapped my face and jumped high to sit on a tree.

Then I asked a bird on her way back to nest after dusk.

Madam Dirdie tell me here and tell me now,

Do you celebrate diwali, if yes tell me how ?

Bird flying in her own way randomly varying the speed, and spreading wings in open blue sky and singing a song joyously "I fly ", I fly in the blue sky…

I fly I fly in the lovely sky…..

I don't celebrate diwali, just don't ask me why and disappeared from my sight and the sound of her song faded.

Then I asked a small rose that blossomed in a deserted dense forest.

Hey beautiful rose, tell me here and tell me now,

Do you celebrate diwali, if yes tell me how ?

The rose, did not say anything, it kept a smile on its face and every time I asked it do you celebrate, it just kept showering me with the enchanting aroma of its petals.

Then, I met a man from planet earth.

But before I could say anything,

He wished me " Happy diwali Shashi and went away"

Respected evaluators, General evaluators, fellow toastmaster and most welcome guest.

As this is the pre-diwali session, First of all A very happy diwali to all of you !!!!!

When I asked the question to monkey, plants, birds…

The answer was clear, they don't celebrate diwali and they don't care about it either.

And this made me wonder why do only men celebrate diwali ?

To be more general, why only humans have festivals?

I brooded over this and I understood some really interstering points and the conclusion was that we should not celebrate diwali.

Why, is what my todays speech is all about.

In my todays speech, I'd like to discuss why only we human have festivals.

I request all of you to contemplate on this for a while , WHY festivals ?

Why only we have festivals ?

Is it because these (pitiable) little creature are not sane enough and do not have sufficient brain to think about festivals?

Is it because we are the most intelligent people and know how to live life and enjoy.

But I do not celebrate diwali !!!!! and it is not because I am a monkey too.

Its neither because I am pessimistic who doesn't know how to take juice out of life.

But it has a different reason, and that's what I want to talk to you today about.

Ladies and Gentlemen, I've no idea how will you accept this statement but I subscribe to the that we have festivals because we do not know how to live life !!!!!!

We are a sad creature, most miserable, the one with most number of problems and thousand of worries.

The beggar on the street is worried, and that's obvious but the irony is that the CEO of Microsoft - richest man is equally worried worried. Who knows even more?

And to make sure we don't die out of these worries , man, intelligent man devised a very good method - festivals.

"Festivals are the excuse of a man who does not know how to make each day a festival and whole life a celebration."

We need festivals because we do not know how to make each day as good as festival and our complete life a celebration.

Just imagine, a child who is not yet taught how to be worried. His only work is to play around and enjoy.

Just watch him a day before diwali, and then watch him on diwali and you will find no difference.

He enjoy a normal day as much as he enjoys diwali.

Ofcouse he may get few more sweets , some new toys in for of crackers , a pair of new cloths, but these all just add to his celebration.

He was happy without diwali and he is happy diwali.

But as this child grows and starts worrying, sooner the happiness in life is no more a day to day affair.

Now he can't jump around in house, he can’t put a cracker in somebodies trouser or he can't smile for no reason.

For a moment , imagine and believe in the fact that we are happy in truest sense of this word. No worries, every day is just as perfect as we want it to be.

Then will you really care about a festival. Ofcourse if it comes good we'll have one more reason to enjoy.

Happiness is not event dependent, if it is , we are bound to become unhappy.

Happiness is attitude related, if you have a happy attitude you are already festive.

But now a days attitude is just the reverse.

Tell me if there is a person sitting at the corner of this room and laughing for no reason.

Imagine you see someone sitting alone in a corner and he or she starts laughing out of sudden and we will start thinking "is he crazy ?" and if he is weeping in the corner , we think he is quite normal and a poor chap…..may god bless him.

Can you see how ridiculous our attitude has become?

We consider a laugh abnormal….unless we have a reason for it…..but crying is normal.

Long faces are most common face now a days. Everyone has become a prerecorded tape of complaints and miserys…

You just need to press play by asking he how are things man ?

The tape starts with " Yes, everything is fine, just loaded up with lot of work, company is as usual boring, no time for myself, wife as usual fiting and boss as usual dominating, food as usual not tasty, cloths as usual dirty, politics is bad, India lost against Australia again, My telephone bill raise up again, the petrol price is hiking, my son is becoming a mess in the nose….., but everything is fine. "

Now with this kind of attitude, we need festivals and we need them desperately.

No wonder a sad creature like this, to survive will need festivals. Hence a diwali, a holi , an eid or a chrismas helps us to be happy for few days.

We've forgotten what our sages believed in "Anandswabhav"…Anandswabhav is a hindi word derived from Sanskrit and it means " Happy by nature" or naturally happy.

Man was believed to have anandswabhav , it was already there.

He did not needed any festivals to become happy.

But gradually anandswabhav has become vishad-swabhav or a nature full of worries and tentions.

But on festivals we all try to regain our original nature anandswabhav.

Once a sanyassi went to a home to beg some food and cloths and the king said, please take this bowl of rice and come tomorrow, tomorrow is diwali and its an auspicious day , so I'll give you lot of other things tomorrow, not today.

The sanyassi replied " What change will be in sun tomorrow ? What chage will be in the color of rose ? Will the moon be without a patch tomorrow ? "

If nature doesn't distinguish between two days, who are you to undermine a day.

For me each day is diwali and who knows I might not be alive to return to you tomorrow.

How deep statement is that…"If nature doesn't distinguish, who are we to do that"

But we need to coz we've lost the touch with nature and forgotten the language of joy.

That's why all around the world people are so crazy about the festivals.

The point I am trying to make here is not that festivals are something wrong but why we need festivals ?

Imagine if I can make my each day as good as a festival, what will be the consequence, I will not be very excited about diwali…because its just another day of celebration for me.

Now, some of us will argue that festivals have historical and mythological importance.

We celebrate diwali and become happy on this day because Sri Rama attained to glorious victory over evil.

Is it ? Think it over again. How may people who celebrate diwali will actually celebrate it for shri rama ?

I am afraid the number will be quite less. Especially in big cities, festival has lost its slightest touch to its origin.

Now a days a festival is high selling time for a shopkeeper, bonus reciving time for employees.

But still festivals are necessary as festivals are a very good opportunity to celebrate our life, meet our relatives and enjoy our day.

But why wait for diwali, can't we do that right now ?

Yes we can, but it requires lot of courage and power. The courage to say " I will be happy" I will not complain , I will not worry whatsoever and I will enjoy my day …and celebrate my life….

Not everyone can says or does that.

But everyone can. I don't see anything holding you back from celebrating this moment.

Considering each day a diwali, I wish all of you a very happy diwali today and everyday.

I pray to lord Rama that he gives all of us intelligence and enough courage to make each day a diwali, so that we can proudly say " WE DON’T CELEBRATE JUST DIWALI "