By Rochelle Silva
Who was that mysterious Gavelier who walked around the Gavel Avurudu festival asking people to say “cheese” and “butter”?
He was none other than Disal Kuruppu Arachchi, our proficient photographer who preserves priceless memories, and the Toastmaster who warmly welcomed us all to the 283rd meeting of the Gavel family at ENTC PG seminar room.
The Round Robin session took flight with a quirky topic: “What if you could be the person next to you?” As the immediate guffaws of laughter wore off, the Gaveliers decided that it would be a fine chance after all!
“It’s not every day that you get to be a girl. I would have so many people having crushes on me”
“I really want to be soft-spoken like her!”
“I would take better care of my relationship”
“I would be super bright in studies”
The sheer variety of responses left the audience in peals of laughter and the stark realization that the club is blessed with a bunch of diverse individuals.
The Table Topics Master of the day was a “running star” who stole the show at the Avurudu festival, an academic enthusiast and a musical virtuoso. Sachini Upeka introduced the topics and invited the Gaveliers to share their ideas.
The topic about the present educational system transformed the meeting to a debating forum! Starting off, Abarajithan pointed out that it has led to a lack of Nobel Prize winners from Sri Lanka. Ashwin compared the norms of the society to a virus that’s preventing people from following the path of their liking. Shehan Thilina stated that Sri Lanka does have a joint Nobel Prize winner after all and went on to speak on the aspect of visibility.
“Did you know that eight people committed suicide in India during the last 30 minutes?”Pragatheeswaran surprised us with a startling fact while passionately speaking about the need to follow our dreams. On the other hand, Praveen in his inimitable style, leaving the audience in roars of laughter, recollected how he persevered through obstacles while following his dreams. Asitha and Chamara also added their opinions to make the meeting colourful.
“Imagine that you’re in the middle of a dessert. You are completely naked. You do not know which path to take…” To Mr. President, Merl Chandana, that’s exactly how he felt when pursuing a new chapter in life. “You don’t know what will happen; yet you begin the chapter. Don’t be afraid to take the untrodden path”, he insisted.
None of us are immune to embarrassing situations. Yet Yasiru, Sachithra, and Sachini went one step ahead and spoke about how those situations made them look at the lighter side of life.“Can you imagine the sound of a thousand cats being dragged along a hallway? I sounded like that”; that’s how embarrassing Chathuranga’s voice had been. .
What’s the similarity between Steve Harvey and Himesh Siriwardena? Both of them faced a cringe-worthy situation which everyone repeatedly reminds them of. “Have the last laugh in the end”, Himesh concluded his rousing, dramatic and unparalleled speech.
Did you know that the Gavel club houses budding actresses? Ushani Hewage, one of our own Vice Presidents, gleefully described her Tele-drama acting experiences. Samitha spoke about one of her role models at work while Kasun spoke of his grandmother.
After a “stupendous” Table Topics session and evaluations, the meeting came to a close with exciting news. The Gavel Conference is just around the corner! Keep in touch for more updates on this historic event!
Role players for the day
Toastmaster –Disal Kuruppu Arachchi
Table topics Master – Sachini Upeka
Timer – Sahan
Ah counter – Chinthana Wimalasuriya
Grammarian – Nipun Vitharana
TT evaluators – Merl Chandana and Samadhi Poornima
General Evaluator- Timal Mohan
Word of the day
“Stupendous”: extremely impressive
Table Topics
- Children are smarter than parents
- When you are right, no one remembers. When you are wrong, no one forgets.
- Marriage life – Bliss or Disaster?
- Your most embarrassing moment
- The present educational system
- Why suicide rates are higher in Sri Lanka and India?
- Balancing professional and personal life
- If I were invisible
- Are we disconnected?
- Rules or freedom