Testimonials

It was a Monday evening at UoM, few years ago when we were toiling over our June term projects. I was looking for somebody with a laptop for some file transfer between two flash drives when I located Sasika in “dress code” at some distant table of ‘Goda uda’, with his laptop. Consequent discussion we had until Kaspersky finished scanning flash drives, revealed that he was going to give out a prepared speech in a Gavel meeting that evening. Since my roommate was away at home that day, I quickly decided to go and listen to his speech rather than spending the evening alone at my boarding house.

The meeting started with some Shakespearian insight from then president Dulini akka and I somehow managed to survive the round robin session saying something about the person next to me as we had been asked by Toastmaster. (Nope I didn’t introduced myself as a new comer) Then came the table topics session where we had been informed that speaking was not compulsory and me quite relieved by then, finally relaxed to enjoy the show. After a profound silence which lasted for couple of minutes, the very person, who yesterday spoke about the thick books I carry around and the words I use to impress my audience-my friend Harinda Gunathilaka, walked slowly towards the stage and gave an amazing speech as to why we should allow same sex marriages, leaving us with goosebumps!! I was deeply moved by the fact that this seemingly innocuous person who had been known to me for some time, was not only a great orator, but also was somebody who can greatly empathize with grievances and aspirations of special minority groups. After the meeting I got to know of Sri Lankan Gavel conference which was to be held in couple of months, and was immediately assigned to some committee. Consequently I gave out my first horrible table topic which received a surprisingly positive evaluation and eventually me who abhorred public speaking, ended up being a member of the club “where fear becomes passion”.

From my point of view, Gavel club is uniquely placed among rest of the fraternities in UoM because of the idiosyncratic utility it offers. The evolution of production forces inevitably affects the lifestyles of people and relationships they forge. This phenomenon is reflected in the chaos of present society where alienation increases day by day, while in reality people are supposed to be social beings whose interaction with fellow human beings is a critical factor for emotional wellbeing. Due to this rampant alienation of contemporary culture nobody is bothered to listen to another, to their worldview, their pleasures, sorrows, tales of romance and break ups etc. in this context, Gavel club serves the purpose of mitigating this alienation by espousing listening and speaking and therefore enriching the social life of undergraduates.  Gavel club is the only place in university where you can be assured of being listened to. At least the evaluators are compelled to listen to what you say as it’s their duty to come up with feedback!!

Being an undergraduate puts oneself under a lot of stress due to academic workload, personal disputes, lack of facilities etc. And in this place you can express whatever that had been fermenting within yourself, let it be unfair deadlines imposed by lecturers, or ludicrous disputes you have with parents or your girlfriend, and learn to laugh at yourself and your problems with others. This is the only place where you can bash our lecturers (at least under the moderation of topicsmaster) when you are frustrated and share your problems with these guys who would probably provide their point of view in consequent speeches. Sometimes you get to know that you are not the only person with these problems and that students external to your clique of friends too have these common issues and therefore the gavel fellowship ultimately enlightens students about common issues that prevail in their community. In many ways Gavel Club is similar to Speakers’ Corner in HydePark!

It is a place where you can learn the art of verbally countering arguments without getting into a fist fight and therefore serves as a safety valve for ‘irrational escalation of commitment’ which according to our former dean Prof AKWJ, is the major cause behind student conflicts. All these reaffirm the fact that this is a rare oasis in academic desert though it still remains unknown to most of the university community.

And above all these I’m eternally grateful to Gavel Club for turning me, who was a troublemaker who used to bash everybody at arguments, into an astute communicator by convincing that communication is something where you have to use brain rather than mouth alone. The practice one gets by regularly speaking, listening and evaluating, on how to organize thoughts, cut rigmarole and short list points, and conveying the message effectively, becomes quite useful in many other domains apart from speaking.  I will miss Ronnie’s MLK insights, Harry’s stories of grandfather, the flamboyance of Thusitha and workaholic, yet cool headed attitude of Channa. And it was fascinating to witness how new comers begin speaking, gradually overcoming stage fear and blossoming into great orators with their own styles. Persuasive temperament of Pasan, Kanna’s elegant nuances, and Nilès who is an unusual combination of style and substance, will serve as exemplar models for future Gavelliers. And meanwhile I hope there would be somebody who will annoy the audience every once and then with Philosophy and Politics when I’m gone.

Nine years back on a one fine Monday as a fresher I remember my self walking in to the Textile auditorium to the first ever Gavel Club meeting just because of the curiosity to know what Toastmasters is all about. I had no idea what so ever about the meetings but I knew that it should be something since the Former Vice Chancellor and the Dean of the Engineering Faculty was also there.

I almost had goosebumps when I got to know about the round robin session. Some how I managed to put up few sentences together during those dreadful twenty seconds. On top of that the topics master pointed me during the table topics session. With lots of butterflies dancing in my stomach I went up and delivered the first ever impromptu speech of my life. The most amazing part of it was that while our Vice Chancellor was walking out of the room he stopped by me and said “Dhuwa, that was a good speech” Well, he made my day. Those few words gave me thecourage to walk up to the stage everyday with confidence.

That was the beginning of my Gavel journey. Only when I am looking back that I realize, walking in to the First Gavel meeting was definitely a turning point in my life. That journey has gifted me lots of breath taking memories as well as a wonderful set of friends.

I still remember the initial conversation we had to organize the first Speak Olympiad back in 2005. I am sure that none of us ever thought it would evolve to such level which we are witnessing today. Past President Melinda chaired the event. Winning the first competition was a wonderful experience of my life and I was teased for the opening of my winning speech until recently.

In 2007 Speak Olympiad was chaired by me. Being a budding club it was never an easy task to find the necessary sponsorships for the event. With lots of unsuccessful phone calls, bounced e-mails, tiresome hike across the main street of Colombo, somehow the Speak Olympiad was made a reality, where Chamath Arambawela was crowned as the winner.

Next year, organizing the Speak Olympiad was in the hands of Aravinda and Erangi. After a tough competition Nadeesha emerged as the best speaker of the year. When compared to previous competitions there was a clear boost of the quality of the event in 2008, both in the quality of speeches as well as the quality of the event. I have no doubts about the success of this year’s event as well. Gaveliers have been raising the bar in every year and this year will be no exception.

For me Gavel club was definitely the best part of my University life, simply because we all could become ourselves in those meetings. It was the best stress release technique for me. More than everything, the quality of the members is second to none of the Toastmasters clubs in Sri Lanka. Each time we learn something new during the meetings. I sure am missing all the inspiring Monday evenings back at my office. For me Gavel is not just a club but a family, which is why I call it “Home Away from Home”

Back in 2006, as one of my very good friends told me just before the competition, take a deep breath and hope for the best. It has worked for me each time I step on the stage. I hope the same trick will make you feel home on the stage.

My experience with Gavel goes to the early days of 2005. I was literary dragged in to Gavel Club formation committee along with Awantha, Charaka, Melinda and Waruna who were about 3 years senior to me. I even had the opportunity to do the first ever prepared speech of the Club. For me, Gavel Club was a place to meet new friends, place where you could say anything and get away with it in one piece and a great way to release the day to day stress.

Little did I ever thought that after 10 years I will have to jot down this for a Club which I hold so dear to my life. It brought the best out of me. I being a very shy and a backward person back then learnt the basics of controlling my nerves, fear and delivering a speech. It was bringing out so much of me, I became the first ever University fresher to become a charter Vice President of a Club as well as the first ever fresher to host a ceremony to a crowd of 800. Believe me, my knees were trembling. The things I gained through Gavel came in handy in ways I never would have thought. It got me through some of the toughest job interviews and even through my speech at my very own wedding.

The things I learnt still come in handy and still amaze me up to this date. I wish all the Gaveliers a wonderful future ahead and wish all of you would get the strength to carry the Club “The Family like no other”, up to much greater heights. May the triple gems bless you all…

I joined the Gavel Club in the year 2005 when I was a fresh undergraduate in university. My first meeting was a memorable one as I had to give my ice breaker speech. Although I wasn’t expecting good comments from the evaluators, the feedback I got was very positive and motivating. This culture of positive and constructive feedback was one reason that kept me going to the club. Afterwards I was lucky to go on a long journey until I was president of the club in year 2007-2008. Continuous learning we had within the club in giving prepared and impromptu speeches and the experience gained by participating in different events of Toastmasters was invaluable in moulding my personality. Obviously the guidance gained on improving communication and leadership skills were invaluable life lessons which helped me in many years down the line even after University. The club gave me vast amount of self-confidence and challenged me in many ways during the time I was a member. All of these were definite value additions personally and professionally. Even after all these years I fondly recall the time spent in the club with all its enthusiastic members. It was a place of opportunity, challenges, friendship and family. You just need to go grab hold of it!