Students at their Rhetorical Best...! An Overview...:

Noeline spoke on the Topic - "Is Religion/Religious Belief Irrational today?"

First, she proceeded to outline the meaning of the terms 'Religion,' 'Irrational' and 'Belief.' Then, she posed a question, 'Man by nature, is irrational. Do you agree? - and 'yes' she said. Every human being has got a special sense which helps him think and reason. Outlining the broad divisions of Religion as 'Revealed Religions,' and 'Non-Revealed Religions,' she said while the former was a result of Divine Agency the latter was a product of Human Enquiry.

Religious belief, according to her, is necessary. Colleges and schools are institutions meant for Education. Thus, it is imperative that an institution is necessary to mould us in a particular way of life. So is religion. We know there is air. But why do we need a fan? to feel the air. Similarly, religion helps us to feel and know God.

Religion, she says, doesnt divide people at all. It is individuals who divide. Finally she summed up by saying that Religious belief is not irrational... it is rational.

Questions were asked by Bestin, Sreekanth, Sayujya, Jayanthi, Richard, Smitha, Gladwin etc.

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Sujatha gave her oratory on the topic,"Is Indian Independence a Success Story?" According to her, Indian Independence is partly a success, and she began to enumerate the factors authenticating her viewpoint.

The English first came over to India as tourists, then traders, and finally as Rulers. Before Independence, we were working for the British, but even today, we fly abroad and still work for them..!!! She also justified the concept of Brain drain by saying that people like Sunitha Williams and Kalpana Chawla have done our Nation proud by working for the US, as the facilities in NASA cannot be arranged by India. America just gave a platform to our talents. The reason is that, in a majority of cases, people lack encouragement from the government.

If you register at an Employment office, chances are you may not get a job even after 30 years, but if you give some 'money', you will get a plump government job in two or three years. The administration has become corrupt.

Irresponsible Activities of youngsters also add to the sad plight. Many of us do not use our talents. We are ashamed of taking up even part time jobs, unlike in the West where students earn their livelihood by taking up some part time job or the other to fend for themselves. Added to that, today's youth irresponsibly follow Western culture.

Gandhiji, though he was in the West for sometime, he burnt foreign goods and advocated Indian goods.

We havent achieved real independence as yet, because we still depend on various countries for our many needs. One of the solutions which she advocated was, to follow Indian Culture and Gandhiji's principles. Finally, she said, Indian Independence is 75% a success story, leaving the rest for the audience's guess!

Sreekanth, Siddarth, Sayujya, Richard and Gifty posed questions.

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Sayujya spoke on the topic "Is a woman's life much harder than that of a man's?" Women, are generally speaking weak, physically. But most of the women who earn today do not do it through physical strain, although she said, women in villages have a very hard life growing and harvesting in the fields.

On the reservations front, she said, the whole issue is a bit overdone. Trains and buses have special allocations for women folk. What about men? In some cases, application forms are cheaper for women, income tax slabs are far cheaper for women etc etc.

Also, in the name of freedom and liberty, women have the right to blame a man, accuse him and still can get away with it. But what about a man? The system is heavily prejudiced against the men folk, she argued.

While there are laws for 'Violence against Women', there should also be stringent laws for 'Violence by Women.' How can a woman escape by hurting, abusing a man? In terms of cooking, babysitting, etc it's of course a much harder life for a woman. But in terms of liberty and the freedom they're getting, it's a bit too much. Life is a bit tougher for men today. She concluded by taking the balanced approach, and finished off by saying that women have freedom and liberty, but they should see to it that they dont abuse or misuse it.

Ashish, Smitha, Sreekanth and Noeline posed questions.

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Addlin spoke on the topic, "Is happiness connected with having a lot of money?" First, she posed a question to the audience, "Are you all happy today?" Then, she proceeded to outline the difference between 'wanting money' and 'wanting lots of money'.' She also spoke on the need for satisfaction in the economic front. When we get satisfied, we are happy.

"$10m to me, is great money, but for Bill Gates, it's a meagre amount." she said. Lots of money leads again to love of money, and it ultimately leads to dissatisfaction. She gave an illustration about a person who was feeling very dejected because hed didn't have shoes to wear, until he saw a man without a leg.

Finally she concluded by saying that, when money becomes your master, it's evil.

Richard, Noeline, Shyam, Bestin and Gladwin asked questions.

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Smitha spoke on the Parallels between Religion and Science. She brought out some instances that highlight these parallels through The Bible, the Hindu Concept of "Dasavathara", Darwin's theory of Evolution etc.

In the realm of Karma, the tagline is "Your actions determine your destiny." A.K.Ramanujan, in his essay, "Is there an Indian way of Thinking" defines Karma as a chain of causes and consequences. Similar parallels can be seen in The Holy Bible also, where it is said, "As you sow, so shall you reap." Similarly, Newton's Third Law of Motion also states that there's an equal and opposite reaction.

The fall of Jericho wall can be equated with the Theory of Resonance, which states that when a body vibrates, with a frequency equal to the natural frequency of another body, the body also starts vibrating.

In the realm of Religious practices like Meditation too, we can analyse it in terms of science. Like, in meditation, oxygen intake will automatically increase better functioning of the body cells, contributing to a better functioning of your body and brain.

To conclude, Science is based on facts, while Religion is based on faith. Hence, though religion and science are often considered to be incompatible, there is an invisible thread somewhere linking the two binary opposites, of science and religion.

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P.Dhanasekar debated on "whether Women have much harder life than Men or not." While stating that he was not against men and for women, he vouched that women indeed have a harder life than men.

He delved into the Sociological factors, where their genes and chromosomes wouldnt support them to do a lot, and hence they're genetically weaker. Even physically also they are weaker, as they can't lift a weight that a man can easily lift.

Coming to the Psychological factors, he said, women have become bigoted and narrow minded because of their religion, family customs and traditions etc. Domestic factors like housekeeping, taking care of husband and children are also indicators.

He lamented the fact that there is a lacunae of Penal laws and Property Laws to sufficiently address the problems of women.

He also stated that women are a bundle of emotions. A man may marry an illiterate woman, but a woman won't marry an illiterate man. That means she wants a settled life, not a satisfied life.

Women are, accordin to him, 1) Aquarium fishes, which can swim only the length and breadth of the aquarium and not above or beyond that realm. 2.) Race horses - they run for the sake of their masters (parents, husband and children) and not for their own sake or for their own benefit. 3.) Prisoners - they are arrested and imprisoned by the shackles of sentiments, values and virginity. 4.) Innocent ancient soldiers - They are having the powerful guns/rifles (penal laws) but they don't know how to use it to protect themselves. 5.) They are envelopes / protecting coats - Like a king coming behind his soldiers to protect him from his enemies, women are used by men to do work but rarely get the praise or reward for the work done.

Finally he concluded by dashing off the line, 'Dominance gives pride, whereas Dependence gives pleasure" The choice is obviously in the hands of the women.

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Ashish Ittyerah gave his oratory on the topic, "Are written examinations alone the yardstick for judging a student's capabilities.?" On his personal views on written examinations, Ashish felt that, it's just something that forces a student to mug up something and write it down on a sheet of paper. At a certain point of time, students won't even care what they are reading and just mug up something just for the sake of getting some marks.

On the drawbacks of written examinations, he said that studies conducted by researchers state that a person can't concentrate for more than 20 minutes on the same subject. Then how can a person concentrate in the exam which is sooo long?

On alternative methods for evaluating students, he suggested that Group discussions and seminars, help retain content better, and aid in better understanding. The most important thing in a person's education is the building up of a good personality, and these alternative forms of evaluation help you achieve it better, he opined.

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Blaisen Bonney Tom spoke on "Should Reservations be scrapped?" Defining the term Reservation, he opined that the basic criteria for reservations is a person's caste. Defining the reservation system in the context of the Indian Constitution, he quoted Article 15, which states that there should not be any discrimination on the basis of caste, creed, race, gender etc. Even though the constitution states that reservation system is considered to come under the concept of "Protective Discrimination" - a discrimination shown to protect a particular group of people.

Sixty years ago, during the eve of Independence, there were lots of people from the lower castes, socially downtrodden and ostracised. Hence, reservation system was necessary for their upliftment. But now the situation has changed. They have improved on a lot of fronts. Thus, he concluded by observing that, Reservations should henceforth be based on economic (class) considerations, and not on caste considerations.

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Sherine spoke on the topic, "Has Science made man's life quite comfortable?" From the invention of the wheel and pottery to the invention of IC Chips and supercomputers, from the ancient wisdom of medicine - Ayurveda to the modern methodology of cloning, from the Pythegorean theories of mathematics to Stephen Hopkins' Interpretation of space and time, science and its varied applications have really made the earth a better place to live. Science has transformed mankind from a mere evolutionary product in the lines of 'apes' to that of the most advanced and powerful animal that ever existed on planet earth.

It has helped man fight dreaded diseases ranging from small pox to malignant tumours and cancers. It has even helped in the preservation and creation of art and music. The fact that it has grown into a number of branches speaks to the enormous influence of science.

Science has helped man understand the characteristics of material particles with the size of a few nano meters and also huge astronomical bodies. Science has made many things possible that were not even in the dreams of humans a thousand years ago - Biological child, man in space, man on moon, Dolly the cloned sheep, superconductivity principle are just some of those.

She concluded by admitting that scienc is a double-edged sword. Atomic science could be used for the production of electricity and at the same time for the production of the dreaded atom bombs too. Still, the choice is left to man to decide whether to use science as a helping friend or a 'frankenstein' - that would ultimately kill its creator. She concluded by saying that the role of science in the betterment of mankind is indisputable and the progress of mankind in all the spheres of life is living proof of that.

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Shyam Gopal gave his oratory on the topic, "Is being happy connected with having a lot of money?" tHe started off his speech by opining that 'money can give you happiness so long as you know just what you can and can't expect from it. It can't buy back all your youth when you're old or a friend, when you're lonely. Now, by saying that being happy is connected with having a lot of money, he said that it is essential to understand just what brings you happiness in the first place. Innumerable studies suggest that having friends matter a great deal. Large scale surveys by the University of Chicago's National Opinion Research Centre, for example, find that those with five or more close friends are 50% more likely to describe themselves as "very happy" than those with smaller social circles. Compared with the happiness increasing power of human connection, the power of money looks feeble indeed. So to get happier, he suggested that one should use one's money to invest in one's friendships.

Doing this, according to him, can bring us more joy than having things. In conclusion, he had this to say: 'Our preoccupation with objects obscure an important truth: the things that don't last create the most lasting happiness. One reason may be that experiences tend to blossom as you recall them and not diminish."

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Cleeta spoke on the need to implement a ban on the Public Sectors. Defining the term, she said, in a public sector, the government owns all the assets and provides service for the people. She then proceeded to outline three spheres wherein the Public Sector has not been given enough care and attention due to the sheer apathy of the governments, and they are: 1.) Health care, 2.) Education 3.) Infrastructure etc.,

While the government should work for the public sector, it should also provide conducive environment for the growth of the private sector, towards enhancing productivity growth, she opined.

She also suggested that the government should take some steps for improvement like providing institutional infrastructure for eg., Property rights, Law and Order etc., In conclusion, she said that, if the government is not able to deliver the goods effectively, they should go in for privatisation, because in the end, what matters is not whether an Institution is Public or Private, but how it caters to the common man, especially the poor.

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Gifty gave her oratory on the topic, "Is Being happy connected with having lots of money?" According to her, happiness is not connected with having lots of money. Happiness is not all about money at all. It's the matter of being content with what one has. The main roof of happiness is love. People with a very heavy bank balance are still not happy with their life. Money can only give materialistic happiness which can't last for long. It can't bring a natural glowing smile on your face. She also observed that, while money is essential for our basic needs, true love is only through love, joy, peace etc., True friends can be won over only by love and affection.

While commenting on the present globalised world, she opined that people's heart and mind is all about and after money, resulting in restlessness, as they are now worried on how best to safeguard the money. Quoting the Buddha, who was a great king, and was with the poor, and Mother Teresa, who left everything to serve the poor, she said that true happiness doesn't lie in money. In our life, when we look back, there will be some unfilled spaces.

One can buy an expensive bed, but can one buy a peaceful sleep? We take all our problems to bed. She concluded by saying that, the guy who begs on the streets, sleeps much more peacefully.

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Addlin spoke on the topic "Is being happy connected with having lots of money?"  She spoke thus: Happiness is always associated with contentment. On the contrary, money never gives satisfaction. Wealth cannot give happiness. Good health, peace of mind and sufficient riches give happiness. The riches or money have no specific value. Happiness is the art of making a boquet of flowers within reach. When we yearn for earning lots of money, we tend to fall into the pit of love for Mamon. This Mamom - lots of money can never be reached as it does not have the peak value constant. Let us assume that we posses riches and wealth in abundance - our thoughts are always preoccupied as to how to invest further. We are pushed to the situation that we require pills to put us to sleep. This riches can be destroyed just by a minute's disaster. Whether the wealth is hoarded for the next generation is another question to worry.
Happiness is not connected with what you have but your attitude. Herald Abort complained about everything until he saw a man with no legs who was happy. He felt ashamed of himself and started counting his blessings and forgot what he did not have.
If you loose your wealth you lose nothing.
If you loose your health you lose something.
If you loose your character you lose everything.
Happiness could be gained through your practice of principles of life which is far valued than Mamon - money. Secret of happiness is to make others happy, says Gandhiji. Money is a means to cater to our needs. But to gain lot of money we stoop down to mean levels and become greedy. This attitude of avarice causes money to become the root cause of all evil. Then there is no place for a virtue of happiness to be gained.
Until money becomes our master, it stands as an answer to every need of human beings.
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