He arrives jogging, like a sprinter to the 100 meters starting point. Looks down, fidgety, kneels and kisses the air inches above the floor, saying, “I love you so so much”. “Oh, besotted lover proposing”, you think. Mistaken! He then sings peans about the stage, “that one safe space where we can be creative, weird, whacky, right?” “Give me a little hoo, hoo, if you like it”. Hoo, hoo, the crazy fans of the stage shout back, assured that they all belong to the same tribe he calls Performers. Hey, he is one of us! Our hearts swell with pride. Kinship connects
The story has an Indian, eternally infatuated with the screen and stage. He finds himself in Amsterdam. A performer by instinct, he attends an audition, gets mercilessly rejected. He crawls back to his Finance desk in black or blue suit. Until one day, tension rises in the office: a presentation required yesterday! He snatches the challenge. He gets into his red suit, “throw(s) out the data-heavy slides and use(s) a story that has an opening, connection, laughter”. Boss and colleagues are mighty impressed! Hero Saby has arrived! Like the many young Toastmasters we know, who are called to run fun meetings, emcee national conferences, after bosses see their LinkedIn posts!
Intimacy through “mischief”.
You feel a bit foolish when Sabyasachi (Saby) tricks you into thinking that he was proposing to his sweetheart. Taking liberties, with a mischievous smile, uh? There is greater intimacy in a connection made in that manner (than with a handshake). Its more like a young prankster springing a boxing day surprise at his first ever meeting! Saby has expressive eyes that spell out mischief. He seeks endorsement through hoo, hoo, (not words – too formal). Intimacy plus Kingship connects even more.
Toastmasters apart, he uses his identity for endearment. Saby is visibly a Broadway fan, knows his steps. Saby is unabashedly, authentically Saby. He can walk sidewise and backwards. He announces “show time” in the short hand language of tapping feet. Stage makes him ecstatic
He is unabashedly Indian, an Indian male who was given career options of Doctor or Engineer, but wanted to be a Hollywood star. The speech title (Just nod!) comes from the most popular caricature, the Indian nod. So economical, the same head shake works for yes and no! Let’s be honest, there’s a vicarious pleasure in poking fun of other tribes and their customs, with or without malice. Reiterated, his national identity is clear for an international audience, like a watermark. Saby flaunts his distinct identity.
There is humour
The word nod is heard five times, creating varying levels of laugh. Finance gets the usual pokes. The highest response is for his speculation that the number crunching folks who go to sleep with spreadsheets over their heads. His company’s Townhalls are as boring as Toastmasters Annual conventions! But he hastens to clarify that the ongoing convention is an exception! How credible! Hence the humour.
His eagerness to parade India lands Saby in the only subpar part, when he “sings” about the Ganga, the Taj Mahal and Indian Curry. Elsewhere, he “wanted to climb the mountain Everest of disappointment”. But why Saby? To smuggle in Mount Everest? Bit of a patriotic stretch, perhaps?
The message?
Saby’s message comes from the “Toastmasters for Life” theme, often heard in Keynote addresses at Club launches. It is the generic appeal to claim stage time. Someday, your words may change someone’s life. Therefore, if someone asks you, are you ready, enact the neck exercise: Just Nod.
Possibly the first WCPS speech in recent years to pay homage to the Toastmasters as potential transformers, Sabyasachi Sengupta’s speech brings pride into the community. He also brought a distinct identity as a chummy, high energy, stage-crazy, smart Toastmaster, unmistakably Indian, including the funny side. Soon after winning, Sabyasachi summarized what worked for him: Connect with the audience. Make them laugh. Connect with the heart”.
Tail piece
Is it also that, when the judges allotted marks for the individual criteria on their ballots and totaled up, Just Nod got a higher score than Rain Drops (superb audio rendition of the topic!) and Keep Dreaming, the second and third prize winners riding on themes with more gravitas?