Interesting. So so many of my speechesas CG including my alma mater must have been only like that; I enjoyed all KR IRS 21324
On Wed, 20 Mar 2024 at 20:14, Chittanandam V R <[email protected]> wrote: > Received from Shri Sitendra Kumar > > * No escape from the chief guest’s address* > > Shankar Gopalkrishnan > > *AN unavoidable fixture at any function is the chief guest’s address. The > occasions vary — it could be the annual day at school or the Independence > Day event in the neighbourhood. There is no doubt that the chief guest is a > man or woman of achievement. The MC announces grandly: ‘Today’s chief guest > needs no introduction!’* > > *Call it lack of general knowledge, this is the first time I hear the > chief guest’s name. Thankfully, the MC fills in: ‘Nevertheless, I will go > ahead and read out his accomplishments that are too many to enumerate!’* > *Evidently, the chief guest is a pioneer in his field with several awards > to his name, ‘both in India and abroad’. If he is a musician, the anchor > waxes eloquent: ‘Pandit ji has received…’ and reels out the full list. > There are Sangeet Shiromani, Sangeet Ratnakara and several other > polysyllabic titles that the anchor is reading for the first time. He > stumbles and slurs over many a name, but to his credit, he keeps the > introduction going. Finally, he ends with: ‘I now invite the chief guest to > say a few words.’* > > *The chief guest now begins his speech. He insists: ‘I don’t want to stand > between you and the lunch to follow. I have been on the other side and know > how it feels! I will keep it short.’* > > *The moment the chief guest starts with these words of caution, we learn > to be wary. Chief guests are notorious for abandoning good intentions once > they start talking. It is as if they are in a mood to punish, now that they > have the microphone in hand and a captive audience.* > > *If the chief guest is a techie, we have had it. His speech is strewn with > words we have never heard of. He talks about how he started with ‘digital > control systems’ and how the ‘market’ was not ready for it in those days. > The only market we have heard about is the one where vegetables are sold > and wonder why it was not ready. Maybe it was too early in the morning.* > *The chief guest rambles on. Thankfully, I am not the only hostage. The > little boy alongside pesters his mother that he is getting bored. The > mother sternly glares at him and orders him to sit quietly. I make eye > contact with the child and smile. The elders are not doing any better. Some > pull out their smartphones and are scrolling away, watching some reels. > Others pace up and down the aisle to get to the restroom or check if lunch > has been served early.* > *Blissfully unaware of all this, the chief guest continues his monologue. > After a good 45 minutes, he finally vacates the podium. The audience breaks > into thunderous applause, waking up some folks who just could not keep up. > The MC is back on stage and reads out: ‘Thank you, sir, for your > thought-provoking and inspiring speech. We are indeed blessed, and your > words of wisdom will stay with us forever.’* > Shankar Gopalkrishnan > ***************************************** > *Chittanandam* > > > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Thatha_Patty" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/thatha_patty/CAL5XZoq5vnJbOL2bOLCQtvDd_%2BHnZ9z0k4-Of1dURYwPzc6%3DMQ%40mail.gmail.com.
