June 8, 2015

Dehradun SHG Meet 7th June - Joy of Stammering





This was certainly one of the most exciting meeting till now.One of the 'eminent' personalities of Delhi SHG joined us here- Ashish. We had a 'veteran' from TISA- Sumit. Then there was our 'most entertaining' member of Doon SHG- Dayal. The 'most excited' fella was none other than- Mohit. Let us take you all on the ride of Stammer Express !!

We all decided to meet at the famous Gandhi Park in Dehradun at 5:00 pm. But, as usual, most of the members were late with and exception of Dayal. Dayal was there in a classic Cowboy hat. He was certainly an attraction. Then by 5:30, all the four members were there.

Our first Station was Introduction. We all introduced ourselves turn by turn. We were seated in a circle and the fella who was supposed to introduce himself, was told to stand 5 feet away. This was done one intentionally so that he could speak louder and that too with stammer. Other people saw this and therefore it was in  away a exercise for relieving stress as well.

Then, we discussed about issues like what are the causes of stammer in our respective cases. Fear, loneliness and the dogmas of society were the culprit in our views.

Dayal was interested in reading paragraphs from the book. This was indeed a good idea because this helps us in learning ways of communicating in effective way. Every member read two paragraphs and then summarized the paragraphs in their own language. This way, we tend to focus on what we read and explain rather than how we read.


After all these activities, there comes the 'BAAP' of activities which is none than 'Strangers Talk'. Well all the members were excited enough and the same time trembling with utmost fear. Meanwhile, Mohit forgot his helmet at the Juice stall. He ran there and secured his helmet.

We made two groups of two members each. Dayal and Ashish on on side, Sumit and Mohit in the other. Dayal and Ashish approached three strangers each and discussed about the issues of stammering and our organization TISA.

Let me rewind a little. There is an NGO in Dehradun- Making a Difference by Being the Difference. These guys were celebrating their 4th anniversary by launching a signature campaign for reviving Dehradun's dying streams and at the same time performing a street act. So when we were busy with our activities, they approached us for our support for their cause. We grabbed the opportunity and discussed our issue as well. So this was a kind of symbiotic relationship.

The other group, Sumit and Mohit approached a girl and the head of the organisation MAD. They asked them about their first reaction on seeing a stammerer. Then we discussed about TISA as well. We exchanged numbers and showed an interest in each others cause.


Sumit is a theatre artist as well. And as we discussed earlier, MAD organized a street play. Sumit bagged the role of Corrupt Politician ! He enacted the act very well with amazing communication techniques. He was loud and clear, proper body gestures. And we were certain that theatre is a great way to counter your stammer.

Atlast we clicked pictures of our group. Ashish is missing because he needed to go for some urgent commitment. We pledged to meet again next week for which Dayal will be the host. Till then, Haklao Magar Pyaar Se....

5 comments:

Satyendra said...

Wonderful!
I can see Sumit taking off the Corrupt politician role..
Mohit you too are looking good. All that Gymming is paying off! Keep at it..
Dayal and Ashish- keep breaking the barriers (not the traffic barriers- but the inner ones).
And Mohit, you are a natural "coordinator"...
Haklao magar pyar se...

Dehradun SHG said...

Your Appreciation keeps us going Sir!
Thank you.

Ravi said...

wow guys...your enthusiasm is awesome and definitely Stranger talking is the BAAP of all the activities but this will pay the BAAP role (important role) in improving our communication skills...

kanpur vikings said...

good guys......keep on moving......just keep showing your spirit and the results would follow

Sanjib Talukdar Assam said...

Great to see u guys..."Stammer Express" well said :) The list of activities done were perfect,and thanks for raising awareness about stammering by talking with strangers and discussing openly about stammering...it will go a long way to help all PWS...and all of u r looking great. Keep exploring ...Cheers Sanjib PWS ASSAM