Showing posts with label Bangalore SHG. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bangalore SHG. Show all posts

May 24, 2016

Bangalore SHG, May 22 2016 meeting report





Hard work and determination lead to success

We are very familiar to aforesaid line. But actually it’s half true. When I postmortem the content, I found that it consists of two line.
“Hard work and determination leads to failure, and failure leads to success.”
I felt that thing in our last SHG meeting. We always failed with a hope of success.
We are usually punctual with the meeting timings but this Sunday we started little bit late. Ravi gave his first Icebreaker speech followed by Pramod’s thought sharing. After that all member took part in table topics round and gave their best effort in those precious two minutes. Bharath took the initiative and share some of his knowledge about goal setting and faster way to achieve those goals. Last session was like an open session, where we discussed some of the issues, like how can we make future meetings better and many more. Meanwhile I came up with a question and in reply I got that “Answer lies in mystery.”
Written by Subrat Panda

February 18, 2016

Bangalore stammering SHG – What was ailing it initially and how is it now?


Initial meetings
The first meeting of Bangalore stammering SHG happened on 13-Sep-2009 and it went on till 11-Apr-2010 with at least a few participants. After this there was a meeting in which nobody turned, up other than me, and then there were no meetings for a long time. After a few months Karthk took the initiative to rejuvenate it and decided to meet at Cubbon park on alternate days in the morning from 28-Aug-2010. The details of the meeting on 28-Aug-2010 can be read at http://t-tisa.blogspot.in/2010/08/bangalore-shg-meeting-on-28-aug-2010.html and http://stammer.in/menu-shg-activities/57-bengaluru-shg/373-bangalore-shg-meeting-on-28-aug-2010.html.  This went on for some time but didn’t continue for long.

 What went wrong?

When I look back I feel the factors which contributed to the downfall of SHG initially were these; expectation of the participants that they would find a cure in SHG, not much attractive activities in SHG which help them in improving the communication skill and the same person doing the role of coordinator. Let me go through these points a bit more in the following sections.

Most of the people consider SHG as a place where they could learn some techniques which would cure their stammering. Most of these people come to SHGs after trying different methods like speech therapy, psychotherapy etc. They would have not seen much improvements in their situation or would have experienced relapse after seeing improvements. They think SHG might give them a lasting cure. SHG surely is a place where they can learn some techniques used by fellow stammerers but TISA and SHGs try to convey the message that there is no known cure for it. In other words, it remains with us throughout the life though there are some cases in which a cure is reported. We can manage it.  For that, we should accept ourselves as stammerers and learn how to deal with it. We have to do those things from which we always used to run away and work on our communication skill. SHG is to be used for that. Whenever these points about cure and acceptance are conveyed some of the participants become upset which subsequently lead to them not turning up. May be, the coordinator in me failed in conveying the points clearly or in a more diplomatic way.

The second point was about working on communication skills and giving opportunities do things which the participants were scared to do. Though the SHG was run taking into consideration the views of the participants and we had some activities like slow reading, speaking about a topic etc, there was no structured agenda. By nature, most of the stammerers are introverts and they do not open up. So there were not much inputs about the activities they wanted in SHG. So most of the time it was limited to introductions, discussions about the problems faced, practicing some of the techniques and very rarely somebody presenting a topic. It would not have helped them in improving their communication or attacking their fears.

The last point was about the same person running the SHG continuously. Initially though Amit was available as a coordinator, I had to take up the role of coordinator due to his non availability. So the SHG was run on a monotonous way, though I used to take the feedback from the participants on the activities they wanted. Unfortunately as pointed out earlier, not much ideas came out. Though we tried running the SHGs by identifying a volunteer who would take over the coordinator role in a particular meeting, it was again run in the same way! So fresh ideas were not coming up.

How the SHG was revived

Though the SHG was dormant for more than a year, some more people like Dinesh joined the SHG google groups and they suggested, modelling the SHG meetings on some of the famous personality development and communication skill development programs. The discussions went on for some time and Dinesh planned a meeting on 26-Feb-2012 at Madiwala. The details can be read at http://t-tisa.blogspot.in/2012/02/bangalore-shg-meet-26th-feb.html

How is it different now?

Though the SHG still conveys the message that there is no cure for stammering, that is more than offset by addressing the other two issues with the previous SHG. May be, the present coordinators are better than me in conveying the messages!

As was mentioned earlier, the SHG meetings are now modelled on some of the concepts from well-known programs. They are well structured and the attendance in the meeting is steady. This itself is a proof that the people are getting benefits and are enjoying the activities. I understand that they also plan get-together and some outdoor activities. The details of the meeting are available in TISA blog.

The meetings are now run by different people on a periodic basis. It helps in giving a chance to different people in taking up leadership role and also in bringing in fresh ideas. Previously it was held in Madiwala and now it has come back to the old place of Cubbon park. Some of the old participants like Pramod, Karthik are still active. They also have a WhatsApp group which helps in staying connected.

This means most of the issues plaguing the initial SHG were taken care of and it is running successfully now. Attending SHGs will be the best way to deal with stammering. If interested the person can even take over the role of the coordinator! So please go ahead and join the Bangalore stammering SHG by sending a mail to shgblr@googlegroups.com.
 

January 28, 2016

VIDEOS OF BANGALORE SHG - 24/01/2016

POEM RECITATION - BANGALORE SHG !! 

Check the below link for videos of the poem recitation session held on 24th Jan 2016.I am sure there is a surprise waiting for us all ....

They tell poetry cant be explained , but can only be admired ! Its the dance of words !! Do watch the videos and let us know your views on the dance of words :)

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWBZLmwrEYFZLxJuNWkkUKQ/videos

Regards,





January 25, 2016

BANGALORE SHG MEETING - 24/01/2016


It’s the latest norm!! We are not just reaching double digits, we are not just happy with 10 people every week, week after week its full house! The small hut that we used for a long time looks abandoned and the bigger hut (that’s what we call that place!) is the place where we meet now by default!

I was excited and at the same time frightened at the thought of 16 people sitting for a 3 hour shg session! Excited because of the strength and frightened at the same time as I was unsure if everyone could get a good share of the time to speak!

Anyways, todays participants were … Super Shobhit , Mundane Mohit , Jovial janani , Mast mansi , robust raman , naaasty naman , Shiny siddarth , Tremendous tapan, Rolling rajesh, Rocking rajkumar , Sociopath sharath , Ravishing Reuben , Smart sharath , All rounder Amarnath , Daredevil dinesh and Different Deepak.



Its tough to name them all in such short space ! ;)

January 21, 2016

Meeting the Angels..

On Jan17th, we set out to meet the Little Angels at the Ruva Foundation - A comfort home for kids..

Here is how the story unfolded..

Lost for words..

December 20, 2015

GRAND SHG - BANGALORE !

Excited!!  

That’s the word I would use to describe my feeling about attending “the Grand SHG “. It was to be grand and special in many ways. The new hosts of SHG, Soma and Teja shared the itinerary few days ahead to give some idea of what exactly is in store for newbie(s) like me. This was my first “Grand SHG”.

 This SHG meet was organized with the objective to have maximum participation from its group members so that the exchange of information regarding how to improve on our speech, sharing of individual’s struggle against stammering, happens in a large scale and we all can benefit from the practical information that would be shared by the members themselves.

From the messages being exchanged in the watsapp group, we all knew that the hosts were super excited, doing every bit to make it a success for everyone. Also, our kind seniors J , Dinesh and Sharath provided the necessary guidance.

The itinerary (as shared)

 Agenda: 

1. Introduction round (3 minutes will be given to each member to introduce themselves including their struggle in life, achievement, dreams, hope etc.)
2. Experience sharing ( any motivational experience sharing regarding managing of stammering or any situation in daily life)
3. Energizer activity
4. Block and tackle round (will be explore in meeting)
5. Voluntary stuterring
6. Singing a song ( If someone doestn't know singing, they can tell anything in the singing technique)
7. Fun Activity 



So, on the grand day i.e  13th December we all assembled in Cubbon Park, Bangalore. At 10 a.m we started with the introduction round. During the introduction round, we all spoke without any inhibition about our tussle with stammering . Yes!!, this is the beauty of this group where we can openly and honestly speak about our fight for fluent speech. It is also a great place to meet new people. We all listened with all our attention when people spoke about their experiences finding a bit of their experiences resembling ours. How most of us dread the introduction round, because in this round if we stammer we also introduce ourselves as “stammerer”   implicitly. 

There was also helpful tips pouring in during the next experience sharing round. Teja started this round by very correctly saying that we all are motivational speakers and how we need to pump ourselves with some dose of motivation now and then. Tarak Sir said that the techniques like prolongation, meditation, breathing are there to help us but the main thing we really should do is to talk as much as we can. It’s only by communicating as much as we can, with whom ever we can, we can really improve on our speech. Dinesh Sir advised us to control our anxiety and use the SHG meetings as a battle ground. When you stand to speak before a group of people, then only the real churning of your speech happens .He spoke how he has battled his stuttering through the SHG meetings. Both Dinesh and Tarak Sir stands as motivation for us. Akash added that it’s only our strong will that will push us through our fight. Sharath rightly emphasized that we should follow the techniques like prolongation, breathing while speaking. Rohit said it would really be helpful if we practice well before giving any presentations or talk in our work place .  Rohit recited a beautiful and inspiring hindi poem “Koshish Karne Walon Ki Kabhi Har Nahi Hoti “ ( I have put the poem at the end of the report). Most of us were of the opinion that a healthy and discipline lifestyle will make a big difference in our speech. Certainly, happiness is the vital potion for fluent speech. Also, we need to adopt a “dont care” attitude towards it sometimes if we find that there is nothing we can do about it in a particular situation. We need not be so harsh on ourselves when we falter.

Come , lets all fit into the camera !
Next we had an energizing activity of “zip-zap-zoom” and we had three winners for it. It was a welcome break after all the serious talk we had. We all enjoyed it totally. Next activity we did was voluntary stuttering and sing a song. We all introduced ourselves by voluntarily stuttering. People were a bit hesitant to sing at first as most of us came unprepared. But after one or two people sang and perhaps the thought dawned that no one is an expert here after all, we all took our  turn and sang, to just enjoy d moment. I think we all enjoyed the singing round the most.




Rishikesh bought sweets for us as he got the first funding for his startup company. Thanks Rishikesh!!. Big thanks to Soma and Teja (Super teja) for pulling off the SHG meet so amicably. They were thoughtful enough to bring chocolates for all of us. Before we ended the meeting, Dinesh advised us to have a definite plan for 2016 to come out of ones comfort zone and work towards it!!



It was a wonderful day. A day filled with friends, fun and wonderful conversation.


कोशिश करने वालों की

लहरों से डर कर नौका पार नहीं होती,
कोशिश करने वालों की कभी हार नहीं होती।
नन्हीं चींटी जब दाना लेकर चलती है,
चढ़ती दीवारों पर, सौ बार फिसलती है।
मन का विश्वास रगों में साहस भरता है,
चढ़कर गिरना, गिरकर चढ़ना अखरता है।
आख़िर उसकी मेहनत बेकार नहीं होती,
कोशिश करने वालों की कभी हार नहीं होती।
डुबकियां सिंधु में गोताखोर लगाता है,
जा जा कर खाली हाथ लौटकर आता है।
मिलते नहीं सहज ही मोती गहरे पानी में,
बढ़ता दुगना उत्साह इसी हैरानी में।
मुट्ठी उसकी खाली हर बार नहीं होती,
कोशिश करने वालों की कभी हार नहीं होती।
असफलता एक चुनौती है, इसे स्वीकार करो,
क्या कमी रह गई, देखो और सुधार करो।
जब तक सफल हो, नींद चैन को त्यागो तुम,
संघर्ष का मैदान छोड़ कर मत भागो तुम।
कुछ किये बिना ही जय जय कार नहीं होती,
कोशिश करने वालों की कभी हार नहीं होती।

Credits - Rohith for reciting it as beautiful as Amitabh Bachhan , and for those who dont know , this poem was written by Harivansh rai Bachhan.

Just so if you are interested , look into this , maybe next time we can have rohit's recitation on blog, which i am sure you would all love to hear.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bHWmzQ4HTS0


Thanks,

  Jonali

December 8, 2015

BANGALORE SHG - 06 12 15

HI!

After a long gap I attended the weekly SHG at Cubbon Park. As usual it was a cloudy breezy morning out there. (Ghost of depression is refuse to depart)

Attendants : Soma – the coordinator, Pramod, Akash, Naman, Bharat, Sharath, Hari Krishna, Balaji, Anita and Ruben. Amongst them Balaji is the new entrant and came all the way from Hosur.


 







It began with Intro round and as I was late, could only catch up with a few introduction. Everybody asked to follow a technique (e.g Prolongation/bouncing/slow  or whatever it may be) to deliver the Intro. It was a ice breaker round for Balaji which he did with guts and patience.

Next activity was Impromptu speech round, where each person had to pick a topic (pre decided by Soma) by lottery. It started with Ruben and end with me. The topics were  Support, Strength, Anything you like, Hard work, Time management, Driving force in life, Motivation, Practice etc.  As usual somebody find it difficult to find the words and tried to finish it off asap. Few done very well. We have lots of fun here followed by tongue twister round.

As a new candidate Balaji  asked for some tips. Naman advised him to emphasize on practice the Prolonged reading regularly for at least 3 month to start getting results and also refer ‘AHJ’ books to follow.

Next Pramod stand up and stress on to come out from the one’s comfort zone and devote little time voluntarily in some other charitable activity to get the inner strength and peace as well. It’s like help yourself by helping others.

Altogether it was a happy and sweet end. Thanks to Mansi, in absence also she makes her presence felt by  sponsoring sweets and biscuits.

Next Sunday the Grand SHG meeting will be held at the same venue same time. Wish all the best for its grand success. Thank you.

Tapan.

September 25, 2015

SHG 20th September Meet in Bangalore

This is my second meeting with the SHG folks in Bangalore.  When you meet the people from SHG you invariably have the thought like “yeh log to mere jaise hai” (They are like me), and you find yourself settling into some kind of ease and the bond with the group is set. Also I like the idea that we meet in the Cubbon Park which makes you feel like you are enjoying your moment in a park and having a fun time.

So, it was another Sunday that we meet, Praveen, Mohit, Dinesh, Siddhartha, Kavish and Sharath.  When I reached Cubbon park I rushed (as I was a bit late) to the regular “Hut” spot where we assemble, only to find that other people have occupied it. I called up Sharath and soon found Kavish and other people and we decided to look for a place. We found a spot nearby and started the day’s session. 

We introduced ourselves. After that we had the extempore round. We spoke on topics like photography, cup, how easy is to learn spoken language, benefits of Aadhaar card, Naxalites etc.
We went for the interactive round where we talk with strangers.  None of us were that satisfied with this round. People somehow in the park were either reluctant to talk about stammering or they did not have any idea about it. Overall, it was less interactive than usual. Dinesh had brought copies of “Apna Hath Jagannath” book to give it to Kavish so that Kavish can carry it to Jaipur. We came with the idea that we all can carry a copy or two of the book so that if we find anyone needing it for someone he or she knows we will give it to them. Somehow this idea proved to be bad as people seeing the books in our hands thought that we intend to sell those and they were somehow reluctant to talk.

The last round was the debate round. We debated on the topic “The performance of Narendra Modi government”.  Mohit and Dinesh debated the topic really well. The conclusion of the debate was that it is too early to judge the performance of Narendra Modi government. Various development schemes are initiated but we cannot truly feel the sense of progress till all the schemes are successfully implemented. But, during this 1.5 year tenure of Narendra Modi’s government various lauding steps have been taken for development and people can see that the government is making the adequate and bold effort.

Gosh!!  We forgot to take a group photo.  Kavish and Sharath did manage to take photo with a dog with which they must have fallen in love with. Just putting it up.

Friends with god ... err ... dog !

Hope to catch up next  Sunday and have another day of wonderful  talk and heated discussion.

Thanks for reading,

Jonali


September 6, 2015

BANGALORE SHG meeting report : 06 Sept , 2015


Yes , it was late ! Today we started the meeting at 10 30 , since I reached late to our usual place of meet in CUBBON PARK , BANGALORE. The always high-humidity, hot Bangalore surprisingly had a pleasant weather today ! Isn’t that why we call Bangalore a GARDEN CITY !

First we had 7 people and then people rolling in  took the count to 11. Some say 11 is a good number, but it’s a bad number to co ordinate! Anything over 7 seems difficult to manage since everyone needs to get a chance to speak in a limited time!

The attendees were Avnish , Mansi , Rohit , Naman, Praveen , Jonali , Pramod , ‘Pink’ Reuben , Santhakumar, Kavish and me, Sharath. The latest addition being Jonali Das, who is from Assam and presently working in Bangalore.

I noticed one thing in the first session, being the introduction round. We have been doing the introductions since long. And everytime, every person gives a different introduction each time they introduce themself. If one could remember the important points and go by them , it would really help us to speak well without thinking much.

Btw , Just when I thought that I had forgotten about Rohith, Pramod and Avnish , they appeared like the phoenix in the SHG and reimplanted their images in our heads ! Good to see you all after a long time !!

Well ,once the introductions were over , we jumped to Extempore round. Each person would be given a topic to speak for 2 minutes. We tested ourselves on how calm and composed we can be in those 2 minutes and even think on the spot on day to day topics. Its nice to see ourself fumble for words in those two minutes and sometimes two minutes feels like an hour to some. The day you feel two minutes is too less for you to speak on any topic given to you, you can be confident of being a great orator.

Then we had a practical interviews round, where we go and speak to people about stammering! It’s a easy task, one may think but to make it a bit more special and difficult, we thought of speaking to people using our technique. Just being conscious to use the technique each time will help us a lot.

Absolutely enlightened - Naman !! 

Another new member , the SKULLMAN !


Many people cannot use the technique in front of friends and family because they may feel shy to do it or some even feel ashamed to do it. Acceptance of stammering can be really found here! The social stigma about stammering and not speaking about it in public can also be removed. And surprisingly enough, you can find another stammerer too while you go out to speak to people.  (Well, the Bangalore SHG members found one of us like that )

The reactions from public may vary highly as the members told after the practical round. Some are receptive, some are not , some may sympathise , some may run away and some might even laugh at us. But believe me, many don’t think it as a problem and many even know how to react well to a stammerer.

Next there was a debate as to whether we have to have a debate round or the role playing. And not surprisingly, we chose to debate it out.

The topic selected was to whether GIVE UP THE LPG SUBSIDY scheme is helpful or not. ( More details here -  http://www.givitup.in/ ) . I was happy that the debate went well with strong points from both the sides. Well , i must say that I loved the way Naman, Rohit and Avnish made up their points and put it across. A little patience would have helped us to give out the points efficiently and effectively.  Although it was engrossing, we had to stop since the time was not on our side.


We then dispersed at 1 20 pm.

See ya next week !

Enjoy your weekend !!


September 2, 2015

BANGALORE SHG meeting report : 30 Aug , 2015


In this meeting , the strength of people wasn’t much , around 7 people attended the meeting . We started with introduction round . Everyone told their names , profession and hobbies in the introduction round and introduction was supposed to be concluded with impromptu speech of time limit 3 minutes . I was the timekeeper . Almost everyone was finishing their speech before the time limit . Since some people were not able to speak much on their topics we told that this round is more focused on testing and building confidence rather than presenting your knowledge about that particular topic .

After the introductions we went for role play activity , in which first role play round had teams of 3 members each , Kavish , Reuben and I presented an act in which two patients were trying to meet the doctor first and Sharath , Mansi and Balaji presented an act where two guys were bullying a girl who stammers . We conducted a few more rounds of role plays after which we moved to public interaction activity .



We made groups of two - two and three and went around in different directions in the Cubbon park to meet people and talk to them . After the activity we met at the same spot to talk about our experiences , Kavish’s group had managed to meet another stutters while meeting people during this activity and they brought him as well there , he met us and asked some questions about TISA , after getting included in the whatsapp Bangalore SHG group he left for the meeting he had in Cubbon park . In this activity everyone was able to meet some people and talk with them either about stammering or some other thing related to our day to day life . One of the my group asked people was , which is a better place to visit lal bagh or cubbon park , I and sharath were supposed to convince people to give in answer the place that we assigned each other , I convinced them to say that cubbon park is better whereas Sharath convinced them to answer that lal bagh is better . Everyone group had fun in this activity .

After this , Reuben told us a story regarding potatoes, eggs and tea for the prepared speech category.He always comes up with stories with good morals. 

After this activity we left for MG road to take treat from Akash for his new job .

Regards, 

Siddharth Sharma
(hearsid@gmail.com)


April 19, 2015

The Venom-less Snake!!

From past 10 days, its been raining cats and dogs every evening in Bangalore and when it did not rain yesterday, I was bit concerned. Is the rain due for Sunday Morning instead?

September 21, 2014

Bangalore SHG - 21/09/2014

Posting on behalf of Anupam
----------------------------------
Hi Team,
         Today's session was all about breaking patterns and challenging the unknown. We had sunny morning in Namma Bengaluru and the Pws turned up in good strength and showed high enthusiasm. Many people had come after long gap and usual gang was happy to have them. Two new people Manoj and Ajay had come , we welcome them and hope to see them often our meetings. Naman our moderator was very well prepared.

June 28, 2014

Bangalore SHG June 22, 2014 meeting report

As always , we met on Sunday the 22nd June in Cubbon park and bangalore is pleasant with cool weather on any given day.
At first we had an introduction round. Not surprisingly we surpassed the double digits with 11 participants this time. It was a blend of new and old faces and the introduction round was short and sweet.

The 11 members who took time out to improve themselves and others were Abhinav,Akash dixit, Anita singh , Anupam ,Arun kumar, Dinesh , Pramod , Sai ram , Shamail, Esu babu ( New member ) and myself Sharath.

March 22, 2014

Bangalore SHG March 23, 2014 meetup report

Last week was awesome as usual. We met in Cubbonpark at 10:00 AM. I was a bit late to the session. When walking towards to same beautiful HUT, I was welcomed by the smiling faces of Dinesh, Abhinav, Sairam and Anna. The smile spoke everything about the discussion that was going on. They were speaking about Politics and how AAP was contesting in Bangalore. 

We waiting for about 15 minutes, during this time other people joined us. We then started with our weekly Activities. We started with the usual Laughing exercise. We scremed, laughed and had fun during this exercise. The outcome was we woke up a lady who was sleeping on the park bench. After this we conducted series of breathing exercises and voice modulation exercises.

February 28, 2014

Bangalore SHG Feb 23, 2014 meeting report

Hi All,

Here is report of 8th meeting of this year. Many of the things happen for first time and in this meeting we celebrated birthday of SHG member for first time. We celebrated Aruna's birthday last year at her home. But this time it was official birthday celebration in SHG meeting

January 15, 2014

Bangalore SHG Jan 12, 2014 meeting report




This week's session was very energizing. It was an event packed with good learning and good fun. Myself laughed to the core with people sharing recollecting their childhood events.

December 8, 2013

Bangalore SHG Dec 07, 2013 meeting report

Stammering is not "the" problem 

Hi All,
Here is report for Bangalore SHG meeting held on Dec 07, 2013 between 2PM to 5PM.

Attendees - Daring Dinesh, Powerful Pramod, Attractive Akash, Tejaswi Tapan ( New member ), Marvellous Manoj ( New member) and myself Adventurous Abhinav

Dinesh and I started meeting at sharp 2PM. We came around 1:45 PM to center and spent 15 mins on talking about Sri M, a living yogi (Dinesh and I have read his book "Apprenticed to a Himalayan Master") and we thought it will be good to discuss few points from his book while we were alone. Today two new members Tapan and Manoj joined TISA family so we spend initial 45 mins in clearing their doubts and questions regarding SHG meetings and our weekly activities.


December 6, 2013

Bangalore SHG Dec 07, 2013 meeting invitation

Hi All,

You all are welcome to attend last few meetings of year 2013 :)

We are meeting on Dec 7, 2013 between 2 to 5PM at Madiwala

Theme of meeting is "Problem Solving"

November 20, 2013

Bangalore SHG Nov 17, 2013 meetup report


A little more persistence, a littlse more effort, and what seemed hopeless failure may turn to glorious success.
 This week the meeting was conducted in sight of lush green surroundings in cubbon park, situated in the heart of Bangalore this place attracts all kinds of people holding gatherings, walking, relaxing and some jogging. Among these we were lucky to occupy the sole porch with shelter on top.