T.P. Sreenivasan
Friends,
I had the good fortune to be invited as the Chief Guest at a fascinating contest among College students to “Speak for India” organised by Mathrubhumi and the Federal Bank. I made some remarks without any text or notes, but many friends asked me for the speech. I have reconstructed the speech from my memory of what I think I said or what I should have said, which is below. Comments are welcome.
Warmly,
TPS
Distinguished guests, Brilliant contestants, Esteemed judges, Ladies and gentlemen,
I am indebted to Mathrubhumi and the Federal Bank for several reasons. First, for giving me a young, vibrant and yet disciplined audience, second, for not asking me to participate in the contest and third, for not asking me to be a judge. I would have failed in all these roles. Thank you for giving me the easiest of responsibilities, just to be the Chief Guest. I am greatly honoured, though I came without knowing my role. When Mathrubhumi or Federal Bank invites, I go without asking any questions. I know I cannot go wrong.
Different nationalities have different styles to begin a speech. Americans always start with a joke, even an irrelevant joke, the Japanese start with an apology and the Indians with a complaint, if nothing else, the acoustics in the room. Now that I have made my own complaint that my role was not revealed to me, I can proceed.
This contest is called Speaking for India. Having spoken for India for 37 years in different parts of the globe, particularly at the UN, I am glad to be here. A diplomat is defined as an honest gentleman, who “lies” abroad for his country. Often, he has to lie for his country. But with the advent of the communications revolution, it is not possible to lie even for India. Very often, CNN would have brought events live to the world long before the diplomat knows about them. Today, to speak for India is to speak the truth, but with an appropriate interpretation of events. One of the most difficult moments at the UN was when a mosque was demolished. The world would not believe that it could happen in India. Even in the recent case of Sabarimala, foreign observers are aghast that Indians could be fighting on such an issue days after they stood solidly together to deal with the devastating floods. But by providing the background and assuring that India would take measures to maintain communal harmony, we would have to save the situation. In other words, the role of diplomats has changed, but not diminished.
What we heard today from the brilliant contestants was that they were speaking of India, regardless of their views. We knew all about the floods, but they brought new information. I thought I knew all about Sabarimala and campus politics, but they educated me. They even made me change my views. Excellent speeches not only impress but also influence you. History has many instances of great speeches transforming the world. Abraham Lincoln, Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru come to mind.
It is the common practice on such occasions to talk of the art of speech making. I do not intend to do this, particularly when experts such as Abraham Joseph are here. I would only say that fear of public speaking, which is supposed to be like fear of death can be overcome by imagining that there is no one in the audience who knows anything about what you are going to say. The moment you think that all will know what you are going to say, you start losing your confidence. This is one secret of making good speeches.
There are some interesting ways speeches were handled by celebrities. You must have heard the famous story of Albert Einstein. He was in great demand as a speaker and he welcomed invitations as he wanted to propagate his theories. One day, his chauffeur, who had heard him from the back rows over and over again asked him why he had to repeat his speeches so many timea. “ Even I can repeat them any time,” he said. Einstein was thrilled. He told the chauffeur to try it and exchanged clothes with him and sat at the back while the chauffeur made a perfect speech. But Einstein had butterflies in his stomach when the Chairman invited questions from the audience. He thought the cat would be out of the bag. But the chauffeur was smarter than he thought. When the first question was fired at him by an eminent physicist, he burst into laughter and said, “What a stupid question! I would not even answer it. My chauffeur in the last row will give you the answer!” and saved the day.
Friends,
Like Elizabeth Taylor told her fourth husband, I shall not keep you long. What remains for me is only to compliment and congratulate the contestants, the eight finalists, all of whom seemed to be equally good. I am sure the judges have made up their mind and we will know the results soon. But whoever wins, the programme wins, Mathrubhumi wins, Federal Bank wins and India wins. I hope all of them will speak for India one way or another. I also hope that some of them will join the Foreign Service and speak for India. All the best.
Thank you.
