Names of participants: Ananta Raj Sharma, Ashay Thakur, Ashish Lamichhane, Bishwa Shrestha, Pradipna Gautam, Prashanta Shrestha, Nawaraj Awasthi, Rajiv Shrestha, Sumit K Singh
Jury: Rudra Pandey, Himal Karmacharya, Mohana Lohani, Hitesh Karki, Sajan Sangraula, Siris Bajracharya.

Hawkmaster:
Very inspired by the Toastmasters club, Hawkmaster was started to encourage public speaking in D2HS. Initially started on interest basis, it grew to be more formal and institutional as time went by. And in Feb, 2009 it completed its 30th session. On this successful note the team of HM decided to conduct a session which would have competition of the previous sessions’ winners. “Champions of the champions”, as some like to call it, was conducted on 6th March 2009 and had D2’s who’s who as Jury members.Some of the opinions expressed were as under:

Ananta Raj Sharma: “Real Learning does not occur in a classroom” He expressed that college education is too theoretical and does not really prepare for what is really required to do our jobs.
Ashay Thakur: “Peace is possible” He spoke about the belief that all battles are fought to attain peace finally. He expressed his optimism on restoration of peace once all these battles were over.

Ashish Lamichhane: “Boom of Real Estate in Nepal” He spoke about the current situations and opined that even though it is growing, the housing in Kathmandu is not mushrooming in a planned manner.

Bishwa Shrestha: “Real Love is not the stuff of pop song” He gave us an insight of real love, and distinguished the same from infatuation. Real love accordingly to him can never be expressed in a song.

Nawaraj Awasthi: “Politics in Nepal” He put across his views on politics being a very dirty gave and thought that political leaders are quarrelling with each other instead of writing the constitution.

Pradipna Gautam: “A sense of humor is essential” He opined that life is normally pretty monotonous and a sense of humor adds joy to our dull life.

Prashanta Shrestha: “Children should not watch television” He completely disagreed with the statement and said that by locking few channels, TV could always be informative.

Rajiv Shrestha: “What is normal is decided by the society we live in” He articulated that there are many things that could be normal in the western society but the same things cannot be taken as normally by this part of the society. Thus society to a large extent defines normalcy.

Sumit K Singh: “Media controls what we think” He discussed that media is a major informer of all events and people these days. It hence plays a major role in formation of our opinion on any matter.

After the session was over, Ashay Thakur and Sumit K Singh emerged as the best and the second best speakers respectively. However the Jury gave them a second change where they had to choose their own topics.

Ashay spoke about the inspiring book that he read, “One Minute Manager” and recommended it to everyone to be effectively motivated by it.

Sumit spoke about Cricket and the fact that it had started in D2 gave him a chance again to enjoy this favorite sport.
Finally the positions remained unchanged where Ashay emerged as the winner, Sumit on the 2nd position and Bishwa on the 3rd.

Bishwa’s recollection

Speaking in front of a group of people is normally a hard thing to do. It takes a lot of courage to stand up and speak out your opinion on a certain topic when you know those people will judge you and point out your mistakes. No matter how much I would prepare, i would blank out when I had to give a presentation. I would focus on not making a mistake and would end up making plenty of them – out of nervousness and lack of the ability to make up something relevant to the topic i was speaking. Hawk Master has provided a platform where you can express your opinions. You can make mistakes and will be given more than just one chance to improve on it. Moreover, you can also see others making mistakes and learn from those too. Ironically, seeing others making mistakes gives you a kind of confidence. Normally people make mistakes in their speeches, but if you are able to cover that up with something impressive, the speech is successful. Finally, I would suggest Hawk Master team to point out what the speakers are good at and what they can improve on more. Kudos to the team’s effort!

Sumit’s recollection
“Diamond cannot be polished without friction, nor man perfected without trials”. I feel Hawk master session is remarkable initiation in our company that plays a vital role to explore our talent in public speaking. No doubt this is one of the most memorable sessions I’ve attended so far. Personally I’ve gained a lot from this session. Perfection is not inherent, but determination in feeble area guides a person towards excellence. I feel the mesmerizing part of Hawk master session is that it lets us know the dark side of our public speaking. And for this, i would like to express my gratitude towards jury for their valuable comments. Securing second position in the final session of Hawk Master will always remain on my mind. The memento I take from this final session is guidelines given by great leaders of our company Rudra dai, Himal dai, Mohana didi, Sajan dai and Siris dai. Finally, it’s a matter of great pride to be a part of this excellent show and thank to the organizers for the initiation of this session.

Ashay’s recollection:

Hawkmaster, this derivative of ToastMaster is more enjoyable, probably even more professional than the original tome. Don’t get me wrong, the novelty of the oratory contest is not lost on our grounds; it is just that this format is a lot friendlier, the criticism from the judges, a lot more acceptable. The Hawkmaster Sessions are amongst the most enjoyable hours in D2. And, no it is not because it gives you a 2 hour break from regular break. The sessions give you time to spread out, a sense of anticipation for the recluse that you are. You get to sprout ideas, seemingly ungainly to you, but worth some salt nonetheless. The anticipation when judges tell you that your posture was too rigid, or too dramatic, make the results so much more interesting. When I got a dressing down for my flair for dramatics, I loved the sessions so much more. Of course, having Rajesh dai tell me I had good Vocabulary was a rewarding experience in itself. The sessions have helped me grow as a presenter; each one of the comments is exceptionally well thought out. We even had a session (the extempore session) when Hitesh dai spoke. This was when I knew what the sessions lacked. We need more sessions where judges go up on the Dais and speak out; explain to the participants what exactly they need to do. That said, I loved the sessions and enjoyed them to the hilt. When in the last session, Siris dai said I was not holding strong enough eye contact, or when Rudra dai pointed out to me how I was not holding the audience’s attention because I was not emphasizing points, I learnt small things about my speech that keep helping me.The sessions are not a panacea to those who are afraid of facing crowds and speaking out. What they are and what the Hawkmaster team makes sure that each one of the graduate achieves, is a push towards becoming a more accomplished speaker. Each one of the participants graduate as a more competent orator. Thank you Hawkmaster for the motivation to become a better speaker.