War of the Words

Shikhar Singh relives the recently concluded Chuckerbutty Debates 2006

   The Library is silent, as if empty, yet crowded with anxious boys in blue and white – faces pale, eyes tense and tongues (for once!) stilled. Mr. John Mason, our Chairperson, has the audience gripped, while pausing between one of his well-articulated and eloquent announcements. I face the audience with numbness, speculating the consequences of either outcome. The pressure is building and I am recounting a similar incident last year, only I was a part of the audience!
   The occasion was momentous and the arrangements grand. From the coasters to the hand-made participants’ files, everything had been done with intricate planning and detail. Three days of debating had concluded with the Dubai Modern High School and The Doon School competing in the final round. The topic, picked in all fairness by a democratic and tactically handled process of veto, read ‘This House believes that one super-power is better than two’ and the Doon team was supporting it. While our team’s argument mainly revolved around the danger and confusion caused by two super-powers, the opposition criticized the larger-than-life and omnipresent American influence in world issues. Our prominent panel of judges included Ms. Shanti Verma, Mr. Bittu Sehgal and Professor Vinod Chowdhary, with whom I had talked at great length at dinner the previous evening, mainly because of our similar political affiliations.
   Professor Chowdhary had chaired an extremely interesting semi-final round. The Just-a-Minute session was marked by a clever interpretation and dramatic delivery on ‘polka dots’, one which still echoes in classrooms. In the Turncoat round, speakers argued on ‘Eco-lobby masquerades as ecology’, appraising the success and contribution of environmentalists. In the Face-Off debates, celebrity activism and the dual personality of these protestors was questioned. The question and answer session gave new dimensions to debating and was well appreciated by the audience. The format, somewhat unique to our debates, tested debaters in public speaking, analysis and questioning ability, besides proving an interesting and exciting event. I must say that our Chairperson added to the enthusiasm, given his extensive experience and knowledge on the subject, by conducting the debates in a participative, appealing and humorous manner. Personally, the entire Debating Society learnt about the pivotal role played by a Chairperson in the success and fluent transaction of an event. The voice-vote and show of hands enhanced audience participation and his regular doses of food for thought invigorated them.
   It was that same morning that Mr. Dhillon and Ms. Bathla had conducted the preliminary rounds with similar interest and keenness. The topic of discussion in both rounds, which were held simultaneously in the AV Room and the Library, was, ‘The media is actuated by economics rather than ethics’ and twenty schools from the length and breadth of India competed to reach the next round. On this, the fiftieth year of the Chuckerbutty Debates, an array of debaters had plunged into the competition with their skill, dedication and logic on display. However, only The Doon School, Mayo College, Ajmer, Dubai Modern High and La Martiniere Boys’, Kolkata, qualified to the semi-final round. Excellent arguments were presented by other schools that missed the opportunity by a whisker.
   Apart from a hectic debating schedule, the visiting teams toured local areas and participated in several recreational activities interspersed with sleep and free time. Our escorts moved around like busy bees, helping and interacting with the often lost, heart-broken, disappointed and curious teams. However, it was they, accompanied by involved students, who fine-tuned every move so that the entire weekend passed glitch-free and without confusion.
   The jam session in the Music School was keenly organized and sustained by our Western Band who made even the shyest dancer move to the tunes of Omkara. On Sunday, various teams were driven down to see the Tibetan monasteries and shop at the crowded, vibrant and famous Paltan Bazaar.
   In one corner of my disorganized toye lies an elegant pen with the name of the debates etched on it. Also a file with an itinerary, a bookmark with a wise inscription, a pad with my hastily-planned debates penned down in it, and infinite memories of organizational hazards (jam-ups!), fights, victories and other light moments that are some of the remnants of a weekend that felt no less than a life in itself.

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