The debsoc experience

There is something called as debsoc. For people who don’t know, this sophisticated abbreviation stands for-debate society. There had been meets in our college during the 2nd sem. But it lasted only for sometime, because we had our end sem exams coming up.
Anyway, it resumed in the holidays and I missed a few meets. I wanted to join debsoc, cause I thought I had a flair for it. I had done some debates in school before--- but then they were pathetic kind of debates---unlike the ones in professional colleges.

Anyway, coming back to the meet, I decided on a Friday that I would attend it. I went there just in time. I saw many new faces, acquaintances and also two of my friends whom I knew very well. We all started arranging benches, desks…..on the top floor of our LHC-lecture hall complex, and people were randomly deciding on who would be what, and stuff like that….
I was confused…
Finally someone in some corner of the room declared that I would be the “ADJUDICATOR”.
I was shocked. I wasn’t prepared for it… I was only mentally prepared to speak either for,
“FOR” or, for “AGAINST”, like I did in school…
I just knew, that, an adjudicator gives judgments, based on the evidences-- technically speaking.
After all this, I realized that they had decided on doing a PD- parliamentary debate and that’s why I became an adjudicator…
Some three members sat on one side, and three other members, ran right across the hall to decide on a topic.
After some 20- odd minutes, they made a grand appearance and took their seats.
One girl came and told “THIS HOUSE WILL GAG YOU” …..
Something which made absolutely no sense to me..
I was even more confused. Have I been sleeping too much, or all what she had said, just made any sense?????
Moving on………………
She gave another statement which sounded rhetoric-“THE UNIVERSITY STUDENTS”……..BLAH….BLAH….. “U.S. PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS”……
Honestly this is all what I heard…
Trying to make sense out of it……..hmmm……lemme see……………………………...
It didn’t make any sense at all!!!!
How on earth, are university students, related to the u.s. presidential elections???
Even if it had a relation ……..what has it got to do with “THIS HOUSE WILL GAG YOU”????? It was becoming more and more convoluted. And I didn't have the faintest idea of what she was talking about.
She gave some, 7-8 minutes of long speech……..of which I could understand very little..
The other three members, were busy cramming some notes, into a sheet of paper…….fighting over a pen to write…….Honestly, don’t these people get all their accessories???
All of a sudden, a member from the other team, stands up in front of us and tells something….
He made some sense to me, because, he and his team, also hadn’t understood what the girl spoke…as in…. what the girl spoke, was not very clear to them…
AH!! WHAT A RELIEF!!! I wasn’t alone in this dire situation…
But still, they did continue to debate –although I felt, there was nothing more left to debate on.
Alternately, members from each team, made an appearance and told the same things over and over again---just to kill time---I suppose.
I felt like, I was amidst a fleet of BMW’s……… and there I was sitting ……………
like a CRAMMY OLD STATION WAGON.
Amidst this wilderness, I heard some loud banging noises on the benches and desks.
HEY PEOPLE, CAN U KEEP IT DOWN?? I AM TRYING TO UNDERSTAND THE FINER NUANCES…
When I thought, that a person was making sense, and that, the next sentence, he would speak , would make things a little clearer- people thumped on those benches as loudly as possible-I still don’t know, in appreciation or otherwise.- and I lost it again. Things came back to square one, and I was as confused as ever...
All six members finished their turn alternately, and it was the turn, of the adjudicators to give in their final decision.
In such chaos…….I had forgotten to do one thing….
TURNING TO MY RIGHT, where my co-adjudicators were sitting. I saw that they had their notes ready, scribbled in some illegible writing ---god knows what. And they were ready with a decision.
I then realized, I had to make some notes too---just scribbled the last few words, the last member had said.
And in the whilst of making my notes, I heard my co-adjudicator saying “ IN MY OPINION, THE PROPOSITION TEAM SHOULD WIN, BY A FAIRLY LARGE MARGIN………” BLAH…BLAH…
DAMN!! I didn’t even know, that the team was called the “proposition”. I had named them
team -1 and team-2, according to my convenience.
Before I could realize, it was my turn. And I heard myself saying,
“THIS TEAM SHOULD WIN”,
pointing my finger, at team-2, whom I thought should win…
And THAT’S IT!! . THAT IS ALL, WHAT I SAID.
I ended up, making a fool out of myself. And I had sunk into an abyss of embarrassment.

After all this, one thing I realized, is that, even if you think, you are good at something, there will always be a person, better than you, in the same job...
But you should never be intimidated by them…
There is always a time, when, you will have to exorcise your daemons.

Secondly, a commendable job by the debaters –who made me realize, that, they were capable of debating on anything and everything---no matter how abstract or ridiculous it may sound.

Thirdly, I learnt that, just by listening to them speak, I had gained so much knowledge…
I realized, how people can think, in so many different ways—their views, their whole new perspective…….
I got a panoramic view of what a PD actually is…

I might have learnt all this from this experience…

But what I know better is……….. It gave me something to write in my blog……….. which I had abandoned for quite sometime…….and I regret having done that………
CHEERS!!!