I attend the weekly meetings of a club known as the “Tuesday Club”.
The Tuesday Club was started by my father over 25 years ago as a platform to improve public speaking. Every Tuesday we meet at BTH Hotel in Kochi at 7.30 PM.
During these meetings we have short speeches, table topics and joke sessions. Sometimes we invite guests to deliver talks and share their experiences.
I am the youngest member of the club and everyone else in the club is past their fifties.
While I have always enjoyed attending these meetings, because of the big age gap it took some time before my inhibitions disappeared and I started to feel completely at ease around the other members.
Two of the club’s members, Mr. Patrick Xavier and Mr. Shevlin Sebastian have sort of been like mentors to me.
Both of them are some of the most gifted storytellers that I know and they have given me some useful life-advice over the years.
Patrick has over three decades of experience in the aviation industry, and has worked with Indian Airlines & Air India holding several senior positions across India and Malayasia.
During his early days in the airline industry, Indian Airlines had a monopoly of the airline business and he has shared several interesting and funny stories of his interactions with several prominent businessman, politicians, public figures and dealing with unhappy passengers.
His stories and experiences have been a masterclass in public relations and how to deal with people tactfully.
Shevlin on the other hand, has been a journalist for over three decades and has worked with leading Indian publications like the Indian Express, Hindustan Times, The Week and has published over 4,500 articles.
During his career he has interviewed several prominent personalities like Edmund Hillary (the first man to scale Mt. Everest), Australian Cricketer Brett Lee to just name a few. (You can find Shevlin’s writing here.
Shevlin always uses his speaking time in the club to narrate some intriguing stories, so it’s a pleasure to listen to him and I always eagerly look forward to what he has to say.
He is also an author and last year published a non-fiction book by Harper Collins called “The Stolen Necklace” which has received good reviews and is trending on Amazon in the true crime genre.
I feel incredibly grateful to be a part of the Tuesday club as it has added so much value to my life.
What I love the most about these meetings is the joy of being exposed to new ideas and fascinating stories. Hearing about them makes me feel alive, inspires me and expands my perspective.
I can recall many occasions where I have come to the meetings feeling low, sometimes due to things that happened at work. But once I am here, I get so engrossed in the speeches and the stories that I forget about all my worries and they become insignificant.
In fact, one of the things that I missed the most when the pandemic hit was physically attending the weekly Tuesday Club meetings. (for two years our meetings were conducted digitally)
Most members of the club are involved in a completely different line of work, so it’s always interesting to hear their unique perspectives.
When I had joined the club standing and speaking before an audience was a nerve-wracking experience and would make my legs would shiver.
However, attending the meetings and speaking at the club have helped to change that.
My experience in Tuesday Club was also especially helpful when I was invited last year to speak in my old school (Choice) to 180 + students of the 12th grade.
Delivering a talk to the students of Class 12 (Senior Year) in the School that I studied
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