minD_Bloc

2006-01-25T14:58:00.000-08:00

"The size of the thinking-organ of a man is confined to a small, rigid block.

But the MIND, which is responsible for one's thoughts and feelings and the seat of the faculty of reason, dwells in the most-elastic block ever.

If you think small, the block shrinks the MIND.
If you think big, the thrust of the MIND inflates the block into a titanic.

If you try to reach the TRUTH (in anything) and finally attain it, there is no more a block and the MIND is everywhere now. This Satyam(truth) is Shivam(God). "

GoodBye tentejswi.blogspot.com

Wishlist ...

2005-12-14T05:47:00.000-08:00

What i am looking foward to ...

5:30 PM, 18th december 2005:
-The Sweet Whiff of some great Andhra air.

11:00 PM 18th december,2005:
-Sight of the huge torches from the burning furnaces of the oil plants at the suburbs of vizag.

11:30 PM 18th december,2005:
-Konark express leaving the vizag station, towards Anakapalle. Me sitting nervously, hoping there would be no squad asking for my ticket from Vizag to AKP.

12:30 AM 19th december,2005:
-Train stopping at AKP station ( ...and i fancying that mad wud be there waiting for me. no shit, huh !!)

1:00 AM 19th december,2005:
-lots n lots of hot Sambar and fried dondakaya(little-gourd) koora with rice.

1:30 AM-3:00AM 19th december, 2005:
-talking to syamu until she is tired and sleeps off, while i am still talking.

3:00AM 19th december, 2005:
-read FountainHead and sleep happily !!

from 19th december 2005:
-Good food (dosas for breakfast! and NO potatoes in dal n brinjal..Yeeww!!!)
- the long walk with syamu to the temple everyday. n also good-looking girls, dressed decently, at the temple on saturdays.
-Revanth, Bharath, Sudheesh,Indu, Munni ...
-Solitaire on dad's comp at his office, and disussion abt chiranjeevi and pawan kalyan with Pramod. Hot Mysore-bondas with ginger and coconut chutney at the office canteen.
- GeminiTV, ETV, MaaTV ....
-Jai chiranjeeva on 21st dec
-Jai chiranjeeva songs on the stereo.
-Loud arguments,discussion with Bamma (actually i am the one who gets loud) on international politics and vedas (god ! for a woman who is 70 and can only read telugu (which she learnt when she was 55), she is tooooo good !)
-No netbeans on my computer
-Lots of telugu movies, old and new.
......l.......

Swargam ela kanapaduthundhi

2005-11-26T13:17:00.000-08:00

Gongura pachadi thaginantha vesukoni, neyyi lightga vesukoni, ullipayilu sannaga(chala sannaga) podugga kosi, pedha pedha green chilliesni niluvuga kosi, andulonchi konni ginjalu theesi paresi, vedi annamlo(chala vediga) gongura, neyyi kalipi unchukovali. Gattiga, challaga unna perugununchi, jagrathaga migadani bayataki thiyyali (ante asalu perugu rakoodadhu anamata). Ee meegada kalipi, syamu tho notlo pettinchukunte swargam kanapaduthundhi anamata.

Freedom

2005-11-21T03:36:00.000-08:00

Freedom

And here is another post inspired by a movie. It is only recently that I have the learnt the ‘art of watching a film’. Not all movies are made to ‘strictly entertain and enthrall’ the audience. Currently the makers of movies in Tollywood, Bollywood are particularly bent on keeping it a ‘time-pass’, ‘as-vulgar-as-the-censor-permits’ kind. Oh yeah, the movies are really raunchy as promised in the trailers and the songs ‘rapchik’. (This word I heard from a friend describing the songs of a movie and I had to listen to the songs to understand what she meant.)

Wait, it is NOT the intention of this post to advocate a ban on “Aashiq banaya aapne”. It’s just that too much of ABA can be a real ho-hum.

Alas, I digress right from the start. (lol) . This movie is “KING ARTHUR”. Good story, very good screenplay, fairly good visual effects, a sexy looking Keira Knightley (to satiate the fans of masala).

But the concept. It appealed to me on a whole another level. Freedom. Arthur says, “There is no destiny. Only free will.”.
Aah, how I wish that some such ‘free will’ enters my life. Since a week, my brain is all fucked up with.. umm.. ‘conflicting emotions’ .

First, it is this place. I’ve been at home for only 25 days since an year, and this realization has evoked much self-pity inside me.
Since 5 months the only places I was present at, were the hostel, the college, Civil Lines. As badly as I want to go home, my mini-project holds me back. Sucks !

My project. This has been the only silver lining in my academic chart this sem.(well, the exams aren’t over yet, but I give myself an A+ in this one.) Finally, I had found something I am obsessed with, in IT. And just when I hit upon something new, and sincerely pray for 2 uninterrupted days to work on it, some mad-fucker will announce a quiz, report submission, java swing, netbeans, udl, midsems, effervescence, midsem viva, mason rule, endsem viva, …aaaarrrghhh !!!!

I hate,hate,hate all this. The idea of cramming a textbook just before an exam really sends me into a million meters of depression.
And the results are equally gloomy. (Sigh !)

“Nothing is permanent except change itself.” Heraclitus has never been to Allahabad.

And the 'latest amazing thing' is “Relationship- making and the problems as a consequence of making”. Everybody and everybody seems to suffer from this. My roommate was almost ready to forfeit his once-in-a-5-month chance to go home, to go and visit his girlfriend. And the way he gets emotional when he speaks about her makes me want to kill myself. Whatever happened to ‘flings’, female-ogling, casual flirting etcetc… A lot of my frnds are already in full-time, serious “love”, and quite a few are worried about not getting into one before college ends. God save ppl.
(I dunno y I wrote about this… what the fuck… call it free-will).

I am really sleepy now …. Will stop before I can write further non-sense.

2005-10-17T14:56:00.000-07:00

Got the news today. She died on saturday and I came to know about it today through a scrap in orkut. Like an obituary in a newspaper. Still, I did not fully give in. I called up home and demanded to know how vinny was. But even as i made the call i knew it was true. It was an intution and however hard i tried not to listen to it, it's screams just got louder.

My mother initially played bluff and tried to sound normal. But as soon I heard my father's 'hello', i knew it. My dad was most attached to it. Calling it 'attachment' would be an understatement. I have never seen anyone so single-mindedly devoted to a dog. With her around, he would forget everything else and spends his time doting on her, for hours.

She has been with us since I've started going to school and was one of the first friends i have made. And since i was the only kid in my home, I had all the usual sibling fights, the make-ups etc ... with her. She was really good at making up after a fight (which meant it got beaten and i got bitten). U did not have to say 'sorry'. Go to her after an hour and show her the bitten toe, and she would sit down and lick it solemnly.

I cried uncontrollably. It was the first time someone, very close to me, died. But somehow the news still did not sink in completely. No. It would still come running to me when I go home for holidays. With a smile. Yes, It had a beautiful smile. Not, many people saw this. But, I always did.

My mom says we are to feel thankful that it had died peacefully without any pain.... I feel nothing now. No pain, no sadness. Because still the news did not sink in completely.

It wont, until I go home and not find her. But as of now, Vinny, the only dog that could ever smile at me, would still come running to me with her million watts bright smile.

The stuff Baba is made of

2005-10-05T05:49:00.000-07:00

I recieved a mail from the Baba yesterday. It was an apology from him for not coming to 'Magnum Opus' until Sharat n I went and called him personally, that too, after the event has started.

Dear Tejaswi/Sharat
It was indeed a surprise to me, that only 7 of the 22 registered people
had turned up. I am extremely sorry for being one of the other 15
earlier. I thought I would not take part in the competition due to
faulty hardware, but I absolutely forgot that such a decision might be
detrimental to the enthusiasm of you organizers.
I am thankful to you for correcting my incorrect decision. Even more
thankful, for the broken hardware still fetched me a prize.
Organizing any event is a difficult task, I know, and I congratulate you
for having made an excellent organization of Magnum Opus. Keep it up.
- Alok

My first reaction was that of shock and surprise. Imagine receiving e-mail from God... an apology, at that. Well, this man is regarded no less than a God here. I braced myself for a rebuke for having disturbed him (He was taking part in IT-Guru contest..which he, ofcourse, later won). As I read the mail, my shock slowly transited to admiration for this guy. The humility and candidness in the letter caught me completely off-gaurd.

One thing, I absolutely love simple and straight language, regardless of where it may be used. High funda language simply kills the effect the author wishes to convey and makes the sentences sound phony.

I was just very proud of myself, for reasons unknown. I wrote back a letter thanking him for his gesture. And, he replied back in an hour !!

Dear Tejaswi,

> apologised for not coming early to the event. Contrarily, I am the one who
> should be apologising for persuading you to come, even though you were
> busy. Thnk you very much for promptly agreeing.

That was a simple equation for me. I put myself in your place and
understood what I should do.

> Lastly, you did half the work for Magnum Opus. Remember that I had come to
> you earlier for evaluation criteria etc.. ??. So, I thank you again for
> that.

Oh.. I obscurely remember them: On the way from library. I don't know
what I had told you at that time, and how helpful that was. In fact, to
be frank, it was till 3 oct morning, that I didn't even know that
TeleByte was a part of magnum opus
- Alok

Actually, I goofed up big time on the day of the event. I was busy helping ppl in a (crazy, stupid, useless) fashion show until the day before. I only had an hour left that morning before the event starts and I still did not have even the evaluation sheets ready for the judges.
I got hold of a bike which consumed tons of my energy before it wud start.... the xerox machine in the college did not work... i went to jhalwa to get the job done where the machine conspired against me once more and I had to wait for 20 minutes before it cud be repaired.

I was very sore with myself for having made such a mess of a simple job. I was so tired that day ( and very low in morale lol) that i went straight to bed after the event. The next day i find this mail from Alok, apologizing in all humility. And words cannot describe how grateful i felt !!

"Organizing any event is a difficult task, I know, and I congratulate you for having made an excellent organization of Magnum Opus. Keep it up."

Venu, Sharat and Tejaswi, the organizers of Magnum Opus, are very thnkful to Him for the acknowledgement !!!

Advantage of Vedanta

2005-07-15T14:19:00.000-07:00

In Vedanta, the chief advantage is that it was not the work of a single man. and therefore, naturally, unlike Budhism, or Christianity .. , the prophet or teacher did not entirely swallow up or overshadow the principles. The principles live, and the prophets form a secondary group, unknown to Vedanata. I donot mean that it is bad that these prophets should take religious hold of a nation. But it is certainly injurious if the whole field of principles is lost sight of. The persons appeal to our emotions; and the principles, to something higher, to our calm judgment. Principles must conquer in the long run, for that is the manhood of man. Emotions have more connection with the senses than with the faculty reason; and, therefore, when principles are entirely lost sight of and emtions prevail, religions degenerate into fanaticism.

-Swami Vivekananda

What this great man meant by this is the following. Any religion is divided into philosophy, mythology and ceremonial. Unlike other religions, where philosophy and mythology are so much interwoven that ulimately mythology dominates the philosophy. Mythology is made of heroes.
Hence the hero becomes larger than the ideal he stood for. And persons appeal to our emotions. What I understand by this is, take lord Rama for example. He has killed Ravana for the welfare of the world. He is the god, the saviour. Rama represents the victory of good over evil and we are happy that the "good" has won. The word 'happy' is emotion; so, is the word 'sad'. Reiterating the point in a not-so-abstract angle, When people shout at the top of their voice about Hindutva, they are more focussed on the heroics of Rama and his crusades against the "evil", and hence feel privileged to imitate the same. Here, the personality called 'Rama' has overshadowed the idealogy upon which the personality itself was built.

On the other hand a principle is a Truth. Nothing can beat it because it has always been there and is the mother of all the facts we know. Hence it unaffected by 'materials' like emotions. Vedas encourage every man not to learn the truth but to realise it. How do u realise the truth? For this Swamiji gives a humorous example. Suppose a man is a chemist, a great scientific man. He comes and tells you this. If u say to him " I donot beleive anything about chemistry, because i have all my life tried to become a chemist and do not find anything in it" he will ask ,"When did u try?" " When I went to bed I repeated,"O chemistry, come to me", and it never came ". This is the very same thing. The chemist laughs at you and says, "Oh, that is not the way. Why did you not go to the laboratory, get all the alkalis and burn ur hands from time to time?" .

Most of us take god for granted, too easily, like a bed time story. Say a prayer in the morning, be kind to a beggar in the temple u go to in the evening and say another prayer at night, and that will do. God shall be appeased and give u good a CGPA. That is not being religious but it is just fear from an unknown.

But Vedanta encourages man to question and reason our concepts; that too in very practical methods. Yoga is said to be one of them, though i plead ignorance on this topic.

This blog is dedicated to all the athiests. I hope most of them are really not 'atheists' ( in the way the word is understood) , but are just looking for a reason to believe. This is not a test which god puts us to, but one which we put god to. :p.

HEY RAM NEWS ALERT !

2005-07-05T10:40:00.000-07:00

Security forces on Tuesday killed five gunmen who attacked an Indian religious site that is claimed by both Hindus and Muslims and is a flashpoint for bloody sectarian strife. A sixth attacker blew himself up.

Here is a chronology of tensions over the site in the town of Ayodhya.

1528 - Mughal Emperor Babar's nobles construct the Babri mosque. Hindu groups said it was built over an 11th century temple that marked the birth place 900,000 years ago of the god-king Ram, one of the most revered deities in the Hindu pantheon.

1859 - British colonial rulers annexe the mosque site and create separate Muslim and Hindu places of worship.

1949 - Government proclaims the site as a disputed area and locks gates to the mosque after Muslims claim Hindus installed idols of Lord Ram.

1986 - A lower court judge orders gates of the disputed mosque opened to allow Hindus to worship there.

1989 - Congress government of Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi allows laying of foundation stone for the construction of a Hindu temple near the mosque. Hundreds killed in rioting.

1990 - BJP president Lal Krishna Advani begins a national procession or Rath Yatra in support of building a temple.

1992 - Hindu zealots tear down the 16th century mosque in Ayodhya, sparking nationwide riots in which 3,000 people, most of them Muslims, are killed.

1994 - Supreme Court rules status quo must be maintained at the site until lower courts decides on clutch of title suits filed by Hindu and Muslim groups.

1998 - BJP forms a coalition government on a manifesto supporting building a temple.

2002 - More than 1,000 people, mostly Muslims, are killed in violence in the western state of Gujarat after burning to death of 59 Hindus in a train returning from Ayodhya.

August 25, 2003 - Archaeologists say they found evidence of a temple under the ruins of the mosque.

Sept 19, 2003 - A court throws out charges against Deputy Prime Minister Advani over the 1992 razing of the mosque.

July 5, 2005 - Police kill five gunmen who raided a complex which houses the makeshift temple to Hindu God-king Ram.

I HOPE THERE WILL BE NO UNDESIRED REPERCUSSIONS IN THE HINDU-MUSLIM EQUATIONS ANYWHERE IN THE COUNTRY DUE TO THE ATTACK. THE MOST FORTUNATE THING IS THAT THERE WAS NO DAMAGE DONE TO THE TEMPLE. NOT THAT I AM CONCERNED ABT THAT CONTROVERSIAL SHIT OF LAND. BUT HAD ANYTHING OF THAT SORT HAPPENED, THE MUSLIMS IN UTTAR PRADESH(THOSE LUCKY ENOUGH TO BE ALIVE) WOULD BE STARRING IN THE NEXT EPISODE OF THE "FINAL SOLUTION" VIDEO. RETIERATING A STATEMENT IN MY PREVIOUS POST, RELIGION IS A DANGEROUS DISEASE OF THE MIND. IT IS EATING AWAY EVEN THE MINUTE AMOUNTS OF HUMANITY AND REASONING LEFT IN THE PEOPLE. I ALWAYS HAVE A FEELING THAT THESE GODS ARE HAPPILY SITTING UP THERE AND ENJOY WATCHING PEOPLE KILL THEMSELVES,LIKE THE AUDIENCE IN THE GLADIATOR MOVIE (LOLZ!). WAY TO GO MR.GOD!...ER, SORRY .. GODS !!

Aparichitudu

2005-07-02T09:21:00.000-07:00

Watched the much-hyped movie today. And frankly very disappointed. The movie was visibly another "Bharateeyudu",with a difference in how the hero deals with the issue.The storyline was ripped off a Sheldon's 'classic' (lol) and even had traces of the plot of a famous novel by Aurthur Hailey. I partly blame both of the writers for spoiling the movie for me (lol). The director did not show any originality/creativity in shooting the fights,stunts and visual effects.The only saving grace is that story had a mystic Indian-mythology touch to it. Hence, this blog.

The word 'mystic' is very mystifying. People are always mystified by the mystic. Hence,the success of the movie. I remember a 90's movie starring our MEGASTAR(all the suckers who dunno who HE is,ask me).In the movie, an educated tribal guy ,frustrated with his vain efforts to secure justice by legal means to the people of his tribe who have been wronged by their ruthless landlords, gives life to an ancient mystic tribal hero.The myth runs that the hero mercilessly robbed and killed the wrong-doers and distributed the loot among the poor.The tribal guy, greatly influenced by the story, takes up the same means. Kondaveeti-Donga (the theif of Kondaveedu tribe), the devil who appeared from nowhere,whipped the guilty to death and disappeared with the wind, gave the landlords many sleepless nights. I think the main terror came from their suspicion that he might not be human.

Human or not, man is always mystified by/fears/respects this kind of mystique.A funny/serious example is the thing we look up to , for rescue in times of distress, is an even greater unknown. God. Ofcourse, it is not a great revelation that many men fear god than love him. That is because he is the Unknown.

My point is not as abstract as it might sound. A very live example of the effects of mystique on the human mind is the popularity of naxalites and their philosophy among the tribals aand villagers in many parts of Andhra Pradesh. I mention only AP coz i really dunno much about the naxalism in other states.Also the huge success of the movie hints that many people support the same idea,though they might not be willing to acknowledge it openly.

Wrapping it up, i would like to say, Aparichitudu(stranger) is a must watch. Not for the movie's sake. But for the sake of the Unknown, the inexplicable, the mystic.

SUPERMAN

2005-06-28T23:52:00.000-07:00

Superman. His brusque,unpretensious name always delights me. I donot even know if i can call it delight,but the nakedness of the name gives me the feel of an immense,flawless and damnfoolproof strength.

Though the visual effects of this 70's sensation may seem preposterous before the likes of LOTRs and MATRIXs the film has a powerful concept.Infact i feel that special effects in the present day movies dominate the film so much that most of the audience often tend to overlook the very basic but subtle concept behind the film.(ofcourse, many ignorant souls accuse me of trying to 'extract a theme' when there is really none at all ..lol).

Anyways,knowingly or not,the creators of superman have built him with some very interesting features.If they were aware of these, hats off to their genius and foresight.

One of them is,Superman is the Superman for world.He has no identity, a trait which made him immune to sad diseases of the mind we mortals suffer from , namely, nationality, race, religion, colour, language, caste, money.If there was ever to be a Superman his job would be much easier if none of the above interfered.It will make things much less complicated.

Now,the 'controversial'part.Superman is an alien. Why was 'Super'man not 'Hu'man?! Did the creators of superman consider homo-sapiens too inferior to be 'Super'? Whatever might be the reason,it was an apt decision.If a mortal ever did such 'super' things, some self-proclaimed 'defenders of righteousness' in the world would find some sort of grievience against him and wouldn't rest until they rip him up.I think Jesus Christ,a superman , would understand very nicely what i mean. They did it to him. I know it is very foolish to talk about his crucification in such impertinent and vague terms, but i really cant help it.

Superman also moved among common ppl as a news reporter when he was not saving the world.This is also very thoughtful of him (or his creators,rather), since the chances of his success will greatly increase if he can understand what it is that actually puts ppl in trouble.

Aand finally for all the unfortunate people who wasted their time in reading this pointless article .. plzz donot let this blog kill ur desire to watch Superman.It is a nice movie

bloody money

2005-06-08T04:48:00.000-07:00

Zaheera sheikh, the Best Bakery case girl. Undoubtedly, she has become the living symbol of the Gujarat genocide. But her constant flip-flops while testifying against the accused has raised many a brow and finally it has been proved that she has accepted money for a compromise.

Before we start judging the likes of Zaheera Sheikh , get into her shoes. No doubt, her testimony was a big ray of hope for the justice waiting to be served to the 2500 dead people and their kin. But, then what ? The glory of standing up for such a nobel yet controversial cause is always short-lived, especially in our Mahan Bharat. I particularly remember the instance where a photo of a man(i dont recall his name), begging for his life to be spared in the Gujarat riots , was widely publicised all over the world and has evoked tremendous sympathy. After several days i read in a magazine that he has been 'boycotted' all over, by hindus and muslims alike. Even moving to another town did not help, as the cursed photograph still haunted him.

Now imagine the plight of a 19-yr old girl .

While money might not be the 'uppermost thing' in the minds of ppl who are fortunate enough to own a computer to read this blog , what about those who find it difficult to afford a single meal a day ?

But then again, is it justifiable to allow the wrong-doers go scot free ? More than a hundred million muslims had their hopes pinned on her to bring peace to their tortured bodies and souls.Moreover, it would boost the confidence of all such anti-social elements to carry on their hate campaign with renewed vigour.

Perplexing , eh ?

Religion ? ...really ?!!

2005-06-07T04:55:00.000-07:00

Just finished watching the video,"The final solution", for the tenth time. The first time i saw it i wanted to blog it down , but then again ... decided to wait for a few days , lest i let my emotions take control of my writing. The documentary is abt the post-Godhra carnage in Gujarat and is an excellent potrayal of the perception of 'religion' among the masses in India.

"Praise be God ... Fuck Muslims"... these words from a kid in the video stupified me initially and then i felt a little sad for his cheekiness. After all, how much can a 14 yr old know abt a religion that was conceived 1438 yrs ago? I realised that the kid was no different from all the Jehadis, Bajrangdals,VHPs and countless other armies waging the holy war for appeasing their gods. Without even the faintest idea of the roots of the 'cause' they are fighting for, these men for god have been engaged in meaningless madness for decades. Alas,their gods cant fight their own battles, how pathetic!!! Though history is no virgin to religious bloodshed , it is a shame that Indians , who have learnt a bitter lesson for not standing united when the British east india company first set its foot here, should again fall prey for a similar enemy.No doubt, History is repeating itself !!

When the ppl who were lucky to be alive were recounting the ghastly tales of the massacre , i cud think of only one thing.

What the f*** is god doing? Sitting near ur desktop and reading this blog , it is quite comfortable to think that whatever happens, happens for the best and god has a plan for us. Well, if u ask me , it sounds like one freakish plan !!! Imagine urself being burnt alive or someone slicing off ur breasts. Can u still wait for god's deliverance ? I cannot.

Just watching a 2 hour documentary had charged me up so much emotionally. Think how a kid who saw his parents die infront of him or a woman who saw her daughter being raped and is still helpless to save them , would feel. Behold , A terrorist is born !!!

What is more alarming was the passionate involvement of youth(ofcourse!!) in this genocide. I cant start writing abt them now .... very big story. But i just wondered why all these ppl were sitting there and blabbering nonsense about religion when they shud have been in schools/colleges. (by the way, Googling about the student associations in India i found very 'heart-warming' facts about them ... saved it up for the next post) .

Finally, i was musing over why Mr.Rakesh Sharma , the director of the documentary(kudos to him) , named it "The Final Solution". No One has come up with a good one yet :p . I think it is a mistake to treat the issue only in a national perspective. Instead the local factor should be given more importance ie. hindus-muslims living in the same city/locality should resolve the issue face-to-face instead of depending on petty leaders and middle-men(read , political parties) to do the talking for them. ( Mixing religion and politics ....let us not get started on that) .

But deep down, i feel that the damage has already been done. We can only hope that the next generation will have more sensible people who can bring about the much-needed change , unlike us useless ppl , who can only blog abt it !!

effective speaking !!!

2005-05-25T18:12:00.000-07:00

naah .... not intended to blah-blah on 'ur road to be the best orator' or ' Go on n become Mr.Winston Churchill' .... just a few tips on how not to let the audience sleep . ...
Having to stand on the stage makes the greatest of mortals shake in their boots. Mouths go dry and pants get wet while ppl , battling the cold stares of the audience , trudge their way through each word. Well, having nothing better to do , i thought i wud write down a few things i have always found useful to beat the devil.
Monotony is the one of the most detested things in the world. Imagine that u are required to speak about "Digital-Divide in India". By the time u get a chance to speak, the audience are probably already half-dead listening to the boring definitions and statistics that make no sense provided by the previous speakers. Another person speaking on the same topic , is just like pushing them off the edge. So, now is the time to be creative. Any point one wishes to express can be put in a lil more appealing and a different way, say, with a live example, so that the ppl sitting infront of him actually feel like a part of it . A lil humour always helps ...but then, it is not wise to get too carried away.
Keep it simple. Many ppl try to make an 'effective' speech by conspicuously using ornamental language. The only 'effect' it will have is incomprehensibility. While efficacious words undoubtedly add beauty, high-funda language often leads to confusion.
Be casual. The speech shud appear to be delivered off-handedly instead of one which was written down and mugged up. The trick, ofcourse is to write an "appearing-to-be-offhand-speech" and mug it up.
Many ppl are against to mugging up a speech before making it. But, it always helps to make one feel confident. Rehearsing a speech before the mirror even helps in getting the facial expressions right, which is very important.
The last detail to take care for the audience not to fall asleep is to speak in the appropriate tone suited to the context in the speech....dont whimper..dont be too loud....
just keep saying to urself u r the best :P