They would sit patiently, listen to my speech each time with the same level of interest and keep an eye contact even when it became a struggle. They would respond the way I wanted them to respond and nod every time with the overwhelming prejudice in my favour. Long before I knew I was one; long before I was recognized as such; I can’t remember since when; but I was always a debater for my parents. I would stand on make-shift dais, often a phone stand and address the audience of two. My parents would laud my speech more than its merits. And appreciate my effort more than it deserved. It was a kind of recognition even Cicero at his best in the Roman senate may have failed to receive.
I always took keen interest in debates. My initial interactions with orators from GCU were in fact at my school. Teams from GC were a major attraction. They didn’t always do well though. I was in the audience when Waleed Iqbal and later Sameer Ahmed carried the day. They both left a strong impression on me as a young boy. Waleed Bhai had a great stage presence. I have not seen many speakers with that aura. Sameer Bhai, well there are a few speakers who can make topics their own. He spoke on: Rags they may be but I love my rags. It was as if my school had selected the topic only for him to come and address the Scanlon Hall on it. He was brilliant that day. By the bye, both these speakers didn’t qualify for the final round. Few emotions are as intense as the one you feel when you nail a speech and find out adjudicators think otherwise. Adjudicators right?
It was my father’s decision that I attend Government College Lahore. It turned out rather well. I have come to realize that the best decisions made in my life, were not mine. Life at GCU was different. My teachers in school were helpful indeed. They had done the tedious ground work on my intonations, pronunciation, pauses, posture, and gestures – especially the last two. So I appear dignified at least on the rostrum. I had a hang of the basics but when I climbed up to the university my skills were still raw. I learned soon that some of my colleagues were gifted speakers and amongst the best in the country. I was in illustrious company. Even though I was not a shining star from my batch, I thought, I could still make up for that cardinal sin by hard work. And trust me it was hard work. I never imagined, even in my faster-than-light dreams that one day I would travel the distance I did as a speaker. In my case, any distance was such stuff as dreams are made on.
I did have more than a fair share of fortune. For instance, when I became the General Secretary shortly after I arrived no one was more surprised than I was. I suppose Siddique Sahib and his favorite office bearer Rana Abdul Aziz conspired against me. It was quite a day when they broke the news at the Majlis. I still remember the lunch we all had afterwards. In spite of repeated assurances from everyone that I would do just fine I had no reason to believe them.
In the famous red blazer my first assignment was Cadet College Petaro. My style was not the conventional fire brand rhetoric. I was convinced if the world outside GCU did not warm up to this certain office bearer and his style, he would soon become a footnote in the history of Majlis. After that competition my doubts would fissile out. I grew more confident as a speaker. The win at Petaro was also a relief. Relief because I had to justify my position in the office. Something I felt I had to do during all my four years.
In my opinion winning a competition big or small is insignificant if it is not backed up with more wins in other competitions. To be consistent, over a period of time, is harder for a declamation speaker. You need a greater level of motivation because after a point you realize you are being repetitive. As your profile develops, the expectations of people also swell. At times pressure does get the better of you. You simply learn to embrace all the challenges – and beat on.
Whether I had to tailor my closings, add longer stretches of high pitched rhetoric or make offhanded remarks; every time I went to speak I would try something new. It was quite late in my career that I started to appreciate the appropriate use of pauses in speech. When I closed the house at the Bokhari Auditorium for the last time, I punctuated the closing of my speech, strong closings were important to me, with a few pauses. It was a risk, particularly since my last year’s speech at the Bokhari had gone completely unappreciated. I was not going to get another chance to redeem myself. With chips higher than ever before I was glad that risk paid off. You have to take risks as a speaker. If you don’t take them often or at all, you begin to slide into mediocrity, a trap I always hoped to avoid.
As I matured as a speaker I learned the value of words. You don’t just gum together long strip of words and actually say little. If you don’t need a word it shouldn’t be there. Every word should convey the meaning you want it to convey, it should create an image you want it to create and every world should catalyze just the emotion you intend to focus. It also depends on how you utter each word. Every word should come out with a precise tone and sufficient clarity. It is for these reasons I would usually consume a lot of time to prepare. Some of my contemporaries would boast of preparing speeches in a single night. I always thought preparation was the hardest part. There was always so much to master. Everything had to be perfect. A standard I never truly attained and only came closer to a couple of times in my entire career.
I had rounded off a decent first year as a speaker. When I became the President in my second year I was not a popular choice. I never showed any interest to run for office either. When Siddique Sahib informally asked the kitchen cabinet’s opinion inside the Majlis no one voted for me. That was my moment. It screamed out: Eureka Eureka !! After that, I can’t say why but I wanted to lead. Anything can and sometimes the most unlikely of events inspire you. I was excited to become the new President of GCUDS.
I thoroughly enjoyed my new role. Debaters of GCU are arrogant and they make no qualms about it either. Nothing against it but the test of any president is how effectively he can bring all those inflated egos together on a team. It was my biggest test as well. It was tougher than it sounds. Fortunately they all did come together. We made a great team – all of us. Together we built a new generation of speakers who went on to dominate the national circuit in all forms of debate. Personally too, I enjoyed debates more during that year than in any other. Winning competitions is one thing, it was one year when I mostly left the stage satisfied. It was perhaps my best year in all the four that I spent with the Majlis-e-Mubahis.
Any reflective essay on debates is incomplete without a mention of APDC Risalpur. It took me three attempts to finally lift the coveted trophy. This part of my story isn’t grand. The second time when we lost, I had gone there with Owais Bari. Bari that year announced himself with the trend setting humorous speech. He was later disqualified for the same speech at EME Rawalpindi. The judge, who had down-marked him, said he had heard this speech in Karachi before and so the speech made by Bari wasn’t original. He is still fighting for the copyrights.
Having made our way to the final with a margin of over thirty points, I was told, neither of us were even considered for a consolation prize. I hated that prize anyway. A couple of times when I did win it, I didn’t want to receive the trophy. I think they should change the name to something more subtle. I finally managed to win Risalpur with Umer Khan the next year. I thought Umer and I as team, performed to our peak. I might still rate our UET show higher. But winning that competition with Umer was a special experience. He was a rare talent. One of his kind. And easily the best I came across. In the final he eclipsed all other speakers including his partner… it was a delight to be in his audience that day.
There was one more competition that gave me nightmares. It was organized by the Chief Minister of Punjab. I was awful in preliminary session and frankly I was lucky to break into the final round. For the final, we had to prepare on eight themes. Needless to mention, the whole exercise stretched my modest talent to its optimal. The topic that I was assigned to speak on was: The role of media. My speech was strong argumentatively. However, before I went to the dais, I realized my speech did not have enough rhetorical punches in it. When you are inches away from addressing a crowd of over a thousand, this realization alone is nerve-wrecking. It is worse still if you choose to follow these instincts and venture to modify your speech. Damned if I did, damned if I didn’t--I eventually changed my speech. The part I added gave my speech the bite to which the crowd responded positively. Last minute changes don’t always come off but thankfully on that day they did.
In my growth as a speaker my teacher Siddique Sahib has played a key role. He is the reason why I could set all those goals and chase them down. Siddique Sahib created the monster out of me. Now he continues to call me one.
I have represented GCU at many different venues across the country. It has been quite a journey. One that has enriched and taught me a great deal. I have gathered many memories along the way. In this space I have shared some of them. It is a lie if I say I revisit and relive some of those finest days of my student life – seldom.