Crosstalk

Man is a social animal. It is an intrinsic characteristic of this social animal to ponder over issues that both affect him directly, and that seemingly have no connection to his existence. The result of this thought is the means of an outlet, or on occasions, an outpouring of the same. We call it Talk. We talk, discuss, debate, argue, ponder, decide, conclude, infer, deduce.

It is time the thesis and anti-thesis came to a synthesis.

Question. Object. Argue. CROSSTALK.

These were the words that marked the inception of a society that formalised public speaking at MICA. Change is the only constant and it is evident that with the initiation of CROSSTALK there is going to be a transformation in the method by which issues are deliberated upon at MICA. At CROSSTALK, we realise that it is inherent human nature to refute everything ‘told’. Innate politics rule private lives and it is not unusual that cricket captains are thrashed while home matters are discussed at the same domestic forum.

The lack of a similar concept at MICA became extremely evident when within a matter of three hours of the first mailer from three in the morning to six; a total of thirty-two people reverted requesting induction. The response, though surprising at first reflects the undertone, in fact, the latent need, to institute such an environment. Having gone through its initial formulation stages, it essentially aims at hosting public speaking contests, forums, panel discussions and conventional parliamentary style debates along with experimenting with newer styles. The aim is to inculcate a formal system for the conduct of discussions on topics that are not only relevant in the current global and domestic scenario, but also have an element of longevity and persistence.

In keeping with this idea, CROSSTALK hosted its first event titled ‘The Panda-Mathew Hypothesis’ held on the 25th of November 2005, where a clash between opposite ideologies of capitalism and socialism took place between two of MICA’s most esteemed faculty members, Dr.R.N.Panda and Prof. A.F.Mathew. The event was a runaway success.

CROSSTALK plans to further hold an introductory session for fellow MICAns with four rounds highlighting varied styles of debating namely:

Following this, the format of ELECTALK will be a series of Term contests where one CROSSTALKer emerges as the winner, a la Indian Idol, only without all that unnecessary crooning. Then the three top CROSSTALKers finally compete against each other at the end of the academic year to finally churn out the CROSSTALKer de MICA.

CROSSTALK encourages MICAns to debate and discuss issues amongst themselves and the outer world, and plans to operate across graduate and post-graduate institutes. The core team is currently planning to hold a local debating contest with participants from IIM-A, Nirma and MICA. In this regard we also welcome support in terms of suggestions, criticism, advice and argument. The intention is clear, the formats are ready, and the execution has begun.

The thought of the country’s only communication school starting to debate contemporary discourses, is one that is both exciting and frightening. The dynamism that will be exhibited will of course be of the greatest quality, but what is of greater interest, is the result.