18/03/2019
The next member of our core needs no introduction. However, upon our insistence, he got us a write up after several reminders. Introducing Anish Ravishankar for the second consecutive time at SMCPD is Akashraj Murthy.
"There are several things a senior does for wide-eyed first years joining the Debsoc. They are responsible for training them in a niche and demanding activity that they have never done before. They have to keep them invested in the activity and have them show up for practices. They also serve as goals to strive for- " You have to beat your seniors" is a line I was constantly told in my first year(Did not end up beating most of them xD).
But seniors like Anish, go beyond this standard call of duty. They devote themselves to creating an atmosphere where excellence is pursued in its fullest form- in all aspects of life, not just debating. They push themselves and the people around them to complete focus and devotion to the things they are passionate about and the things that matter- irrespective of constraints.
In his personal life this push manifests itself in the form of extremely well researched and passionate obsessions with several different things- watches, veg biryani, and more recently- fitness. Another prime example is simply his devotion to debating- I can't think of another person who has watched more debates than Anish. He also really pushed his juniors to live up to his standards of excellence. And I mean really pushed.
Turning up at 9:03 for a 9 AM practice was not good enough. Not finishing 7 minutes was not good enough. Not having good structure in your second speech of the day, was not good enough. All of these would earn you Anish's wrath.
Two incidents in particular stand out for me. The 10 minute berating I got from him for an incredibly low GPA in my first semester, and the reprimand for giving a 71 speech at a tournament in Chennai. Looking back though, neither of those memories were in the least bit unpleasant. The scolding motivated me to actually study hard in following semesters. And right after that dinner he took my teammate and I for some incredible ice-cream at Amadora(A must visit if in Chennai)
This brings up the other side of being Anish's junior. He was always the first person to be there- to wish you luck before a tournament. To give you that motivational talk before the novice finals you were a part of. To congratulate you after you make your first big open final and first win. To put aside a massive amount of work to judge at a tournament you were convening.
Tying all this to why you should be excited to have Anish on core at SMC, it's simple- he cares. Every action of his is directed towards self improvement and he makes sure others are impacted by his infectious gusto. Anish cares about the people who are around him and takes an active interest in their development- whether they are his juniors, or participants and orgcomm at a tournament he is coring. You can be sure he will apply his standards of excellence to every aspect of the tournament from preparing motions, to running on time, and delivering great feedback.
So be there at SMC for an incredible weekend of debating and learning, form this fantastic person."
His debating achievements are as follows:
Winner: NLSD 2017, ILS PD 2018, MIT DT 2016, Ramaiah Round Robin 2018
Finalist: SMCPD 2017, CUPD 2017, SDIO 2017, PESD 2019
Semi Finalist: ILS 2014, SMCPD 2016, PES 2016-17, VITDT 2016, IIT B 2015, MSRM 2016
Adj core: SMCPD 2018, MIT DT 2017, RVDT 2017, INLU 2017, IIT-G PD 2018, TNNLS 2018, RIV 2016, BITS-G 2018, NMIMS 2018, IIM-I 2018
