THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Gokul S, an MA Literature student of Mar Ivanios College, Nalanchira has been participating and winning prizes in the Kerala University Youth Festival for the past five years. Despite the fact that he is visually impaired, Gokul made sure that his voice is heard thereby participating in election and debate competitions.
"I did my schooling from Viswadeepthi Centre School, Kattakkada, there I began participating in school festivals and developed a taste for debates. Since I can't see from my birth, I always used my voice as my strength and to raise my opinions. Youth Festival venues gave me the strength to speak in front of a larger audience and to respond to their arguments regarding different contemporary issues," said Gokul.
He bagged the first prize in English debate competitions four times and won the first prize in English elocution thrice. While asked about the feel and mood of the Youth Festival venue this year Gokul said the festival is deeply rooted in the idea of rebuilding what was lost during the floods.
"The subjects are expected to be based on the rebuilding process. As the event is on-the-spot, I prepare by reading research papers about current issues. It is all about testing our luck as sometimes I have seen my fellow competitors going blank while taking a lead," he said. He also mentioned that practice makes it perfect and he often practices debates imagining a group of opponents sitting right in front of him.
"Keep the time limit in mind, focus on points, use facts and be careful while refuting, these are the most important things to keep in mind while preparing for a debate competition. For elocution, you need to be confident and wear the phlegmatic mood to woo judges," said Gokul.