Getting in battle mode

Choose a topic or point of argument and convince people to fall in line with your thought.

This was the scene at ‘Verbattle’, a debate competition which is popular nationally and also affiliated with ‘The International Debate Education Association (IDEA), Global Debates’, a UN initiative and World Debate Institute. Being such a prestigious platform, it was no wonder that the competition was fierce and the standards set were high.

This was the seventh edition of ‘Verbattle’. The initial rounds were held between July 28 and August 19. Talking about this debating platform, Vinayaka Ramakrishna, CEO of Verbattle says, “We believe in not just creating leaders but also in building a vibrant workforce. Our aim is to develop the art of listening which is very important in the present scenario. So a great deal of effort and thought has gone into identifying the panel of judges and guests who are drawn from among the best in the different fields.”

The selection process for the event was conducted in three zones of Karnataka — Mangalore, Hubli and Bangalore. The 27 teams that were chosen were then pitted against each other. Of this, six teams from the Verbattle junior and senior category qualified and the qualifying teams competed in the semi-final and the final round for both Verbattle junior and senior category which was held at Town Hall in the City recently.

The teams had to come up with a topic during each stage which the teams would then choose to oppose or defend. The junior level dealt with topics such as ‘School teaches the art of living’, ‘Laws alone cannot stop corruption’ and ‘Cinema is a mere source of information and a cause of confusion’. The senior level teams debated on topics such as ‘Facebook creates awareness’, ‘Media does irresponsible reporting’ and ‘Political scowling is the order of the day.’

In the Verbattle junior category, Vikram Ramanathan and Raunak Choudhary from Vidyashilp Academy emerged winners. In the Verbattle senior category, Sudhir Kumar S K and Rashmi from Govinda Dasa First Grade College, Suratkal bagged the prize.

The two teams were awarded a cash prize of a lakh. Apart form this, a ‘Best Speaker Award’ was given to Mipham Dorje, a student of National Public School, Koramangala.
The audience who came to witness the competition enjoyed the sessions of heated debate.

“The best part is that you get to see how others think, what their point of view is and begin to think from their perspective. There are a lot of things that you can learn from others. I feel one has to be convinced about his/her arguments and then it’s all about how one presents it,” says Sheeba, a student of Govinda Dasa
College who came to cheer her friends.