Resources.. 2015

Here's what he have proposed as the resources for this season of 'Behes'. This is where the motions will come from :

Literature:

Franz Kafka's 'A hunger Artist' - http://ada.evergreen.edu/~arunc/texts/literature/kafka/hunger.pdf

Charles Bukowski's Poetry (Three poems) - http://www.organicmechanic.org/2005/04/three-by-bukowski/

Kurt Vonnegut's 'Harrison Bergeron' -https://archive.org/stream/HarrisonBergeron/Harrison%20Bergeron_djvu.txt

Philosophy:

On 'The flies in the market-place', Freidrich Nietzsche -  http://4umi.com/nietzsche/zarathustra/12

Ten oxherding pictures - http://www.columbia.edu/cu/weai/exeas/resources/oxherding.html

Movie: Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)

Bonus resource: A movie review https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UKjj4hk0pV4
                             aaaand... https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=307232872820959&set=a.248982448646002.1073741827.100006027468505&type=1&theater

Behes@Patna

Hello! I come with good news.

The first Behes tournament of the new season will be held at Radiant International School, Patna on 8th - 9th January. 

The resources for the 2015 season will be posted on this page within 48 hours and the motions for all of the 2015 season will be based on those.

So.. debaters of Patna, rejoice!! We come to take you by storm.

We are underway

The first 'Behes' tournament will be held at Indirapuram Public School on October 6-7. The roster is full and final, and we are gonna have one hell of a tournament.

This is just the first step in our attempt to start a debating circuit in the National Capital Region of Delhi and we see Behes expanding to all corners of the capital in the future. So please come join us at the inaugural tournament to observe, and do let us know if your school would be willing to host an edition of 'Behes' for your zone.

See y'all!

Things you should know before the tournament

1. The format for the debates is decidedly free-flowing. There are three speakers, sure, but those sticking to a rigid parliamentary style do not necessarily have an advantage. ALL THAT MATTERS IS THE QUANTITY AND QUALITY of your arguments. Style, Diction etc. are important but secondary.

2. You will be scored individually on Matter, Manner and Method but who wins a debate will be a function of Content and nothing else.

3. If you get knocked out early, stick around and watch. We are making concerted efforts to get some of the best school debaters under the same roof in the hope of getting a Delhi debating circuit up and running by next season. Listening to people who qualify for later rounds would be a good learning experience.

4. Behes is a no-profit venture. No jokes. Your fee is minimal and all the money generated (which isn't much) goes into generating interest and participation for next year. The people putting this together just love debate.

5. The adjudicators for the event shall all be experienced and trained ones. You may rest assured on that.

6. Decorum must be maintained. No disturbances while a speaker is speaking. Interjections (Semis and onwards) are allowed only at the end of the speaker's four minutes.

7. Bring your lunch. We ain't feeding you.

8. There are trophies for the winning team and the best speaker. We were considering cash prizes, but decided against it for completely socialist reasons.

9. All registration forms and queries must be emailed to me at salilsinghnluj@gmail.com.

10. Oh, and don't forget to look through the list of resources. That's where the motions will come from.

Registrations are open!

https://docs.google.com/file/d/0ByztzY28vVQPZzJfYWdNS2MxU1U/edit

The registration form for Behes - 2014. We will require you to send it in to salilsinghnluj@gmail.com with the subject line 'Registration for Behes'. The payment method is mentioned in the form itself. Last date of registration is 1st October 2014.

Pick a team name. Anything will do, as long as it isn't too rude or offensive.

We are underway on 6th -7th October as planned and will also offer a three-day training program in team debate if enough people express an interest.

Register quick, many spots have already gone. Thanks!

The resources - How to prepare for Behes - 2014

So, Hi!

We have deliberated on it, and have come up with a recommended list of resources for Behes - 2014. The motions for debates are going to be intelligent ones, and an understanding of the themes we are  going to propose will help you form an informed and reasonable debate -

1. Existentialism - http://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/sartre/works/exist/sartre.htm
                           http://www.ziked.com/post/6950844/the-myth-of-sisyphus-by-albert-camus (an excerpt)

2. Milton Friedman's economics - http://www.nybooks.com/articles/archives/2007/feb/15/who-was-milton-friedman/?page=3
http://ccs.in/sites/all/books/com_books/friedman-on-india.pdf

3. Philosophy resource - http://www.bartleby.com/36/1/17.html

4. Music resource - http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/vennu-mallesh-viral-video-of-terrible-indian-singer/1/374680.html

5. Movie resource - The Truman Show (1998)

Bonus resource - http://www.younews.in/news/alia-bhatts-hilarious-responses-to-questions-about-her-intelligence/?fb_action_ids=10152698408645329&fb_action_types=younewsin%3Aread

Greetings!

Hello People!

I am real glad to be able to announce that we are going to host the inaugural 'Behes'-2014 at Indirapuram Public School, 6, Nyaya Khand - I, Indirapuram. This is a knock-out team debate event, where every team should have three members and each member will get to speak for four minutes. There will no interjections before the semi final round, after which every team will be allowed two interjections per debate.

There are no age divisions for this tournament, the only criteria being that the student be 18 years of age or less. If you have a passion for reasoned debate and want a chance to test yourself against the very best, you aren't going to want to miss this.

The event will be held over two days (October 6-7) and a limit of 32 teams has been set for the inaugural edition. Registrations are not open yet, but you can write to me at salilsinghnluj@gmail.com communicating your intent to participate with thee names of your team members and school name and I will book you a berth, whoever you are.

All details regarding the rules, schedule, recommended reading, registration, cash prizes and further information will be posted on this blog. Please follow for all further information.

Thanks.