It was a cold January afternoon and the hands of the clock seemed more sluggish than usual— it had been
about ten minute since the start of the lecture but it felt like an eternity. The dampness of the classroom made it even more unconducive to intellectual activity—yet my professor of research methods tried diligently to keep a firm grip on the class’s attention. I was particularly distracted that day—I had debate practice in half an hour but the class was scheduled to go on for another hour. I had requested to be excused from debate practice too many times in the past and could not muster the courage to do this another time. I felt fidgety and kept unlocking my phone to see if my teammates had arrived for practice. The 12th NUJS Parliamentary Debate was in three days and no amount of practice would have been enough for one of Asia’s largest parliamentary debate tournaments that would see stalwarts coming from across the continent.