Izhaar Urdu Talkmasters Club, said to be the world’s first Urdu language Toastmasters club, recently celebrated its 10th anniversary in Jeddah.
Indian Consul General Mohammed Shahid Alam was the chief guest. Veteran media analyst Khaled Almaeena and the commercial consul at the Indian Consulate in Jeddah, Hamna Mariam Khan, were the guests of honor.
The event began with the reading of the mission of the Toastmasters by the sergeant-at-arms, Abu Bakr Syed.
Delivering his welcome speech, Izhaar Urdu Talkmasters Club President Abdul Rahman M. Baig used an Urdu couplet stressing the importance of the mother tongue and the sweetness of the Urdu language. He welcomed the Indian consul general, the guests of honor, Toastmasters District 104 officials, and all the guests.
Dr. Khaja Yaminuddin, Area 34 director and vice president (education) of the club, was the master of ceremonies. The Toastmaster of the evening was Division H Director Mohammed Farhan Sohail Malik.
He spoke about the 10 years of the journey of the Izhaar Urdu Talkmasters Club. A documentary was also screened that showcased the achievements of the club during the last 10 years.
The international speech was presented by Dr. Yaminuddin and the humorous speech by Amrina Qaisar.
In the table topic speech, the contest master was Abdul Malik, where Syed Nasir Khursheed was called to speak on the instant topic given in Urdu while Sara Ansari spoke on the instant topic given in English.
In the evaluation speech segment, the test speaker was Mohammed Aslam Afghani while his evaluator was Khurram Jah Nasir.
Earlier, the Indian consul general felicitated the achievers of Izhaar Urdu Talkmasters for the last 10 years, District 104 director Mohammed Nasrudeen Hawsawi, program quality director Basheer Ambalavan, and club growth director Sara Ansari as well as the supporters of the Urdu club and language, while Almaeena along with the District 104 director felicitated the other Toastmasters. Hamna Mariam Khan presented appreciation plaques to all sponsors.
An online quiz, featuring questions on Izhaar Urdu Talkmasters Club, was hosted at the event by Asim Zeeshan in which Sara Ansari won the top prize while Mohammed Kunhi and Ambalavan were the first and second runners-up, respectively.
After a sumptuous repast, curtains were drawn on the event.
