The Indian Consul General, Ahmed Sayeed Baba, urged the Indian community, particularly the Indian Youth Welfare Association (IYWA), to arrange for Urdu-speaking volunteers to participate in Haj affairs. He was speaking as a chief guest at an IYWA function held to congratulate meritorious Grade 10 students in CBSE Board Exams and those who excelled in an individual capacity. The function was organized by IYWA on Wednesday. Urdu is spoken or understood by a large number of Indians and, according to the CG, in the absence of enough Urdu-speaking volunteers, it becomes difficult to manage things during Haj. The Consul General exhorted the students to aim for excellence along with time management. Grade 10 is considered the stepping stone for the future and students should strive hard to gain knowledge along with physical fitness, he said. IYWA organized the function to distribute mementos to this year's toppers from different Indian schools in Jeddah – both boys and girls. From the boys section, Hammad Yusuf, Shine Ali, Mohammad Ahmed (IISJ), Taimur Shakil Malik (DPS), Mohammed Hashir, M. Hashim Mohammad (Shanthi Al-Noor International School), and Afroz Haq (Al-Worood International School) and from the girls section, Blessy George, Mariyam Nilofar, Syeda Kausar Fatima (IISJ), Arunima Raigar (DPS), Nasheeda Sobah (Shanthi Al-Noor International School), Rashida K. (Al-Mwarid International School), Raniya Valli Kapatta (Al-Worood International School) received the awards. Earlier, speaking on the occasion, the IYWA Chief Patron and senior journalist L. Ramnarayan Iyer, dwelt on the relationship between students, parents and teachers and the need for the basic tenets of loyalty, trust and hard work to succeed in life. Ramnarayan, who stressed the importance of hard work and the ability to persevere, said: “Students who have really done well have not succeeded because of their efforts alone, but also because of the efforts of their parents, teachers and colleagues.” He recalled his school days while referring to the “arithmetic of success”, which he had learned from his principal. The principal had written in his autograph book, “May your life be like arithmetic: joys added, sorrows subtracted, pleasures multiplied, problems divided.” In his presidential address, Anees Haidar Zaidi, highlighted the aim of the IYWA, which he said was established only a month ago, but has a unique feature in that it has several vice presidents representing almost every state of India. “IYWA is striving to create an environment in which both merit and excellence are rewarded,” he said. Later, several students spoke on relevant subjects, such as, the importance of education and how to become successful in life. Anwar Pasha Ansari, one of the vice presidents of the organization, said that the organization is a non-political, non-profit body, which has been created to guide the Indian community at every level – from educational guidance to social help. For instance, he said, “most students here do not realize that in the Kingdom they can pursue their higher education in medicine and other disciplines.” The IYWA intends to give such students guidance and orientation, he added. Later speaking to Saudi Gazette, the IYWA general secretary, Ghazanfar Ali Zaki, who played a pivotal role in organizing the function, said: “This is a unique organization here in Jeddah in that it not only represents each and every state of our country but also accommodates every religion”. Others who spoke on the occasion included Guest of Honor Shakeel Ahmad, Consul for Education and Cultural Affairs and Fuzail Ahmad of IYWA. Seharworddin Khan convened the proceedings.
