Over one and half lakh Muslim youth took the streets of Kerala’s Kannur on Saturday, marking the golden jubilee of the Sunni Students’ Federation (SSF).
The SSF was formed in Kerala on 29 April 1973 under the patronage of Sheikh Abubakr Ahmad. It is affiliated to All India Sunni Jamiyyathul Ulama.
Over two lakh students and youth attended the public conference at Jawahar Municipal Stadium in Kannur.
“It is the largest student assemblage in the country, which marked the rise and proclamation of the energetic sustenance of a moral student commune capable of leading the nation with secular values and ethical principles,” said Muslim scholar and the student body’s patron Sheikh Abubakr Ahmad.
Ahmad while inaugurating the valedictory session of the six day conference urged the state and Union governments to act against the hatred and communal disharmony.
Ahmad also demanded the ban of ‘The Kerala Story,’ a Hindutva propaganda movie which falsely claims that the southern Indian state is a hub of ‘love jihad.’
The theme of the conference was “Nammal Indian Janata” which translates to “We, the people of India”.
The main entrance to the conference was designed to resemble the Bab-e-Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, the main gate of Jamia Millia Islamia in New Delhi. The construction of the conference gate also served as a pointed response to the Hindu nationalist government’s decision to exclude the great Muslim figure’s contributions from school textbooks.
source: http://www.maktoobmedia.com / Maktoob / Home> India> Latest News> South India / by Maktoob Media Staff / April 29th, 2023
The 27-year-old achieved his season-best score in the tournament.
Commonwealth Games 2022 silver medallist triple jumper Abdulla Aboobacker Narangolintevida clinched the gold medal clocking a season-best score of 16.31m in the Mikio Oda Memorial Athletics meet in Hiroshima, Japan. The 27-year-old Keralite clocked his season-best score twice in the fifth and sixth attempts and notched up a good performance in the maiden foreign meet of the season.
Abdulla crossed the 16m mark five times in seven attempts overall in the Mikio Oda Memorial. Earlier this year, he claimed the third spot in two domestic meets by clocking 15.93m and 15.77m (Indian Open Jumps and Indian Grand Prix). The Keralite, after below-average performances in the domestic meet this year, has shown good improvement by constantly crossing the 16m mark in Japan.
Last year, he also won the silver medal at the Birmingham Commonwealth Games 2022 with a result of 17.02m, just 0.1m behind the gold medal mark. Compatriot Eldhose Paul clinched the gold medal at CWG 2022 by clocking 17.03m.
The 2022 season was one of the most successful ones for the Keralite. He crossed the 17m mark thrice and recorded his personal best mark of 17.19m in the Indian Grand Prix held in Bhubaneshwar. The 27-year-old also qualified for the World Athletic Championships 2022, but put in a below-average performance (best score-16.45m).
The qualification mark for World Athletics Championships 2023 stands at 17.20m. Abdulla needs to get back to his original form ahead of the all-important Senior Federation Cup and the National Inter-States Meet, to secure automatic qualification for the Worlds.
Among the other Indian Triple Jumpers, Praveen Chitravel came close to qualifying for the World Championships as he notched up a personal best score of 17.17m in the Indian Open Jumps and won the silver medal in the Asian Indoor Athletics Championships recently.
Meanwhile, Eldhose Paul will soon be in action alongside Tokyo Olympics gold medallist Neeraj Chopra in the Doha Diamond League, starting May 5, 2023.
source: http://www.khelnow.com / Khel Now / Home> Athletics / by M Sudharshan / April 30th, 2023
Just an 11-year-old girl astonishes the world with her extraordinary development skills. She recently created an AI Application that uses advanced models to determine eye diseases or serious conditions such as Melanoma, Cataracts, etc. Read below about this creative Kerala-origin girl.
An 11-year-old Dubai-based girl called Leena Rafeeq has designed a modernistic application integrated with Artificial Intelligence (AI). This young girl from Kerala proclaimed that this smart app can locate common eye disorders and symptoms. Moreover, this can be determined through a unique scanning method built into the app and only the iPhone supports this advanced model so far.
iPhone users will be able to check their eye-related problems and conditions with 70 per cent accuracy. The intelligent app that has been going viral for a couple of days has been named ‘Ogler EyeScan’ by Ms Leena Rafeeq. She was just 10 when she built it and now after so much research at the age of 11, she exuberantly launched it.
Self-taught Techie
On a social media platform called LinkedIn, she vividly presented the model. She further expounded the workings of her self-made in an online video that she posted online after which several viewers are impressed with her knowledge and skill set.
She asserted that this AI-based application has the capability to evaluate various parameters. The specifications include light and colour intensity, distance and look-up points in order to track down the eyes.
It scans the human eyes within the available range of the frame and this is possible through the “advanced computer vision and machine learning” used in this model’s design.
Features of ‘Ogler EyeScan App’
Leena Rafeeq explains her exceptional achievement and said that the Ogler EyeScan App can also identify any light burst issues. Additionally, this app will first check the eye positioning inside the scanner frame and after that through advanced technological scanning procedures, it can identify some of the common eye problems.
Built with Machine Learning Algorithms and Computer Vision Systems, eye conditions like Arcus, Melanoma, Pterygium and Cataracts can be checked however 70% accurate results have been recognized till now.
How AI App is developed?
Ms Rafeeq told that this smart technology app was developed natively with high-level programming developer ‘SwiftUI’ without the involvement of any third-party libraries or packages. She also reveals that she dedicated herself for almost six months to conducting research and development to come up with this initiative.
Along with this, she continued her learning about different eye conditions, computer vision, algorithms, machine learning models and other advanced levels of Apple iOS development which involves sensors data, AR, CreateML, CoreML and many such tools.
It is notable that the Ogler EyeScan is supported solely in iPhone 10 or Apple phones with iOS above 16. The app is under review on the App Store and this young girl hopes that her model gets listed soon.
Appraisal of her Project
This young Kerala girl leaves many flabbergasted by the invention of such a little girl. People congratulated her as she attains this level at this age. A user commented that this is a pretty good example of how AI can be effectively used in the health sector.
Another goes on to say that this is such an amazing creation and wished her good luck with her future endeavours. They all wished her positive reviews on her app. Ms Rafeeq responded that the model accuracy is “almost 70 per cent”.
However, she is handling some difficulties with the presence of glare and burst from lights caused by the distance required for capturing scans through the phone device. She has implemented metrics and detection for light-related issues so that the users will be able to re-scan. Her current focus is on training more elegant models. As soon as Ogler is accepted by the Appstore, she will be releasing an update in the software.
source: http://www.jagranjosh.com / Jagran Josh / Home> Current Affairs> Science – Technology Current Affairs / (headline edited) April 2023
The Media Foundation has chosen Shahina KK as the winner of the Chameli Devi Award for an outstanding woman journalist. In her acceptance speech she spoke of her attempt to establish that the police conspired to forge a case against Abdul Madani after the Bangalore blasts. “I have always tried to espouse the cause of those who live on the margin and who cannot have their say,’’ she said.
She was awarded for work done while with Tehelka. She is now with Open magazine.
I am using this opportunity to explain who I am.
See, I happen to be a Muslim, but I am not a terrorist.
Unfortunately, anybody carrying a Muslim name, no matter whether he or she is a believer, agnostic or atheist has to keep this as an opening line on every occasion of a dialogue in public. I have hardly practiced any religion right from my adolescence yet I have to make this kind of a statement.
You may have an idea about what I am going to talk about. In fact this award gives me a great opportunity today to talk about the crime I have committed. I interviewed two of the prosecution witnesses in the infamous Bangalore blast case in which Kerala PDP leader Abdul Nasar Madani is an accused. Madani had spent 10 years in prison as an under-trail in the Coimbatore blast case of 1997 and later was exonerated in 2007. The firebrand orator, who once triggered some kind of belligerence among the post-Babri Masjid Kerala Muslim youth, in his second coming had made a public alliance with the left parties in the last Lok Sabha polls. A man who was speaking the language of democracy, a politician who was using the tools of parliamentary politics had been again taken by the police, this time from Karnataka, for his alleged involvement in the Bangalore blast case. He was arrested immediately after the Lok Sabha polls.
Two of the six prosecution witnesses in the case, Jose Thomas and Mohammed Jamal who is the younger brother of Madani, had approached the court alleging that their testimonies had been fabricated. The third witness was on death bed in a hospital in Ernakulam on the day the police recorded his testimony. He died four days later. Police records say that the testimony was recorded in Kannur, around 500 kms away from Ernakulam where he was admitted. The hospital records prove that on that day he was not in Kannur, but was very much in the hospital in Ernakulam. Speech continues here.
Gone are the days when the Muslims of Kerala were thought to have believed Malayalam as the language of Nairs. The Muslims of modern Kerala are greatly indebted to a number of devoted reformers whose dedicated endeavours liberated them from the yoke of illiteracy and cultural backwardness. Late C.N Ahmad Moulavi, in his book on Muslim literary heritage in Malayalam entitled Mahathya Mappila Sahithya Parambaryam, describes the contribution of such reformers.
In fact, Malayalam has been the mother tongue of the Muslims of this region but their dialect was considered relatively inferior. This was because they had neglected learning and teaching the Malayalam language and literature. They were more concerned with Quranic education. Moreover, for the purpose of imparting Islamic knowledge they used Arabic script when they wrote Malayalam. It slowly developed as a literary branch of Malayalam known as the Arabic Malayalam literature.
Arabic-Malayalam Literature The Arabic-Malayalam literature is exclusively the literature of the Kerala Muslims. It includes more than five hundred books in prose and about the same number of books in verse, on various subjects. Books in prose include translation and explanation of the Holy Quran, Hadith, Jurisprudence, history, stories and fables, narratives, criticism, lexicon, science and etiquette. Many journals and magazines were also published in Arabic-Malayalam.
Critics have wholeheartedly extolled the literary merit of the poems in Arabic Malayalam. They are highly impressed by its originality, rhythmic beauty, lucidity in imagination and expression. The majority of these poems are on religious topics. In fact, this stream of poems had been running parallel to Malayalam poetry for centuries. The earliest work so far traced in Arabic Malayalam poetry is Mohiyauddeen Mala, an ode in praise of Sheikh Mohiyuddheen. Its author, late Khazi Mohammed of Calicut was a contemporary of Ezuthcchan’s (16C) who is considered the father of Malayalam language. A comparative study of Ezuthcchan’s Adhyatma Romayana Khazi’s Mala reveals the latter’s simplicity in expression.
Moin Kutty Vaidyar elevated the Arabic Malayalam poetry to the pinnacle of its golry with his Badr pada pattu (war song on Badr) and Badrul Muneer Husunul Jamal (a love song). War and love have been celebrated topics for poetry of all ages. But what made Vaidyar’s poems real masterpieces of literature is his skilful way of blending form and content into an artistic unity. Through his poems Vaidyar created a language within language, a rare achievement in Malayalam poetry praised equally by famous critics and linguists. Chains of tunes (called Ishals) innovated by Vaidyar still remain to be emulated by latter poets. In fact he is the most popular among Arabic Malayalam poets. His poems provided the Muslims of Kerala with a unique culture identity, uniformity and redouble their pride and prestige. P.K. Haleema, Naduthopil Ayesha Kutty, Kundil Kunhamina are the poetesses whose poems left indelible imprints on Arabic Malayalam poetry.
Though Arabic Malayalam poetry boosted the morale of Muslims in their resistance to colonial invasion. The subjugation of Muslims by the invaders led to a state of stagnation in literary life. Later Muslim reformers used Arabic Malayalam poetry to rekindle the spirit of education and religious awareness. Prominent among these poets cum reformers are T. Ubaid, O. Abu and Punnayarkalam Bapu. The poems fostered by Muslims are generally known as Mappila Pattukal (Mappila songs). The salient feature of these songs is the instantly recognizable peculiarity of its tunes that have by and large influenced the cultural and literary life of Kerala as it is evident in modern Malayalam poetry and film songs.
Muslims today no more use the old script of Arabic Malayalam in their literary contribution. Modern works are all in Malayalam now. However, to a limited extent, efforts are made to preserve the identity of this language through Madrasa education.
Impact of Sanskrit Literary Tradition Though Muslim themes were introduced into Malayalam poetry by non-Muslim poets since the beginning of the 20th century, the entry of Muslims into the Malayalam literature is of late occurrence because of the attachment of the Muslim poets to Arabic Malayalam. In imitation of the Sanskrit literary tradition Maha Kavyam were composed by Malayalam poets. Rama Chandra Vilasam was written by Azakath Padmanabha. Kurp and Kattakkayam cheriyan Mappila wrote Sree Yeshu Vijayam. But Mahammadam was written only after a long period. Ponkunnam saidu Mohammad, a Muslim scholar in Sanskrit and Malayalam, wrote this Maha Kavyam in the same Sanskrit metre and here the poet attempts to narrate the story of mankind in an Islamic perspective. It also contains a description of the Quran in detail.
Yousef Ali Kecheri is a Muslim poet famous for composing poems with Hindu as well as Islamic cultural background. He has written poems on Quranic themes, the prophet and Muslim festivals. He is a famous composer of film songs.
P.T. Abdul Rahiman is another noteworthy poet who wrote a long poem on Bilal entitled, The Black Pearl.
Both Kecheri and P.T. have won literary awards.
Malayalam Fiction Anyhow, the Muslim genius made greater achievement in fiction and short stories. Viakkom Mohammed Basheer, a veteran novelist in Malayalam brought a continent of experience in life into the Malayalam literature. His compassionate attitude towards life accompanied by an ironic vision acquainted the Malayalam readers with a new aesthetic sense. His novels and short stories are translated into other Indian and world languages. Umashankar Joshi, the famous Indian writer, counted Tagore and Basheer as the only two Indian writers of originality. M. Mukandan, the pioneer of modernism in Malayalam fiction, once wrote, the Noble Prize is too small a thing to honour Basheer. Basheer’s novels are poetic expression of Muslim myth and Islamic mysticism. My Grand Dad had an Elephant and pathumma’s goats are his masterpieces. He mercilessly satirises the pervasive degeneration that infects Muslim social life. In his writings he had been attempting to create harmony in life through God consciousness.
N.P. Mohammed, another famous novelist, short story writer and essayist, traces the influence of Aryan, Dravidian and Hindu culture elements in the life of Kerala Muslims. His two famous novels named The Oil field and The Eye of God reveal the peculiar socio cultural life of a particular region. They can be called regional novels. He wrote short stories by perusing the Quranic style of expression. Punathil Kunhabdulla, another novelist and story writer, satirises the outdated view and customs prevailing in Muslim social life. Smaraka Shila Kal (Tomb stones) and Marunnu (Medicine) are his famous novels. Both N.P. and Punathil won awards of Kerala and Kendra Sahitya Academy. P.A Mohammed Koya, the father of sports literature in Malayalam, brought to light the social and religious life of the Koya Muslims of Calicut. His Island Stories have endowed the Malayalam short story with a rare aesthetic dimension. U.A. Khader beat a new path when he wrote his short stories anthologized in his famous Trikkotoor Peruma, which is highly appreciated. His style is inimitable.
The most developed literary genre in Malayalam literature is the short story and there are a number of Muslim short story writers such as T.V. Kuchu Bava, Shibabuddeen poithumkadavu, Akbar Kakratil, M.A. Rahima, N.P. Hafiz Mohammad and P.K. Parakhadavu. They are noted for their highest excellence in handling the Malayalam language in its colourfulness and rhythmic beauty.
The history of Malayalam drama will remain incomplete without mentioning the contribution of K.T. Mohammed. He criticizes the social life of the Kerala Muslims in an aggressive language. Ibrahim Vengara, Mohammed Yousef, K.A. Kondungallor and Azeez were renowned Malayalam dramatist.
Religious Writings In addition to making valuable contribution to the Malayalam literature, Kerala Muslims have been advancing in the field of religious writing. They have published many books aimed at reforming the religious life and introducing Islam to other people as well. Many publishing houses are established. The Holy Quran has been translated into Malayalam by various scholars. Tafheemul Quran of sayyid Maududi has been translated and published in Malayalam through Islamic Publishing House, Calicut, which shines like a pillar of light in the literary life of the Muslims of Kerala. Sheikh Muhammad Karakunnu, the Director of I.P.H., himself wrote about 50 books on various Islamic knowledge. Other publisher like Yuvatha, Hindustan and Al Huda published valuable works on Islam. The Muslims of Kerala constitute more than 20 per cent of the population and their literacy rate is satisfactory. Consequently they have started publishing dailies, weeklies, monthlies and bimonthlies including children’s and ladies magazines.
A close analysis of the literary history of Kerala Muslims will reveal the healthy trend of new awareness and reformation in the field of learning and thinking. And a cream of writers, thinkers, reformers, readers has emerged from various cultural groups among Muslims vying with each other for achieving excellence in developing Malayalam literature. There intense efforts and healthy rivalry enable us to envision a new sky of hope for the community and for the nation. The sea changes that have taken place in the realm of the Muslims of Kerala are promising signs of a new dawn-God willing.
(The writer teaches Malayalam at Government College, Kasaragod, Kerala.)
source: http://www.ummid.com / Ummid.com / Home> News & Analysis / by Ibrahim Bevinje, Ummid.com / March 16th, 2011
The Muslim community had frowned upon the girl, who went to school to study English wearing burqa. She had faced the insult from her community but her father O V Abdulla, who was a religious scholar, stood with her and encouraged her to continue English education.
Mariyumma was an avid reader of English and hence local people used to call her English Mariyumma. Wikimedia Commons
THE FIRST Muslim woman in North Kerala to get English education, Maliyekkal Mariyumma, died on Friday in Thalassery, Kannur district. She was 95.
An icon of English education among Muslims in North Kerala, Mariyumma had been an inspiration for generations.
Condoling the death of Mariyumma, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said, “We have lost a person who had left her indelible footprints along with the history of Thalassery. Braving the barriers of conservatism, she learned English and thus became a guiding light for others. She fought for the educational rights of Muslim girls. Always a progressive face, she had also been an icon of religious harmony. Her death plunges a generation and a region into grief.”
Born in 1927, Mariyumma belonged to one of the prominent Muslim families in Thalassery. After completing lower primary education, she joined Sacred Heart Convent School in Thalassery for further studies. She was the only Muslim girl among 200-odd students at the school established in 1886. She studied the English alphabet in class 5.
Later, she recalled that as she did not understand English, her father consoled and encouraged her to continue studies. At noon, she used to go to a relative’s house for namaz. Realising this, the nuns arranged a facility for her namaz at the school. She recalled how nuns created a love for the English language in her mind.
The Muslim community had frowned upon the girl, who went to school to study English wearing burqa. She had faced the insult from her community but her father O V Abdulla, who was a religious scholar, stood with her and encouraged her to continue English education.
Abdulla had studied only up to class 2, but he used to read and write in English. Mariyumma continued her convent education till 1943, the year she was married off after she completed fifth forum (class 10).
After marriage, she associated herself with Muslim Mahila Samajam to continue her social work. Later, she focused on activities aimed at empowering women.
Mariyumma was an avid reader of English and hence local people used to call her English Mariyumma. The image of Mariymma reading English daily had inspired hundreds of Muslim girls to pursue education.
source: http://www.indianexpress.com / The Indian Express / Home> Cities> Thiruvananthapuram / by Shaju Philip / August 06th, 2022
Spirit of Engineering, published by ME alum Najeeb Kuzhiyil in December 2017, tells the story of two freshman college students and their journey to discover what engineering is. Image courtesy of Najeeb Kuzhiyil
A novel penned by a mechanical engineering alum tells the story of two freshmen college students and their journey to discover what engineering is.
“So I thought before you begin your undergrad studies, you should understand what engineering is in simple terms,” said Kuzhiyil. “I really wanted to write a book that was simple enough for high school students.”
The book took about a year and a half to write and started out as separate essays covering four pillars of engineering: methodical approach, practical skills, abstraction, and creativity.
“One morning I was lying in my bed and I thought why don’t I tell this as a story. I can include all of these concepts and wind them into a nice plot,” Kuzhiyil said.
The target audience for the book is high school students or perhaps even freshmen in college. The plot is set in modern times and follows around two main characters who are both first year engineering students at an unnamed Midwestern college: Matt from northern Iowa and Maya from India.
Matt and Maya come across a presentation about the Wright Brothers which piques their interest to the point that they decide to travel to the Wright Brothers museum in Dayton, Ohio in an attempt to better understand what engineering really is. During their travels they meet an experienced, middle-aged engineer who helps them understand how math, physics, and other natural phenomena apply to engineering.
Kuzhiyil said that his PhD advisor Robert C Brown, Anson Marston Distinguished Professor in Engineering, was a major influence on him personally and with his writing style specifically.
“He’s a wonderful engineer and he’s a great writer because we as engineers aren’t always great writers,” said Kuzhiyil. “Before coming to Iowa State I never paid attention to my English but Dr. Brown told us ‘You might be great engineers but you also have to learn how to write well. It’s very important to be able to express your ideas.’”
Brown, who also serves as director of the Bioeconomy Institute at Iowa State, wrote the foreword of the book. He said he thinks the book can be helpful for the next generation of engineers.
“I would have benefited from this book when I was in high school, at the time having no clear idea of the engineering profession. Even today despite the emphasis on STEM education, engineers are rarely portrayed in popular culture except for the occasional less than flattering role of bumbling technocrat. Najeeb’s book helps to overcome this stereotype,” Brown said.
Kuzhiyil cited Brown, whose research focuses on biorenewable resources, as a major reason why he chose Iowa State to pursue his PhD. Kuzhiyil is originally from the state of Kerala in southern India. He attended school in the city of Kochi and began developing an interest in chemical engineering in high school. He attributed his interest in engineering to his older brother, Dr. Abdul Kader, who studied chemistry and worked at a fertilizer manufacturing company.
“I didn’t know anything about chemical engineering, but as a kid I thought it would be cool to learn about it,” he said, adding there was a large petroleum refinery close to home that always fascinated him.
Kuzhiyil graduated with a bachelor of technology in chemical engineering from the University of Calicut and went on to work as a tech service engineer for Indian Oil Corporation.
After a decade in industry, Kuzhiyil decided to pursue an advanced degree. In graduate school his interest shifted from chemical engineering to renewable energy. He graduated with a MS in Combustion and Energy from the University of Leeds in England in 2005.
Kuzhiyil came to Iowa State in 2008 and was involved in various groups outside of his engineering studies, including serving as president of the Indian Students Association from 2009 to 2010. Despite spending just three years in Ames, Kuzhiyil said he made friends and memories that will last a lifetime.
“There were so many moments I really enjoyed at Iowa State,” said Kuzhiyil. “Our research group was so big we had people from all over the world. We had people from India, China, Europe, Africa, from all over and we had discussions on science, on politics, on life, on love, on everything. They were all great for me because different viewpoints and perspectives on different things were really insightful. I really had a blast and enjoyed every moment of my PhD.”
Kuzhiyil added that he loved the beauty of Iowa State’s campus, especially during the spring bloom, and that he enjoyed participating in the International Food Festival during the annual VEISHEA celebration.
After completing his PhD, he worked as a fuels and lubricants technologist at General Electric for six years. In November 2017, he was hired as a staff engineer in synthetic lubricants at ExxonMobil Corporation. His current work focuses on engine oils and gear oils and how it relates to fuel economy.
“By using synthetic lubricants we can improve fuel and the energy efficiency. Synthetics are more of a move toward a sustainable future,” Kuzhiyil said, adding that the job has been a nice marriage between his interests in chemical engineering and renewable energy.
During his career, Kuzhiyil has studied or worked on three different continents. He said that these diverse experiences have contributed to his professional development and have been helpful when approaching challenges.
“In engineering most of the problems we deal with are open-ended. There’s no single answer to many of the problems. You can design things in different ways so the engineer’s job is to design a product or a process or whatever, within the constraints of resources, environment, culture and weather. All of those factors play into the engineering,” said Kuzhiyil.
“Because I come from India, and I lived in Europe and the U.S., all of these places are different if you look at the available resources, the weather, the philosophy, etcetera. I really got a lot of examples of how the same product can be different on these three different continents and I think that’s been helpful in getting me to where I am today.”
source: http://www.news.engineering.iastate.edu / Iowa State University, College of Engineering / by Nick Fetty (headline edited) / April 02nd, 2018
20-year-old Roshna created the longest cartoon strip measuring 430m, titled ‘The Billion Dollar Journey’ honouring businessman MA Yusuff Ali
Father and daughter duo M Dileef and Roshna M. Photo: Nasreen Abdulla
The ongoing Sharjah International Book Fair (SIBF) houses two record-breaking installations — tucked away in Hall 7, the world’s largest screwdriver is displayed and right next to it is the world’s longest cartoon strip depicting the inspirational story of UAE-based businessman MA Yusuff Ali.
Both of these Guinness world record-holding creations have been made by Indian expat father-daughter duo M Dileef and Roshna M. “It feels great to be exhibiting here,” said 20-year-old Roshna, who broke her own record for the longest cartoon strip established in 2021 with her latest creation. Measuring 430m, the new strip titled ‘The Billion Dollar Journey’ is stretched across two wheels and can be read by rotating the hand.
On Sunday, the illustrious Indian businessman from Kerala, MA Yusuff Ali, visited the stall and commended Roshan’s efforts.
Roshna’s father, M Dileef, a seasoned record-setter, said this is his third Guinness World Record. “Due to space constraints, I could only put the head of the screwdriver on display,” he said. Completed in March, the tool measures a whooping 6.6m in length. The artist was recently granted a Golden Visa in the UAE.
The longest cartoon strip
The cartoon strip charts the journey of businessman MA Yusuff Ali, from his childhood in a village in Kerala to his meteoric rise as one of the most influential businessmen in the world.
“I have always looked up to him,” she said. “I want to be an entrepreneur; he is my role model, so I wanted to make something to honour him.”
It was in 2021 that Roshna set her first world record with a cartoon strip measuring 404 metres in collaboration with Global Village. This year, she has broken that record. According to the youngster, who recently graduated with a bachelor’s in fine arts, making this strip took her 8 months, five months of which was just for research.
“I had a team of six classmates,” she said. “We had decided that we wanted to do something to make our mark, and this is the idea we came up with. They helped me in the entire research process and aided me when drawing the cartoon strip as well.”
The graduate now dreams of pursuing a master’s degree in Europe and hopes to raise funds for her education with her artwork.
Largest screwdriver
The masterpiece by Dileef was first displayed at World Art Dubai in March of this year. “I wanted to pay tribute to the working-class population in the city,” he said. “No other country has honoured and valued the contribution of the working class like the UAE has. So many lives were transformed because of Dubai. This piece was a homage to that.”
Made out of mahagony wood and mild steel, the screwdriver was constructed in Dubai. The handle, which has a diameter of 70cm, also has storage space for knickknacks.
Dileef has earlier set two world records- one for curating the world’s longest Quran and another for the largest badminton racket.
www.dileefartgallery.com
source: http://www.khaleejtimes.com / Khaleej Times / Home> UAE / by Nasreen Abdulla / November 06th, 2022
The editorial titled ‘Manushyatvam Kurisherumbol’ (when humanity is crucified), by VM Ibrahim, which has been chosen for the Theruvath Raman Award is about the custodial death of tribal and Dalit activist Stan Swamy, prompting the Award Jury to comment that the editorial stood out for the facts and analysis of the case at the same time moving hearts.
Kozhikode:
Madhyamam Editor V. M. Ibrahim has been chosen for Theruvath Raman Award 2021 for the best editorial by Calicut Press Club.
The award is for the editorial titled ‘Manushyatvam Kurisherumbol’ (when humanity is crucified) published in the Madhyamam newspaper on July 6, 2021.
The editorial dealt with the custodial death of Stan Swamy, who was hunted by the state for his work on behalf of tribal and Dalit communities in India. The jury judged that the editorial touched the hearts of readers at the same time incorporating facts and analysis of the case which made the article remarkable.
The jury of the award was composed of senior media personalities P. Sujathan and P. S. Nirmala along with prominent media observer Dr. Sebastian Paul, said press club president M. Firoz Khan and Secretary P. S. Rakesh.
The award consists of a cash prize of Rs 10,000 and a certificate and was instituted by the family of Theruvath Raman, editor of the popular newspaper Pradeepam, in his memory.
V. M. Ibrahim started working as an assistant executive editor in Madhyamam in June 2001. He was also the executive editor of Gulf Madhyamam. He was appointed editor of the paper in 2021. A masters degree holder in Urdu, Ibrahim has to his credit works, ‘Chekuthanum Choonduviralum’ and a translation work ‘Theerthadakante kanavukal’.
He is the son of the late V.M. Abdurrahman and Khadija of Abdurrahman Nagar, Malappuram. He lives at Farooq College Azad Bhawan.
Wife: Hajara A.K. Children: Raja Khatun, Raji Ismail, Naji Ishaq. Son-in-law Niaz Ahmad.
source: http://www.english.madhyamam.com / Madhyamam / Home> India / Web Desk / November 02nd, 2022
Fayis Ashraf Ali, who is currently in the Emirates for a pit stop, says one of his biggest dreams is to meet his hero Sheikh Hamdan
Thirty-four-year-old Fayis Ashraf Ali, a hard-core adventurer, has embarked on a big solo mission: To travel around 35 countries in 450 days — on a bicycle.
From the south Indian state of Kerala, Ali is biking his way to London to cover 30,000km. After departing Thiruvananthapuram on August 15 — where state Education Minister V Sivankutty flagged off his journey — he arrived in the UAE via Oman on September 27.
Speaking to Khaleej Times, Ali said he entered the UAE through Ras Al Khaimah and cycled through Khor Fakkan and Fujairah to arrive in Ajman.
“I will cycle to Sharjah, spend some time there attending events and then head on to Dubai and Abu Dhabi before crossing into Saudi Arabia,” he said.
The cyclist plans to spend 24 days in the Emirates, the third destination on his list. Here’s a photo of him in Khor Fakkan:
Hoping to meet his hero Sheikh Hamdan
In the UAE, Ali has only one hope – to meet the Dubai Crown Prince, Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum.
“He is my hero. I draw so much inspiration from his adventurous personality. I sincerely hope to meet him before I depart for Saudi Arabia,” he said.
After his UAE pit stop, he will be moving to Saudi Arabia, where he will cycle across the country for two months.
“I hope to go to the holy cities of Makkah and Medina, and visit every place in Saudi Arabia, where I worked for four years with Wipro before leaving my job,” said Ali, an electrical engineer who has kept aside his professional goal to cycle worldwide.
From Saudi Arabia, he will travel to Qatar, and Bahrain, return to Saudi Arabia then head to Kuwait.
“From there. I will go to Iraq, Iran, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Turkey and enter Europe through Greece. I plan to ride across 22 countries in Europe and hope to reach London in 2023,” he said.
This is not Ali’s first long journey on his bicycle. In 2019, he cycled from Kozhikode to Singapore in 104 days, covering more than 8,000km. He pedalled through Nepal, Bhutan, Myanmar, Thailand and Malaysia during that time.
No support crew, no hotel bookings
Going on this adventure — without any support crew — is not a spur-of-the-moment decision for the cyclist. In fact, it took him over a year and a half to plan the solo journey.
“I am travelling alone as this is being done on a budget. I am staying with people I meet during my travels. I have not booked rooms in hotels or lodges,” said Ali.
For example, in Khor Fakkan, Ali stayed with some cafeteria workers across the police station.
“I coincidentally went into the cafeteria to eat some food and told them about my journey. They invited me to stay with them for the night,” he said. “Since I am a Rotary Club member, I stayed in some of the club locations in India. I am hoping to find similar support in Europe. If not, I will sleep in a tent, a mosque, or whichever place that will have me for the night,” he said.
The Rotary Club, Norka-Roots, Malayalam Mission, Kerala Tourism and the Kerala Hearts Foundation are supporting the endeavour.
He rides on a Surly Disk Trucker Cycle, sponsored by UAE-based travel and luggage accessories company ParaJohn. Dubai- based Emirates First is also lending some financial assistance to him.
On his bicycle, he carries four bags filled with clothes, a battery pack, dried fruits, tools, and a GPS tracker. He rides only in the mornings.
What inspired Ali to take up this adventure?
Ali left his job as a networking engineer in 2016 to take care of his father who was suffering from a cardiac ailment.
“I got into the habit of cycling around that time. I got my cycle when my father was in the ICU. Unfortunately, a week later, my father died,” said Ali. He believes cycling would strengthen one’s heart.
Ali is cycling to raise awareness about heart health, world peace, health care, zero carbon emission and zero drugs. He is married to dentist Dr Asmin Fayis and a father to two boys, Fahzin Omar and Izin Nahel.
“My wife supports me in every way possible. She is the one who plans my itinerary and posts on social media. She helps me immensely with the paperwork needed for such a journey. She does all this while taking care of our kids and is an assistant professor at the Coorg Institute for Dental Sciences. She is a superwoman,” he said.
Ali says that to make extraordinary achievements, one has to make several sacrifices. “I do not want to go back to work, and I want to achieve something extraordinary before I depart from this world,” he stated.
source: http://www.khaleejtimes.com / Khaleej Times / Home> World> UAE / by Dhanusha Gokulam / September 29th, 2022
