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
A Muslim woman from Kerala, Naaji Noushi’s decision to travel solo in her four-wheel car to watch the FIFA World Cup in Qatar shows her craziness towards the game of football and of course her madness towards travelling behind the wheel on hitherto uncharted routes.
As the World Cup fever is slowly gripping people and football fans, Noushi, an avid traveller, YouTuber and vlogger, commenced her journey to Qatar by driving a Mahindra Thar from Kannur, Kerala the other day.
Transport Minister Antony Raju flagged off the trip in the presence of village panchayat authorities, reports PTI. It was a dream come true for this soccer crazy woman who has always loved to take adventurous trips.
After reaching Mumbai via Coimbatore, she and her Thar, which is fondly named “olu” (means woman in local parlance), would land in Oman by ship. From there, she would travel via road and would cover Arab countries including UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia before reaching Qatar, which plays host to the FIFA World Cup this time.
Noushi said it may be for the first time that a woman from Kerala was undertaking an overlanding trip to the GCC nations and that too to watch the football world cup. “My plan is to enter Qatar by December 10 and watch the finale.
I am so excited about this trip. I am a hardcore Argentina fan and Lionel Messi…really want to see my favourite team lifting the cup,” she said. She will continue her stay in Qatar till December 31, according to the report.
Noushi said the trip was expected to be a complete van-life experience as all essential cooking articles were stocked in the vehicle. It is also planned to park the vehicle near toll plazas and petrol pumps and stay within it during nights.
She said she has an Oman driving licence, which has already been converted into an international one.
“I am a person who has been dreaming to see an Indian team playing the FIFA World Cup. Through this innovative trip, I am trying to be a part of the gala by reaching there in an Indian-made vehicle,” she said.
Noushi, who has completed her Plus-Two, married Noushad, an NRI, at a young age and became a mother at the age of 19. Describing the family as the pillar of support, she said her husband and children were her actual cheerleaders and were encouraging her to travel more.
Noushi has already completed four travel series including an all-India trip to Ladakh and shared the photos and videos through her social media pages. Noushi said her youngest child is just two years old but her mother is taking care of her children when children when she is away for travel.
“If a woman like me- a homemaker, a wife and a mother of five- can realise my dreams, any ordinary woman in Kerala can chase her dreams confidently,” she said. — PTI
source: http://www.muslimmirror.com / Muslim Mirror / Home> Indian Muslim> Women / by PTI / October 20th, 2022
The art was created with plywood sheets, screws, and spray paint. It is constructed of 20 frames and three lakh screws. The installation weighs 460 kilogrammes, is 444 centimetres tall, and is 555 centimetres wide.
Giant screw art piece featuring the UAE’s ‘Spirit of the Union’ picture, as well as the Expo 2020 Dubai emblem.
An Indian family in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has created a giant screw art piece featuring the UAE’s ‘Spirit of the Union’ picture, as well as the Expo 2020 Dubai emblem. The three lakh screw art piece has been inscribed in the Arabian Book of World Records as the world’s largest screw art.
According to Gulf News, EA. Sirajudheen, a 45-year-old and his 39-year-old wife Badariya, both from Kerala, chose to make the massive art piece as a homage to the UAE on its 50th National Day.
Sirajudheen was a former aeronautical engineer who transitioned to business after moving to the UAE 24 years ago and is now the owner of Brightway Tyres and Auto Service in Abu Dhabi.
The art was created with plywood sheets, screws, and spray paint. It is constructed of 20 frames and three lakh screws. The installation weighs 460 kilogrammes, is 444 centimetres tall, and is 555 centimetres wide.
According to the couple, the Guinness World Record was for a piece of art that used 250,000 screws. They said that they first utilised sticker printouts of the photos to adhere to various portions of the boards, and then used hand drills to repair the screw. After being spray-painted with black, red, green, and gold paints, the boards were assembled to form the full-frame.
The couple has two children, 14-year-old Shehzaz and 11-year-old Zia, who helped their parents in the massive screw art. The family finished the project in one month.
Zenith Wheel Alignment, the art piece, is now on show at the Abu Dhabi Malayali Samajam in Musaffah, after the National Day exhibition. The duo stated that they wanted to show their artwork to a larger audience at the Sheikh Zayed Festival in Al Wathba.
source: http://www.siasat.com / The Siasat Daily / Home> Kerala / by News Desk – Sumaya Junaid Ahmed / January 07th, 2022
