Sharjah book fair: K S Nissar Ahmed hails Shanthi Prakahsana

November 19, 2016

Sharjah: Around 2.31 million book lovers from within the United Arab Emirates and around the world visited the 35th edition of the Sharjah International Book Fair (SIBF) that concluded on November 12.

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The SIBF hosted 1,420 publishing houses from 60 countries. Among them, Mangaluru based Shanthi Prakashana was the only publishing house from Karnataka. By exhibiting a good collection of Kannada literature, SP captured the hearts of thousands of UAE Kannadigas.

By participating in Sharjah international book fair, Shanthi Prakashana drew the attention of millions of visitors from various countries who were unaware and were completely new to the Kannada language. Thus Kannada language and culture have gained recognition among Arab countries thanks to this exhibition.

The Shanthi Prakashana also organised a valedictory ceremony of its exhibition-cum-sale on the last day of the 11-day book far. K S Nissar Ahmed, a renowned Kannada poet and thinker from Karnataka was the guest of honour. He expressed deep sense of love towards the literature of Shanthi Prakashana. He reminisced to the gathering about the acquaintance he had with late Ibraheem Saeed, who had contributed greatly for the growth of Shanthi Prakashana.

Mr Ahmed urged Shanthi Prakashana to boost the publishing landscape of Kannada literature so as to promote literary interest among the non-resident Kannadigas. He also wished Shanthi Prakashana to reach new heights. "Let this stall turn into a large scale library deriving multiple benefits," he added.

Another guest, Dr Kaup Mohammed, Dean and Director of the London American City College, UAE, said that Shanthi Prakshana through its works endeavoured to uproot the misconceptions about Islam. It also should reach out to non Kannadigas by publishing Islamic literature in English, he suggested requesting to continue its participation in SIBF every year.

Sadan Das, president of Kannada Koota, Dubai, Abdul Lathief, vice president of Bearys Cultural Forum Dubai, and Irshad Moodabidre, an NRI Kannada writer, lauded the work of Shanthi Prakashana.

The programme began with the recitation of Quranic verses by V K Nooh Rashid Vitla. Abdul Khader Kukkaje welcomed the guests, Nisar Parangipete compered the programme and proposed vote of thanks. Mubarak PD Thrissur, head of Islamic cultural centre UAE, Malayalam unit felicitated Nadoja Padmashree Nissar Ahmed.

Some of the notable personalities who visited the Shanthi Prakashana exhibition are: Gopinatha Rao (story writer, Dubai), Prakash Payyar (President of Dhwani Prathishtana), Ramachandra Hegde (businessman, Dubai), Vinay Naik (Namma T V), Bekal Sugandh Raj (president of Karnataka Sanga, Sharjah), Dayana D' Souza (Konkani writers group, Dubai), Mohammed Ali Uchil (President of Beary welfare Forum , Abu Dhabi), Abdullah Madumule (chief secretary, BWF, Abudhabi), and the members of Saiban business community, Abu Dhabi.

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Comments

Good job

Masha Allah....People should take benefit of these exhibition.

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Suresh Neramballi - an unsung Mangalurean hero in Kuwait

Sushma Bangera

June 4,2020

Kuwait: The Covid-19 pandemic has pushed the whole world into a difficult situation and the situation of Indians in Kuwait is not any different. Many people have lost their jobs, have no salary, are deprived of food and are not able to pay rent. The appalling conditions of labourers, domestic workers, taxi drivers and low waged earners don’t seem to end in Kuwait.

At this trying situation when many people were even afraid of leaving their houses because of coronavirus, Suresh S. Rao Neramballi, volunteer of the Food Kit Distribution at the ICSG (Indian Community Support Group) has helped many tremendously. He was ready to go around delivering food kits at any time possible by his car. However, after Kuwait imposed a full curfew from 11th May 2020, no one could take out their vehicles unless they had a curfew pass.

This did not stop Mr. Suresh Neramballi, who then borrowed a bicycle from a friend and ended up going around in the cycle delivering the food kits in curfew break time (4:30pm to 6:30pm) to all those who registered in the ICSG website. This selfless service surely commands appreciation and applause. Mr. Suresh Neramballi has been a light for many families and bachelors in Kuwait and will surely garner the blessings of them who have been able to eat at this time.

He was also the one who could deliver the food kits to many Indian Muslim maids, bachelors, laborers and families previous day and right on the day of EID, as they were not able to go shopping for their groceries for EID, due to the curfew. They blessed him in EID dua.

Mr. Suresh Neramballi hails from Mangaluru, India and is an Engineer in the Oil sector company in Kuwait. He has been dedicated to social service, achieved 'Aryabhata International Award' for his Kannada Service and Social service, served in many Associations and Distributor of Kannada and Tulu Movies in Kuwait. He wholeheartedly thanks the people and government of Kuwait for his bread and butter.

Comments

May Almighty Allah shower His mescifull blessing on you and your family... Your selfless service will always be remembered,,,

God bless you and your family

God bless you brother and keep you healthy plus happy always. You will be in the prayers of those who receivec your timely regardles they are hindu or muslim or christian. This is a slap on the face of hate mongers who are always trying to divide the socieity in the name of religion. Such people are burden to this world and society. We should clean our society from such dirt and bad people. Well done brother. May God bless you.

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AIE plane crash: Two NRIs in UAE thank God for missing flight at last moment

Agencies

August 8,2020

Dubai, Aug 7: One may call it good luck, but for two Indian expats it was God who prevented them at the last minute from boarding the Air India Express plane that crashed in Kerala, killing at least 18 people on board.

According to India's Civil Aviation Ministry, the Boeing 737 aircraft on a flight from Dubai to Kozhikode overshot the runway at Kozhikode airport on Friday evening. There were 184 passengers including 10 infants, 2 pilots and four cabin crew onboard the aircraft.

Noufal Moin Vetten, an Ajman resident working as an office boy in a Sharjah school, was booked to travel on the flight and had checked in as per schedule.

Recounting his miraculous escape, Vetten, a resident of Malappuram, Thirunavaya, whose visa was cancelled a week ago, told Gulf News: “I was handed my boarding pass, but when I reached immigration, they told me I had to pay a fine of Dh 1,000 (Rs 20,430) for overstay. I had only Dh 500 (Rs10,215) with me.

"I called my school PRO and he told me to come back. He said they would follow protocols and pay the fines before sending me,“ he said.

Vetten was disappointed and called his family to let them know.

“When I heard about the crash, I was saddened for all the passengers. But I'm so relieved I missed it. God has been really merciful,” said Vetten.

Afsal Parrakodan, a resident of Abu Dhabi, had a similar stroke of luck.

“My work visa was cancelled about a week ago. After getting my boarding pass, I was told I had to pay a fine of Dh1,000 at the immigration counter, but I had only Dh500 on me.”

“I was very keen to board the flight and be with my family. So I called a friend who brought me the additional Dh500, but by then, my baggage had been offloaded and the flight's doors were closed,” said Parrakodan.

“I was feeling very sad and called my mother to tell her I had missed the flight. But a few hours later, when I learnt of the crash, I couldn’t help but feel relieved and thankful to God for saving my life,“ said an overwhelmed Parrakodan who plans to fly back next week.

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Kuwait Kannada Koota organizes Daasotsava

Media Release

March 2,2020

Kuwait: State of Karnataka is enriched with Daasa culture, which had contributed immensely to its literature, culture, art & philosophy. Daasa tradition in Karnataka was part of the Bhakti movement which flourished from around 15th century and it extended considerable spiritual influence over the masses. Kuwait Kannada Koota, a socio-cultural association for the people of Karnataka in Kuwait, organized its annual Daasotsava on 14th February 2020 in remembrance of these saints, thereby displaying the rich cultural heritage of the state.

The program started with a warm welcome address by Mrs. Spoorthy Kamath, convener of cultural committee. Divine invocation prayer by Mrs. Vasantha Ashok and Mrs. Sandhya Arun set the trend for the event. This was followed by lighting of the traditional lamp by the 2020 executive committee, comprising of President Mr. Rajesh Vittal, Vice President Mr. Sandeep Chabba, General Secretary Mr. Praveen Kumar Shetty and Treasurer Mr. Pradeep Rao. President, while welcoming the gathering, spoke about the importance of Daasas in Kannada literature & history and briefed about the series of upcoming programs. Cultural programs started with fancy dress competition by Koota children comprising of all age group starting from infants to elder kids. This program stole the show as the efforts & time invested by children and their parents were clearly visible.

2019 executive committee was felicitated by the current committee for wonderfully managing Koota affairs & programs. This was followed by the release of Koota magazine “Marala Mallige", comprising of informative articles, drawings, poems etc., entirely contributed by the association members. Event’s main attraction “Vrindavana Leelavarana", a colorful dance drama spectacularly portrayed by 54 Koota children, was very well appreciated & received by the attendees. Association children who successfully completed 10th and 12th were felicitated as a token of encouragement. Executive committee gave away prizes to Kids who excelled in the stage competitions held earlier. Audience was treated to a divine and melodious Bhajan program conducted astutely by the ladies & men. Koota women performed Bhajan Kolata, along with ladies bhajan, in a well-coordinated manner. Vote of thanks was proposed by the secretary of Koota, thanking those who contributed for the success of the event. Another attraction was a quiz competition “Rasa Prashne", conducted efficiently between the programs, by Mr. Mahesh Shiramgond.

The whole event was planned and executed astutely by the cultural committee under the leadership of Convener, Mrs. Spoorthy Kamath. Public Relations Committee, led by Mrs. Suparna Dambal, welcomed the members in a vibrant & colorful way, showcasing a beautifully erected divine mantap. The event was sponsored by Unimoni, LIC HFL, VSPL, Geetherb, Kotak Life Insurance, Joy Alukkas, Lulu Hypermarket & Total Environment. The program ended with a sumptuous satvik lunch, sponsored by the senior Koota member, Mr. Ramachandran Seetharaman.