Latest news with #CalicutUniversity
Time of India
2 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
Who was Issac Paul Olakkengil, the Indian engineer who died in scuba diving incident in Dubai
Issac Paul Olakkengil was a skilled civil engineer specializing in Building Information Modelling, working in the UAE since 2019 Issac Paul Olakkengil, a 29-year-old civil engineer from Kerala, India, died after suffering a cardiac arrest during a scuba diving training session at Dubai's Jumeirah Beach on Friday, June 6. The tragic incident unfolded while Issac was on vacation with his wife and younger brother, partaking in the Eid Al Adha holidays. The news of his untimely death has sent shockwaves through the Indian expatriate community in the UAE, where Issac had built a thriving professional life. A life built on precision, passion, and progress Issac hailed from Naduvilangadi in Thrissur, Kerala. A driven and accomplished engineer, he specialized in Building Information Modelling (BIM), a sophisticated digital process essential in modern construction. After completing a Bachelor's degree in Civil Engineering from Calicut University in 2016, he steadily climbed the professional ladder. He first gained experience in India, including a stint with Indian Railways, before moving to the UAE in 2019. There, he worked with prominent firms such as Omnix International, Aspen Creations, and most recently as a BIM Coordinator at PNC Architects in Dubai, a role he held since May 2022. Issac's expertise spanned tools like Revit Architecture, Navisworks, AutoCAD, and Enscape, and he was certified in BIM Technology and BIM Coordination. He was fluent in English, Hindi, and Malayalam, and his colleagues and peers admired his methodical nature and professional diligence. A family of engineers, bound by love and shared ambitions Engineering ran in the family. Issac's wife, Reshma Olakkengil, is also an engineer based in Dubai. His younger brother, Ivin Olakkengil, lives and works as an engineer in Abu Dhabi. The three shared a close bond, not only familial but also intellectual and professional. All three were part of the same scuba diving training session at Jumeirah Beach when the incident occurred. According to David Pyarilos, Issac's uncle, who is currently supporting the family with legal procedures and the repatriation of the body to India, 'It seems they were getting trained for scuba diving, and apparently, he [Issac] couldn't breathe properly and moved away from the pack.' 'So, everyone panicked and was impacted underwater. I was told Reshma was rescued to the shore first, followed by the other two,' Mr Pyarilos told the press. Issac was rushed to the hospital, but despite resuscitation efforts, he could not be saved. His brother Ivin collapsed upon reaching the hospital, overwhelmed by the event. He was placed under observation and later declared out of danger. Mr Pyarilos added, 'Ivin's friends just told me they are concerned about breaking this heart-wrenching news to him, as the brothers shared a strong bond.' According to Khaleej Times, Ivin was only informed of his brother's death on Saturday, June 7. An ongoing investigation Dubai police have since launched an investigation into the incident. Authorities have seized the scuba diving equipment used during the session for analysis, as part of standard safety and procedural checks. The training was conducted in a designated diving area at Jumeirah Beach, popular among beginners and tourists. The family is now focused on completing the necessary legal formalities for the repatriation of Issac's body to India, a process being handled with the assistance of Mr Pyarilos. The UAE's Indian community, especially in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, has expressed condolences, remembering Issac as a hardworking, soft-spoken professional who had earned respect in his field and among his peers. While the incident has been reported widely, it is the story of the man behind the headlines, a committed husband, brother, and engineer, that resonates most.
Deccan Herald
03-06-2025
- Politics
- Deccan Herald
Nilambur bypoll: LDF's M Swaraj declares assets worth Rs 63 lakh in affidavit
The CPI(M) leader, a 2004 law graduate who completed his MA Sociology from Annamalai University in 2007 and MA Malayalam from Calicut University in 2024, is facing a criminal case in connection with a march held towards the residence of then state education minister in 2014.
Time of India
13-05-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Calicut University cancels talk on Kashmir
Kozhikode: Calicut University (CU) has barred the conduct of a talk by Syeda Saiyidain Hameed on the topic ' Kashmiriyat and Hyper-Majoritarianism ' to be organized by the university's EMS Chair for Marxian Studies and Research on to university sources, vice chancellor Prof P Raveendran, who is the chairman of the EMS Chair, was not informed of the conduct of the seminar beforehand. On getting information regarding the same, Raveendran summoned the file and issued directions denying permission for the varsity authorities barred the programme saying that it should be avoided in the current situation prevailing in the country."The poster of the programme has the slogan 'Stop Killing in Kashmir' which is very misleading. The country is going through a particular situation and holding such a programme at this juncture is not appropriate," a top CU official Saiyidain Hameed is a Padma Shri awardee and a former member of Planning Commission and a rights activist.
The Hindu
04-05-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
Bukhari Knowledge fest concludes
The fifth edition of the Bukhari Knowledge Festival concluded on the Bukhari campus at Kondotty on Sunday (May 4). The festival saw talks and discussions of different nature in areas such as science, society, language, literature, religion, culture, homeland and international relations. Four venues were arranged with themes like soil, wheel, letter, and word. Students used various natural materials to build stages, gateways, book fair stalls, registration counters and guest lounges. Syed Iqbal Hasnain, former Vice-Chancellor of Calicut University, inaugurated the festival. Historian Husain Randathani presided over the function. The fest witnessed 80 sessions on different subjects. Haris Beeran, MP, Islamic scholar Kodampuzha Bava Musliar, Leader of Opposition V.D. Satheesan, Madin Academy chairman Syed Ibrahim Khaleel Bukhari, scholars Ponmala Abdul Khadir Musliar, Perodu Abdurahman Saqafi, Abbas Panakkal, student union and political leaders like P.K. Navas, K.P. Noushadali, Jamsheedali and Rafeek Ibrahim, and Haj Committee chairman Husain Saqafi Chullikode were among those who led different sessions.
New Indian Express
03-05-2025
- General
- New Indian Express
'The finest kind of intellectual companion': MGS Narayanan was a teacher like no other
MGS—the three-letter name of a towering figure—was, for me, a dream-come-true friend, philosopher and guide. MGS Narayanan was a teacher markedly different from my other, more conventional instructors. He preferred vibrant discussions over delivering ready-made lectures, particularly in contrast to his brilliant, rhetoric-driven contemporary at Calicut University, MP Sreekumaran Nair (MPS). Yet they were poles apart. A single question during a lecture could derail MPS; somewhat irritated after reluctantly answering, he would caution, 'It is good to have questions, but please ask after the class.' To the best of my knowledge, none ventured further. In contrast, even a simple—or seemingly foolish—question posed to MGS at the outset of his 'teaching' would set a thousand ships sailing. The conversation would flow into unexpected and intellectually rich directions, often leaving one marveling at the breadth of his mind. MGS was my teacher through much of the early 1980s, almost for a decade. Like many others, I spent countless hours with him—at the department, in the canteen, and at his home—discussing everything under the sun. We would often share cigarettes or beedis, which he rarely bought for himself! He was the finest kind of intellectual companion: never assertive, always willing to take the other side—not to prevail, but to deepen and sharpen the dialogue. Immensely affectionate, he pushed his students and friends with the quiet conviction that we were learning together. His affection extended beyond the classroom or his supervision of my M Phil and Ph D. When my wife and I moved into a bare, rented house near the campus, he quietly supplied a cot, a table and two chairs—offerings that spoke volumes of their care. I offer my deepest condolences to Premi-chechi, Viju, and little Vini—barely two when I first met MGS—who kept his household humming with her affection. We, his students and colleagues, celebrated not only his formidable intellect but the warmth of his cynicism, his boundless 'cosmic' imagination, and the dignified anarchy of his spirit. I still smile at memories of him missing trains to seminars, content in his own unhurried rhythm of life. Yet, alas, he changed as time passed—or perhaps the world around him imposed those changes. It is a phase I still find difficult to fully comprehend. I witnessed him becoming entangled in politics and positions—or at least playing with them—realms in which he had previously shown little interest. I refuse to be judgmental, nor do I possess any definitive understanding of these shifts, except to say that they were painful to witness—and, for some of us, to endure. Perhaps only time will reveal how such transformations occur in the lives of scholars from whom we once learned the imperative to remain upright, regardless of circumstance. Towards his later years, I had the opportunity to visit him again and to engage in open discussions about his shifting academic positions. He remained gentle, if less argumentative, even when difficult questions were posed about his altered stances in response to temporal exigencies. Whatever else may have changed, the memory of the MGS we knew—his vastness of heart and mind—remains indelible. It will stay with us. (P J Cherian is Ex Director, Kerala Council for Historical Research & presently Director, PAMA Centre for transdisciplinary archaeological studies)
