Latest news with #Malayalee
New Indian Express
22-05-2025
- Business
- New Indian Express
Sydney World Malayalee Council to enhance global Malayalee interests amid growing Australia–India relations
The World Malayalee Council (WMC) Sydney, a multicultural Malayalee Diaspora community, pledged to work towards the interests of the Global Malayalee community as India and Australia continue to deepen bilateral relations. The newly elected leadership of WMC Sydney stressed the formation and implementation of a comprehensive action plan which reflects the needs of the global Malayalee community and aligns with Kerala's inclusive development. WMC Sydney focuses on helping people from Kerala, especially women, MSMEs and youth entrepreneurs, to seize opportunities in Australia and beyond. The team also plans to conduct exchange programs across different sectors such as Art, Culture, Music, Film and Fashion between the Multicultural Diaspora in Australia and Kerala. The team also plans to offer Skill Development and professional mobility pathway programs to professionals from Kerala and the global Malayalee community to find opportunities in Australia. Bilateral Tourism and Cultural Connects will also be enhanced by facilitating a potential Biennale Bridge between Kerala and Australia. By leveraging a strong support of the Malayalee Diaspora in Australia, the new leadership also intends to support government agencies and industry bodies to enhance trade and investment initiatives between Kerala and Australia. The team also reinforced its aim to support social impact and welfare initiatives with Kerala.
The Hindu
15-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Hindu
Elizabeth Keyton aka Elikutty launches her debut Malayalam picture book for children
For years now, Elizabeth Keyton — popularly known as @ on Instagram — has been using social media to not just learn Malayalam, but teach the language via interactive, creative learning tools. One such tool is her debut picture book, Davina Finds Her Vowels (AdiDev Press), that aims to introduce children to Malayalam vowels. The book, says Eliza (as she is fondly known), was actually created in 2018 when she was living in Dubai. 'My best friend, a Tamil, gave birth to her daughter, Davina. Her husband is Malayalee, but he grew up in Tamil Nadu. As a result, she had a lot of resources to learn Tamil, but I wanted to make something in Malayalam for Davina's first birthday,' says the language expert who currently works with newcomer migrant students in Chicago. Eliza handmade the book, 'drawing my own simple illustrations so that she could explore Kerala through her own eyes'. 'My friend loved it and pushed me to make it into a real book,' she shares. The picture book takes young readers on Davina's journey through Kerala's fields lined with banana trees, local markets, and on buses, with each page teaching a set of vowels. 'I enjoyed setting the scenes. The rhyme and narration was incredibly fun to expand on, and it felt wonderful alongside Kohan Kolam's (the creative name of painter and illustrator Gurmeet Singh) illustrations,' she says. This is Gurmeet's first Malayalam-centric book too, and he says combing through visuals of Kerala's people, local culture, and watching Malayalam movies was done for the book's research. 'Words leave visual impressions, even where words do not describe it explicitly. The impression I had of Davina was of an impish, highly energetic, unself-aware little girl. I tried to convey this through things such as her always unruly hair, frolicking poses, and Elikutty's mischievous expressions,' says Gurmeet, who adds that the process was creatively intense. 'The marketplace design took two weeks just to colour!' Eliza adds that the first version of the book took a month of writing, illustrating, and laminating the pages. 'I'm a language teacher, and I've worked with children for many years, so I had the idea to make the introduction to the alphabet to be fun, engaging, and personalised. I started sending the draft to various publishers in 2020, and it took a lot of persistence and a few good friends to finally connect me with AdiDev. Davina just turned seven, so it's wild to see how the journey to publication is not quite as straightforward as one may imagine,' adds the author. Why did Eliza choose the picture book format for Davina Finds Her Vowels? 'Picture books are wonderful tools to learn language because it opens up the context for children and sets a stage for them to see a relevance in what they are learning. Many parents want their kids to connect with their heritage language, but often fall into less engaging methods of memorisation, repetition, and frustrating corrections,' she says, 'Children are naturally curious and want to explore new ideas, and using picture books guides their imagination and also makes it feel less forced as rote learning.' Hoping the book resonates with children, Eliza has written drafts for future books including all the Malayalam alphabet. 'Each book has a theme related to Kerala, from the biodiversity of the forests of Thrissur, to the snacks and sweets at neighbourhood chaaya shops. In total, there would be about seven or eight books, each focussing on a certain cluster of sounds from the Malayalam language,' Eliza says, adding that she has also completed the draft of a Malayalam coursebook for adult beginners. 'I've structured it to be as engaging and approachable as international texts for learning English, Spanish, etc. I'm hoping that I can get this book to shelves as Malayalam has a lack of updated, engaging materials. I also have free online classes where I use the material I've developed for this coursebook.' Priced at ₹499, Davina Finds Her Vowels is available on
New Indian Express
11-05-2025
- New Indian Express
Student groups in Delhi mobilise support for stranded Malayalis amid Indo-Pak conflict
KOZHIKODE: Student organisations have come together to form evacuation support groups for Malayalee students, tourists, and professionals stranded in northern border states amid the crisis triggered by the Indo-Pak standoff. Organisations such as the SFI and the MSF have begun collecting data on Malayalees currently residing in states like Kashmir, Punjab, Jammu, and Rajasthan to assist with evacuation efforts. The collected information is being shared with the Non-Resident Keralites Affairs (NORKA) department and other state government agencies to coordinate travel and relief measures. MSF has launched a Google form to gather details from Malayalees in the affected regions. So far, around 5,000 people have registered through the form, which collects information on their current location, the number of people in their group, their expected arrival date in Delhi, plans to either stay in the capital or return to Kerala, home districts, and other relevant details. 'Due to safety concerns, people are travelling in groups. Apart from students, there are many tourists and professionals stranded in these states. It's extremely dangerous to travel by road under the present circumstances, and travel options to Kerala are very limited. That's why we need to coordinate efforts to help Malayalees reach safety,' said Muhammed Aslam, a Punjab-based MSF volunteer managing the data collection initiative.
The Hindu
10-05-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
70 Keralite students in border States reach New Delhi: CMO
As many as 70 Malayalee students enrolled in central and State universities in regions bordering Pakistan arrived at the Kerala House in New Delhi on Saturday (May 10, 2025) morning en route to Kerala, according to a press release issued by the office of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan (CMO). According to the CMO, the government will ensure their timely travel to Kerala via air and rail. The Kerala government has set up control rooms with 24/7 helplines to provide assistance and support to Keralites in States bordering Pakistan, amidst the India-Pakistan conflict situation. (The numbers are 0471-2517500/2517600, fax: 0471-2322600, and email:cdmdkerala@ The NORKA Global Contact Centre would offer real-time help (18004253939—toll-free) and a missed call number (009118802012345). The government also established a helpline (01123747079) for Malayalees seeking to return to Kerala. The CMO said the students sought government assistance by ringing or emailing the control rooms at the Kerala House in New Delhi, the Government Secretariat, and the NORKA State headquarters in Thiruvananthapuram. Additional Resident Commissioner, Kerala House, Chethan Kumar Meena, is coordinating the operation. Expedite process: Satheesan In a statement, the Leader of the Opposition said he had sought Mr Vijayan's help to expedite the return of Keralites, including students, 'stranded' in Jammu and Kashmir and Punjab. Mr. Satheesan said at least 240 students from Kerala who signed up for studies in educational institutions in States bordering Pakistan had sought help to return home, given the conflict between the two neighbouring countries. The Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) informed that All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary (Organisation) K.C. Venugopal was in touch with the Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir, Omar Abdullah, to ensure the safety of Keralites. The KPCC said Mr. Venugopal sought Mr Abdullah's help to arrange safe transport for Malayalees. He also wrote a letter to the Railway Board Chairperson to arrange special coaches for Malayalees seeking to return to Kerala from North India, especially in the Mangala Express.
The Hindu
09-05-2025
- Business
- The Hindu
New Kerala is a reality, not a dream, says Pinarayi
Asserting that the vision of a 'New Kerala' is not just a slogan but a tangible reality, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Friday hit back at critics who have alleged that the State is sinking into a debt trap. Inaugurating a Left Democratic Front rally at the Kannur collectorate ground as part of the government's fourth anniversary, the Chief Minister said development figures clearly contradicted the Opposition narrative. 'The gap between public debt and domestic production has narrowed from 36% to 34%. That is the truth,' he said. Mr. Vijayan pointed out that 96.23% of the budgeted funds was spent on project implementation and 110.97% on local development projects, dismissing claims that development schemes were being slashed. He said the State's total income rose from ₹55,000 crore to ₹1.4 lakh crore. 'Would this transformation have happened without the LDF in power?' he asked, highlighting that Kerala braved a series of crises over the past decade, ranging ffrom Nipah and Ockhi to floods and the pandemic, unlike during the tenure of the United Democratic Front government, which facced no comparable challanges. Coming down on the Centre, Mr. Vijayan said the Union government had failed to support Kerala during emergencies and even blocked aid offered by Malayalee expatriates. 'When Narendra Modi was Gujarat's Chief Minister, he accepted foreign assistance. But as Prime Minister, he denied the same to Kerala,' he alleged. He accused the Opposition of backing the Centre, saying that their silence and blame games were attempts to deny Kerala its rightful due.
