The All India Gem and Jewellery Domestic Council (GJC) felicitated Malabar Gold and Diamonds on being selected as the 6th largest jewellery group in the world, taking the Indian brand to the world stage.
M P Ahammed, chairman, Malabar Group, O Asher, managing director – India Operations, Malabar Gold & Diamonds and A K Nishad, director, B2B and Manufacturing (India), Malabar Gold & Diamonds received the award from the Ashish Pethe, chairman, GJC in presence of Saiyam Mehra, vice chairman, GJC, Nilesh Sobhawat and Sunil Podar, directors, GJC at an event held in Mumbai.
source: http://www.daijiworld.com / DaijiWorld.com / Home> Karnataka / by Media Release (headline edited) / September 27th, 2022
The idea for creating the app came to Hana while watching a documentary about the importance of the parent-child relationship.
Abu Dhabi:
A 9-year-old Dubai-based Indian girl who developed an iOS app receives appreciation from Apple CEO Tim Cook for her achievement at such a young age.
Hana Muhammad Rafeeq had initially emailed Tim Cook claiming to be the youngest iOS developer.
In his reply, Tim Cook wrote to her “Congratulations on all of your impressive achievements at such a young age. Keep at it and you will do amazing things in the future.”
Hana Muhammad Rafeeq, when she was 8-year-old developed ‘Hanas’— storytelling app, which allows parents to record stories in their voices for their kids, Hana handwrote more than 10,000 lines of code.
The idea for creating the app came to Hana while watching a documentary about the importance of the parent-child relationship. “If the parents are busy with work, they can record the stories so that the children can listen to them before bed,” Hana told Gulf News.
source: youtube.com / Hanas iOS Mobile App preview
Hana and her 10-year-old sister Leena are both self-taught coders who got inspired by their parents.
As per reports, sisters are now experts in coding languages HTML, CSS, C, C++, Swift and the latest SwiftUI. They are also learning human languages English, Spanish German, Arabic, Hindi and Malayalam.
source: http://www.siasat.com / The Siasat Daily / Home> News> Middle East / by Sakina Fatima / September 24th, 2022
Kakkore Village (Malappuram District) KERALA / Doha, QATAR :
Abdul Kareem with his calligraphy art. | Picture by Lulu Ahsana
A graphic designer by profession, Abdul Kareem, who is popularly known as Kareemgrahy, left his job at an American company in Qatar last month to pursue his passion for calligraphy.
Kerala:
When tea-seller Abdurahman from Kerala bought a calligraphic painting from a Sufi saint to his home one day in the early 1980s, he hadn’t imagined that his six-year-old son Abdul Kareem will make calligraphy his profession. The painting had Arabic verses written in the shape of a person offering the Islamic prayer.
“That image was inscribed in my heart,” said Abdul Kareem, 44, a popular calligrapher from Kerala, popularly known as Kareemgraphy. Originally hailing from the Kakkove village in Malappuram district in Kerala, Kareem presently lives in Qatar with his wife and three children.
A graphic designer by profession, Kareem left his job at an American company in Qatar last month to pursue his passion for calligraphy.
Love for calligraphy art was imbibed in Kareem from his childhood. Recalling an incident during his Madrasa days, Kareem said when his teacher wrote some Arabic words on the board, he was moved and could see “the beauty in how the words were written and shaped.”
In 1996, Kareem had to drop out of his course at the School of Arts in Kerala due to financial constraints. He was 18. This, however, didn’t deter him from pursuing his passion. He started work as a painter of hoardings and a few years later, he moved to Saudi Arabia to earn a living, where eventually he became a graphic designer.
“The beautiful symmetrical patterns on the Roudha Shareef (where the Prophet (PBUH) is buried), and the calligraphy on the pillars and walls there influenced me a lot,” said Kareem about the city of Madina, one of the holiest cities of Islam.
Kareem said he wanted to devote all his focus to calligraphy and left his job to pursue it.
“Calligraphy has been my passion for more than 20 years, but I took to serious learning and experimentation only five years ago and left my job to pursue this dream,” he said.
Kareem credits his teachers for instilling a passion for knowledge in him and his success. “All those who give ilm (knowledge) in my journey are my ustaads (teachers),” he said.
Calligraphy art has different forms and styles. Kareem follows the contemporary style.
“Art and rule are combined in traditional calligraphy. But in contemporary art, it is freedom. I do calligraphy on things and ideas that people in my locality can relate to. As an artist, I am trying to blend different styles, without conforming to any specific script or style,” he said.
Abdul Kareem’s portrayal of a student during the Hijab row in Karnataka | Picture: Abdul Kareem Facebook
As his fame grew in the last five years, Kareem started conducting calligraphy workshops in India, UAE, Qatar, and Turkey. On August 10 this year, he attended the All India Calligraphy Akshar Mahotsav organised by the Calligraphy Foundation of India in New Delhi. He has also won a few awards for his work, including the Youth Icon Award-Doha (2017) and the Youth Signature Award (2021).
Last year, Kareem founded a centre for calligraphy in Kozhikode called the KagrArt. Its logo was launched online by famous French-Tunisian calligraffiti artist ElSeed. “I want to popularise this art. It is more important than being famous. There should be a physical space for artists to meet and interact,” he said.
KagrArt was founded by Abdul Kareem last year as a centre for calligraphy art. | Picture by Lulu Ahsana
In addition to his calligraphy works, KagrArt displays art pieces like lanterns, carpets, calligraphy and images from different countries.
In one of the programmes held at KagrArt last month, Kareem talked about his visit to Uzbekistan and his love for travelling.
“Instead of calling it a trip to Turkey or Uzbekistan, we can call it going to different people, and seeing things that they built and wrote in the past,” he said.
Kareem’s dream is to build a bridge through his art between different religions, peoples and countries, between traditional and contemporary calligraphies, between Arabic and Malayalam calligraphies, and between old and new generations.
“I want to work on a serious theme in future which would fill the minds of people with hope, and which would give the message that no one should run away from anywhere and that people can be where they are,” he added.
Kareem’s wife Fasija said that “calligraphy is more than just a passion for him.” She credits his “hard work and dedication for the success he has achieved.”
Najiya O is an independent journalist from Kerala. She tweets at @najiyao
source: http://www.twocircles.net / TwoCircles.net / Home> Lead Story / by Najiya O, TwoCirlces.net / August 18th, 2022
CP Rizwan moved to the UAE in 2014 after not getting a Ranji Trophy game. Will be special if we get to play against India, he says.
From not being able to get a game for his state in the Ranji Trophy to leading a national team, Rizwan’s cricketing fortunes have changed for the better.
CP Rizwan’s cricket career didn’t really take off and the electrical engineer from Kerala, like many from his state, migrated to the gulf after landing a job in Sharjah.
Eight years later, the 34-year-old has made it big – on the field. On Thursday, the Emirates Cricket Board named Rizwan the skipper for the Asia Cup qualifiers. If Rizwan’s United Arab Emirates (UAE) win the qualifiers, they will be in the same group as heavyweights India and Pakistan.
“It will definitely be special if we qualify and get to play against India. But we just want to focus on one step at a time,” Rizwan told The Indian Express The UAE, Kuwait, Hong Kong and Singapore will be fighting for the one spot available in the group stage.
From not being able to get a game for his state in the Ranji Trophy to leading a national team, Rizwan’s cricketing fortunes have changed for the better.
Rizwan, leg-spinner turned batsman, hails from Thalassery, a cricket hub with a history that dates back to the British Raj. He made a name for himself in age-group cricket and represented Kerala in U-19 and U-23 levels. He also toured South Africa with a Kerala team that included the likes of Sanju Samson. But he could not progress further because he took a break from the sport to complete his engineering degree. He tried to make a comeback after completing his studies but was not able to replicate his age-group success at the senior level. He was named in the Ranji Trophy squad but remained on the bench.
Migrating to the UAE for a job also gave Rizwan’s cricket career a new lease of life, and it has reached new heights now. On Sunday, he walked out to lead the UAE against Kuwait in their first qualifier game.
Last year, Rizwan scored his first international century (109) in an ODI against Ireland when the team was under pressure at 51 for 3. He added 184 runs for the fourth wicket along with Muhammad Usman. The two centurions helped the UAE chase down 270 with six wickets in hand and an over to spare.
“I am happy and honoured to lead the UAE national team. We have been doing well in T20 tournaments. Our players play a lot of T20 games here in the domestic circuit also. But having said that, we have to execute the skills in the right way on the given day,” Rizwan said.
In former India all-rounder Robin Singh, the UAE have an experienced coach to guide their newly-appointed skipper.
“We have been working really hard under coach Robin Singh. He is a person with a great work ethic and that quality has rubbed on to the players also. We have been training well and hopefully, everything will fall into place,” Rizwan, who has played 29 ODIs and seven T20Is for UAE, said.
The electrical engineer, who graduated from Cochin University of Science and Technology, had an opportunity to return home when he got a job with the postal department but he decided against moving back.
His performances in the domestic matches in UAE for teams like Yogi Group, Bukhatir XI and Interface, eventually opened the doors to the UAE national team. After fulfilling the requirement of residing in the UAE for four years, Rizwan made his debut for his adopted country in an ODI against Nepal in January 2019.
“Yes, it could be said that my decision (to stay in the UAE) has been vindicated. I just want to say thanks to all the coaches, friends, family and relatives and the almighty who helped me in this journey,” said Rizwan.
Biju George, the former India women’s fielding coach, has seen Rizwan from his under-23 days for Kerala.
“Rizwan is a fully dedicated player. He is a confident and street-smart player, I think, he can be an asset to the UAE team as their captain,” George said.
The UAE opted for split captaincy and Ahmed Raza, who was the captain in all formats, now leads the team in ODIs.
source: http://www.indianexpress.com / The Indian Express / Home> Sports> Cricket / by Narayanan S, Kochi / August 22nd, 2022
