Speeding traffic at Kuthiran Sastha Temple Trichur Palghat highway

Speeding traffic at Kuthiran Sastha Temple Trichur Palghat highway

Sharanam sharanam bhagavane ayyappa devotional song by Nandakumar Perumpilavil

Sharanam sharanam bhagavane ayyappa devotional song by Nandakumar Perumpilavil

Krishna bhajan by Soumya Rathish

Krishna bhajan by Soumya Rathish

Padmashri Peruvanam Kuttan Marar perforIming at ISCC Abu Dhabi for Keraleeyam 2011

Padmashri Peruvanam Kuttan Marar perforIming at ISCC Abu Dhabi for Keraleeyam 2011

Ramayanam recital at Thodur Sri Narasimhaswami Temple

Ramayanam recital at Thodur Sri Narasimhaswami Temple

Asianet TV Munch Star Singer Junior Winner 2011 - who is the real winner?

Asianet TV Munch Star Singer Junior Winner 2011 -  who is the real winner?

I consider myself as very lucky to have watched the final of Asianet TV Munch Star Singer Junior Winner 2011 yesterday, 14th August 2011, which turned out to be a REALity show in REAL.

What made the final interesting to me and blessed is the speech by Mr. Jagathy Srikumar. He was opportunistic and at his witty and pointed best to hit at several facts and factors involved in the reality show scenario happening these days.

The way he talked may be found unacceptable to many, but facts are facts. Even, the person he attacked on stage openly, the talented Ranjini Haridas, acknowledged herself, "yes I asked for it" at the end of his speech.

But, what made more real in this reality show of its kind making it extremely special was the appeal by the winner Adarsh, to have his father united with his mother, who both living separate currently. The union of both of them were more important for this boy than the 50 lakhs worth of flat he just received!.  Children are precious and those who are involved in such painful parting only will realize the pain involved. His appeal was made such in a way that it left several questions towards children of his status and those who were involved and tried or not to create a similar situation.

It also proved that we should never judge people by appearance as well as never judge or humiliate any contestant by mocking him / her.

Jagathi Srikumar was opportunistic and open to say the real truth. Congratulations to you sir and for talking the facts boldly and openly. Oru aana madham pottan thayyarayittulla oru avastha thankalil avide akshamanaayi irikkumbol kandirunnu. athu ingane aanu pottuka ennu maathram arinjilla. Actually, Jagathy Sirkumar should have been the one to give the winners prize. Jayaram and Jagathi were sitting next to next as if they were not known to each other.

May god bless all the talented artists who participated in the show, who aim for such prizes in the future. Who is the winner here? – Adarsh, other contestants, Jagathy (who took opportunity to vent his feelings), Ranjini Haridas (who took it in a sportive way and carried over – hope she innovate her style and come out with more better presentation techniques)?

Hope Ranjini Haridas now learn it in the right sense and Nazrin do not get carried away learning from her. Whether the speech was required or not required is not the question here? End of the day it was an eye opener to many. It became a real REALITY SHOW, with the appeal from Adarsh to his father to unite. The pain of a child of 16 years even after winning a 50 lakhs worth flat - he is longing for his parental union and love. Blessings and regards to all those contestants - You all are winners.

Ramesh Menon
15.08.2011

Independence day thoughts and wishes of a non-resident indian

Dear Friends,

A sincere wish to all of you on this happy day.

While we celebrate Independence Day festivities in our own small way at our community, how much more we can contribute as a community to the society around is the question in my mind.

In my own small way, I have been pursuing two items with interest with various government authorities and append them below here for your reading, information and further support:

Pedestrian overbridge at Kadugodi Railway / Bus Station area

This is an item for all those who use the railway and bus stations. I had noticed it during my visits and Bala Sirs email prompted me to post it with relevance in Praja.in and highlight it to the authorities concerned, including the Councillor and Railway authorities. They are now aware of the situation, but as you may know it is a bigger problems, and several hands have to be united to take it further. South Western Railway have come back saying that crossing the railway track is a trespassing activity, however, including their own staff have to use this option for easy access. Otherwise, they have to take the road bridge and a longer route of almost 2-3 kms to reach the station or the medical / shopping /educational facilities around in our side.

http://praja.in/en/blog/ramesh-menon/2011/07/07/need-pedestrian-overbridge-kadugodi-railway-bus-station-area

If anyone of you concur the need for an over bridge in that area, please do post your comments and words of support, as I have highlighted the above post and link to various authorities, social activists and press, who will take it up further in the coming days. Need your support and helping hands in this.

A Star on the Road Programme

We have been seeing numerous auto stations coming up in our area recently.

In April 2011, during my visit, I developed a medical emergency on the way to KR Puram in an auto and was helped, supported and assisted throughout by the driver, whom I hired from in front of our gate. I met him previous day, and finding his driving and conduct good, I had taken down his number and contact and had called him that morning to go to KR Puram. He was there throughout the time till I became OK, with me and my wife, and till the time other friends came with emergency support. I was impressed with his responsible act and conduct during the time of an emergency.

I took this up with Bangalore City Traffic Police, with whom I had been communicating on various traffic related issues. The thought of identifying and honouring him and similar public servants came up and I suggested to have a programme named “A Star On The Road”. 

In the process we had several communications, verifications going back and forth, considering the main scenario that in Bangalore, an auto can be driven by several persons and if an auto was driven by a good driver and it is given a honour, that same night, it could be driven by someone who is dangerous and can indulge in a dangerous activity. So, discussions on pros and cons of this citation were taking place till this time.

I am happy to inform you all that Bangalore City Police have come back today that they will consider this suggestion and programme further and will consider him and other such drivers, acts for this rewarding programme, which will be launched shortly.  It is also intended to cover several road safety aspects and values. I hope this programme will bring positive vibes into driving habits happening in our city.

The first one to benefit will be the auto guy from our area, whose conduct has been checked and verified by them already.

I believe, I am never away from my community at any point of time.

Due regards to all of you and do spare a few minutes for our community for collective benefits for all of us as individuals and as a society.

Jai Hind.

Ramesh Menon

15.08.2011

Obey Traffic Rules

Request for Pedestrian overbridge at Kadugodi Railway / Bus Station area

Request to Railway authorities to consider a pedestrian over bridge / BMTC to extend the Volvo Buses to the other side of the new Over Bridge / and to provide more electric lighting at Kadugodi Railway Station area.

With the arrival of the over bridge facility at Kadugodi/Whitefield area residents are now facing a new problem. Public travelling from and to Kadugodi bus station are facing insurmountable difficulties. Most of the time, one or two goods trains are parked across the railway gate, fencing the entry gate from Kadugodi end. In addition, digging of drain is restricting people crossing over. To add more there is absolutely no light and complete darkness prevail at night. All these make public to risk their life and property while crossing the railway gate to reach either side.



Problem is greater for women carrying children, old/handicapped/sick people and those carrying luggage.



The Kadugodi Bus station is very convenient to all and majority of the public who uses it live on the other side of the bus station. Everyone will agree that it is impractical for pedestrians to cross over by using the fly over, which has become dangerous even for motorists due to darkness and displaced road dividers.



Could the Railway authorities kindly consider addressing this issue affecting a large population who depend on this route by providing a foot over bridge.



Secondly, could BMTC extend the bus routes, more particularly volvos, to the other side of the railway gate. There are several buildings and residential complexes coming up on this side and both BMTC (by way of added revenue) and public (by safe and convenient transport option) could benefit from this move.



I humbly request the authorities along with the Corporator and Legislator/ MP ofKadugodi area to consider the following items (request) and make this development made available as early as possible.:



Request to Railway authorities to consider a pedestrian over bridge / BMTC to extend the Volvo Buses to the other side of the new Over Bridge / and to provide more electric lighting at Kadugodi Railway Station area.



I hope those who are from Kadugodi area will feel the necessity for an immediate requirement of this and support this request.



Sincere regards,



Ramesh Menon

7 July 2011

Working around the clock - Bangalore Traffic Police

Say No To Bribe - it is Cancerous

For a safe community

A group of security staff on their morning routine in a gated community.

Ticking Clock - Short Take - Gulf Today - 04.06.2011

Ticking Clock - Short Take - Gulf Today - 04.06.2011

Ticking clock


The other day I was watching a football match. The digital clock was flashing the time left for a crucial match, which was extended due to scores level till the full time.

Suddenly a thought came to my mind, how these players control their emotions and play out those final few minutes. The ticking clock was also visible to them as well as the viewers from all over the world. There was no display of panic or show of unwanted aggression. I wish some of our cricket players watch these matches and learn a trick or two for preserving the stamina and controlling it for a final go at their goal.

We come across several situations in life similar to this scenario where we are left with the final few moments of tackling a critical action and helpless to react not knowing what to do ahead. This brings us to the summarisation that follows and criticism in plenty as an aftermath of such a decisive event.

All of us are good at commenting what should have and not have done when it was happening in real. The advent of electronic media has opened up unlimited opportunities to observe and develop our skills and thinking pattern.

But, going out there and performing is a different ball game. Imagine the mindset of a player at that particular situation with the external heat, the match tempo and the target requirements. His mind has to be focused on his ultimate goal, i.e. the victory of his team.

For this he has to have a concentrated effort to break his goal into short-term and long-term goals. First set of short-term goals will be to settle down and get the feel of the ground and blend him to the tempo going on. Then work towards the larger goal of winning the game for his team. It is here his knowledge and perseverance to stay on without wasting energy for expressing unwanted emotion. This is where he wins his battle over the micro-seconds in case of a football match or the reducing no of balls to no of runs required target.

I listened to another captain who lost the other day and said, “In some matches, we win, but today we got an opportunity to learn.”

Isn’t it a good way to look at the future at all times.

Ramesh Menon

To read it in original, please visit GULF TODAY online.

Birds - back home after a day's work - Khaleej Times Readers Picture Dt. 28.05.2011

Birds - back home after a day's work - Khaleej Times Readers Picture Dt. 28.05.2011

I am a Passionate Photographer and observe always for any precious moments I could capture in my camera. This is one such precious click, captured and thought I should definitely share with a wider audience and here it is in Khaleej Times readers picture section.

If you have a photo to share, do send it openspace@khaleejtimes.com

Wired thoughts - Short Take - Gulf Today - Dt. 28.05.2011

Wired thoughts - Short Take - Gulf Today - Dt. 28.05.2011

I use Face Book for communicating with my friends and also to share photographs and articles. This online facility has given me many friends, some of whom have become very close.

However, at times I get scared by the pace at which these things grow in the modern world and man become e-slaves of them. Interesting is it to see updates now and then from friends with the comment, updated from my Iphone, from my BlackBerry, IPad etc. I smile seeing them, here goes one more wicket down to the magic of e-life. I also smile when I see people suggesting to create a FB account for their pets.

We are indeed in a fast paced world. This was proved in a different way the other day.

One of my colleagues had a baby boy. He and his wife are employed and within a week’s time of delivery, his wife had to go for an important project meeting abroad.

With no other alternative, he had to feed the baby using bottles.

My friend tells me now that his wife is back from work, but his baby refuses to be breast-fed.

I am closely following this child now and curious to know when he gets his hands on to the electronic world.

Ramesh Menon

To read it in original, please visit GULF TODAY online.

Girls outshine the boys in CBSE Grade 12 exam results

As the Indian education board, the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), announced the results of grade 12 exams Monday, the wait is on to find out who is this year’s topper



Dubai: As the Indian education board, Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), announced the results of grade 12 exams on Monday morning, the wait is on to find out who this year’s topper is.




The results of exams held in March were declared across the country Monday except for Patna region.



According to a statement issued by CBSE, the total pass percentage among students is 81.71 per cent.



In all, 770,043 students appeared for the exam in India and abroad. The percentage marks an increase of 1.84 per cent from last year, officials said.



As it has always been for this exam, girls outshined the boys this year, too, with 86.93 per cent pass rate as compared to boys at 77.83 per cent.



The results are available online at www.results.nic.in ; www.cbseresults.nic.in ; www.cbse.nic.in.



With tension mounting among students, since these marks are deciding factors for their university admissions, the board has introduced a toll-free helpline 1800 11 7002 for students in India.



Meanwhile, the CBSE grade 10 results are expected to be announced later this week.



UAE results received by Gulf News so far are as follows:



1. Delhi Private School, Dubai

A total of 63 students appeared for the exam, all of who passed with first class. In the Science stream the topper is Vrinda Bhandula with 92.2 per cent and the second position in Science stream was secured by Varun Chandrashekar, Gurjyot S. Nanda and Ayushi D. Joshipura with 91.8 per cent. In the Commerce stream the topper is Karan Shenoy with 91.6per cent and the second position in Commerce stream was secured by Divya Shanmugam with 88.2 per cent.



2. Our Own English High School, Fujairah

A total of 45 students appeared for the exam. 75.5 per cent of the pupils scored an aggregate of more than 75 per cent. Ivana Rakshit topped the Science stream with an overall score of 93.8 per cent. Liyah Mariam Suresh came second with the score of 93.4 per cent and Annapureddy Sanjana Reddy came third with 92.8 per cent. In the Commerce Stream Zaira Sohail Saif came first with an overall score of 88.8 per cent and Sumitha Panikaveetil Shaji came second with 85.8 per cent. Jaicy Varghese Mathew came third with 85.6 per cent.



3. Our Own High School, Al Warqa

In all, 212 boys appeared for the exam, 85 in the Science stream and 127 in the Commerce stream. A total of 16.5 per cent of the students secured aggregate marks of 90% and above. A total of 86.3 per cent of the students secured aggregate marks of 60 per cent and above. The topper in the Science stream is Kevin C. Sebastian with 96.4 per cent. The topper in the Commerce stream is Tushar Benyani with 95.2 per cent.



4. Our Own English High School, Al Ain

Out of 25 students who had appeared for the examination all 25 the students passed in first division (60 per cent and above). The school topper in Science stream is Ammu Joshy with an aggregate of 95 per cent and secured A1 grade in all subjects followed by Fatma Talib Kapadia with 90.2 per cent. The Commerce topper is Toyeba Tabasum with 82.6 per cent.



5. Our Own English High School, Dubai

A total of 267 students appeared for the exam. In the Science stream, Athulya Santhosh Kumar came first securing 97.6 per cent. In Commerce stream, Pooja Surana secured the top slot with 94 per cent aggregate. In Humanities stream, Diksha Narendra Laungani secured highest with 95.4 per cent.



6. Indian Public High School, RAK

Out of 23 students from Science Stream, 13 bagged Distinction and 9 secured First Class. In Science, Bhatia Priyanka Ajay topped the list with 93 per cent and in Commerce stream, Andrea Michelle Roche topped with 89.8 per cent.



7. Our Own Indian School, Dubai

In Science stream, Hari Krishnan topped with 93.6 per cent in commerce stream, the first position was bagged by Lakshmi Sreekumar with 95.2 per cent.



8. Indian School, Al Ain

In the Science stream, 46 students appeared out of which 18 students have scored above 80 per cent and 27 of them have got above 75 per cent. Eshani Dutta came first with 95.6 per cent and Dulceyana John with 94.2 per cent is second. Shayher Banu with 92.6 per cent is third. In the Commerce stream, 45 students appeared out of which 13 of them have scored above 80per cent while 19 of them have got above 75 per cent. Binuja Mariam John came first with 90.0 per cent Nisha Sasidharan and Rumana Hafiz Abdullah are second with 89.6 per cent while Raina Rebeiro is third with 87 per cent.



9. Millenium School

The science stream was topped by Jacob Tandupurecal with a percentage of 94.4per cent. Ranjith Tamil Selvan was placed second with 94per cent and Aswathy Ajith was third with 93.4per cent.The commerce stream was topped by Karan Jain with an overall percentage of 93.8per cent. Raeshma Miriam Mathew, was Second with 93per cent and Raveena Srikant Gullapalli was third with 89.4per cent. Out of the 62 students who appeared, 11per cent have scored above 90 per cent and 77per cent students scored over 70per cent. The pass percentage is a 100per cent.



10. Our Own English High School, Sharjah (Boys branch)

In the Science Stream, the average aggregate percentage is 79.4per cent and in the Commerce Stream it is 73.8 per cent. The school average is 76.98 per cent. The topper in the Science Stream is Mohammad Sharoon with 94.6 per cent followed by Sidharth Mudgal Sunil Kumar with 93.4 per cent and in the third place is Abraham K Jacob with 92.8 per cent. The topper in the Commerce Stream is Ashley Chris D’Souza with an aggregate of 89.2 per cent followed by Mohammad Tabish with 85.8 per cent and in the third place is Shaun George Philip with 85.6 per cent. Out of 100 students who took the Board Exam, 7 per cent secured an average of above 90per cent. Some 12 per cent have scored between 85 per cent and 90 per cent. Some 99 per cent have scored more than 60 per cent.



11. Indian School, Ras Al Khaimah

A total of 87 students had appeared for the exam, 46 were in Science Stream and 41 in Commerce Stream. Some 49 students secured Distinction, 28 students got First Class. Sai Deepika with 95.6 per cent topped the science stream and Pooja Prasad topped the commerce stream with 92.2 per cent.



12. Delhi Private School, Sharjah

The top positions were secured by the girls of the school. Gaurangi Saxena topped the school as well as the Science stream with 96.2 per cent followed by Shailee Kothari with 95.6 per cent. Sherika Antao topped the Commerce stream with 92.4 per cent followed by Faisal Pakkali with 90.8 per cent.



13. Abu Dhabi Indian School

Akhilesh Mohan topped the Science stream with 98 per cent, Sarthak Basak came second with 97.6 per cent and Arthi Prabhu came third with 96.4 per cent. In the commerce stream, Laveen Nankhani came first with 96.4 per cent, Priyanka Pradeep came second with 96 per cent and Vishruth Namdev Phadte came third with 94 per cent. 117 boys and 115 girls appeared for the exam, out of which 88 boys and 94 girls scored distinction.



14. Gulf Model School

The school topper in the science stream is Ziyad Abdul Hameed with 86 per cent. Remith Raveendran came second with 83 per cent and Deepthi Ganesh Babu third with 82.26 per cent. Tany Mariya John, 82.4 per cent, Abhijith Rajeevan Pillai, 81.2 per cent, and Asha Latha, 77.8 per cent, secured the top three positions in commerce stream. 61 students appeared for the exam.



15. Our Own Indian School, Dubai

The top position in the Science Stream was clinched by Hari Krishnan with 93.6 per cent. Rachel Ferrao came second with 93.4 per cent and Divya Joy came third with 93 per cent. In the commerce stream, Lakshmi Sreekumar came first with 95.2 per cent. Aswathy Mohanakrishnan came second with 93.4 per cent and Hanna Michael third with 93 per cent.



16. St Josephs School, Abu Dhabi

A total of 66 students sat for the exam – 31 from science stream and 35 from commerce.81 per cent of the science students and 66 per cent of the commerce students secured distinction while the rest secured first division. Syeda Sheema Hussaini came first in science stream with 94.8 per cent, Sincy Ann Saji second with 94.6 per cent and Ann Candice Fernandez third with 94.2 per cent. In the commerce stream, Rhea Mary Mathew came first with 95.2 per cent, Priya Serah Cherian second with 95 per cent and Shona Meria Jacob third with 92 per cent.



17. Asian International Private school, Ruwais

Zoheb Backer topped in the science stream with 94.8 per cent. Second place Fathima Arshad with 94.6 per cent, and third Roshin Mathew Cyriac with 94.4 per cent.



18. Indian High School, Dubai

A total of 451 students sat for the exam, out of which 102 students secured above 90 per cent and 174 above 80 per cent. In the Science stream, Den Senora D’Mello and Shweta Sharma topped with 97.6 per cent. Reshma Ramachandran came second with 96 per cent and Matild Reema and Abhishek Gupta came third with 95.8 per cent.



In the commerce stream, Prabhu Srikala Irivail and Mamta Mehra topped with 96.2 per cent. Nupur Changrani came second with 95.8 per cent and Aastha Kumar third with 95.6 per cent. In the humanities stream, Kalyani Vijayan topped with 95.6 per cent, while Neha Moopen came second scoring 86.6 per cent and Ruqiya Mohammed Riaz third with 84 per cent.



19. New Indian Model School, Sharjah

A total of 54 students appeared for the exam. The top rank in Science Stream was achieved by Shaik Bushra who secured 90 per cent marks while Arun Chris Sebastian came second with 88.6 per cent. Merina Abraham came third with 87.6 per cent. In the Commerce Stream, Rumaila Abdulla secured first with 89.4 per cent.



20. Sharjah Indian School

One hundred and eighty-three girls and 154 boys appeared for the exam. The topper in the science stream is Nigel Varghese Sailesh with 95.2 per cent. Greeshma Somanath came second with 94.6 per cent and Anju Rachel Thomas third with 94.4 per cent. In the commerce stream, Nimmy Mayam Joseph came first with 88.4 per cent. Saleem Haseena Khan came second with 86.4 per cent and Reetu Yadav second with 86 per cent.



21. Sunrise English Private School, Abu Dhabi

In the science stream, Silpa Baburajan came first with 96.2 per cent. Swathi Netaji and Nikhil Selvaraj came second and third with 95.8 per cent and 95.6 per cent. In the commerce stream, Rohit Suresh came first wit h94.2 per cent, Rashida Abdu Rahman second with 92.2 per cent and Sheryl Mary Sabu third with 90.8 per cent.



22. New Indian Model School, Dubai

One hundred and fifteen students appeared for the exam- 55 in Science and 60 in Commerce. Suraj Sunil Kumar stood first in the school in Science with 95 per cent marks. Second position went to Agzin Abdul Assiz (92.5 per cent) and third position went to Mufeeda Abdul Rahman with 92 per cent. In the Commerce Stream, Shahana Humayoon Thoosikannan came first with 93.6 per cent. Sana Sadiya Sadiq came second with 92 per cent and Ameena Noordheen came third with 91.6 per cent.



23. Emirates English Speaking School

Thirty-one students appeared for the exam – 13 studetns scored distinction and 10 scored first division. P. Vimal Raj topped the science stream with 91 per cent while Sadaf Suleman secured second. In the commerce stream, Jyoti Pradeep Kumar secured 85.8 per cent and Ajay Bhatia came second with 84.2 per cent.



24. Gulf Indian High School, Dubai

In the science stream, Mishkatul Noor topped with 91 per cent and Manjit Singh topped in the commerce stream also with 91 per cent.



25. Our Own English High School, Sharjah (girls branch)

In the science stream, Venessa Roshni Tauro came first with 96 per cent. Maria Yusuf Lakkadwala came second with 95.4 per cent, and Lindsa Elizabeth Chacko third with 95 per cent. In the commerce stream, Jovita Castelino came first with 93 per cent. Varsha Varghese came second with 92.6 per cent and Rochelle Cristle Pereira and Shanthi Subramanian came third with 92 per cent. All the students got first class and 78.7 per cent obtained distinction.



26. Indian Islahi Islamic School, Abu Dhabi

In all, 111 students appeared for the exam – 54 in science stream and 57 in commerce. In the science stream, Aysha Shana topped with 92.8 per cent. Shameena Abdul Saleem came second with 92.4 per cent and Rashid Ahmed Khan came third with 92.2 per cent. In the commerce stream, Mohamed Iflal Maryam topped with 91.6 per cent. Raseena Ahmed came second with 88 per cent and Shafiq Ummer came third with 87.2 per cent.



27. Central School, Dubai

In the science stream, the topper is Tariq Abdul Hamid Mulla with 89.4 per cent and the second is Aatika with 88 per cent. In the commerce stream, the topper is Saniya Naz with 89.2 per cent.



28. Darul Huda Islamic School, Al Ain

Twenty-eight students each appeared for the exam from the science and commerce streams. In the science stream, Rukiya Hanan topped the science stream with 89.8 per cent. Jameela Pazhaya Pattilath and Asma Vadayil came second with 88.6 per cent while Sulaiman came third with 87.2 per cent. In the commerce stream, Fathima Kamruddin topped with 86 per cent. Kadeeja and Fathima Abdulla came second and third scoring 84.2 per cent and 81.8 per cent.



29. Gulf Asian English School, Sharjah

Out of 82 students, who appeared for the examination, 66 percent were placed in the first division out of which 32 percent secured distinction. In the science stream, Umme Shaila topped with 92 per cent. Rabab Abbas came second scoring 89.5 per cent and Ahmed Suhail came third scoring 86 per cent. In the commerce stream, Shaheen Sultana topped scoring 90 per cent, Jassim Ahmed came second with 86 per cent and Sameeha came third with 85 per cent.



30. Indian School, Ajman

In the science stream, of the 17 students who appeared for the exam, 14 secured distinction and 3 secured first division. Ramya Mohandas topped the school securing 93 per cent followed by Rajdeep Kaur who secured 92.2 per cent while Thushara K. Valsan (91.2 per cent) came third. Satish Kumar Parshotam topped the Commerce Stream with 85.4 per cent followed by Gineesh Babu Govindan who secured 79.4 per cent. Nithin Manoharan V. V. stood third scoring 76.2 per cent.



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I wish to be anonymous. Do not publish my name with my comment. I have read and agreed to the gulfnews.com terms and conditions of use. Post Comment Added 18:12 May 23, 2011

thankyou for the updated post. Congratulations to all the students who passed.

Anonymous, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates

Added 16:07 May 23, 2011

Thank you for the updated post

Joseph Mathew, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Added 14:25 May 23, 2011

Thank you for the updated post and very comprehensive indeed. Please continue to update this link with results from the schools in Abu Dhabi and other Emirates. Congratulations to all the students who passed.


Ramesh Menon, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

To read it in original, please visit GULF NEWS online.

Trolley Trouble - Short Take - Dt. 21.05.2011

Trolley Trouble - Short Take - Dt. 21.05.2011



Trolley trouble


A friend of mine returned from holiday recently and during his short stay in Mumbai, he happened to visit a new shopping mall.

Walking inside with the mall, his son of 2 years got restless. Seeing this, he was offered a trolley by one of the junior shop attendants to place the boy on the trolley.

My friend was very happy and continued his walk inside the mall. As he was on a casual visit, his trolley was empty. A few yards further he was stopped by a supervisor, who questioned him and asked him why he was using the trolley to carry his child.

In an angry tone, he asked him to take the baby out from the trolley and carry him on his own and told him that the trolley was not meant for this purpose.

Surprised by this remark, my friend pointed out at the junior attendant and told the supervisor that he was offered this kind gesture by one of his junior staff when his son started crying.

He continued to him, “Seeing your actions I feel the duty role should have been reversed.”

He returned the trolley and moved out of the mall instantly. Another instance of who is walking tall and short? A simple act of kindness by one junior staff became an unpardonable crime for his senior.

Ramesh Menon

To read it in original, please visit GULF TODAY online.

Property plans lack credibility - The National Dt. 20.05.2011

Property plans lack credibility

Some property exhibitions held in the UAE by foreign developers lack credibility. They typically promise completion within four years and buyers will be asked to start paying for their property.

However, some buyers from the UAE have been cheated with no delivery on time or of the promised quality. In some cases, the property does not even belong to the builder. For that reason, UAE authorities should come up with measures to monitor property exhibitions.

Developers or their representatives who participate should be required to submit necessary documents and a letter of reassurance, which should be approved by authorities. These guarantees should be provided to prospective buyers at the location of the exhibition.

I hope such regulations will help avoid fraud in the property sector which has affected many customers from the UAE.

RM, Abu Dhabi

To read it in original, please visit THE NATIONAL online.

The art of letter writing - Friday Magazine Dt. 20.05.2011

Sharjah City for Humanitarian Services felicitates Sponsors and Volunteers from The Fourth Used Book Festival

Sharjah City for Humanitarian Services Organized a Ceremony for Sponsors and Volunteers from The Fourth Used Book Festival

His Excellency Humaid Mohammad Al Qutami, Minister of Education, praised Sheikh Dr. Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, Member of the United Arab Emirates Supreme Council and Ruler of Sharjah Emirate, endless efforts to sustain the cultural movement in Sharjah and encouraging the habit of reading.

He also praised the principles and values of the Fourth Used Book Festival, which was organized by Sharjah City for Humanitarian Services (SCHS), a non-profit organization located in the United Arab Emirates that aims at providing inclusion, advocacy, and empowerment for people with disabilities under the General Directorship of Sheikha Jameela bint Mohammed Al Qasimi, in march.

The festival was a good opportunity to spread knowledge among people by exchanging used books. It also emphasized the importance of voluntarily work for youth.

H.E. Humaid Mohammad Al Qutami claimed after the honoring of sponsors and volunteers in a ceremony on Wednesday, May 18th “We are blessed with the great care and attention of Sheikh Dr. Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, Member of the United Arab Emirates Supreme Council and Ruler of the Sharjah Emirate, who has been supporting cultural movements in Sharjah for years. Words cannot describe our feelings when we witness His Excellency Sheikh Sultan take care of each and every little detail that concerns our lives. Nevertheless, This orientation of spreading information and endorsing books has become our responsibility as well. Certainly, this event which was entitled “Treasure of Knowledge” represents so many concepts and values for students and public citizens. Notably, the number of exhibited books and participants has increased enormously in comparison with previous years”. To conclude the speech, Mr. Humaid highly appreciated the nonprofit efforts of SCHS, who is a pioneer in providing inclusion, advocacy, and empowerment for people with disabilities. He also thanked participants and volunteers for dedicating their time and effort to support SCHS’s work.

The Minister of Education was the guest of honor in this ceremony which took place in the Sharjah Chamber of Commerce and Industry auditorium in Al Mamzar area. Khalfan Al Shair, a Student in Al Wafaa School for Developmental Training, presented a bouquet of roses for H.E. Humaid Moh’d Al Qutami on arrival. The ceremony then began with the national anthem of United Arab Emirates followed by a blessed recitation from the Holy Quran by Noojod Abdel Rahman, also a student from Al Wafaa School for Developmental Training. Mrs. Mona Abdel Kareem, a member of the committee to attract public and private schools to participate in the Fourth Used Book Festival, gave a speech on behalf of SCHS in which she emphasized the importance of the cooperation which led to a successful event.

Organizers, participants, and volunteers were honored to share responsibility for carrying out the cultural event with a great amount of dedication and hard work. The event had many cultural and humanitarian dimensions that allows to gathering of people from different disciplines and goals to come together for an important humanitarian event. Emphasizing the value of books, encouraging the habit of reading, endorsing the concept of voluntarily, and creating an efficient way to raise funds to support SCHS’s nonprofit services, were among the festival’s prime objectives. Volunteers have the greatest role in reaching these goals; they managed to increase the number of exhibited books and participating organizations. Revenues were beyond expectations. A special thanks to those who contributed to the organization of this honoring ceremony, especially the Minister of Education Mr. Humaid Moh’d Al Qutami and to SCHS’s partners who were Sharjah Educational Zone, Youth Centers, and Sharjah Municipality.

To conclude her speech, Mrs. Mona Abdel Kareem stated that “We thank the Minister of Education who has been always there for us. With his great heart and good intentions, he has become another advocate for culture and knowledge. His efforts correspond to Sheikh Dr. Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi’s, Member of the United Arab Emirates Supreme Council and Ruler of the Emirate of Sharjah, vision of a modern civilized community.

Participants and volunteers are motivated to do more for society’s advancement by such initiatives. They will work hard in order to make coming events as successful as the previous ones.

Mr. Said Salim El Kabi, Head of Sharjah Educational Zone, then gave a speech on behalf of SCHS’s partners in which he said “I am proud to represent the Fourth Used Book Festival’s sponsors in this ceremony. Certainly, we all heard about such cultural events in foreign and Arab countries, but today we see it as a reality in our country. The credit goes to SCHS who has proven to be a giving humanitarian organization. SCHS has never ceased to amaze us with distinguished projects such as this one. It is a serious attempt to enrich the knowledge of United Arab Emirates citizens and plant the concept of voluntarily work in the mind of youngsters. I thank Sheikha Jameela bint Mohammed Al Qasimi, Vice President of the Sharjah Family Supreme Council and Director General of SCHS, who has a great dedication and loyalty to humanitarian services. We promise to stand next to you in the long path of community development“. To conclude the speech, he thanked his colleagues at Sharjah Educational Zone who are always seeking the best for the community. A short Film about the festival then was put on display. The videotape was filmed by Youth Centers. Finally, the Minister of Education honored sponsors, volunteers, and participating organizations such as public and private schools. A number of schools were rewarded for distinguished contributions such as Khaled bin Mohammed School, Ajman Special School, and others. The student Khalfan Soliman presented a gift to the Minister of Education in a touching gesture of appreciation. The gift was made by SCHS’s Vocational Rehabilitation & Training Department students. The Minister of Education also received a present from the University of Sharjah, which presented another gifts to Mr. Jihad Abdel Qader, Head of SCHS’s Financial Department. Mr. Nasair Draweesh, who was in charge of the Pricing and Classification Committee, presented the ceremony’s program.

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Tall and short - Short Take - Gulf Today Dt. 14.05.2011

Short Take - Tall and short - Gulf Today Dt. 14.05.2011

We come across several people on the road and business and pass through several interactions. Many of them pass away from our mind quickly. But, a few of them remain within us. It is one such chance listening to an interesting conversation that lead to the creation of this news item.

It was Ramadan time with short working hours and as usual all the bank counters were busy with customers.

I was standing in the line at one such counter and in front of me was a tall person. He was about 6ft 4” or more. And at the other side of the counter was a Philippino Teller, comparatively short with a height of approximately 5 ft.

Due to some reason, he was slow and added to it the computer system was responding slow too. May be, in order to ease the restlessness of the customer in front due to all the delay, the Teller opened up a casual conversation with the tall customer telling him that he envied his height and always wanted to be a tall person.

Answering him with a smile, the tall man replied: “It is the other way for me. I wanted to be shorter than what I am and really helpless about it each time.”

His answer once again created a spark of thoughts for me to work on a new subject. Walking tall and short in life!

What do we really assume by saying a person is tall or short? How many times we stand tall and short in our life?

Ramesh Menon

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