KOZHIKODE, 10 February 2007 — A three-day conference marking the 29th anniversary of the founding of Markazu Ssaqafati Ssunniyya, an Islamic educational and cultural institution popularly known as Sunni Markaz, began at Karanthur, 14 kilometers from Kozhikode, yesterday.
Thousands of people reached the Markaz Complex in a procession where Syed Fazal Shihab Al-Jifri hoisted the flag.
President M.A. Abdul Qader Musliyar opened the conference while Water Resources Minister N.K. Premachandran delivered the keynote address. Souvenirs and other books published in connection with the conference were distributed at the function. M.P. Veerandrakumar, the Janata Dal (Secular) lawmaker, was the chief guest.
Top political leaders led by Kerala Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan, Overseas Indian Affairs Minister Vayalar Ravi and prominent NRI businessmen will attend different sessions of the conference. Dr. Abdullah Omar Kamel, an eminent scholar and a leading businessman from Jeddah, Shaikh Ali Al-Hashmi from UAE, former federal minister and Janata Dal (Secular) leader C.M. Ibrahim, M.A. Yusuffali of Emke group and Dr. P. Muhammed Ali of the Galfar group will speak at the concluding session tomorrow.
Sheikh Aboobacker Ahmed, secretary-general of the Markaz, said he has plans to start courses in engineering, traditional health sciences, nursing and business administration.
Overseas Affairs Minister Vayalar Ravi will open the conclave of the expatriates today.
Tomorrow, Maulana Mufti Mutheeurrahman will inaugurate an international conference on Muslims which will be presided over by Dr. Ibrahim Rifayi and Sayyid Habeeb Zainul Abideen Ali Al-Jifry from Yemen will deliver the keynote address. Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan will inaugurate a conference on national integration under the chairmanship of Kanthapuram Abu Bakr Ahmed.
Senior Minister Courts Trouble
The Kerala High Court has initiated contempt proceedings against Local Self-Government and Haj Minister Paloli Mohammed Kutty for his alleged observations against the judiciary.
The court said his observations were meant to degrade the court. It also issued notices to four local newspapers, including Madhyamam and Thejas, for publishing the minister’s comments against the judiciary. A division bench headed by acting Chief Justice Radhakrishnan would decide the petition on Thursday. Addressing a function in Kozhikode on Jan. 30, the minister, who was tipped as chief minister by the official faction of the ruling Communist Party of India-Marxist before Achuthanandan staked his claim, allegedly said that “the size of currency sways the verdict in recent days.”
The minister later denied the report and accused the media of misquoting him. He claimed that he was only referring to the huge expenses involved in long litigations and for hiring high-profile lawyers.
Kerala Film Awards
Teenage heartthrob Pritwiraj bagged the award for the best actor beating veterans Mammootty and Mohanlal while mature actor Urvashi humbled teenage stars and walked away with the best female actor award of the state government for 2006, announced by Education and Culture Minister M.A. Baby here yesterday.
M.P. Sukumaran Nair’s Drishtantham is the best film while the award for the best director went to Lenin Rajendran whose Ratrimazha has won a host of awards in different categories. The best film award carries a cash prize of Rs. 140,000 while the best director will receive Rs. 50,000.
Both the commercial and serious films got equal representation when the jury headed by popular director T.K. Rajeev Kumar attempted to strike a delicate balance. The jury noted that ten out of 32 films screened for competition were debut works and that promises a bright future for the Malayalam cinema.
Pritwiraj, son of the late matinee idol Sukumaran, was adjudged the best actor for his performance in Vasthavam. Mammootty (Palunku, Kayyoppu, Karuthapakshikal) and Mohanlal (Keerthichakra, Rasathantram) were close contenders for the coveted prize.
Urvashi, a four-time award winner before taking a break after her marriage with Manoj K. Jayan, bagged the award for her performance in Madhuchandralekha, beating youngsters Meera Jasmine (Rasathanthram, Ratrimazha) and Padmapriya, who had to content with the second best actor award for her performance in Yes, Your Honor and Karuthapakshikal.
Blockbuster Notebook, directed by Roshan Andrews, is the second best film while Lal Jose’s all-time hit Classmates was adjudged the best film providing wholesome entertainment. Classmates also earned James Albert the award for the best storywriter.
The award for a filmmaker’s debut work went to Avira Rebecca for his film Thakarachenda while actor-director Sreenivasan received the special jury award for his protagonist role in the film.
