Kerala Center Honors Indian Americans at 29th Annual Awards Banquet
Kerala Center officials and Consul Vijayakrishnan with the awardees. Front row, l-r: Dr. George Abraham, Dr. Sabu Varghese, Dr. Blessy Joseph, Dr. Devi Nampiaparampil, dancer Chandrika Kurup, Nandini Nair, Mary Philip and Mayor Robin Elackatt. Back row, l-r: Dr. Thomas Abraham, Dr. Madhu Bhaskaran, Jimmy John, Alex Esthappan, G. Mathai, Consul A.K. Vijayakrishnan, John Paul, James Thottam, Raju Thomas, Abraham Thomas and P.T. Paulose. (photo provided)
India-West Staff Reporter
The Kerala Center’s 29th Annual Awards Banquet honored six outstanding achievers in different categories and two doctors with special awards for their services during the pandemic, held Nov. 13 in Elmont, New York.
The Indian American honorees were: Dr. George M. Abraham, president of the American College of Physicians, for outstanding achievements in Medicine and Professional Services; Dr. Devi Nampiaparampil, a practicing physician, media personality and former Republican nominee for NYC Public Advocate, for notable contributions in Public Service; Chandrika Kurup, director of Noopura Indian Classical Dance School, for contributions and achievements in Performing Arts; Mary Philip, who as a lieutenant in the Indian Defense Force and a past president of the Indian Nurses Association of New York, for notable contributions in Nursing and Community Service; Nandini P. Nair, a partner and co-chair of the Immigration and Naturalization practice group at Greenspoon Marder LLP, for notable services and achievements in Legal Services; as well as Mayor Robin J. Elackatt, Mayor of Missouri City, Texas, for notable achievements in Political Leadership;
Dr. Sabu Varghese and Dr. Blessy Mary Joseph, practicing physicians in New York, were honored with a Special Award for notable services during the pandemic in 2020 and 2021, according to a press release.
George Abraham, who was the keynote speaker, implored the audience members to strive to move forward by including everyone and treating everybody equally. An organization gets much more strength when it becomes a melting pot of people and ideas, he concluded.
Each of the awardees was also presented a citation from the New York state Senate and was presented by Indian American New York state Senator Kevin Thomas.
