WMV Publisher Gopala Pillai among 8 honoured by US Kerala cultural body

THE Indian American Kerala Cultural and Civic Center honoured eight Indian Americans with Excellence Awards for their outstanding accomplishments in their respective fields of specialization and contributions to society, during the 31st Annual Awards Banquet held on October 28, 2023, in Elmont, New York. 

The prestigious awards ceremony was attended by nearly 200 people from across the US and Canada, including several elected officials and community and business leaders.

This year’s honorees were: Dr. Shyam Kottilil (Baltimore, MD) – Life Time Achievement Award; Gopala Pillai (Dallas, Texas) – Community Service; Sajeeb Koya (Pickering, Ontario, Canada) – Entrepreneurship; Dr. Anna George (Long Island, NY) – Nursing; Shelby Kutty (Baltimore, MD) – Medicine; Ajay Ghosh (Trumbull, CT) – Media and Journalism; Lata Menon (Mississauga, Ontario, Canada) – Legal Services; and Jayant Kamicheril (Reading, PA) – Pravasi Malayalam Literature. 
“Kerala Center is very happy to honor American Malayalees who excel in their professions and who work for social progress — their examples should be an inspiration for others,” said Dr. Madhu Bhaskaran, Chairman of the Board of Directors. Dr. Bhaskaran, who is also the Award Committee Chairman, introduced the other members of the Awards Committee, including Dr. Thomas Abraham, Daisy P. Stephen and Varkey Abraham.

Inaugurated in 1993, past awardees of the Kerala Center include, US Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal, Dr. Shashi Tharoor, NY State Senator Kevin Thomas, Missouri City Mayor Robin Elackatt, American College of Physicians President Dr. George Abraham, Venture Capitalist Sreedhar Menon, Shanti Bhavan Founder Dr. Abraham George and Prof. P. Somasundaran of Columbia University.

Dr. Shyam Kottilil – Life Time Achievement Award

Dr. Shyam Kottilil is a world-renowned virologist and immunologist who has made pivotal contributions in the field of Hepatitis and HIV. He is currently the Interim Director of the Institute of Human Virology in Baltimore, MD, the first and foremost Virology Institute in the world. 

Dr. Kottilil has had an illustrious career with over 350 major publications, as well as awards and accolades from premier societies in Medicine, Infectious Diseases, Hepatology and the National Institutes of Health.

Gopala Pillai –Community Service

Gopala Pillai has served as the President and Board Member of several cultural organizations in Texas and Detroit, and has been with the World Malayalee Council from1995 as its Secretary, President and Chairman. 

Through these organizations, he has been able to provide many services for the good of society. His work reflects his unwavering commitment to both the local community in the US and the betterment of the less privileged in Kerala. He has degrees in Economics, Journalism and Computer Science, pursuing a successful career in Information Technology in the US since 1975.

Sajeeb Koya – Entrepreneurship

Sajeeb Koya, a North American Malayali, is the man behind the LED Façade lighting that lights up Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world. 

Sajeeb and his team are proud to be part of this project which owns 2 Guinness World Records. His company 3S International Inc., which has its headquarters at Pickering (Ontario, Canada), has executed numerous vibrant Architectural and Media Façade LED projects all over the world. 

People just see lights as utilitarian, whereas Sajeeb sees a multitude of colors, shades, and movements, and blends the beauty of light with technology.

Sajeeb Koya hailing from Trivandrum, is an Electrical Engineer who graduated in 1987 from CET Trivandrum. He has held key positions with several Multi Nationals before starting his own business in Canada in 2001. 

Dr. Anna George – for Nursing

Dr. Anna George is the current President of the Indian Nurses Association of New York (INANY). She is a nurse, a nurse practitioner, human rights advocate, and a social activist. She works at Molloy University as an Associate Professor, teaching the Nurse Practitioner Track and as a Nurse Practitioner at Northwell Health.
Dr. Shelby Kutty – Medicine

Dr. Shelby Kutty is a physician-scientist and academic leader, serving as the Helen B. Taussig endowed professor and director of pediatric and congenital cardiology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. He also chairs the analytic intelligence program at Johns Hopkins. 

One of the world’s preeminent experts on multimodality cardiovascular imaging with over 400 peer-reviewed publications, Dr. Kutty is passionate about patient outcomes and evidence-based assessment of new technologies.

Lata Menon, Esq. – Legal Services

An accomplished Barrister and Solicitor and active community member, Lata Menon has become a recognized name in the legal community in Ontario, besides Maharashtra, Karnataka and Kerala, where she practised as a lawyer before immigrating to Canada. 

In addition to her professional activities as a lawyer, Lata devotes her time to the community at large and has become an active supporter and champion of women’s equality and rights. 

She is actively engaged in several social and community programs in her capacity as the Founder, Board Member, Secretary, Legal Advisor and many other positions. 
As a professional, Lata has touched the lives of several of her clients who came to her in distress when faced with family discord, domestic violence, abuse and family disputes.

She has influenced many of her clients to pull their lives together and persevere in the face of adversity. Lata’s achievements and success make her a true leader, mentor, formidable force, influence, and inspiration to many.

Jayant Kamicheril – Pravasi Malayalam Literature

Jayant Kamicheril is a recipient of the Kerala Sahithya Academy Award in 2022 for his book “Oru Kumarakom Karantay Kuruthamketta Likhithangal”. He won the LANA Award in 2019 for his book: Kumarakathu Oru Pesaha. 
His essays and stories in English and Malayalam have been published in N. America and India. He lives in Reading, PA.

Ajay Ghosh – Media and Journalism

Ajay Ghosh is the Chief Editor and co-publisher of The Universal News Network (www. theunn.com ), an online publication, launched in 2012, focusing on possibility-oriented storytelling that fuels hope and sparks innovative ideas and actions; seeking to lead discussions, creating, disseminating, and using news and information that serves us all, and providing a platform for diverse voices, forms and continually engaging everyone.

Ajay graduated with a Master’s Degree in Journalism from Marquette University , Milwaukee, WI, in 1998.  Prior to coming to the United States, Ajay was the Chief Editor of The Voice Delhi and contributed articles to several national publications in India.

FOUNDER and former WMC Chairman and NY Kerala Center President Andrew Pappachen and wife seen with Gopala Pillai and Santha Pillai.