Kuwait City: Malayala Manorama chief photographer Josekutty Panakkal won the first ever Gafoor Moodadi Memorial Press Photography Award constituted by the Kerala Press Club Kuwait.
The photo titled 'Njgangalundu Oppam (We are with you),' published in Malayala Manorama on June 21, 2022, won Josekutty the award that includes a trophy, certificate and Rs 50,000 cash prize. The award ceremony will be held in January 2023.
The award-winning photo features Maharajas College's B A Malayalam student P K Shadiya being carried by her friend Amal from a hall on the top floor of the college to her class downstairs. Shadiya suffers from cerebral palsy since birth.
After Malayala Manorama published the photo, concerned authorities issued orders to find out how disabled-friendly were Kerala's educational institutions. Shadiya also got support from across the board including offers to travel abroad.
The jury
The photos considered for the Gafoor Moodadi prize were the ones published in Malayalam newspapers and news portals. Gustavo Ferrari, who works for the Associated Press, Time Magazine and New York Times in the Middle East, Khaleej Times senior photographer Shihab Abdul Majeed and renowned photography mentor Bishara Mustafa were the jury members.
Josekutty, who is the only son of Joseph and Cicily of the Panackal family from Pannimattam in Thodupuzha, has been working in various units of Malayala Manorama as a staff photographer for the past 21 years. His works have appeared in the Limca Book of Records and Unique Book of World Records through digital news photo archiving. He has also won more than 40 photography awards. Dr Sindhu George, assistant professor at the Federal Institute of Science and Technology (FISAT), is his wife. He has two children, Inika and Edrik.
