Madath Thekkepaattu Vasudevan Nair, popularly known as MT, is an Indian author, screenplay writer and film director. He is a prolific and versatile writer in modern Malayalam literature, and is one of the masters of post-Independence Indian literature. At the age of 20, as a chemistry undergraduate, he won the prize for the best short story in Malayalam at World Short Story Competition conducted by The New York Herald Tribune. His first major novel Naalukettu, written at the age of 23, won the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award in 1958. His other novels include Manju (Mist), Kaalam (Time), Asuravithu and Randamoozham. The deep emotional experiences of his early days have gone into the making of MT's novels. Most of his works are oriented towards the basic Malayalam family structure and culture and many of them were path-breaking in the history of Malayalam literature. His three seminal novels on life in the matriarchal family in Kerala are Naalukettu, Asuravithu, and Kaalam. Randamoozham, which retells the story of the Mahabharatha from the point of view of Bhimasena, is widely credited as his masterpiece.
Major Dhyan Chand was an Indian field hockey player, widely regarded as one of the greatest field hockey players in history. He was known for his extraordinary ball control and goal-scoring feats, in addition to earning three Olympic gold medals, in 1928, 1932 and 1936, during an era where India dominated field hockey. His influence extended beyond these victories, as India won the field hockey event in seven out of eight Olympics from 1928 to 1964.
Kunwar Digvijay Singh, popularly known as "Babu", was an Indian field hockey player. He was born in Barabanki, Uttar Pradesh. He is widely known for his mesmerising passing ability and is considered by many to be the greatest dribbler of the game comparable only to Dhyan Chand.
Thinakkal Padmanabhan, popularly known as T. Padmanabhan, is an Indian short story writer of Malayalam literature. He is a recipient of several awards including the Ezhuthachan Puraskaram, the highest literary award of the Government of Kerala. He declined some of the earlier awards he was selected for which include Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award (1973), Odakkuzhal Award (1995) and Sahitya Akademi Award (1996). Mahatma Gandhi University conferred on him the honoris causa degree of the Doctor of Letters in 2018.
Ashok Kumar is an Indian former professional field hockey player. He is the son of the Indian hockey player Dhyan Chand. Kumar was known for his exceptional skills and ball control. He was a member of the Indian team that won the 1975 World Cup.
The Major Dhyan Chand Award, officially known as Major Dhyan Chand Award for Lifetime Achievement in Sports and Games, is the lifetime achievement sporting honour of the Republic of India. The award is named after hockey wizard Major Dhyan Chand (1905–79), an Indian legendary field hockey player who scored more than 1000 international goals during a career which spanned over 20 years from 1926 to 1948. It is awarded annually by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports. Recipients are selected by a committee constituted by the Ministry and are honoured for their contributions to sport both during their active sporting career and after retirement. As of 2020, the award comprises a statuette, a certificate, ceremonial dress, and a cash prize of ₹10 lakh (US$13,000).
Ram Kumar is a former Indian basketball player and coach of the junior Indian team. He is currently the coach of the Rail Coach Factory, Kapurthala team, and has been a long-standing coach of the Indian Railways men's team. He played for India during 1985 to 1996 and represented the Indian national basketball team at several international championships. He also served as the captain of Indian national basketball team from 1991 to 1995. He played the position of shooting guard. In the National Championships, Ram Kumar represented Indian Railways and during his playing days, Indian Railways won eight Gold, three Silver, and three Bronze medals. Ram Kumar is the son of former basketball player Khushi Ram, an Arjuna awardee and the brother of Ashok Kumar, also an India international player. Considered India's best all-time shooter, he is the 2003 recipient of India's highest sporting honor, the Dhyan Chand Award for lifetime achievement in sports.
Shabbir Ali is an Indian football manager and former player. He was awarded the Dhyan Chand Award, the highest award in Indian sports for lifetime achievement, given by Government of India in 2011. He is the first footballer to be named for the Dhyan Chand Award.
Padmanabhan Balachandran Nair was an Indian writer, playwright, scenarist, director, and actor. He was known for his work in Malayalam literature and Malayalam cinema.
Jeena Palanilkumkalayil Skaria, known as P.S Jeena, is an Indian professional basketball player and practicing Christian who captains the India women's national basketball team. She is the first Indian to play in the Australian A Division Basketball League.
Vazhappilliyil Padmanabhan Nair Sivakumar, commonly identified as V. P. Sivakumar, was an Indian writer and translator, known for bringing in a new sensibility in Malayalam literature through his short stories. Besides four short story anthologies, he published a compilation of satirical articles and translated several works of Jorge Luis Borges and Eugène Ionesco into Malayalam.
Kho-Kho is a 2021 Indian Malayalam-language sports drama film written and directed by Rahul Riji Nair starring Rajisha Vijayan, Mamitha Baiju and produced by First Print Studios. The film received a TRP of 12.7 points during its World Television Premiere, making it the highest ever for a female-centric Malayalam film. The film also entered the list of Top 15 Malayalam films with the highest TRPs at that time.
Fousiya Mampatta was an Indian woman football player, coach, athlete and manager. She is one of the earliest female footballers from Kerala and was the first woman coach from the state. She had a coaching career for more than 17 years. Fousiya is considered as one of the women to promote footballing culture among the women in Kerala and was known as the Ambassador of Football in Malabar. Other than being a footballer and weightlifter, she was also a part of the hockey and volleyball team of Kerala.
Cherukad Award is an annual award given for literary works in Malayalam. The award was instituted in 1978 by Cherukad Smaraka Trust at Perinthalmanna, Kerala, India. It is named after Malayalam playwright, poet, novelist, and political activist Cherukad Govinda Pisharodi. The award comprises ₹25,000 and a citation.
P. Bharathan Nair was an Indian volleyball player and captain of the India national volleyball team. He was part of the Indian team that won a bronze medal at the 1958 Asian Games. As of 2021, He is the only Indian volleyball player to have participated in the World Championship and the Asian Games.
Sreevidya Mullachery a.k.a Sreevidya Nair is an Indian actress, model
Uma Nair is an Indian film and television actress who works predominantly in Malayalam-language soap operas. She has appeared over 70 serials. She is best known for playing the supporting role of Nirmala in Vanambadi.
Iyyamcode Sreedharan is a Malayalam language writer from Kerala, India. He is well known in various fields of literature such as travelogue writer, Aattakkatha writer, playwright, poet and biographer. He received several awards including Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Overall Contributions, Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for travelogue, Kerala Kalamandalam Mukundaraja Award and Kerala Kalamandalam Award for outstanding contribution in the field of literature.
