The Hafeez Karamath Journalism Fellowship prize

Published in Trinidad Guardian and Yatra, the in-house magazine of the Indian High Commission, Trinidad(the October edition)
By Joan Ramsingh

The winner of the Hafeez Karamath Fellowship Prize was announced and the launch of a travelogue by the inaugural winner of the Fellowship took place on the evening of 26th September at Hyatt Regency Hotel, in Port of Spain, The second edition of the Fellowship prize was won by Indian born journalist Snéha M.Hazarika who has spent some time in Trinidad and Tobago. The Fellowship, established in 2010, was instituted for print media and mid career journalists. Those from the fraternity working in India and Trinidad and Tobago were encouraged to apply for the bi-annual US 1500 dollar award. The Fellowship's second edition topic was under the broad umbrella of 'Socio-Economic changes in Trinidad and Tobago.'

A brain child of the late Hafeez Karamath, the founder of the Hafeez Karamath group of companies, the fellowship was created in “an effort to expand and promote the unique cultural ethos of Trinidad and Tobago throughout the globe”. It was formally established and inaugurated during tenure-ship of the current MD and Chairman of the group, Yashmid Karamath.

Snéha who has been writing since her school days has spent time with the print, web and electronic media in India. She has written about entertainment and lifestyle for leading Indian dailies such as Mumbai Mirror, DNA, Hindustan Times, The Telegraph, The Statesman, The Asian Age, Deccan Chronicle, Deccan Herald and TV channels such as Set Max, Zoom, Star Plus, Sabe TV in Mumbai, as well as websites based out of India and USA. In her acceptance speech, she talked about how Trinidad & Tobago has many assets such as energy, natural resources and natural beauty, to make it possible for the gem of a nation to be a first world country. She plans to spread the message through various newspapers in different parts of India as well as Trinidad and compile the feature stories and news stories together in a book which will be released in the next prize function.
Herbert Volney (Member of Parliament, Ex-Justice Minister), local Media personalities and veteran journalists, John Victor and Cleavon Raphael, Tewari Tota Maharaj of DESALCOTT, the largest desalination plant in Western Hemisphere, John Thompson (GM-DESALCOTT), Dr. Bruce Paddington (the founder/director of the Trinidad &Tobago Film Festival), graced and spoke at the event. Also, Fusion Musician/Sitar Maestro Mangal Patasar and his team entertained the audience with yet another excellent performance.

The event also saw the launch of 'Touching the Trinity - A travelogue of Trinidad and Tobago", by 2010's winner Manoj Barpujari who is a senior journalist/writer/author, based out of Assam, India. Barpujari is also an accomplished poet in Assamese language, having won the prestigious Munin Borkotoky Literary Award in 2003 for a collection of his poetry. He has published 10 books till date. His total experience in journalism spans over 26 years and he is currently the assistant editor of the Assamese daily Dainik Agradoot.

Barpujari has been the winner of the Golden Lotus for film criticism at the National Film Awards in 2011. He is also a member of FIPRESCI, the international federation of film critics and he has served as juror at various film festivals worldwide, including the recently concluded T&T film festival. He invested two weeks studying the unique patterns of the twin-island nation, subsequent to his Fellowship win in 2010. The travelogue gives his world view and literary perception, mixed with an unmistakable introspective vision, apart from an unforgettable travelling experience in Trinidad and Tobago, making it a cherished experience.