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Dubai-based Indian bizman turns to Facebook to seek long lost Lankan kin

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Dubai-based Indian bizman turns to Facebook to seek long lost Lankan kin

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]-By Zenifer Khaleel

KH Wahabuddin (67) hopes he can find closure to his late mother’s case of lifelong suffering following her alleged abduction at the age of seven

DUBAI: A Dubai resident has turned to the social media to find his long lost relatives from Sri Lanka so he can “find closure” to the case of his late mother who, he alleges, was “kidnapped” at the age of seven.

Indian businessman KH Wahabuddin, 67, claimed his mother Sauda Ummal was brought to Kerala in India by her grandfather from her Sri Lankan home, unknown to anyone else in the family, in 1914 when she was just seven years old. “She was subsequently married off, although she became estranged from my father later,” he said.

Wahabuddin said, “My mother led a life of seclusion and depression due to her circumstances and didn’t quite recover till her death in 1984. I have long been trying to trace some relatives in Sri Lanka so I could ascertain the facts. A recent story of a Sudanese brother and Indian sister reuniting through the social media rekindled my hopes. So I asked my daughter Harida to put up a Facebook post about my mother’s story. If we get any leads, it will help provide closure to a case of lifelong suffering.”

Wahabuddin said his great-grandfather Syed Mohammad, who hailed from a small village called Edava in Kerala, migrated to Galle in Sri Lanka around 150 years ago. He married a Sinhalese woman and they had seven sons and a daughter.

He said his mother Sauda was the only child of Mohammad’s daughter. But she became orphaned some years later, following which she lived under the guardianship of her uncles.

Precious to the family

Meanwhile Mohammad had returned to Edava where his family kept insisting he bring back his grand daughter Sauda. According to Wahabuddin, Edava followed Marumakkathaayam, a system of inheritance in which descent is traced by females. “Under these circumstances, my mother Sauda was precious to the family. So my great grandfather (Mohammad) travelled to Galle and kidnapped her when she was returning to one of her uncle’s houses from school. She was too young to react or know what was going on,” he alleged. “From what my mother has told me, her uncles in Galle believed she had gone missing but gave up searching for her with time. Little did they know she was in a new country.”

Wahabuddin said Sauda was later married off to a man of the family’s choice. “But she was not allowed to join her husband (my father) when he went to Singapore or stay with him even after he returned to Kerala . In the Marumakkathaayam system, a man who gets married lives in the girl’s house rather than the other way round, so the family tradition is carried forward by the girl. But my mother’s case was different. My father eventually remarried and moved on with his new family.”

Wahabuddin said, “My mother’s troubled childhood and subsequent developments took a huge toll on her health. She suffered from epilepsy and was a quiet, withdrawn woman who often seemed to be in a trance. She died in 1984.”

Wahabuddin’s son Dr Shaji said his father had been looking for his Sri Lankan relatives ever since he could remember. “My dad came to Dubai in 1978. Ever since, he has been asking every Sri Lankan he meets if they are from Galle. With the tsunami of 2004, his dreams of finding his relatives were shattered as almost half of Galle was destroyed.”

Now after many years, the family’s hopes have been revived thanks to the social media.

Wahabuddin’s daughter Harida posted her grandmom’s story on Facebook on her father’s request on September 3. She said the post has already received several shares and she is being asked to join Facebook community forums in Sri Lanka. “People have told me I resemble my grandma. Hopefully, some relative back in Sri Lanka will also see the resemblance and help us connect the dots.”

(This article has been taken from a syndicated feed by Gulf News)[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

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World Earth Day 2024: Google Doodle showcases aerial view of planet’s natural beauty

Google celebrated Earth Day 2024 with a special doodle featuring an aerial view of our planet’s biodiversity.

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Google shared a doodle today to celebrate World Earth Day 2024, which showcased aerial photos of the planet’s biodiversity and natural beauty. Google reminded us of the importance of protecting planet earth for future generations with the help of this doodle.

The Google letters depict specific locations across the globe where people, communities, and governments work every day to help protect the planet’s natural beauty, biodiversity, and resources, according to the explanation of the annual Earth Day 2024 doodle on their website.

It said, these examples remind us that there’s much more to do to address the climate crisis and biodiversity loss, but also offer the promise of hope and optimism.

The islands of Turks and Caicos are represented by the letter “G.” The islands’ conservation efforts are concentrated on protecting important regions for biodiversity and addressing persistent environmental problems.

The largest reef in the southern Gulf of Mexico and a UNESCO biosphere reserve, Scorpion Reef National Park, is represented by the letter “O” in the Mexican flag.

The letter “O” features Iceland’s Vatnajokull National Park, which was designated as a national park in 2008 following decades of advocacy. The ecology within and surrounding the biggest glacier in Europe is safeguarded by this UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The letter “G” has the Jau National Park in Brazil on it. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the biggest forest reserves in South America.

The Great Green Wall of Nigeria is represented by the letter “L,”  and the Pilbara Islands Nature Reserves of Australia are represented by the letter “E.”

Meanwhile, Earth Day is a worldwide event that promotes protection of the environment every year. April 22 serves as a reminder of the importance of conservation efforts and sustainable practices to guarantee a healthier world and a brighter future.

The occasion inspires people across the world to come together and take action to protect the environment, strengthening our bonds with nature and promoting good change.

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Bigg Boss 14 contestant Rahul Vaidya struggles walking in knee deep water, compares Dubai rains with Mumbai floods

Singer and TV personality Rahul Vaidya was recently stranded in the Dubai rains.

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Rahul Vaidya, who was in Dubai ahead of his show which was scheduled to take place today, left the country due to heavy rains and reached Kolkata. The artist shared on social media his encounters in the UAE city, including challenges like walking through knee-deep water. Rahul provided an update regarding the heavy rainfall in Dubai on his Instagram profile.

The Bigg Boss 14 contestant revealed that he was in Kolkata and prepared to do an evening performance. Recalling the terrifying period he went through, Vaidya said there was a lot of confusion and panic in Dubai. The situation was similar to that when heavy floods hit Mumbai in 2005.

Vaiday also posted seval other images and videos of cars that were underwater and flooded roadways. The Bigg Boss 14 contestant, who shared his ordeal, claimed that even though it had just rained for two hours, the situation was dire.

In one of the video, which went viral he can be seen struggling in walking in knee-deep water. He can be also seen holding his sneakers in one hand and with other hand he was seen managing other things.

This is the result of the two hours of rain that it had, he can be heard saying in the video. Vidya also said he dosen’t believe Dubai is accustomed to a lot of rain. Everything had stopped working, he remarked.

After taking part in the first season of the singing reality show Indian Idol, Rahul Vaidya gained widespread recognition. In addition to Bigg Boss, he took part in Khatron Ke Khiladi 11.

Meanwhile, heavy rains that triggered flooding in the UAE and Bahrain, which left 18 people dead in Oman on Sunday and Monday, have paralyzed the financial hub of the Middle East, Dubai.

A lot of incoming flights were diverted from Dubai’s international airport because of the rain. At 7:26 p.m., the busiest airport in the world for foreign visitors stopped accepting new arrivals; a gradual resumption was announced for more than two hours later.

Images of planes navigating flooded tarmacs are making the rounds on social media.

According to pictures shared on social media, the flagship malls Dubai Mall and Mall of the Emirates both experienced heavy floods, while at least one Dubai Metro station had water up to the ankles.

There were several road collapses, severe flooding in residential areas, and numerous reports of leaks from windows, doors, and roofs.

Due to the unfavourable weather, schools around the United Arab Emirates were forced to close, and as more storms are predicted, the closures are anticipated to last until Wednesday. The government of Dubai allowed its staff to work remotely till this Wednesday.

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Dubai sky turns green during storm in UAE, video goes viral

The UAE witnessed record-breaking rainfall on Tuesday and the National Centre of Meteorology recorded 254 mm of rainfall in less than 24 hrs in the Khatm Al Shakla area in Al Ain.

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1 person was killed in UAE as it witnessed heavy rainfall on Tuesday, stranding commuters, flooding roads, disrupting trains and flights and resulting in water leakage from mall ceilings. The UAE witnessed record-breaking rainfall on Tuesday and the National Centre of Meteorology recorded 254 mm of rainfall in less than 24 hrs in the Khatm Al Shakla area in Al Ain. It is being said that the rainfall was the highest documented since the start of data collection in 1949.

The heavy rainfall in UAE came days after a similar situation in neighbouring Oman, where 13 people were killed in flash floods. Many parts of Oman saw torrential rains, which caused students to be trapped in buses and swept away motorists and trapped people in their homes.

Videos from Dubai circulating on social media showed widespread waterlogging on roads in Abu Dhabi, Dubai and other important cities. This left daily commuters in cars and other vehicles struggling to get back home. Dubai metro station too was seen flooded and closed.

One such video circulating on social media shows the aerial view of the city of Dubai from the top of a building. In the video the stormy winds are seen blowing over the city of Dubai. As the storm intensifies the Dubai sky turns green and ultimately gets covered by heavy rainfall. The video has gone viral on social media with more than 1.1 million views.

Another video showed water leakage from the ceilings of shopping malls, flooding the floors and destroying goods. A video which was shot in the famous Mall of the Emirates, showed pieces of ceiling falling as the rainwater gushed inside. Videos from many outlets of the Deira City Centre mall chain showed escalators being rendered unusable. Majid Al Futtaim, the company which owns the Mall of Emirates, said that the shopping complexes have been kept open and the customers are being sent away from the flooded areas. 

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