UAE: Former Indian expat journalist and literary giant dies

Abu Dhabi: Members of the Indian expat community from Kerala have paid rich tributes to a former journalist and author in the UAE who died in the south Indian state on Monday at the age of 70.

Born Erayath Jaleel, the veteran writer, known widely by his pen name Jaleel Ramanthaly, complained of chest pain and was rushed to hospital around 2am but could not be saved, reports from Kerala said. He is survived by his wife, Raheema, and children Samina, Amina and Salva.

Jaleel had retired as the Abu Dhabi bureau chief of a prominent Malayalam newspaper and authored more than a dozen books. He was a regular contributor to several Malayalam publications in the UAE and Kerala, and worked on TV serials, documentaries, music albums and radio programmes as well.

His most celebrated work includes a book on the UAE's Founding Father, the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, written in Malayalam, widely regarded as the first book on the UAE leader in any Indian language. About five editions were printed and distributed free to Malayali readers across several countries, according to VPK Abdulla, vice president of the Indian Islamic Centre in Abu Dhabi and a close friend of Jaleel.

He told Gulf News that Jaleel’s latest book, Pravasa Thudippukal (Pulses of Expat Life), was released just last month.

“He never stopped writing. I was the chairman of the publishing committee of his latest book. I met him just a couple of weeks ago in Kerala.  We were working on the biography of a prominent community member in Abu Dhabi. He has left that job half done and his void cannot be filled by anyone else. To me, it is a big personal loss also,” he said.

Members of the Malayalam media fraternity in Abu Dhabi remembered him as a gifted writer who rose from local stringer to bureau chief during the nascent days of Malayalam journalism in the country.

"Initially, he used to contribute reports as a local stringer while working with a prominent private company. Later, he left that job and concentrated on journalism and literature, eventually becoming the Abu Dhabi bureau chief of Middle East Chandrika, which was a popular Malayalam newspaper for decades," said his former journalist colleague Jaleel Pattambi.

He added that Jaleel's column, Gulf Sketches, later compiled into a book, was hugely popular. "He chronicled the lives of many old-time expats including my father’s years before I reached here. He was known for his integrity and social commitment," he said.

Anil C Idiculla, who had known Jaleel since the early 1990s, said Gulf Sketches came to be regarded as a reference book on the lives of Malayali expats in the Gulf. "He was also known for championing the causes of expats through his newspaper articles," he recalled.

Jaleel was a founding member of the Indian Media Abu Dhabi group, said its president, Sameer Kallara. "He had won several awards and recognitions for his contributions. We are holding a condolence meeting to pay tributes to him, and one of our representatives will attend his funeral back home," he said.

Salim Chirakkal, president of Abu Dhabi Malayalee Samajam, recalled that Jaleel had won the group's very first short story writing competition in 1979. "Ever since, he was at the forefront of organising events and contributed to our publications till he left the UAE," he added.

Sreedharan Kodiyath, a Dubai resident from Jaleel's hometown of Ramanthali in Kerala's Kannur district, added. "Some days ago, he messaged me saying he had kept a copy of his new book for me. I was supposed to collect it when I go on vacation in April. Sad that he has left before that. His death is a big loss for Ramanthali.”