UNEP award for 'Directorate of revenue Intelligence'

Nimi Sunilkumar, cookbook author and food blogger, has won the Gourmand World Cookbook Award for 2015-16. Her book 4 o’clock Temptations of Kerala has been chosen for the award in the ‘Best Indian Cuisine Cookbook’ section. 

The cookbook is enriched with photos and details of 54 recipes from Kerala and each of these recipes are said to be specific to each district. She has won the award for the second time, earlier she had won the award in 2013.

Her Lip-smacking Dishes of Kerala was selected third ‘Best Local Cuisine Book in the World’ in 2013. She is a culinary teacher and dietician at Tata High Range School, Munnar.

Gourmand World Cookbook Award:

The award was founded in 1995 by Edouard Cointreau. It is free competition and open to publishers in all languages and countries. The Gourmand Awards celebrate global cookbook and wine book publishing and feature many world-renowned chefs each year.

Captain Radhika Menon, first woman captain of the Indian Merchant Navy recently became the first woman in the world to receive the Award for Exceptional Bravery at Sea for the year 2016 from the International Maritime Organisation (IMO).

The award was bestowed upon her for her role in the dramatic rescue of seven fishermen from a sinking fishing boat in tumultuous seas in the Bay of Bengal in June last year. 

She rescued all seven fishermen from the fishing boat Durgamma, which was adrift following engine failure and loss of anchor in severe weather. For this bravery she was nominated for the award by the Government of India.

Facts about Radhika Menon :

• She is the first Indian women captain of a merchant navy ship. She joined the Shipping Corporation of India (SCI) as a trainee radio officer in 1991. Her job in navy was to look after the communication system of the ship.
• She continued appearing for exams and kept excelling in her career. She cleared her master's certificate exam in 2010 and sailed in MT Suvarna Swarajya twice before she took charge of the ship as captain.
• It is very difficult to find successful women in merchant navy as despite being good in their jobs women usually have to quit their jobs as they need to take of their families but Radhika Menon is an exception.

Lidudumalingani Mqombothi a South African writer, filmmaker and photographer has won the 17th edition of prestigious Caine Prize 2016 for his short story entitled 'Memories We Lost' published in "Incredible Journey: Stories That Move You (Burnet Media, South Africa, 2015)".

About the story :

Memories We Lost is told by a girl who acts as protector of her sister, whose serious mental illness is badly misunderstood in a South African village. 

He memories fades one after the other until her past becomes blur.  As the sister’s situation deteriorates the protector sister trusts a local man who employs traditional techniques to rid people of their demons.

About Caine Prize

The Caine Prize for African Writing is an annual literary award for the best original short story by an African writer, whether in Africa or elsewhere, published in the English language. It is famously referred as the African Booker Prize.

The award carrying British Pound 10,000 prize, was founded in the United Kingdom in 2000,  in memory of Sir Michael Harris Caine,  former Chairman of Booker Group plc. Because of the Caine Prize's connection to the Booker Prize, the award is sometimes called the "African Booker".