Bahrain’s Crown Prince, Deputy Supreme Commander and First Deputy Prime Minister Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa honored Daily Tribune Chief Editor Soman Baby and four other Malayalees during his successful visit to Kerala.
At a specially organized solemn ceremony at Taj Vivanta in Kochi, he granted an exclusive audience to Soman , who introduced four senior Malayalees, who spent their prime years in Bahrain.
They are Dr P P Mathew, T T Thomas, Varghese Mathew and J C Titus. The Crown Prince , in his speech, praised the contributions of all the five people.
He said Soman has been serving the Bahraini and Indian community through his media work for 35 years , and his country is extremely grateful to him. “We were not able to thank him enough” he said. Soman, who started his journalistic career in 1973 as a sub editor with Malayala Manorama, moved to Bahrain in 1978. He was honoured by the Indian Government with Pravasi Bharatiya Samman in 2009. 87-year-old Mathew spent 55 years in Bahrain before returning to his home in Kottayam for retirement three years ago. He was a very popular medical practitioner in Bahrain and had treated many members of the royal family.
Mr Thomas, who still lives in Bahrain, is completing 50 years there. He is the Chairman of the New Indian School and Ebenezer School in Bahrain and Ebenezer International School in Ettumannoor, Kottayam. Varghese Mathew , who spent 47 years in Bahrain, started his career with Bahrain airport and was the station manager of Royal Jordanian
when he retired and settled down in Kochi. His wife Mary Varghese was an officer with Bank Melli Iran.
Mr Titus was an officer with Bahrain Petroleum Company (Bapco) for 35 years, and his wife Susan was a teacher with Indian School.