Jijo John (left) won the Best Community Male Nurse Award at the Mohanam 2026 community awards, while Revathy Maya was crowned Mrs Kerala NZ. Photo: SUPPLIED
Hundreds of members of the Kerala community gathered over the weekend at the Due Drop Events Centre to celebrate the second anniversary of Malayalam FM with an event titled Mohanam 2026.
The local radio channel, which operates under Planet FM, marked the milestone with community awards, a live music concert and a Mrs Kerala beauty pageant.
The event was organised by Malayalam FM directors George Cheeran and Sindhu Punnoose.
"With Malayalam FM, we're airing the voice of Malayali in New Zealand and we're bringing the hidden stories of the New Zealand Kerala community," Cheeran said.
The husband-and-wife duo relocated to New Zealand in 2013 from Kerala, a southern state of India.
Punnoose said her background in media shaped the couple's vision.
"I started my career in Malayalam Manorama, one of the leading media houses in Kerala," she said.
"Like any other migrant parent, [the] focus was to give better quality of studies or better exposure for our kids."
Sindhu Punnoose, co-director of Malayalam FM Photo: Supplied
In 2023, the pair learned about Planet FM, a nonprofit, community-based radio station that provides broadcasting opportunities to diverse groups.
They decided to launch a Malayalam-language programme for the growing Kerala diaspora.
"When we arrived in New Zealand, the community was very small but now things have changed and the number of Keralites in Auckland have increased and we thought we will provide a platform for the community," Cheeran said.
He said the station initially struggled to attract listeners, but audience numbers had steadily grown over time.
Punnoose said the introduction of community awards was particularly important, noting that the Kerala community was often overlooked in national recognition programmes.
"There are a lot of community awards in the country but nothing aimed exclusively at the Malayali community, and we decided we will introduce awards that are [based on] 100 percent public nominations," she said.
"We added a nursing award as well, which is very unique."
Punnoose said the number of nurses from Kerala working in New Zealand had risen significantly in recent years, and their contributions were frequently under-recognised.
Jijo John won the Best Community Male Nurse Award, while Sincymole Joseph received the award in the women's category.
Mahesh Muralidhar was named Malayali Icon of the Year, while Organisation of Hindy Malayalis NZ won Organisation of the Year.
Revathy Maya was crowned Mrs Kerala NZ 2026, with Janet Jolly Alapatt and Devika Gopi finishing as first and second runners-up.
Organisers said they were planning on continuing both the awards and the pageant the following year.
"We have got tremendous feedback from the community and [will] introduce Miss Kerala NZ along with Mrs Kerala NZ for 2027," Punnoose said.
