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 e
