"darma” is an acronym of “Dubai Airport Returnee Malayalees Association”. As the title suggests it’s a group of Keralite friends retired or returned after serving different units of Dubai Airport. As days passed by the acronym has changed to a name - darma. The key objective of the group is to keep abreast the friendship through sustained communication and co-operation.

Formation of this organisation was quite incidental. It was related to a casual gathering of few such friends at “Eventide Home’, Trivandrum on - 29th of July 2012. The veterans who participated in that meeting were:

• Mr. Issac Varghese
• Mr. Jacob Mamoodan
• Mr. Thomas Mathew
• Mr. Tony D’cruz
• Mr. Surendran V.
• Mr. Pillai P.C.N
• Mr. Joy P.L.
• Mr. ChandranP.
• Mr. Varghese K.T.
• Mr. Mohd Marakar
• Mr. Chandy T.M.

As they chat and exchanged their retirement days and involvements, they thought why not this friendship get expanded and include others of the same genera? That idea was turned out to be the birth of “darma”. Now, to run the show, it would require proper coordination and a committee to manage the show. From those who participated that day, following were nominated and selected to be in charge of that committee:

• Mr. Chandran P.– Co-Ordinator
• Mr. Joy P.L. – Secretary
• Mr. Surendran V. - Treasurer

As they formed this group, they set some basic standards for the group’s function:

• It’s a non-political, non-Profitable, non-religious organisation exclusively for the darma members.
• One of the main objectives of the organisation is - healthy communication between and amongst the members. To enhance this communication a WhatsApp group was formed on a later date.
• Encourage more Keralites retired or returned who worked in different units of Dubai Airport operations, and who comply with the set eligibility and standards to join as well to continue as a member of the group.
• At least once in a year all members to gather at a designated agreed venue.

The co-ordination committee did a good job as a result the darma’s second meeting which was held at “Hotel Airlink” on 26th January 2013 , the number of members increased to 51. As from the infant stage of the organisation, it was a gradual development towards little more structured approach.

• Mr. Abdul Azeez was selected as President;
• Mr. Chandran P. as General secretary; and
• Mr. Varghese K.T. as Treasurer.

A further increase in number of members was observed during their tenure. Gradually as the members increased a more democratic approach of electing committee members was planned. 20th July 2013 - the third meeting was conducted at “Hotel Elite International”, Trissur. In this meeting the number of office bearers was increased viz Vice president, Joint secretary, Joint treasurer and 10 committee members were added to the existing committee structure. Now, it’s due for the next group meeting- 4th meet. “Venice of the East - Alappuzha”, was unanimously selected that too to celebrate the meeting on a House Boat. This meeting was held on 15th November2014. A special mention to Mr. Jacob Mamooden in this regard for his wonderful co-ordination and guidance. The members enjoyed this meet and its evident from the public demand same venue for a second time. The next meeting -5th meet, was held at the same location and on a house boat dated 14th November 2015. The participants endorsed their enjoyment. 19th November 2016, the 6th meet was held at “Gymkhana Club “Poothotta, Ernakulam. This meet was organised by Mr. Abdul Aziz and Varghese Joy which was also appreciated by the participants. By now, due sustained efforts of the committee, a substantial number of members increased. The geographical spread and increased number of members demanded formation of “zone/regional units” This would enable flexibility for members to meet and participate more frequently. However, prior information will be passed on to the central unit by regional units for such zonal/regional meet. The four zonal/regional units are : 1. Trivandrum 2. Ernakulam 3. Thrissur and 4. Calicut; Now, darma has a central committee - a zone which has maximum number of members and 4 regional units/zones. Annual meetings will be held at an agreed venue incorporating members from all four zones/regional units. It’s in this annual meeting the committee members will be elected as per set norms. Only bonafide members have the voting right. “Merlin hotel”, Thrissur was the venue for the 7th meet dated 20th October 2017 and Mr. Antony Vadakkan's efficient efforts contributed the success. Maharani” Calicut was the venue for the 8th annual dated 21st October 2018. This meet was co-ordinated by Mr..K.T. Varghese. There was a nice gathering of 85 participants for this meet. The participants commented very positively about this meet. The next annual darma meet - 9th meet - was conducted at “Green Island resort”, Ernakulam on 26th October 2019and also organised by Mr A. Aziz and Varghese Joy. By now the number of members increased to 150. Meanwhile, several zonal/regional unit meetings were conducted by all 4 regional units. Though the pandemic effect crept in all spheres of life (2019-2022) keeping all activities in a dormant stage, darma managed to keep in touch with its members using modern technology – Virtual meetings. As days pass by, the then President Mr. Abdul Aziz, Secretary Mr. Chandran P. and Treasurer Mr. Varghese K.T requested for their replacement - their role as President, Secretary and Treasurer respectively. They had their own valid reasons for that. An adhoc “Committee meeting” was held on 10th October 2022 at Elite Hotel, Thrissur. The committee decided to conduct a general body meeting on 19th November 2022. With due respect to the aforesaid committee members and the role they played, their efforts and contributions in leading darma for a pretty longtime; Also, considering sound reasons for their replacement, the committee accepted their requests. A new team was elected. Mr. Raghavan V.K. who was vice president is been promoted to his new role as acting President, Mr. Rajendran A.K. as acting Secretary and Mr. Abu baker - joint treasurer as acting Treasurer. Mr V G Krishnan was elected as the vice president as Mr M D Paul who was the vice president left on his own. All these positions were confirmed and voted by the general body at the 10 th Annual Meet dated 16 Nov 2022 at Elite Hotel Thrissur. A total of 25 more members Joined and total strength reached to 185.

It's worth mentioning some of the humanitarian assistance darma members extended to the needy and well deserving fellow people as well as for the development of the association. Special mention – Mr. M.D. Paul, Mr. Santhosh Macadan, Mr. Francis Davis and Mr. George Varghese for their contribution for this cause. To name a few of such assistance: 1. Assistance extended to Hassan Koya’s daughter’s marriage 2. Medical assistance to Mr. Usman and to Mr. Velayudhan's wife. 3. Donation to Chief minister’s flood relief fund in 2018. The idea and initiative of getting together old workmates from Dubai Airport by the aforesaid 11 forerunners is praiseworthy. It’s worth mentioning the long-term service rendered by Mr. Chandran P. and Mr. Abdul Aziz for the development and well-being of darma. They did a good job in creating a strong foundation for darma. Mr. Issac Varghese and Mr. Thomas Mathew were instrumental in giving proper advice and guidance to darma’s development and progress. These days, a good majority of communication is done through Cell phone, email and WhatsApp; Of which, WhatsApp is widely used for communication. One of darma’s esteemed member Mr. Krishnan Kutty deserves a pat on his shoulders for popularising darma’s WhatsApp group amongst darma members. A synopsis of darma - what is darma, why darma-key objective and how it functions is portrayed. Well, let’s look forward collectively how the group could further improve its performance in the coming days.

Article I.

Name and boundaries.

1. The name of the association shall be DARMA as above. The association comprises of four regions in the state of Kerala namely Thiruvanathapuram, Kochi, Thrissur and Kozhikode.
2. The region from where the majority of the members represents will be considered as the Head Quarters of the working committee.



Article II.

1. Membership.
The membership of this association is open to all who have been working in Dubai Airport and now returned for good. They can either be residing in Kerala or in India or Abroad.
The new joining member should be introduced by another member.


2. Membership fee.
A membership fee Rs.1000.00 (Rupees One Thousand Only) is to be paid at the time of joining which is lifetime membership fee and is not refundable.

3. Membership rights.
1. A lifetime member is entitled for the voting right in the general body meeting.
   
2. In the case of death of a life member, his spouse will automatically become the member and will have all the rights of a member.
3. Any member found acting against the norms and conditions of the group's interest, the membership can be ceased/ denied on the basis of the decision taken by the executive committee.
4. The member will automatically become member in the official WhatsApp group, which is meant to disseminate information on the association, to share news related to Dubai International airport, to share good old memories etc. No member is allowed to post/ forward any message pertaining to Communal, Religious, Political, Obscene, Indecent nature and hurts the personal interest of fellow members.



Article III.

1. Office bearers of DARMA are elected in the annual general body meeting.
2. The maximum number of office bearers is limited to - including the President and General Secretary.
3. One of the senior members can be selected to act as the presiding officer to conduct the election.
4. The office bearers are elected in the Annual General body meeting through nomination from the members. A member can nominate another member to the committee which should be supported by another member. If such nominations received exceed the maximum prescribed number, an election can be conducted.
5. A member is allowed to nominate only one member to the committee.
6. Representation from all the four regions are to be ensured and the number of representatives can be decided in proportion with the number of members from the region.
7. The term of office bearers is for 3 years, and a member can be re-elected for another term.
8. A committee member who remains absent from 3 consecutive meetings without prior and valid reasons, will be expelled from the committee.



Article IV.

The board of committee consists of :

1. The President.
2. The Vice President.
3. The General Secretary.
4. The Joint Secretary and
5. The Treasurer.
6. A group of 15 elected members will constitute as the Executive Committee Members.
1. Elected President and the Secretary will only be the Admin of the Group.
2. Whenever the new Office bearers are elected, the then President, Secretary and the Treasurer will be the Official Invitee's and will act as Advisors to the new Committee.
3. Any decisions made by the committee will stand as the guidelines for the group.
4. The President and Secretary shall call the meetings and preside at all meetings,.
5. During their absence, the Vice President and Joint Secretary will act on their behalf.
6. In case of any emergency requirements, committee shall appoint any special committees necessary for the operation of the association business and shall act as official spokesperson for the association.
7. The Secretary shall keep a permanent record of all formal meetings, all official documents, and official transactions of the association.
8. Secretary shall disseminate all important aspects and decisions made by committee via minutes of the meeting or other means of communication.
9. The Secretary shall keep a permanent record of all formal meetings and all legal documents and legal transactions of the association. The secretary shall transcribe the minutes of each meeting and shall maintain a file copy of same
10. Now accessible to all members through the website.
11. The Joint Secretary shall assist Secretary in all matters and takeover the charge during secretary's absence.
12. The Treasurer shall keep all financial receipts and a permanent record of all financial business of the association. An up-to-date financial report shall be submitted at each meeting. The Treasurer shall be responsible for keeping all records of the members and membership.
13. Any office bearer shall be removed from office by a 2/3rd majority vote of the registered members, after notice for the special meeting has been given at least two weeks in advance

Regional committee

To have more interaction among the members, regional wise committee can be constituted under the umbrella of main committee. The Regional Representatives shall be composed of members belonging to that region and they should ensure every effort will be made to cooperate and safeguard the interest of the whole group. They are allowed to conduct regional wise activities including meetings, get together etc. Such activities need to be reported to the Darma executive committee. The executive committee members shall be invited to such functions.

Article V.

Meetings.

1. An annual meeting or half yearly meeting shall be held at a time and place convenient to all members. Region wise any special meeting or get together need to be arranged at any time.
2. The Voting Members present shall constitute a quorum. A 2/3 rd majority of the members voting required to pass any resolution.
3. Every effort will be made to notify all interested parties and members of the group of upcoming meetings through WhatsApp messages and the Website.
4. Regional office bearers along with available members should visit the immobile and sickly members which will be a consolation for them.



Article VI.

Fiscal Responsibility.

1. DARMA should have a bank account maintained jointly by the President /Treasurer or Secretary. Expenditure of funds of the association may not be made without the signatures of at least two of the board of committee and the Treasurer.



Article VII.

Culture and Courtesy.

1. As a courtesy to the fellow members a friendly visit to a sick member and his relative or a financial assistance for a needy member for the medical aid or for a marriage are advisable.
2. If it is done on behalf of Darma then the decision to be approved by the Committee.
3. Any member or his/her close relatives deceased, the group has to maintain a 24 hrs mourning. and no entertainment links to be forwarded in the group.
4. As a respect to the deceased, members attending the funeral, a wreath in the name of DARMA to be layed.
5. The expenses will be borne by Darma.