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NORTH AmERIcAN Newsline JUNE 04, 2021 | The Indian Eye 34
neWsmaKers oF the WeeK
congressman tahera Qutbuddin wins 2020
david Valadao honors ravinder sheikh Zayed Book award
singh shergill
ahera Qutbuddin, an Indian American Professor of Arabic
Literature at the University of Chicago has won the 2020
TSheikh Zayed Book Award for Arabic Culture in Other
Languages. The first person of Indian descent to win the pres-
tigious international award. Qutbuddin was selected for her new
ongressman David Valadao, honored Ravinder Singh book, ‘Arab Oration: Art & Function’ released in 2019 by Brill
Shergill who had held several patents related to disk stor- Publishers.
Cage and helped create the USB specifications. Shergill The winners of the award commemorating the late Sheikh
died on April 22 aged 64.
In his note at the House of Representatives earlier this week, Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, Founding President of the UAE
Congressman Valadao said, “Madam Speaker, I ask my colleagues and Ruler of Abu Dhabi, receive a career-changing $200,000
in the United States House of Representatives to join me in hon- (750,000 UAE Dirhams).The book was praised for its exceptional
familiarity with classical Arabic literature and Dr. Qutbuddin’s
oring the life of Mr Ravinder Singh Shergill. Our thoughts and firm grasp on oral tradition studies and theories.
prayers are with his family and friends during this difficult time.” The oral tradition in the Arabic language is a strong and ro-
Born on September 12, 1956 in Punjab, Shergill migrated to
the US for higher studies at the age of 17. At the age of 17, he bust element of Arabic culture, but absent is a focus on women’s
immigrated to the United States and later graduated from UC oration. In her book, Qutbuddin “fully explores that tradition in
Berkeley with a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering. Arabic language; highlighting women’s oration within multiple
He went on to work for National Semiconductor for more than contexts,” according to the citation.
“This form of communication dates back to the pre-Islam oral
three decades, Valadao said. tradition of Arabian Peninsula tribes and has undergone sever-
al phases of transformation over time until it has taken its mod-
as an engineer, shergill held patents involving disk ern, distinctive form, earning in the process a status as a genre of
storage and helped create the UsB specifications. as Arab heritage worthy of respect in its own right.”
“The writer’s exceptional familiarity with classical Arabic lit-
a manager, he admired and respected as a mentor to erature and her firm grasp on oral tradition studies and theories
his colleagues. his story is truly an embodiment of the have enabled her to clearly articulate the various aspects of ora-
tion: structure, style, types and function (religious, political, intel-
american dream, he said. lectual, social or military),” it adds.
One of the world’s leading prizes dedicated to Arabic litera-
Valadao said Shergill had a great appreciation for America, ture and culture, the Award has brought recognition, reward and
but he never forgot his roots. He was committed to bridging the readership to outstanding work by authors, translators, publishers,
and organizations around the world since 2006.
Sikh and American communities together and was a founding Qutbuddin also serves on the editorial board of NYU Abu
member of the Sikh Youth of California and America. Dhabi’s Library of Arabic Literature. She obtained her PhD and
Shergill is remembered as a caring husband, father, and grand-
father with a love for books, history, music, and film,” he said. MA from Harvard University, USA, Tamhidi Magister and BA
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