Being in the IT field did never mean to Dr. Syed that he would disconnect himself completely from the world of German language and literature. When his head was working for the IT clients, his heart continued to flow the passion for German in and out, day and night. He maintained his association with the Goethe-Institut/Max Mueller Bhavan intact by regularly attending the seminars in India and Germany. The many scholarships he had received to go to Germany and Austria were just additional sources of an indelible inspiration to remain passionately connected to German.
As the Goethe-Institut’s south Asian head office in New Delhi decided in 2007 to start a German language and cultural centre in Trivandrum under the name “Goethe-Zentrum”, the automatic choice to head the institution was Dr. Syed. Together with a group of other German lovers in the city, he returned to the “homeland” to set up and successfully establish the Goethe-Zentrum in Trivandrum, which has by now become a prominent landmark in the capital city of Kerala. Starting with a small group of just over 10 students by the end of 2008, the Zentrum touched the magical figure of 1000 in the year 2014.
As his wish is not just to promote the German language, he undertook a very important task of establishing a constant and mutually benefitting cultural association between Kerala and Germany by regularly organizing German cultural programs in Trivandrum. The palette includes screening of critically acclaimed German films, theatre performances, Jazz and Rock concerts, literary and scientific seminars and symposiums, art and technical workshops for children and adults, facilitating academic collaborations for educational institutions in Kerala with universities and schools in Germany, assisting the IT and other business enterprises here to explore and expand business opportunities with Germany, setting up a Humboldt Club in Kerala… The list goes further. All these activities through the Goethe-Zentrum, thanks to a dedicated and committed team work, has now won a prominent place for Kerala on the map of Indo-German bilateral relations. The presence of the German Railways as the security and safety partner of the Kochi Metro project or the solar project by BOSCH at the Cochin International Airport are only the first ones to come.
The infinite opportunities offered by the German universities for free studies and research, followed by the possibility to seek employment and settle down there, have led to a steady increase in the number of students learning German at the Zentrum today. The opening of a sub-centre in Kochi has indeed to be attributed to this very positive development.
“I see the success of my life, when I see how successful those who learned German from the Goethe-Zentrum are going to be!”, says Dr. Syed.
Like in many other parts of South Asia, the tsunami waves of December 2004 also claimed 947 lives in the fishing village of Colachel, some 60 km south of Trivandrum. Deeply touched by this catastrophe of unparalleled magnitude, Dr. Syed set up in January 2005 a charity trust under the name LEBENSLICHT (light of life) to lend a helping hand to the victims. With the help of his friends from Germany, Dr. Margret Brehm and Mr. Gerd Groeschl, the three German cities Wolfegg, Bergatreute and Bad Waldsee pooled approximately 35,000 Euros to buy a piece of land and construct a modern kindergarten for the children of the tsunami affected families. Over the last ten years, the Karunya Kindergarten in Colachel has turned out to be the only successful and sustainable social project following the tsunami disaster in Colachel. Every year some 60 children learn free at this kindergarten and they also get a full meal at noon. Thanks to the selfless support he gets from his friends Subramoniya Sarma and Ratheesh – who are also the members of the charitable society – this CSR initiative stands tall as an exemplary project. However, the Trust members unanimously decided in 2019 to hand over the entire land, building and the rights on the Karunya Nursery and Primary School to the local Trust formed by the school manager, Mr. Vijayan and his family members. The Trust Members of Lebenslicht took this decision to adhere to the principle of leaving the project in the hands of those who nurtured it on the soil of Colachel for the benefits of the less-privileged sections of the society there.