10 Guiding Principles

K. C. Mammen Mappillai

Doyen of Kerala

We set up the 10 Guiding Principles to see us through life.

The 1st principle is to always be truthful. (A few ”white lies” were to be permitted! :-) )

Principle 2 is to *Stay where your presence is appreciated*.

Principle 3 is to never claim credit for something that does not belong to you.

Principle 4 is do not violate the laws of the country you live in.

Principle 5 is to  lend a helping hand to anyone who reaches out to you.

Principle 6 is to genuinely pray for anyone facing a difficult situation.

Principle 7 is do not be cowed down by aggressors, however powerful they seem to be!”

Principle 8 is do not run to find the pot of gold at the end of a rainbow.

Principle 9 is to give respect to those who deserve it.

And finally, Principle 10 is never to violate the “Sacred Trust”, set out for the Malayala Manorama newspaper and all those encompassed in its family. It  was set down pre-1953 by Jacob’s grandfather, the late K. C. Mammen Mappillai.

"By God's grace, Manorama is in a position to create and garner a forceful public opinion. This may be used for the good or the bad. But, we should consider it as a public trust bestowed upon us for the selfless service of humanity. 

 "You will have no qualms to use Manorama as a sacred public trust or an institution God has trustingly bestowed upon us to be used without fear or favour from anyone. You should always work with this in mind. God has placed in our hands a mighty weapon. To use it for our personal, vindictive and vitriolic ends will be an unpardonable and immoral act injurious to the faith bestowed on us by a large number of people. God does not want that. Hence, our eternal vow should be to tirelessly work for the success of fairness, justice and morality. '

It remains a sacred, inviolable dictum for Malayala Manorama.

[The K. C. Mammen Mappillai family today has amongst its ranks, 2 Padma Bhushans (K. M. Cherian and K. M. Mathew) and 3 Padma Shris (K. M. Philip, K. M. Mammen Mappillai and Mammen Mathew).]

It is also the primary Guiding Principle of Annikki and Jacob.

Onam in Oulu 2023

 Annikki and I were absolutely delighted to take part in the 2023 Onam celebrations in Oulu in August this year.

When I sent this picture of the flower arrangement made by the ladies in Oulu to my cousin, Rajen Mammen Mathew, of Malayala Manorama, he commented that it was better than what was done in Kottayam.

Well done ladies.

I must thank Anand for sharing a short video of our Onam celebrations.

The video captures all the highlights and fun and games associated with the celebration. It is a group which has no chairperson, treasurer, secretary or Board members. The children all performed marvellously. The food was superb snd all the menfolk took the responsibility allowing the ladies a chance to enjoy the day. 

The group runs with respect, love and affection amongst all.

This group photo embodies the atmosphere within this group.

Thank you all for giving us this opportunity to be part of your group.

Annikki & Jacob

Back blogging again

This is now a topsy turvy ride in my blog. (Sorry, no pictures as yet till I can upload to my personal server in Finland!)

I had no secure internet access for a couple of days. When I moved from our Royal residence "Windsor Castle" to the beautiful Malayala Manorama Guest House in Kottayam, I gained access to a LG screen, some 29" wide, but I lost my internet access.

Malayala Manorama has a policy of not giving unfettered internet access due to security reasons. So I had to check my email (which is gmail) at an internet cafe. There are several in Kottayam, and the charge is Rs. 10 for half an hour (roughly €0.30).

However, even though the price is cheap, the locations were not conducive for personal work, as blogging.

I concentrated the next couple of days on getting ready the Coffee Table Book for my class 50th Year reunion. The big screen connected to my Mac Mini along with the Bluetooth Mouse and the Bluetooth wireless Mac mini keyboard were just perfect.

I was able to correct most of the mistakes and take it to a small laser print centre (Copy Tiger) recommended by the Malayala Manorama.

Then started an experience which is worth recounting.

The owners of the centre (two Varghese ) put me in touch with their Desktop Publishing expert. He tried to open my NeoOffice file (Mac specific version of the Sun Open Office), but was not successful. But he was able to open my jpg image files. He asked me to convert the odt files to jpg.

I went back to the Guest house, and because of the large screen, this work was so easy. I opened the odt files, gave the PRINT command, and then asked to see the Preview, which was a pdf file. I saved that file and it was one step to convert it to a jpg file. The 97 pages took just under two hours, and I was back the Print Centre with my USB Memory Stick and the converted files.

The DTP expert then worked wonders, laying out the pages in book form using Corel Draw. He worked late, up to 8 pm, and then came back the next morning and finished setting the pages exactly to my liking. He printed one copy. To my amazement there were just a few small errors. He corrected these quickly and gave me on final print. Total cost was Rs. 1940 - just € 280.

Now we had the problem of the loose cover for the bound hard copy - my final objective. He recommended a printer in a small town 18 km away in a town called Changnacherri. I reached there by 6 pm and arrived at PRIYA Digital Colour Lab. I was surprised to see the small narrow shop full of all sorts of people. When I explained my request to the owner, he assigned me a young boy who quickly set up the job, showed me different types of papers, and then printed out a sample - which was just perfect. I got a quote of € 90 for the first 5 copies and within the next 20 minutes they had delivered to me the wonderful cover for our publication.

in the meantime I established a nice relationship with the shop owner, Thambi Thomas, who knew all my family members and showed me the utmost respect. They have established in this small town one of the most unique print units which can print posters 30” wide and of any length whatsoever, one of only two machines of this type in India. I wondered how they would get work in such a small sleepy town in a remote part of Kerala, but seeing the mela around me, I knew that these people knew exactly what they were doing. I have made some lifelong friends here.

Armed with my covers, I rushed back to my Kottayam Laser Print Centre. They started printing 4 more sets of the Coffee Table Book. This was in my hands by 10:30 the next morning making it possible for Annikki, Mika and me to embark on the next stage of our journey around India - on to Cochin.

A few words about Kottayam, my childhood holiday home, and home of my very best childhood memories. It is still a great town, the hub of Malayala Manorama, the largest circulating newspaper in India. I remember when it had a circulation of just 3000 copies when it reopened in 1948 after India got its independence. Today it is printing 1.7 million and the target of 2 million copies by 2010 will certainly be achieved. Not only is it the largest circulating newspaper, it also produces the largest circulating weekly magazine in both Malayalam and in English, The WEEK having outstripped India Today. It also produces the largest circulating women’s magazine (Vanitha) and children’s magazine (Balrama). The circulation of its multilingual Manorama Directory is unsurpassed.

This has all been achieved by the style of management of three brothers, Rajen (Mammen Mathew), Thambi (Philip Mathew) and Chacko (Jacob Mathew) aided by their 93 year old father, Mathukuttychayan (K. M. Mathew) who still sits in at the daily editorial meeting in his office at 10:30 am! Each one of the cousins is different but they totally complement the others. Various nephews and nieces are involved, and each one of them is professionally qualified for the post they hold. They are backed by a team of devoted officers and workers of the company, who are not just names of numbers, but each is an individual with a face, a family and a lifelong association with this 121 year old publication.

A word about the Guest House where we stayed. It has a British Standards Institution (BSI) UK Quality Management accreditation for the quality of the accommodation and the food. The food team is led by Vasu, who has been a loyal member of the team for over 50 years. He is now 75 but is active and has a personal touch to all the preparations he serves up.

He asks the guests what they like in particular and then serves up the exact preparations which will remain unsurpassed in their memory. He knew I liked pomfret fry. He made me two exclusive versions. He dished up a sweet dish - tender coconut soufflé, which is absolutely unique.

I have decided to give this Guest House my International Best Buy accreditation, but unfortunately, it is not something open to the general public!

Before we left Kottayam, I dropped in at Mathukuttychayan’s office to say goodbye. This 93 year old was just about to start his daily editorial conference, but he stopped long enough to say goodbye to both Mika and me. As Mika shook hands with him and I hugged and kissed him, tears welled in my eyes and I cried as I was leaving. As each day passes he becomes more and more like my mother. I vowed I would come back soon to see him again.

Annikki did not come out to see him as she had a bad cold and was afraid of passing it on to my uncle. Mathukuttychayan expressed more than once that he was sad he was unable to come out to say goodbye to her!

This entire experience in Kottayam taught me that some members of my family still uphold the values set by my grandfather. For that I am happy and proud to be a member of this wonderful Kandathil family whose hospitality and generosity to one and all shows no bounds.

I would be doing a great injustice if I did not add that the spouses of all my cousins are also of the same mould as them and give more to the world than they take. Thank you Prema, Bina and Amu. You are truly Kandathils. I would again be doing a great injustice if I did not mention the sister of my gentlemen cousins, Thangam, and her husband, Jayan, both of whom are again carrying on the good work of the late Annammakochamma (Mrs. K.M. Mathew) and Mathukuttychayan.

would be doing a further injustice if I did not pay my compliments to KI James, the Personal Assistant to Rajen. He is an extraordinary person, and around him revolves the absolute efficiency shown by Rajen to all and sundry. Even after a hospitalisation on the Thursday, he was at his table on Friday to look after details about my travel arrangements, etc. Thank you, James. You are even more efficient than Jeeves!

I will be back in Kottayam in my lifetime and I expect to the see the Malayala Manorama, under such able leadership, still at the top and far far ahead of any and all of their rivals!

India is truly Incredible and it is because of the people like the Mathew family, James, the Varghese brothers and Thambi Thomas! They respect people above money. and power.

Now on to Cochin....

Time to catch up

As I am posting on my other blogs, only this one will be active during this Indian trip. All my readers to my many blogs will have to come here and read our experiences, whether whether they are my school or college friends, my Oulu friends, our Findians community, our CHAFF friends, our O-India friends, etc.

We landed at 00:25 on Monday morning. Monday was a full day of getting acclimatised and above all meeting my uncle, Mr. K. M. Philip (97, Peelukuttychayan, Pappa) and Chinnammakochamma (Mummy). I will update you from the time we left Oulu till this morning in subsequent posts.

It was so good to see my uncle who even walked to the lift to see us off. He is looking forward to playing golf again this week as he had been banned from playing golf for six months as he had a pacemaker installed. 97 years and looking forward to a round of golf!

It is now Tuesday morning. I am sitting in the wonderful Guest House of Malayala Manorama in Mumbai. Budiram from Nepal is the caretaker. A fine person always at your service. He has been with the company for many years.

It overlooks the sea. Annikki and I are fascinated with the view of watching the waves coming in. It is the start of our visit and holiday in India.

There are three bedrooms, all beautifully furnished and maintained. Bedclothes and towels are changed everyday. Better and more intimate personal service than a hotel. This should be our aim in Raantel Oy.

Annikki and I are in one bedroom. Mika is in another. The third is for Manorama persons. Last night, a second cousin once removed (an Indian way of saying a cousin through marriage relationships) arrived. We had a long chat. It was wonderful to meet Raju who looks after the Company Affairs of the Malayala Manorama.

This Guest House is what we term in Oulu as a shared apartment, but it is totally non intrusive. There is no cooking by the residents. Breakfast is served. Other meals are not offered and one can order the food in from any of the many restaurants in the vicinity.

Yesterday evening, Annikki, Mika and I went to a clean and neat vegetarian restaurant next door. Mika had a masala dosai and a pineapple milk shake. Annikki had a paneer palak with a methi paratha and I had a channa bathura. We also had two extra nans and a couple of Sprites. The damage was less than € 5!! We would have paid € 5 for just the Sprites in Oulu!

Raju's cousin, Apu, studied at the same time as me in London. He did Rubber Technology and went on to be Head of the Research and Laboratory group at MRF Ltd. His late father was a wonderful eye doctor. I was so pleased to hear that Apu's mother, Sosammakochamma is still doing well at the age of 90+. Apu's father passed away many years ago. They used to live quite near us in Bangalore several years ago.

Raju's aunt's (Kunjattykochamma) husband was my Godfather, Mr. K. M. Eapen (Eapachayan), one of my mother's elder brothers. Also known as Vakil Eapenachen, as he handled all the legal matters regarding our family businesses.

I just learnt from Raju that he is my mother's second cousin - so making him my uncle!

Sadly we are lacking a camera as the one I received on my 65th birthday fell and does not take snaps. It will be given for repairs today.

I now have a local Indian mobile. The phone number is

+91 9619621265

Unfortunately my Finnish Mobile is not locating an operator for some reason. So please use the Indian number to send me text messages.

More later. I am already sure that this is going to be an Incredible India visit.

A letter that we treasure

In our archives there is one letter that we especially treasure. It is one from Mrs. K. M. Mathew, Annammakochamma, which we received in January 1987.

Letter from Mrs. K. M. Mathew, Annammakochamma
received in 1987 to Annikki and me

Here was one of the busiest women on this universe, running her own top woman's magazine of India, active with social work to help the needy, active with the community to the extent of doing the hair of almost every young girl in the community getting married, holding daily morning singing and music lessons for the talented young people of the city of Kottayam, producing mouth-watering recipes on a daily basis from her kitchen, and all that with only half her organs left in her body, and she took the trouble to write to Annikki and me to tell us how much she loved us and cared for us.

Little did she know that Annikki and I cared for her more than almost any other individual on this planet. We prayed for her well-being, knowing how much pain she was going through, but also knowing she never cared for her pain but always thought of the pain and suffering of others.

We were so grateful when we received not one, but two copies, of the book written as a tribute to her by her husband, K. M. Mathew, Mathukuttychayan, my mother's younger brother.


"Annamma" by K. M. Mathew

The first copy was sent by Mathukuttychayan and the second by his youngest son, Jacob Mathew, Chacko.

Annikki is a very slow but thorough reader. She hardly has any time to do any reading other than the daily newspaper. But she picked up the book about one of her favourite aunts the evening it arrived. When I saw her later that night she told me she was so captivated by the contents, that she could not put it down till she finished it. She said that the moving text and the wonderful pictures were an absolutely faithful recounting of the life of a lady she had loved, respected and admired ever since she first met her when she took the time to visit our humble home in the sixties.

The two of them, Annammakochamma and Annikki, were on the same wavelength on everything about life - their art, their creativity, their views about humanity and their views about their need to be of service to all their fellow beings.

I, too, could not put down the book once I started reading it, and I remembered many of the events as I was very much a part of them. The sorrow I felt when they moved from Bombay to Kottayam was so moving as I lost my best friend and cousin, Rajen, as I loved to go to their flat in Byculla and play hide and seek in that old rambling flat on the second (or third?) floor.

The relationship that we built in the few months we lived in Bombay at the same time is something neither of us have ever forgotten - right through to when we were in college in Delhi together and he worked tirelessly with his friends to get me elected as the President of the Students Common Room and the de facto head of all resident students of the college. That is something I can never repay him for as at that time I was going through a major crisis of my life, as having lost the use of my index finger on my right hand, I had lost my chance to be in the college and university hockey team.

It is the same dedication that Rajen inherited from his mother that has helped him to drive the Malayala Manorama to the very top of the Indian media scene. He was the most deserving recipient of one of the highest honour's given by the President of India, the Padma Shiri, last year.


Rajen receiving the Padma Shree Award
from President of India, Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam

Thank you for this wonderful book which we will treasure, just as much as we treasure that letter we received from Annammakochamma in 1987!

Kandathils, Stephanians - Hip Hip Hurrah

The President of India, Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam, has conferred on Mammen Mathew (Kandathil, Stephanian, commonly known to all of us as Rajen, Rajenchayan) the PADMA SHREE Award. This important news was announced on Republic Day at New Delhi. This award has made it a record for any one family in Independent India (see below). 

Rajen gets the Padma Shri award from Abdul Kalam

 

Rajen, former US President Bill Clinton and former Indian President Shri K. R. Narayanan

Besides being my dear and constant companion when we were together in St Stephen's College, Delhi, Rajen was also very dear to both Annikki and me when he came to England. It was Rajen and his friends who campaigned for me and made history in the college by getting a second year student elected to the post of JCR President of the College. Together we made the JCR from a dumb unloving unfriendly place into one of the most liveliest places to hang out in.

Later, I was one who was involved in giving him the courage to choose his life partner, Prema!! I still remember him sweating away in the car when he went to see his to-be for the first time!! He ran through more than a few of my handkerchiefs and hand towels at that time!!

Rajen, with another outstanding Stephanian classmate, architect Ramu Katakam, who is also now a member of the Kandathil family by marriage, hitch-hiked across the globe from India to London to land at my doorstep in the mid 1960's. Both were going places, and Rajen has shown us the way to the top.

I must mention the other two of the four Stephanian musketeers of Rajen’s year, Azhar Siddique, who went into hotel management and made a great name for himself in that field, and Suresh Mehra, who runs one of the finest garment export houses from Hyderabad.

Rajen studied journalism on the job at Bristol in Wales and then in the USA. In 2002 he received the rare honour of being appointed as a Reuters Trustee, the first Indian to be appointed to this position. He has been the Chairman of the Indian Section of the Commonwealth Press Union, President of the Indian Newspaper Society, and the Editors Guild of India, and has also been on the Press Council of India.

Today, he is the guiding spirit of the Malayala Manorama Newspapers Group, India's most outstanding newspaper and magazine publishing centre, founded by our greatgranduncle, Kandathil Varghese Mappillai, given shape by our grandfather K. C. Mammen Mappillai and then guided in turn by the late K. M. Cherian and then K. M. Mathew, till Rajen took the helm.

Rajen is assisted by his two younger brother, both professionals, Philip Mathew (Thambi), also a Stephanian and father of 2 Stephanians, Amit and Riyad, and Jacob Mathew (Chacko), sadly not a Stephanian but the father of one, Harsha.

Rajen's daughter-in-law, Miriam (Anu) Mathew (née Paul) was an outstanding Stephanian and a leading executive in a US bank till she returned to India to take the helm of Manorama Online. Her husband Jayant, is also in the newspaper business and a student of our leading Stephanian friend, Sreenath Sreenivasan, Professor of Journalism at Columbia University and an expert on convergence journalism.

The other Award Winners in our family:

1. The late Mr. K. M. Cherian (Chetpetappachen) - first awarded the Padma Shree and the later he was given the Padma Bhushan. Our dear cousins, Dr. K. C. Mammen (Bapukuttychayan), one of India’s leading paediatricians and Mrs. P. V. Jacob (Sarasukochamma) are Chetpetappachen’s surviving children.
2. Mr. K. M. Philip (Peelukuttychayan, Pappa) was give the Padma Shree three ago back. He was the World President of the Y. M. C. A. after many years of outstanding and honorary service in the Indian Y. M. C. A. At the age of 92, he is still physically and mentally fully active and still takes part in many business functions. His wife, Chinammakochamma is also fully active at the age of 85. She was the leading light of the Mumbai Y. W. C. A. for many many years. A dearer lady so full of fun and laughter one will not find on this earth. His two children are Sen Philip and Dr. Peter Philip (Suresh, a fellow Stephanian of my era, an outstanding economist, the business brain behind the launch of the FIRST Kooler Talk, classmate of such leading Stephanians as Sayeed Rizvi, Sarwar Lateef, Zaffar Hai).
3. Mr. K. M. Mathew (Mathukuttychayan, Rajen's father) was given the Padma Bhushan, nearly a decade ago. His wife, the late Mrs. K. M. Mathew (Annammakochamma), who passed away in 2003, surpassed all what her husband and her children have done in her service to the women and children of India. His daughter, Thangam, Rajen’s sister is the mother of 2 Stephanians, Adit and Rohan. (See above for details of his sons - Rajen, Thambi and Chacko.)
4. The late Mr. K. M. Mammen Mappillai (Kochappachen), half a decade before he died in 2003. His wife, Kunjukochamma is a hostess extraordinaire, a person who has made any person entering over the doorstep feel as one of the family. Kochappachen, aided by his six brothers (Cherian, Oommen, Eapen, Varghese Mappillai, Philip and Mathew) and one sister (Mariam, my late mother ) and the sister-in-law of their deceased brother, (Mrs. K. M. Jacob, Pallammachi), built the MRF tyre company by their sense of unity and devotion to one another as well as the entire Syrian Christian Malayali Community. Kochappachen was physically assisted by his wife’s brother, now retired Technical Director of MRF, Kurian George (Georgie, my dear friend in Chennai who keeps me abreast of all the best news from India these days) and technically, mentally and morally assisted by my late father (Kuriyan Matthan). MRF was stabilised and brought forward as India’s leading tyre company by his son, the late Ravi Mammen, and is now run in the family tradition of professional management by his two surviving sons, Vinoo and Arun. Vinoo is the father of 2 Stephanians, Samir and Rahul. His only daughter, Remani is an outstanding artist running her own creative art design company.

It is important to mention Mr. M. K. Mathulla, founder of H.M.T. and a die hard Kandathil, got a Padma Shree some 20 years ago.

In this tribute of honour to Kandathils, I must also say a fond farewell to a dear friend, also a Kandathil, Mr. K. C. Mathulla, who died in Mumbai on 28th January 2005, my wedding anniversary. Mathullapapachayan, as I knew him, had been one who had been of greatest strength to me. When I arrived in India with a "foreign" wife, it was he who, with his Mauritian wife, the late Gabbykochamma, gave me the most practical advice on how to live in India. Besides that, it was he who took me to a leading homeopath and cured me completely of sinusitis, a terrible scourge that I had suffered for many years. It was he who cured Annikki of her acute tonsillitis, again with homeopathy through a well known homeopath in Bandra, Mumbai.

May his soul rest in peace.

Sadly, he had no issue. His dear wife, Gabbykochamma, who suffered from painful arthritis for many many years, left for her heavenly abode to await resurrection several years ago. I will remember this humble and great man, who was dear cousin and friend to my mother and a wonderful uncle and mentor to me, in my daily prayers forever.