History repeating itself?

Annikki and I were enjoying our regular Friday buffet lunch (with a speacial spicey chicken vindaloo) at The Royal Garden restaurant in Oulu when a young couple walked in. 

Michelle showed them around and they settled at a table. (Obviously they were new!)

MG University, Kottayam (School of Chemical Sciences)

(Photo from Mahatma Gandhi University website.)

As they came to the buffet table I asked the young gentleman where he was from. He was from India, then Bangalore. 

Having established our primary connection I dug a little deeper and found out he was a Polymer Chemist, and then came the shocker, when he said that he did his degree from Kottayam.

I had to travel 7000 km to do my studies in Polymers. At that time only London and Akron, Ohio, USA had reputed courses in polymer science and technology in the English speaking world. Although there were excellent courses in Germany, France and Italy, those were not an option for me.

As my brother was already in London, the choice was automatic, as Ohio seemed to be a little too distant for me.

When I did a little digging I found that the director of the Dept of Chemical Sciences at the Mahatma Gandhi University is a Prof. Dr. Anitha C. Kumar. She had done her Polymer Science degree from the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras, with which I was actively cooperating with in the early seventies when Prof. Guenter Menig from Germany was there to start the department. 

Prof. Menig and I had worked on similar research areas, especially the use of the Brabender Pladtograph to characterise the processing behaviour of polymers.

When Prof. Menig left back to Germany, we took his maid, Susheela, to look after the children as she spoke English. Annikki was at that time just starting to learn Tamil.

I hope to share a few evenings with Anupam, just to catch up on what is happening in the polymer field. I have more or less stopped reading stuff in my primary area of work for almost 15 years!

The only subject I do keep abreast of these days is the controversial topic about Polymers and Recycling technology.

Welcome Anupan and Juyel to a great city, Oulu, Annikki and my  home for the last 40 years

This is indeed a very small world!

50 years relationship with Finnish and Indian Ambassadors

Our first interaction with the Finnish Ambassador to India was when Her Excellency Riitta Örö took over as Finnish Ambassador to India in 1974. One of her first visits out of New Delhi was to visit her only subject in Madras, Annikki, in 1974.

Ambassador Her Excellency Riitta Örö

Ambassador HE Örö was a beautiful and imposing personality, from Rovaniemi, graduate of economics and political science. She was a close friend of the Finnish President Urho Kekkonen and his wife Sylvi, as she had served in the Finnish Presidential office.

At that time there was a British elderly gentleman who was the Finnish Consul in Madras and he was due  to retire soon.

Ambassador HE Örö called us to lunch to the Madras Club and asked Annikki whether she would consider taking over as the Consul for Finland in Madras. She explained that the main task would be to look after the interests of Finnish sailors who had problems in Madras.

I had to inform Ambassador HE Örö that, unfortunately, Annikki would not be able to take on that responsibility as we had already made our decision to move our residence to Bangalore in early 1976. 

(Cricketer C. D . Gopinath, who was the CEO of International Services, later took over this task of Consul. C. D. Gopinath is probably the oldest living Indian cricketer today.)

A few years later Annikki received a letter from the Finnish Embassy in New Delhi asking her to register her personal details so that in case of any turmoil, she could be evacuated

Annikki’s reaction was immediate. She told the Embassy that in such situation she was not likely to leave her Indian husband, two British national children and two Indian national children behind to seek safe sanctuary in Finland!

The reply was immediate that in case of an emergency the whole family would be able to travel to Finland as a unit.

I regularly visited the Finnish Embassy to meet the commercial attaché to discuss business propositions. Ambassador HE Örö always made it possible to spend a few moments with me to ask after Annikki and the children.

Once we moved to Finland, Annikki and I have had the good fortune to interact with many of the Indian diplomats who have been posted as Ambassadors to Finland. 

Our initial contact was quite negative. 

On arriving in Finland, Annikki found that our two Indian children were not entitled to the basic social  benefits that Finnish children were entitled to, such as the child benefit. Annikki was asked to apply for Finnish nationality for them.

They were granted Finnish citizenship almost immediately. The reaction of the Indian Embassy was immediate as they read about it in the Finnish Gazette. They asked me to immediately return the childrens passports as dual nationality was not permitted for Indian citizens.

I addressed a letter to the President of India, Zail Singh, and explained my wife was looking after the interests of our children while I was making the decision to retain the cultural roots of the children. 

I sent a copy to the Prime Mimister, Rajiv Gandhi.

Rajiv Gandhi's secretary sent me an immediate reply saying that dual nationality was not permitted for Indian citizens.

The President, however, sent my letter to the Ministry of External Affairs.

I got a reply from the Ministry of Extetnal Affairs stating that our children could retain their Indian citizenship till the age of 18 while also enjoying their Finnish citizenship.

This was followed by an apology from the Prime Minister’s Office.

The then Indian Ambassador, His Excellency K. P. Fabian, was quick to apologies to me and then started a long friendship which exists even till today.

New Ambassadors to Finland are taken to visit the Finnish ice breakers  which are stationed in Kemi not far from Oulu. Ambassador HE Fabian made it a point to stop over in Oulu so as to meet me.

Indian Ambassador HE K.Fabian visits the Microelectronics and Material Physics Laboratories in Oulu University and was hosted by Professor Seppo Leppävuori and me.

Ambassador  Fabian with the Vice Rector and Dean of the Electrical Engineering Faculty, Professor Paavo Uronen, and me during his visit to Oulu University.

I then organised his official visit to Oulu to see the University, address the University with a talk about the North-South dialogue  (this was published in full in my book about Oulu University in 1994) and to have dinner with the Oulu Governor, the former Finance Minister of Finland, Ahti Pehkala. Annikki was asked to act as the official translator between these two economic stalwarts.

Over the years we had some interesting encounters including having had the most expensive cup of tea with Ambassador HE K. P. Fabian. He always asked me to spend time with him whenever I visited Helsinki. On one occasion we got involved with a long discussion and on returning to my car parked outside the Embassy, I found I had an expensive parking ticket. :-)

Every time a leading Indian artiste visited Helsinki, the Ambassador would arrange for their visit to Oulu. Outstanding dancers (as Padma Shri Shovana Narayan) and musicians were brought to entertain the Oulu audience. I had the cooperation of all the Oulu authorities to have full houses for them. 

On one occasion, it was at very short notice, and all the normal venues were booked. I organised the event in the largest lecture hall in Oulu University. Shovana danced to a packed audience.

Shovana Narayan's troupe taking a bow in Oulu.

Shovana Narayan performing in Oulu.

Our  interaction was not only on the cultural front. The first agreement between a Finnish University, Oulu, and an Indian University, the Indian Institute of Science, Banaglore, was forged during Ambassador HE Fabian's tenure. We had a continuous exchange of students and professors. I had the good fortrune to address the IISc during my visits to India.

The last in the series was when Professor B. S. Sonde visited our University. I was able to show him how the Technology Parks in Finland functioned. He then modelled the Indian Technology Parks on the same pattern. Professor Sonde later became the Vice Chancellor of Goa University.

Ambassador HE Fabian used to use Annikki and me as persons to look after Indian interests in Finland. He appointed us as the responsible persons to look after the interests of Indian children adopted by Finnish families.

When articles which were derogatory and misleading about India appeared in the Finnish media, Ambassador HE Fabian would ask Annikki to reply to them knowing she knew Indian and Finnish culture to give a fitting reply.

When President R. Venkataraman visited Finland, Ambassadir HE Fabian asked me (and Professor Brig Sharma) to lead the reception for the President. The President was well known to our family as he had been Industries Minister in Tamilnadu where he had given MRF Ltd. all support to fight against the foreign tyre companies who had a cartel against our Indian effort.

Ambassador HE Thangkima Cherpoot with Professor Seppo Leppävuori and me in the Microelectronics and Material Physics Laboratories

The next Indian Ambassador to Finland was HE Thangkima Cherpoot. He too was my guest to Oulu. He visited  the University, lunched with the Vice Rector of our University and attended a dual language lecture given by Annikki and me about Christianity in India.

Ambassador HE Cherpoot signing the Microelectronics Laboratory Guest Book.

Ambassador HE Cherpoot attends a lecture by Annikki and me about Indian Christianity in the Oulu Seventh Day Adventist Church.

He also organised cultural visits to Oulu by Indian artistes, so we in Oulu were fully exposed to the culture of India. 

We were fortunate to be able to fill the venues with Indian culture lovers because of the cooperation of the Oulu Administration.

Once I left thhe University, my interaction with the Embassy was on a different plane, mainly being business oriented. 

With the help of the Ambassadors, I organised visits of leading Oulu technology companies as QPR, Acta Systems, Buscom, Noptel to Bombay and Bangalore.

When I worked for the Oulu City Sports Department and the Northern Finland Sports Federation (PoPLi) heading the Alakko Nää Mua? (Will You Play With Me?) Project from 1999 on integration of ethnic minorities, and was involved in organising International Events in Oulu I had the good fortune to host Ambassador HE C. R. Balacahandra, who gave an interesting lecture in Oulu about Buddhism in India as part of the 1999 International Days.

When I organised the ETHICS 2000 conference in Oulu, with the help of the Ambassador, the opening ceremony had a reading of the translation of the Finnish epic, the Kalevala, in Sanskrit prepared by  Professor Gopalakrishnan of Calicut University who was holding a tenure at  Helsinki University at the invitation of the Indian Embassy.

The visit of Ambassador HE Om Prakash to Oulu in 2010 is covered in my blog entry on his visit.  Ambassador HE Om Prakash was from my alma mater, Delhi University (Hindu College), though considerably junior to me.

Many of these relationships with the Ambassadors and many senior Embassy staff have continued over these 50 years. 

(When I visited India several years later, HE Fabian arranged for me to visit the NGO he was heading. We share many common interests. I still keep up reading his many insightful publications on diplomatic affairs.)

Onam celebration in Espoo with Ambassador HE Ashok Sharma and me.

Ambassador HE Ashok Sharma and me at the Oulu International School.

I was quite taken aback when Ambassador HE Sharma paid me a huge compliment at his inaugural speech to all the business executives in Oulu. I was no longer active as I had officially retired from all activitiers, only going to events when invited to by the organisers

When Indian President Pranab Mukherjee visited Helsinki in 2014, Ambassador HE Sharma asked me to bring a delegation from Oulu to meet our President.

Annikki and me (with Raji Rawat, wife of Dhanpal Rawat at the official engagement in Helsinki to meet President Pranab Mukherjee. I was surprised to find my junior Stephanian alumni, Sharmistha Mukherjee (a very talented Kathak dancer), was the President's daughter.

Ambassador HE Sharma was also from my alma mater Delhi University. 

When Annikki and I visited Helsinki, I was surprised that he rushed over to the Indian Grocery shop in Hakaniemi to meet us and have a cup of tea with us at a cafe opposite the grocery store. 

He talked at length about his student days when he was quite an activist and he knew of our history of activism in Finland to fight for the rights of ethnic minorities.

When Finnish Prime Minister Juha Sipilä visited Bombay, Ambassador HE Sharma asked me to make arrangements so that he had a successful visit.

This was the email we received from Prime Minister Juha Sipilä’s office after his visit to Mumbai:

Dear Mrs and Mr Matthan,

 

Many thanks for the kind message you sent to Prime Minister Sipilä prior to his visit to India! We had a memorable and successful trip – and do hope it will lead to many more contacts between Finnish and Indian businesses, educational institutes and other walks of life. Mumbai was buzzing in the spirit of Make in India.

 

It was heart-warming to read about your remarkable contribution to the Indo-Finnish relations, too!

 

Wishing you all the very best,

Kind regards,

 

Anna-Kaisa Heikkinen

Special Adviser to the Prime Minister (International Affairs)

Prime Minister's Office

Annikki and I were invited to attend a dinner with Ambassador Her Excellency Vani Rao when she visited Oulu.

Ambassador HE Raveesh Kumar and me in Oulu.

When Ambassador HE Raveesh Kumar visited Oulu, I (but not Annikki) was invited to attend the reception to meet the Ambassador. On this occasion I was a little surprised as a newcomer to Oulu was asked to give the introductory welcome speech to the Ambassador. There was no mention of how much Oulu had contributed during the last 50 years in Indo-Finnish relations.

I share the same alma mater eith Ambassador HE Raveesh Kumar, Delhi university. He studied in Hansraj College. He is much junior to me.

I later did send a link to Ambassador HE Raveesh Kumar of the work done in Oulu and in Finland. He was kind enough to send me a reply which read as follows:

“You, along with others who came to Finland, a few decades ago, have indeed made valuable contributions towards building a positive narrative about India in this country.” 

Now, at the age of 80 and Annikki at 79, we have done our share of work for the Indian Community in Finland. 

We only hope that the groupism that we tried to keep away from our community in Oulu will not invade our culture and destroy the longstanding results of the hard work we have established here in Oulu. 

United we will succeed but divided we will soon be in ruin!

Sunday meeting of fate

Every Sunday, Annikki and I go to Linnanmaa Prisma to do our weekly grocery shopping and also to spend a couple of hours with our son, Mika, who has his studio apartment just opposite the Prisma.

I order a taxi for 15:30 and we reach Prisma at 15:40 and we return home by 17:40.

Last Sunday the taxi was late. I called to remind them at 15:35 and again at 15:45. It only arrived at 15:50.

We usually walk down the small hill to wait for the taxi near the gate. If it is sunny we go a few minutes early. Annikki sits on my walker while I sit on the wooden railing. 

Last Sunday, as we were waiting for the taxi, an elderly lady pushing a walker came into the compound. She started asking us about our history.

She laughed as heartily as Annikk does and was fascinated by our love story!.

She then asked me where I had worked in Oulu. I told her that I had worked in Oulu University. 

She then said she used to run the small stationary shop in the centre of the main university building.

It all came back as a flash as I had spent countless hours in her shop to buy paper, files, urgent office supplies for the labortory and even use the copying machine she used to have just outside her shop. 

When I published Annikki’s book “Edible Art”, I had made the master copy using the colour photocopiershe had installed outside her shop. She had given me a huge discount to copy the hundred off pages of the book and slso for the high quality photo paper I had used.

It was a truly wonderful feeling to connect with this remarkable lady who had been so much a part of my life in the University.

When I mentioned the fascinating character of Oulu University, Arpo Heikkilä, we both were in raptures as he had shared many hours in her shop as he did in my Office Room. Arpo had graced the cover of my book about Oulu University which I had published in 1994 and the maximum number of copies I had sold was through her little shop.

I was hoping that the taxi would never come as we were  enjoying the company of her effervescent  character. 

We had both moved on 40 years but it was like just yesterday that we had been together in the University.

As she lives in the same compound,  I am sure that our paths will cross again and we will talk about our old times together. 

Although both of us have aged the delightful memories have lived on. 

Proud Parents

Today we received some wonderful news. 

Last week we were also proud to watch our older daughter, Susanna, graduate with her Master’s Degree in Education from the Bishop Grosseteste University in Lincoln, England. 

One year ago our younger daughter, Joanna, got the Newcastle University Vice Chancellor’s Education Excellence Award 2022. 

And today we got a write up that Joanna had been named National Teaching Fellow (NTF).

“Winners of prestigious teaching excellence in higher education awards

Published on: 3 August 2023

Leading educators at Newcastle University have received prestigious accolades for making an outstanding impact on student outcomes and the teaching profession.

Innovative teaching approaches

Dr Joanna Matthan, Dean of Academic Affairs, Newcastle University, received her NTF for excellence in teaching within her subject area, anatomy, and her innovative teaching approaches.

She has also had significant impact in the development of a range of anatomy courses during the pandemic; her work on EDI and widening participation; and for her outstanding pastoral support for all her students.

Dr Matthan’s dedication to equality, diversity and inclusion, in particular, has been recognised, both at Newcastle University and wider across the higher education sector.

She said: “I am thrilled and honoured beyond measure to be recognised as a NTF and to represent my beloved Newcastle University in a forum that shares excellent practice across institutional boundaries.

“My ethos has always been to offer positive learning experiences and compassionate encounters for students, staff, patients, and healthcare professionals – and anyone I encounter – on this journey through academia.

“It has, however, only been possible for me to even begin to put theory into practice through having been nurtured and guided by numerous wonderful educational enablers inhouse and externally – and through collaborations with the Anatomical Society and other external organisations who have so graciously given me opportunities to thrive.”

Both of our daughters have been outstanding in whatever they have done. 

They take after their mother,Annikki, who is a person extraordinaire in her life work as wife, mother, grandmother, artist in several modes from sketching and painting, photography, cake design, garden design, crochet creativity, educationist, activist, author, researcher - and a role model for everyone around her!

Our hearts are filled with thanks to our dear Lord who has blessed us so fully in our years. 

Both our daughters have inherited the very best characteristics from their great grandparents, Dewan Bahadur Kuriyan “Mysore” Matthan and his wife and the Doyen of Kerala K. C. Mammen Mappillai and  his wife. 

We are honoured to call these two daughters our own as they prove their excellence in different parts of the world. 

They are the shining light of our worldwide Findians Community.

A day of Finnish “efficiency”

The Scandinavian countries conjure up the image of being super efficient, especially because of small population with highly trained professionals in every sphere.

Yesterday was a lesson in what not to believe.

I have already drawn the wrath of a few for exposing the lack of competence of Finnish doctors, who in the main are inexperienced. Yesterday proved a lesson in incompetence of the highest order.

In the morning I had my blood test and my ECG. That went OK as I did not have to see any doctor. The result will be with me on Wednesday. I will refer them to my Indian doctor before I meet with the Finnish doctor next Monday.

In the afternoon, one of the newly arrived Indian engineers called me to tell me that he had fallen on Saturday and his right hand was in pain. As it was too late to go to our local health centre, as he stays in one of our apartments close to our home, I told him that after i finished my days work I would take him to the University Research Hospital Out Patient Section, as that is the only one which functions after 5 pm.

However, I warned him to have his dinner and take his computer or something to read as the process could take 4 hours or more.

Do you think he believed me?

I picked him up after my dinner at around 19:30. After finishing a couple more house calls, we reached the hospital by 20:15. We registered and got the initial paperwork over and sat down to wait. The waiting room was quite empty with just about a dozen people, patients with their friend waiting around.

9:15, 10:15, 11:15. 11:45 and we were called in to see a doctor. The young lady showed her inexperience in the way she felt the injured area. Of course, she came to no conclusion, so decided to get an X-ray.

So, of I took him to the X-ray section. As I know my way around that department because of my recent injury to my finger, I was able to complete that process within half an hour. The X-ray was on its way to the doctor.

Back we were at the waiting hall.

We waited till 2:45 to be called in by a doctor who confessed that he could not read the X-ray with any certainty and advised that I call the nurses in the morning so that we could get an opinion of a qualified radiologist!

Six and a half hours, and my young friend was sent away with no diagnosis but with the comforting thought that he had been given one free pain killer tablet. He said he would savour with great relish his free tablet! :-)

The total time spent with each doctor was not more that 5 minutes. The X-ray took 5 minutes. For 15 minutes patient contact, we waited 6 hours and a half.

When I reached home, Annikki was amazed that it had not taken 9 hours. :-)

My friend is likely to drumbeat his experience with all his other colleagues working in Oulu. I do not think many will want to visit the Out Patients Department in Oulu University Research Hospital!

A true indication of the professionalism of Oulu Doctors!

Visit to my Alma Mater 3

I went to my alma mater, St. Stephen’s College, this morning.



Much had changed and much had not changed. The most important was that it was a no smoking zone! Amazing but simply wonderful. Many buildings had been added, mostly of the same style.

As soon as I arrived I met with four staff members at the gate, all after my time. Then to the Principal’s office. He was not there, but I spoke to him on the phone to get permission to do some unobtrusive photography.

First shot - The Blacksmith, which was now a modern water cooler. However, the significance of the Blacksmith has vanished as water coolers have been installed in all the blocks, making those evening and night visits to it now unnecessary.

The general atmosphere was the same except to see girls trooping around everywhere.

The greatest disappointment was the condition of the JCR.

In 1961-62 the JCR Committee had worked so hard to make the JCR a wonderful place where we could not only enjoy ourselves but feel comfortable in clean and neat surroundings. The place was now in shambles. The small rooms at the back were store houses for all sorts of paraphernalia and one was a carom room. Two TT tables now stood in the main hall. Nothing much else. It just did not feel a comfortable place to relax in during the long evenings.

But the boys there seemed quite contented - so who am I to say what it should be.

I bought a College tie from Balan in the Sports Department. Cost was just Rs. 160, but he could not sell me a college T-Shirt! Meant for students only, I guess!



The cafe had been expanded and modernised. The cane chair s were still there and the fare was a slightly more modern.

I am going back on Monday to attend the Founders’s Day Service. Hopefully I can spend a bit more time looking around.

I rushed back and with perfect timing arrived back just as K. P. Fabian, former Ambassador to Finland arrived at the Guest House. He was looking as sprightly as ever and he is active with an NGO. He also has a great blog where he writes about socio-political issues.

I still remember his wonderful speech at the Oulu University about North - South dialogue, something I should reproduce here on the blog. In today’s context, it has even more significance.

It is 4:30am. Rushing off to Rajasthan now to see the Check Dams Project. So will complete this entry on my return. (more photographs tomorrow.)

My other alma mater is Cathedral and John Connon School, Bombay and here are list of few of those are Alumni of both of these institutions.

Rahul Bajaj, Ashok (Tony) Jaitly, Peter Philip, Sujit Bhatacharya and myself, Javob Matthan. If you belong tonthesectwo Alumni, Please send mecdn email to jmatthan@ gmail.com

Kudos to Aruna and Mahesh

Posted on my Jacob's Blog, the CHAFF Blog and also on the Findians Google Group Pages.

Yesterday, Annikki and I were able to attend the Diwali Celebrations in Oulu organised by Aruna and Mahesh Somani.

It was held in a lecture hall in Oulu University, thanks to the kindness of Professor Pentti Karjalainen of the Materials Science Department of the Technical Faculty. (Mahesh works with Prof. Karjalainen as a senior researcher.)

Lord Ganesha sat in one corner and blessed the celebrations. The sandalwood armies of Ram and Sita sat on a chessboard in the corner. Colourful lights twinkled around the room.

Prof. Karjalainen and his wife graced the occasion. To me it was a great occasion to meet up with him again as he was the very first contact I had with the University of Oulu in May 1984 - and I had my diary to prove it.

Entry on May 29th 1984 is phone call to Prof. Karjalainen.
Entry on May 30th 1984 records my meeting with him!

We had arrived in Oulu on 29th April 1984. I had attended the Scanplast Exhibition in Gotherburg, Sweden. Immediately on my return I had found the Materials Science Department at the University of Oulu. I had spoken to the then Associate Professor Karjalainen on May 29th and met him on May 30th.

We had common friends in Prof. Gunter Mennig from the German Plastics Institute in Darmstadt, West Germany. Prof. Mennig had previously been the Professor of Polymer Science at the Indian Institute of Technology in Madras. I had shared many common scientific research interests with him. Prof Mennig had been in Oulu in June 1983 and had given the keynote address at the Third Scandinavian Symposium in Materials Science which had been organised by Prof. Karjalainen.

I did not take an assignment at his department as I was able to join the Microelectronics Laboratory, which was just one floor above the Materials Science Department. Although I did not work with Prof. Karjalainen, I did edit several scientific papers written by staff and students of Prof. Karjalainen as well as a few by Prof. Karjalainen, himself!

It was through the kindness of Prof. Karjalainen that Mahesh was able to get the use of lecture room to hold the Diwali celebrations.

Aruna and Mahesh truly did a great job of organising this event. The number invited had to be restricted to just 50 because of the size of the lecture hall. But well over 70 people turned out.


Little Hannah with her engineer mother, Nisha,
from Kerala, watch the lively proceedings.

There were men, women and children from every part of the sub-continent who joined to celebrate what is a global festival today. From the tip of Sri Lanka, Kerala and Tamilnadu to the very north in Nepal, Lahore and Delhi, from the West in Bombay to the East in Meghalaya and Bangladesh, Findians of all ages, shapes and sizes thronged to the University.

Aruna and Mahesh had organised a full programme of song and dance from classical karnatic music to the latest from Bollywood. A superb slide presentation of Glimpses of all faces of India was as highlight.

There were outstanding performances by many participants, among them, Prasad and Vamsi, Feroz, Prabhu, the Sri Lankans, the Nepalese, and in fact finally, almost all those with the youthful heart and soul that only Diwali can bring out in people.

Food had been brought by the participants. There was so much of totally vegetarian dishes that almost 50% was taken back, even after everyone had had their fill. There were delicacies from all corners of India prepared by the Findians, almost 6 different rice preparations, plenty of spicy dal and channa preparations, wonderful dishes of peas and potatoes and a wide variety of Indian sweets - from halva to cakes. The Indian Pickles and the Mango Juice that Annikki and I had brought for the occasion were greatly relished. (We discovered the delicious Mango Juice from Nisha and Sunni and it is on our daily diet sheet now!)

The audience was not lacking in Finns or people from around the globe. Besides dear wife Annikki and son-in-law Tony, among the international guests were Prof. Karjalainen and his wife, Lisa Viren, Project Manager of the Oulu Setlementti Friendship Organisation (where Aruna works) which works on integration of Foreigners in Oulu, and her husband, Iranian Shahnaz Mikkonen, who heads the Ville Victor International Centre in Oulu, and her Finnish husband, Yrjö, Gisela Tauriainen, wife of the late Associate Prof. Antti Tauriainen with whom I had the pleasure to work with till his untimely demise in the late eighties, there were a few more dear friends.


A section of the Findians audience.

But it was the people of the sub-continent that dominated the proceedings. There were Indian engineers, scientists, teachers, architects, researchers, students, husbands, wives, children, babies and everyone, besides enjoying the scrumptious spread, had a great evening.

And there were two retired participants - Annikki and me!

Both Annikki and I were deeply touched by the generous (totally undeserved in our opinion) praise showered on us as the oldest residents of this community in Oulu. We have been blessed with so many friends who show us so much respect that it is truly embarrassing.

(The last event we had organised in the University was the wonderful dancing of International Star Shovana Narayan, accompanied by her sister, Ranjana Narayan, Supreme Court lawyer, and their dance and music troupe maybe in 1990!)

But we are immensely happy that Aruna and Mahesh have taken over the responsibility that Annikki and I once enjoyed as being the Ambassadors of our wonderful Indian Culture amongst the citizens of Oulu. Aruna is fluent in Finnish and her work at the Oulu Setlementti has been not only amongst Indians but women of all nationalities in Oulu.

Mahesh's Mac PowerBook (yes, he is wisely also a Mac User like me) contained songs from every era, videos of all major Indian superstars. It had the audience roaring, laughing, dancing and singing. The excitement was contagious as people of all age groups joined this wonderful festivities in the true spirit of Diwali, our festival of Light and happiness and the beginning of a great new year ahead.

Truly this had been Diwali, the Festival of Lights and Friendship, for all of us, so far from our homeland and brought together to feel that we were not alone or forgotten in this near Arctic location.

The wonderful warmth of our motherland, Mother India, embrace was there for all to feel and enjoy.

Thank you dearest Aruna and Mahesh.