Road chaos in Finland

Thursday before last we saw traffic chaos in many parts of Finland never before witnessed in this country.

I was taking Mika out that evening. As I drove out of the front gate, I realised something was horribly wrong as it became virtually impossible to steer the car. I drove at just a few kilometres per hour, managed to reach the destination to drop off Mika, and drove back equally cautiously. On return I told Annikki about my experience, as she had in passing, earlier in the day, mentioned some accidents in Helsinki. She then told me about the chaos that had taken place in south Finland, 600 km south of Oulu.

The weather had been quite fine and warm and then it had begun to snow. It was a very light powdery type of snow. With the sunshine being quite strong, the top layer of ice on the roads melted and froze again to resemble an ice-field. The powdery snow on top of it acted like chalk on a carrom board. Road conditions deteriorated so quickly that before drivers realised it there was no way to control trucks and cars as they slithered everywhere involved in pile ups on the highways. Three people died and dozens were injured in a series of pile-ups. Eight people with serious injuries were taken to hospital in Helsinki, a further five to Hyvinkää, and some to Porvoo. Dozens more were treated for minor injuries at local health centres.

In the space of just 10 minutes, at around 8 a.m. during the morning rush-hour, four main arteries into the Finnish capital were blocked by wrecked vehicles, as fine, powdery snow and freezing rain took drivers unawares. Police and rescue services, seriously stretched by the simultaneous occurrences, blamed excessive speeds for the carnage.

Road chaos in Helsinki.
Photo from road webcam of Finnish Road Association
"Being in the line behind an accident gave little protection; on each of the Lahti, Porvoo, and Hämeenlinna motorways there were two separate crashes of similar scale around a kilometre apart from one another, as drivers ploughed into stationary traffic. Two of the three fatalities took place under these circumstances. One woman was run over after stepping out of her car when she had been rammed from behind." Helsingin Sanomat

Finland is always well equipped but it was likely that the drivers were over-confident and did not link all the factors together.

In all my 21 years in Finland I have not driven in such adverse conditions nor seen such carnage as that day.

Happy Birthday Anand

Annikki and I would like you to join me in wishing Anand (Beaver) Matthan, younger son of the late George Matthan Sr., husband of Shallu (née Verghese) and father of two brilliant sons, Rahul and Rohit, a very happy 64th birthday.

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Anand, wife Shallu and his sister,
the late Ammnikochamma (Mrs. M. A. Abraham),
Bombay 1970
Anand did his schooling at Bishop Cotton's School in Bangalore and then went on to do his engineering at the Indian Institute of Technology in Kharagphur, when, as far as I can remember, it was possibly the only IIT. I should have been there when he was there but oped to stay on at St. Stephen's College.

After getting his engineering degree, I do believe he moved to Bombay. He worked at Bombay Surburban, which was a power supply company to the suburbs of Bombay, till his retirement and he started a small consultancy organisation in his home town of Bangalore.

He is a regular correspondent. Thanks.

Happy Birthday!!

A difference of culture

(I owe my secular, liberal view of life entirely to my life in my alma maters, Good Shepherd Convent, Mysore, Bishop Cotton's School, Bangalore, Cathedral and John Connon Boys' High School, Bombay and St. Stephen's College, Delhi.)

Today is Good Friday. The Finnish way of calling it is “Long Friday”, reflecting the long hours of suffering of Christ on this day of his crucifixion

This day demonstrates the vast cultural differences that may exist even in one family.

My father, from the house of Maliyakal, was brought up in the Anglican Church traditions, which was later to become part of the Church of India. The celebration of Good Friday is one which is sombre. First Church-going for the early morning service, usually 7 am. Back home and then again to church for the three hour service starting at midday. This service recreates in biblical words and music Christ’s journey to the Cross with a great deal of sorrowful expressions that are quietly demonstrated by the congregation. This atmosphere of sadness and sorrow is continued in all public and personal activities till Easter morning. Then there is joyous greetings all around from the moment one is in the church premises. There is a great degree of sincerity that is shared on this their joyous day of te Lord's resurrection after two days of mourning.

My mother, from the Kandathil family, had her roots in the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church (Jacobite) traditions. Here, the church service on Good Friday was one of personal sacrifice and suffering with a 9 hour service where one was kept in constant prayer by the priests. The major part of the service is still in the Syriac language.

Plaque at the Niranam Church, Kerala: Copyright Jacob Matthan


Niranam Church, Kerala: Copyright Jacob Matthan

Then it would be time to go home and eat a very sparse meal of rice water (kanji) and boiled beans (paiyara) with some spicy pickle to give the tasteless food just enough tang to be able to consume it. This would be also followed by a sad and sombre general atmosphere of mourning till Easter morning, when there would be joyous scenes, considerably more restrained than in the Protestant Churches.

As a child, I went through both of these, on some years one pattern dominating. But the Easter celebrations would always be in the Anglican traditions and this would be followed by a sumptuous meal so that we could break the 40 days of fasting, which was not really fasting but giving up eating of foodstuffs we really liked. The money saved would be given to some charity.

When I grew up and got married, the marriage was in the St. Mary’s Church in Shrewsbury. Annikki being an Seventh Day Adventist (SDA) by upbringing did not have strong views on many things except about keeping the Sabbath (Saturday) and about child baptism, which is not followed by the SDA Church. Baptism in the SDA was something that one undertook when one understood one’s commitment to Christ. In fact, Annikki, although a deeply devout Christian, was only baptised as late as 1984 when she was 40 years old!!

Soon, in 1967, our first baby, Susanna, arrived. The local priest, who had married us, on hearing of the arrival of our daughter asked me to visit him, as his house was just a few metres away from our flat. There, one evening, he talked at great length about Anglican church traditions and then started to lecture me about the importance of child baptism. Then, during his ranting, he went on to say that if I did not get Susanna baptised and she died, then I would not be able to bury her in the church graveyard.

This really got my goat. I departed from there promising to myself that I would no longer be a member of any organised church. Christ was something personal to me and I did not need the use of a burial ground to show where my faith lay.

So none of our children were baptised in any church before their age of maturity. We did not ever take them to church on Saturdays or Sundays. Sometimes they would accompany my parents to church. Sometimes one of them would go with Annikki to her SDA Church.

There was never any pressure ever put on any of our children that they should follow any principles that we laid down as far as religious observance was concerned.

It was my personal opinion that neither Annikki or I would pressurise our children to make any choices about their religious choices till they themselves were mature to make that decision themselves. They were, however, exposed to some of the scriptures in their school.

What I did was live, as far as possible, an exemplary life so that the values that the children saw were real values and not those that were lectured to from pulpits. I may have been wrong on many things, but I was willing to say when I did wrong, but I would never admit to doing wrong when I knew what I was doing was right in my God’s eyes.

And if we saw people doing something wrong, it was our responsibility to inform our children of our opinion of the events. But the decision about deciding what was right and wrong was to be solely theirs. There was never any telling them that they should do this or that, except what was necessary by the rules of their schools or the laws governing the society they lived in.

In my childhood in Bombay, as I was in the church choir, I had to go church twice on Sundays, morning and evening. I listened to no less than 300 lengthy sermons from the pulpit. Some were by Bishops, others by Archdeacons, some by priests and many by lay persons. I would sit in the front row, just under the pulpit listening to these beautiful words being pronounced from above me.

Do I remember the contents or message contained in even a single one of these sermons?

The answer is no!!

The principles that I imbibed were from the characters of all my friends in school, most of them non-Christians. I learnt about secularity and equality and about all the different religions. I learnt that all religions, Judaism, Christianity, Hinduism, Sikhism, Sindhi-ism, Parsi-ism, had one common flavour that one should not hurt anyone in a manner that you would not expect anyone to hurt you.

I learnt from my school and college friends that if anyone does evil to you, just turn your back on them and forget they exist. I learnt that it was not worth wasting one’s precious time and years on this planet chasing after people who are liars and cheats, as nothing I could do was going to make them change their evil ways. They are what they are and I knew they will get their just reward at the right time at the right place.

I spoke with my mother several times about this. She always agreed that my view was more Christian than any others she knew. She knew that I had passed through the very narrow gate called death and had been brought back to life as a gift to me. She knew that because of that experience I had a different view to life than any other of her children.

God had intervened and given me back my life from the jaws of death. She knew that because of my personal experience I was far more committed to religion and life than any others. She knew I did not fear death any more. She knew that I would live my life in truth and not as a hypocrite like many who merely claim from the mountain tops that they are Christians.

My mother never once questioned me about my church going or lack of it, although she felt very proud when I did go with her to church on a few occasions. She treated all my friends of so many different faiths with equal love and affection and as her own children. She knew, above all, that my strength in life was my friends who had seen what I had been through when I was drowning in Vasind.

A Count in Sadness

As a member of the Maliyakal Family we have been 16 cousins. In the Kandathil family we have been 30 cousins. God has blessed us with long life. Over the last 75 years we have lost only 2 cousins on the Maliyakal side and 6 on the Kandathil side.

Today we remember one of the most brilliant cousin who left us - Ravi, son of Kochappachen (K. M. Mammen Mappillai) and Kunjukochamma, at the very height of his career, 15 years ago.

I was shaken by the news of the passing of Ravi, as he was like a younger brother to me. I remember him when he was studying at the Jamnanlal Bajaj Institute of Management Studies in Bombay. He used to come over to our Cooperage Road Meher Mansion house for a meal, looking dog-tired. (Ravi usually also came in time to watch a football match being played in the Cooperage football ground as our house overlooked the ground.) Ravi used to tell me how exhausted he was at the study schedule they had to follow in the Institute. But he always told me that despite the gruelling pace he was enjoying every minute of it, and the forays to our home gave him enough sustenance to carry on for just a few more days at a time. Ravi was one who built his base piece by piece, and that was his success in later but tragically short life.

Ravi was outstanding in many ways. But, it was his simplicity, honesty and forthrightness that helped MRF overcome its labour problems when they were really plagued by political interference, both in Goa and Madras. Ravi appealed directly to the workers and they trusted him. He delivered!!

It was Ravi's great interest in sport that resulted in the start of the MRF Pace Foundation. There are so many public tributes to Ravi on the internet for his contribution on this front. It is still remembered by many leading sportsmen today.

However, it was the way that MRF stepped in at a very late stage and took over the organisation and execution of running the 1987 Cricket World Cup that really made MRF a household name to be trusted by every Indian in every corner of the country. All politics was eliminated in organising and running the event. And the credit for that was the quality leadership provided by Ravi.

I remember that I was invited to participate at a Conference on Microelectronics in 1989 in Delhi. When I was registering with my colleague, my professor, I was asked by the lady at the counter for my local address. I was staying at the MRF Guest House in Sunder Nagar. When I mentioned MRF, the lady put down her pen asnd asked how someone from Finland was associated with MRF. I briefly explained my connection.

From that moment onward the whole atmosphere at the conference, for both my professor and me, was like electric. We were the VVIPs. She explained to me that if I belonged to the MRF family, it was a honour to know me!! They refused to take my registration fee, even though I pleaded with her that it was not me but our University in Oulu that was paying the amount. The Conference Organisers felt that MRF had done the nation proud in organising and running the World Cup and they could not ask me to pay for taking part in the International Conference!!! (I managed to pay it quietly to another lady as otherwise I would have been in trouble with my University Accounts Department!!!)

On the Kandathil side, many times in Kerala I have been told that because I belong to the K. C. Mammen Mappillai family is enough to ensure my high place in society - something I could not ever accept. A few in the next generation has given us the same standing in society, Doctors Bapukuttychayan (K. C. Mammen) and Mohanchayan (K. O. Mammen), Ravi, and now, none other than our Rajen, who will physically collect his Padma Shri from the President of India in a day or two.

So, on this 15th Memorial Day of Ravi, let us bow our heads for a moment and remember, not only this outstanding cousin of ours, but also the other members of his family who suffered the tragic loss and have stayed together as a symbol of unity in his name. Annikki and I especially remember his mother, Kunjukochamma and Ravi's wife, Meera, on this day.

Hot Cross Buns

Hot Cross Buns are traditionally served on Good Friday (the Friday before Easter) and during the Lenten season.

My mother used to always have them on Good Friday as she picked them up from the Bakery on the way back from the early morning church service in Bombay.

I walked into the most famous, over 100 year bakery, in Oulu and did a literal translation of "Hot Cross Buns" into Finnish - which is "Kumaa Risti Munkki".

The sales girl stared at me in amazement - her eyes glazed over!!

So I recited the rhyme:

"Hot Cross Buns! Hot Cross Buns!
One a penny,
Two a penny,
Hot Cross Buns!
If you have no daughters,
Pray give them to your sons!
One a penny,
Two a penny,
Hot Cross Buns!"

I think I taught her the rhyme. She may teach it to her boss

But I did not get my traditional "Hot Cross Buns"!!

I'll try again next year.

Let us remember a great man today

15 years ago today the Kandathil family lost a great man. My uncle, K. M. Varghese Mappillai, Varichayan to me, and called by many endearing names by all his nephews and nieces, father of Thambachayan and Somakochamma, husband of one of our finest and most humourous aunts, Thandammakochamma, passed on peacefully to the other world.

Varichayan and Thandammakochamma (1974?)

When Annikki and I were leaving for Finland in 1984, both Varichayan and Thandammakochamma insisted that they had to take us out with the whole family for dinner - and knowing what we liked best, it was the finest Chinese restaurant in Bangalore.

This revived many memories of when I was a small boy when it was always the two of them who would start a family revolution to go and eat at the Chinese reatuarant on Brigade Road. They would reserve a special family room at the back of the restaurant and would pre-order the food so we did not have to wait for service. Chicken noodle soup, fried rice, American chop suey, sweet and sour pork, was the basic order and then there would be special dishes to suit each ones taste. And the atmosphere was of great fun and laughter led by the two of them. And the bill was always paid by Varichayan!!

Those were really the days.

But, simultaneously, Varichayan was the mainstay of order in the family. He worked in the Chickmagalur estates. When he moved to Bangalore, he took over running of Young India Agencies. He stayed in a small house in Gandhinagar. When we came from Mysore we stayed at his place. It was much much later that the house was built at the bottom of Grant Road.

I could go on for hours about this wonderful man who took me on my first hunting trip in the estate when he shot a flying fox. He took us on our first all night shikar when they shot a samba deer. Somewhere there exists a picture of me standing with a rifle on the samba!! We had wonderful holidays in the Estate when he lived there. He showed me where to listen to Radio Goa (wonderful music) when it was still under Portugese control. We could only listen to it when we were at the estate!!

My memories of this great man are all positive. His joyous nature at all the weddings was like plague as it spread to everyone. He was always the butt of jokes - at his own bidding. I wish I could be like him to all my nephews and nieces!! A man who gave, gave, gave and gave!!

So on this day, with this very short tribute, let us remember my uncle, a wonderful kind and gentle human being whom we all loved and all miss, even 15 years after his passing.

Mr. Organiser is 75 today

Did you ever wonder how all our Kandathil family gatherings, weddings and other events went off without a hitch.

Working tirelessly behind the scenes for anything to happen, you may have seen a very busy man carrying a briefcase, shuffling notes and giving instructions.

And assisting him would have been another great lady, who is no more, who would have been organising all the food for an event and after for many to take hjome all those delicious goodies she especially prepared for all of us.

It is by no mean coincidence that they share a birthday. Organising appears to be the trait of those born on 22nd March. For those who do not know, the little beautiful and most relevant saying that you get on your birthday is sent to you by none other than our Mr. Organiser!!

The lady was our dear Annammakochamma, Mrs. K. M. Mathew, who is no more. We remember her today on what would have been her 83rd birthday.

The other, the Mr. Organiser, was none other than His Royal Highness The Prince of Nenmeni, Thambachayan, Mammen Varghese, son of K. M. Varghese Mappillai, celebrates his 75th birthday today.

For those not in the know, Nenmeni is a beautiful rubber estate near the Gudalore Ghat where Thambachayan learnt the ropes of managing, not only an estate, but life in general. Many enjoyed his hospitality when he was at Nenmeni, which besides rubber, produces some of the best honey. For his devotion to service to the family, the family members dubbed Thambachayan with the title : Prince of Nenmeni!!

I have a picture of him in my archives with his sister, Somakochamma, Mrs. Soma Philips.

Thambachayan and Somakochamma, 1999

I hope all of you will join Annikki and me in wishing our dear cousin a very happy birthday and many many more in the years ahead. And to all in the K. M. Mathew family we say, today, we also fondly remember our dear Annammakochamma.

Passing away of another great Matthan lady

News has just reached us that our very dearest Thangammakochamma (83), Mrs. John Matthan, wife of my late father's younger brother, who made a name for himself in the Indian Railways, passed away yesterday in Bangalore after heart failure. Omenakochamma (wife of my cousin Ajit Matthan) and my godmother, Chinchaya (Mrs. M. M. Thomas) had given me news that Thangammakochamma had been in hospital and had been ailing for the last few months.

Born on 14th December 1921, she was a member of the well-known Dr. Peter family of Trichur. Two of her sisters are extremely well known, Chinnammakochamma, Mrs. K. M. Philip, of Bombay, wife of my mother's surviving elder brother, and Mollykochamma, wife of Jollychayan (Dr. V. Kurian), known internationally as Amul Kurian of Anand.

Thangammakochamma was known in her own right as well as the wife of Johnnyappapen who was an outstanding sportsman, including in his later years as a golfer of some repute. Johnyappapen was a Pope Medal winner from Bishop Cotton's Boys' School. He joined the Railway Engineering College at Jamshedpur. Together they built a glorious career travelling all over India as well as the world as they modernised the Indian Railway industry. We used to love to visit their Railway salon when they arrived in Bombay Victoria Terminus Station.

Mr. J. N. Iyer, retired from Indian Railways as Additional Chief Electrical Engineer, wrote on the Internet in an article entitled A Saga of Achievement - An Untold Story from Indian Railways

"With active support from the new General Manager, Mr. John Matthan, one of the finest persons with whom this writer has worked, the Electrical and Mechanical Engineers of ICF set about designing the two-tier AC Sleeper coaches and AC Chair Cars, with yet-to-be-developed indigenous equipment. The Power equipment consisted of axle-driven 18 Kilowatt brushless alternators with V-belt drive, 800 Ah lead-acid battery and controls. The concept of brushless alternators and V-belt drive was new to Indian Railways. Such high capacity battery sets also had not been used in the past or manufactured in India."

Johnnyappapen was a man of few words, while Thangammakochamma could keep an audience rapt in their seats with her non-stop chatter. Together, they made a wonderful couple, full of life and vibrant. We all loved Thangammakochamma and looked forward to her visits to our home as we could get all the news in an interrupted and delightfully explicit manner. When they lived in Railway Baug in Colaba in Bombay, I used to rush over to their house at any opportunity, as it was always an interesting couple of hours in Thangammakochamma's company. And Johnnyappapen used to treat us youngsters as one of his own friends. Neither of them ever talked down to us youngsters.

When Johnnyappapen was tragically struck down by a speeding lorry on 22nd January 1989, far away here in Finland, Annikki and I felt the tremendous loss. Thangammakochamma was obviously affected most of all as her life-long companion was snatched from her in the prime of his retirement.

Today, they are together in spirit till the day of resurrection will once again join all these souls together.

From Finland I would like to convey our sorrow to all Thangammakochamma's surviving family members as we mourn someone we loved very deeply.

Arctic Dosais by JM Taxi Service!!

Yesterday was Arctic Dosai time.

Annikki was in the mood as it was a wonderful sunny day and she thought she would go outside to do some designing in the snow. Just as she was about to go outside, there was an interesting radio programme about old poetry, Finnish.

So she decided instead of waiting till dinner time she would produce some masala dosais.

I rang Samuel, and there was an order from there for dosais for dinner (19:00 hours!!

Master Arctic chef making a dosai


Dosai, potato filling and tomato curry (delicious) ready for next step


Dosais ready to be sent by Arctic Taxi!!

Taxi driver had his fill before delivery. Delivery was delayed by an hour (20:00 hours)

India Win; Kimi 9th; Narain 11th

India won the Second Cricket Test against Pakistan at Kolkota by 195 runs. Kumble was in deadly form, taking 3 wickets in the first innings and picking up 7 second innings wickets for just 51 runs

It was a good day for both Finnish and Indian Formula 1 enthusiasts. Although neither drivers made the victory stand or even finished in the first 8, Kimi, who lost a tyre in the 25th lap of the race fought back from rejoining the race in 13th position and almost caught Christian Klein after making up almost a second every lap on his reentry. Kimi's team-mate Montoya finished 4th, making it a good day for the Maclaren team.

Malaysian Grand Prix - Standings
Final positions:

1 F Alonso (Renault)
2 J Trulli (Toyota)
3 N Heidfeld (Williams)
4 J Montoya (McLaren)
5 R Schumacher (Toyota)
6 D Coulthard (Red Bull)
7 M Schumacher (Ferrari)
8 C Klien (Red Bull)
9 K. Raikkonen (Finland) (McLaren)
10 Felipe Massa (Sauber)
11 N. Karthikeyan (India) Jordan
12 Tiago Monteiro (Jordan)
13 Christijan Albers (Minardi)

Fastest Lap: Fernando Alonso 1:25.683

It was heartening that both the Jordan cars finished the race establishing that, although not the fastest cars, they do have an engine that can last through two consecutive races.

Given some more driving experience, my prediction is that Narain Karthikeyan will certainly be reaching the podium at least once this year!!

These were the starting grid positions for today's race after the morning time trials.

Grid positions and qualifying times for the Malaysian Grand Prix at Sepang:

1 Fernando Alonso (Spa) Renault one minute 32.582 seconds 3:07.672
2 Jarno Trulli (Ita) Toyota 3:07.925
3 Giancarlo Fisichella (Ita) Renault 3:08.448
4 Mark Webber (Aus) Williams-BMW 3:08.904
5 Ralf Schumacher (Ger) Toyota 3:09.007
6 Kimi Raikkonen (Fin) McLaren-Mercedes 3:09.483
7 Christian Klien (Aut) Red Bull 3:09.589
8 David Coulthard (GB) Red Bull 3:09.700
9 Nick Heidfeld (Ger) Williams-BMW 3:09.917
10 Jenson Button (GB) BAR-Honda 3:09.832
11 Juan Pablo Montoya (Col) McLaren-Mercedes 3:10.090
12 Rubens Barrichello (Brz) Ferrari 3:11.502
13 Michael Schumacher (Ger) Ferrari 3:11.633
14 Felipe Massa (Brz) Sauber 3:11.884
15 Anthony Davidson (GB) BAR-Honda 3:11.890
16 Jacques Villeneuve (Can) Sauber 3:12.995
17 Narain Karthikeyan (Ind) Jordan 3:17.656
18 Tiego Monteiro (Por) Jordan 3.17.962
19 Patrick Friesacher (Aut) Minardi 3:21.186
20 Christijan Albers (Net) Minardi 3:23.001

Well done Kimi and Narain.

Formula 1 fans: Time trial positions

I am busy editing a doctoral thesis about the next generation of mobile phones (you won't be buying a phone to do your phone calls - maybe you will buy a new pair of eye glasses to make them!!) and also spending time watching (not on TV) the progress of the second cricket test between India and Pakistan.

For so many of you following our Indian and Finn hopes on the Formula 1 circuit, here are the time trial positions as of Saturday. Just over a 0.250 seconds between Spaniard Alonso and Finn Raikkonen, while Indian Karthikeyan is finding his legs on the circuit with about 5 seconds between him and the leader.

Let us hope both of them do well in the morning trials tomorrow and get good pole positions. The times of both the Ferraris are not so good with Michael Schumacher coming in at 12th. Since they cannot change engines from the last race, this one will test all the cars to see which engine is presently most sturdy under race conditions.

Tyres will also make a big difference in this race. Hope MRF will start to wake up and get into this game.

Times for Saturday's first qualifying for Sunday's Malaysian Formula One Grand Prix:
1 Fernando Alonso (Spa) Renault one minute 32.582 seconds
2 Jarno Trulli (Ita) Toyota 1:32.672 seconds
3 Giancarlo Fisichella (Ita) Renault 1:32.765
4 Kimi Raikkonen (Fin) McLaren 1:32.839
5 Ralf Schumacher (Ger) Toyota 1:33.106
6 Mark Webber (Aus) Williams 1:33.204
7 Juan Pablo Montoya (Col) McLaren 1:33.333
8 Nick Heidfeld (Ger) Williams 1:33.464
9 Jenson Button (GB) BAR 1:33.616
10 Christian Klien (Aut) Red Bull 1:33.724
11 David Coulthard (GB) Red Bull 1:33.809
12 Michael Schumacher (Ger) Ferrari 1:34.072
13 Felipe Massa (Brz) Sauber 1:34.151
14 Rubens Barrichello (Brz) Ferrari 1:34.162
15 Anthony Davidson (GB) BAR 1:34.866
16 Jacques Villeneuve (Can) Sauber 1:34.887
17 Narain Karthikeyan (Ind) Jordan 1:37.806
18 Tiago Monteiro (Por) Jordan 1:37.856
19 Patrick Friesacher (Aut) Minardi 1:39.268
20 Christijan Albers (Ned) Minardi 1:40.432

Should be a great Sunday with Formula 1 and cricket, plus very interesting reading to do. Some wonderful blog entries coming in the next week, so stay tuned.

Happy birthday Sarasukochamma

Sarasukohamma, Mrs. P. V. Jacob, wife of Annikunjuchayan, daughter of my late eldest maternal uncle, Mr. K. M. Cherian (Chetpetleappachen) celebrates her 73rd birthday today.

I hope all of you wll wish her a very very happy birthday and many more to come.

Sarasukochamma lived far away in Hirakud for most of her married life. So she was only seen at some holidays and weddings.

Her claim to fame in the family are many, but most of all I would like to say that it is her brilliant eldest son, Apu, the Technical Director of Malayala Manorama, who has worked side by side with Rajen and crowd which has ensured that the entire newspaper is at its technical height today.

Sarasukochamma is the mother of the only twins in the family. One of her sons, Kunj, is married to my Madras regular correspondents daughter, Prassana, who may be the only lady engineer in the family. (Please correct me if I am wrong!!)

Sarasukochamma is the younger sister of Bapukuttychayan. Annikunjuchayan was the Chief Engineer in Indian Aluminium till he retired. They now live in Alwaye and I believe Annikunjuchayan is still active in helping with the business of ink manufacture.

Happy birthday Sarasukochamma.

First day at school

What do Dr. Raja Ramanna and I have had in common?

Visit my alma mater blog for this story.

Jacob in his Kindergarten Class Photo
I am that neat looking fellow sitting on the ground, third from the left.

Happy birthday to two of you

Two of the third generation of our Kandathil family celebrate their birthday today.

We would lke you to join us in wishing Harsha Mathew, son of Chacko and Amu Matthew, and grandson of Mathukuttychayan, (K. M. Mathew) and the late Annammakochamma, is 25 today. He is also a fellow Stephanian.

Recently, I wrote about the melodic voice of (Dr.) Shantakochamma, wife of Mohanchayan (Dr. K. O. Mammen). Our family is not short of vocal talent. I think one of the very best voices in our family is our second birthday girl - Susan, eldest daughter of Accakuttykochamma (Mrs. K. G. Kuruvilla) and the late Kurullechayan. Accakuttykochamma is the eldest daughter of the late Mambaltheappappachen and ammachi (K. M. Oommen's).

Susan has regaled us on many an occasion and I have sat and listened to her sing pop songs of my era and later. I wish Susan would make some sound bytes for me use on the internet when I include some sound on these web pages!! Would not that make this blog more interesting and vibrant. (This dinosaur ignoramus has finally figured out how to add sound to the blog pages.)

Susan is married to Moni Abraham, and they have three children, Priya, Anjali and Anand. Priya was married to Raj in December 2003, a wedding attended by our two daughters just before the family reunion in Kottayam. Susan and Moni live in Ontario, Canada.

Sadly no pictures of these birthday kids.

Samuel has his Ice Hockey Cake

I am glad I was able to upload my blog yesterday early as I was tied up all day and only got home around 19:30, very very tired.

Annikki had an interesting day as among the visitors to see Hilja on her 85th birthday was her son from Tampere and her daughter, Aino, and her husband who live here in Oulu. The daughter, Anneli, who lives in Masala, near Helsinki, could not come but sent a card and also money for us to buy flowers. There were plenty of flowers. One daughter and one son did not make any form of appearance to greet their mother on this historic occasion!!

I return, however, to last Sunday, when Samuel had his birthday party for his friends, one week late, as last week was skiing holdilay week and most kids go off to the ski resorts around Finland.

Samuel had asked grandma Anniki for a cake which was an ice hockey field. He had told Annikki that maybe she could use cream on top of the cake as the ice hockey field. But grandma had other ideas!!

She poured some fizzy clear drink, (Sprite) into a tray and stuck it out of the window. It was well well below zero. Within 15 minutes she had a beautiful sheet of solid frozen sprity ice!!

She placed this on top of the cake which had a filling of delicious orange curd (similar to lemon curd - but Annikki's own creation), surrounded the whole cake with cream. Between the cake and the ice she placed the field outlines, circles, and other things you normally find on the ice hockey field. I had to educate her on this as Annikki is not much clued up about any sports field!! On top of the ice she used various types of delicious sweets to create the men, the hockey sticks, the goal posts and the referee. She seated a whole array of spectators (manínly girls) around the field in the cream.

I was delegated to take the cake to Samuel's house. I was scheduled to arrive at 16:15. I did, and it was my task to actually create the top layer from all the things chosen by Annikki. Of course, butterfingers broke the ice on the way, but I managed to keep most of it intact and patched up most of the damage.

Samuel's 8th birthday party, twins Elias and Konsta (7 mins),
twins Kasper and Kaius (4 mins), Veli-Matti and Samuel

It was a couple of hours laters that the kids decided they wanted to partake of the goodies that Joanna had laid out for them. the ice was still very much there (broken ice was self-healed!!).

The kids were fascinated by the ice hockey field. After the singing of happy birthday in both English (led be me) and Finnish, the kids attacked the ice hockey cake, except they did not touch the cake as they demolished the sweets and the ice hockey field - kids like nothing better than stuffing ice cubes into their mouth, and it is great when it is a fizzy drink that they like.

Annikki, Samu and myself ate a bit of the cake, but I brought back most of it.

I told Annikki that if she ever gets another demand for an ice hockey cake there is no need to create the cake - she would only need to create the ice and the field!!

Two more great ladies celebrate their birthday today

Two more wonderful and great ladies celebrate their birthday today.

Kunjukochamma, Mrs. K. M. Mammen Mappillai, wife of my late uncle, Kochappachen, youngest brother of my late mother, is 80 today. Annikki and I would like to wish this wonderful aunt all the very best on this auspicious day.

I have quite many photographs of this wonderful and most colourful personality in my archives, but I choose the one I like best and one which reminds me most of her vibrant character. It was taken soon after her wedding and has me sitting with my late elder sister, Nalini, along with Kunjukochamma and her new husband. In the front, sitting on the grass, is another wonderful aunt of mine, the late Mrs. K. M. Mathew, known to all of us as Annammakochamma. Also in this picture is my late cousin, Kunjumonchayan, another absolutely wonderful personality. The only scoundrel in the picture is Dursheelan (mischievous one), which is what my uncle, Kochappachen, used to playfully call me.

Kunjumonchayan, Kochappachen, birthday girl Kunjukochamma,
Nalini and me, and with Annammakochamma sitting on the grass.
Madras, circa 1948.

The second person who celebrates her 85th birthday today is my second mother, the lady who took me into her home 21 years ago, and treated me as her own son.

Annikki's mother, Hilja, now suffers from dementia, aggravated by tunnel vision of just 20% and the general effects of age. I present here a montage of photographs of this wonderful person whom Annikki and I have the pleasure to look after in the final years of her life, which we hope will be long and in the good health she is enjoying today. We have many flowers for her and I shall try to blog a picture of her later today with her cakes and flowers

School Photo showing Hilja taken maybe in 1930. Hilja is third from right in the middle row	Hilja in 1941	Hilja with eldest three children, Annikki is in the centre
1969, Hilja carrying Jaakko with Annikki carrying Susanna	Hilja with husband Matti at his 80th birthday, 1996	Hilja June 2001
Hilja August 2002	Hilja with daughters Anneli and Annikki, August 2002	Hilja with Annikki at grandson, Samuli's, graduation party, January 2003
Hilja, February 2004	Hilja with her doll collection, May 2004	Hilja with daughter Anneli, February 2005

We hope all of you will join Annikki and me in wishing these two wonderful ladies a very happy birthday and many many more.

Two great "Matthan" sisters-in-law

I do not have any photographs of the late Langfordammachi, as she was known to me, or more commonly referred to as Mariammakochamma, wife of the late George Matthan, my father's elder brother, in my archives. I pay my tribute to her verbally.

Today, I remember her on what would have been her 97th birthday. She passed away 19 years ago, in 1986, two years after we left India. But she remains vividly in my memory.

This heroic aunt of mine struggled as she looked after her husband, my godfather, as he battled through almost 15 years of Parkinson's which slowly turned him into an immobile human totally dependent on his wife. I respect her for the sheer determination by which she lived through those years caring for her husband.

Such courage is hard to come by. Langfordammachi saw her husband lose all his strength day by day. And yet, at any time I walked into the house, she greeted me with such love and affection and asked after each and every member of my family. It was as if all the troubles on her mind were of least importance. She focused on me, the godson of her husband, a fact she never, never forgot at every meeting.

Langfordammachi was the mother of the late Ammnikochamma, Baluchachen and Anand, three wonderful cousins with truly outstanding and talented better-halves, Babychayan, Nirmalakochamma and Shallu. She was the grandmother of Vinod, Vinita, Uday, Purnima, Rahul and Rohit, six grandchildren she would be enormously proud of were she alive today.

The person who shares this birthday is her sister-in-law, my mother.

My mother, Mrs. Kuriyan Matthan, Jr., would have been 91 today. She was a wonderful loving personality. But she was tough. The toughness grew as she aged and she was called in to solve many problems between her brothers.

Her greatest regret was that she could not solve the problems between her two sons.

The only time that I know that she broke down, in toto, was when she lost her eldest daughter, Nalini, so tragically on October 29th, 1960. As I held her hand at the moment, she wept and told me that losing any of her children was what she had feared from the moment that her very first child had been born.

The closest she had come to that, she said, was when she literally saw me ebbing away in her eyes while I was many tens of kilometres away, at the very moment I was drowning in a river at Vasind near Bombay in 1955. She remembered, at that moment, how the glass of milk she was giving me at 5:30 am before I set out to the station slipped and shattered as she handed it to me. It had come as a foreboding for her. She had warned me of the dangers ahead. She had gone to her prayer room and prayed almost non-stop till I returned.

Her joy when I was brought home alive was something that was greater than anything else she had ever felt in her life. (She compared that to the biblical feeling of the father welcoming back his prodigal son.)

But at this tragic moment of losing her daughter, she knew that her return would not be similarly possible.

She resolved to come out of this tragedy by bringing up Nalini's son.

This was probably her greatest failing. She tried to be both mother and grandmother to this little boy till he became a man. She tried, aganst all odds, to instill in him her values over his genetically inherited characteristics. She realised that the values she instilled in me as a mother could not be instilled in her eldest grandson. She reconciled herself to that a few years before her passing. She prayed night and day that this little boy would have at least some of the loving nature of his mother - something which unfortunately was not to be.

In my last hours with her in March 2000, just a few hours before she went into a coma, she exposed part of her innermost heart to me. She told me, in her most direct manner as a loving mother, her anxiety of the enormous problems that would survive her on her passing.

I reassured her that I was quite competent to take care of the problems that I would face. I told her I had seen how her eldest brother, faced with similar problems, had been able to go through his life so courageously. In my case, I was fortunate to have such a loving wife, who was constantly at my side in these troubled times, so she had nothing to worry about.

And exactly as envisaged by her, I have had to do so since her passing. The bastardization of her family was the last thing she expected when she brought us up - but she knew it was coming.

Ammachi's relationship with Annikki is something none of the immediate family ever understood. Ammachi opposed my marriage till the day we were married. Then she wrote to me, "What God had put together, let no man put asunder".

And that was how she showed her love for her daughter-in-law, despite the "elitism racism" from other immediate family members. Her love and respect for Annikki grew immensely when Annikki cared for her when she broke her hip. It was Annikki who washed her and cared for her in those crucial days and weeks after she came home from the hospital.

As a tribute to her birthday, in the 5th year since her passing, I present a montage of some of her photographs from my archives.

It reveals her beauty as well as her fun-loving character. It also reveals the character of an outstandingly tough but loving human being. As a mother she was an outstanding personality.

I will be writing of some of her outstanding characteristics, as only a son knows his mother, in this blog in the coming weeks and months.

I am sorry for the quality of the old photographs. Kindly click on a photograph to see an enlarged version in your browser, which may appear slightly better than the smaller versions below.

Graduation of Ammachi from Womens' Christian College, Madras	Appachen and Ammachi Wedding Photo	Appachen, Ammachi and Nalini
Ammachi, Year Unknown	Ammachi with her family and her childhood teacher / Principal, Miss Brookesmith	Ammachi 1980
Valliappachen with his daughter and 8 daughters-in-law, Madras, 1952	At Kuppaparam with her parents and children	Ammachi with grandchildren Joanna and Mika, 1983
Holidaying with her family and Chellamakochamma and her children	Ammachi's parents	Ammachi's family in 1936

Samuel's telescope and Home Planetarium

Our youngest son, Mika, gave his mother, Annikki, a present, many years ago, when he was about 14. He knew his mother loved to watch the night sky. This was a love she picked up as a little girl when she one night she looked up into the autumn night sky and saw the twinkling stars.

The hunger for the sky became even more intense when we lived in a village in India, where there were no city lights to inhibit the night viewing. It became a family hobby.

One day, she came running to tell me that she could see satellites as they passed overhead. I laughed at her, thinking of how ridiculous was the very notion that it would be possible to see these tiny man-made objects with the naked eye. But she was right.

When we came to Finland, I quenched the thirst a bit by buying her a cheap hand-held telescope for one birthday. She faithfully used it with a great deal of difficulty, but used it she did, to look at the stars.

Then Mika saw the advertisement for a Home Planetarium, and he got it for her birthday as his present.

In our small home it was not possible to use it and it got stored away.

Now, when Annikki persuaded met get grandson Samuel a full-fledged telescope for his birthday, I suddenly remembered this Home Planetarium. Annikki searched for it yesterday and located it is some corner. She methodically keeps all her stuff, unlike me and my disorganised way of living. However, she failed to find the accompanying literature.

This afternoon, after my 40 winks, which all retired people like me are prone to these days, I awoke and decided to look for the manual. I went to one of our bookshelves, and believe you me, the first file folder that I picked up had the manual in it.

I scanned, enlarged and printed the night sky maps. I have just delivered them to Samuel along with the manual. Samuel was anxiously waiting to see the New Moon that should make it out sometime later tonight. The sky appears to be quite clear and he should get a good view of it when it appears.

However, while waiting, we decided to read an Asterix comic. The one I chose was their trip to India on the Magic Carpet!! What a laugh.

Shopping with Samu and family

Today, one of our leading household goods shops had an offer for furniture bought between 9 am and 11 am. 40% off their price.

Samu has outgrown his bed. Joanna, Tony, Daniel and myself went to the shop to buy the bed.

What a throng of people there were even before the shop opened!!

Samu and I quickly took our place in the queue to pay for the purchases while Joanna and Tony with Daniel wandered around to choose what they wanted.

Each household discount coupon entitled purchase of only one item.

So I could purchase one item from Annikki & my discount coupon and Joanna could purchase one from her family discount coupon.

There was a lot of complaining in the queues as some queues were virtually static. The shop was not quite prepared to handle such a rush.

The bed was bought as a joint present from both sets of grandparents. Joanna bought a beautiful wooden chest for her living room.

Friends and trouble

Grandson Samuel is my best friend along with granddaughter Asha.

These last few days I have been taking Samuel skiing. I have been walking approximately two rounds of the skiing track, about 3 km, while he skis alongside.

Samuel does not want me to walk faster than he can ski, which is not going to happen as walking in snow is considerably more slower than skiing. So I take shortcuts so as to keep him in my sights.

Samuel does not want me to finish the course ahead of him (about 15 minutes for 1.5 km). So we had a bit of a disagreement today. Both of us said we would tell our "moms".

Then he told me my "mom" was dead, to which I replied that I could still tell her in my prayers.

So today's sking session did not end as well as could be expected.

Joanna had to be the arbitrator so that we left each other still as best friends.

Grandson Daniel (10 months) is oblivious to all these high level politics between friends. He was smiling and laughing through the arbitration process!!

Maybe we will have to take a couple of days off from skiing till we resolve issues.