Religious Fundamentalist or Anarchist Hippie?

Posted on the Stephanian Kooler Talk Blog, the Cathedralite Seventh Heaven Blog and my main Jacob's Blog.

One of the reasons that I took time off from blogging was that an Anonymous Commenter on the Kooler Talk Blog said that I had no life of my own and that was why I was running so many blogs!

So I took time off, causing deep concern amongst many of you about my health and well-being!

Those of you have been reading the Comments on the Stephanian Kooler Talk Blog would have seen some Anonymous Comments alleging that I am a Christian Religious Fundamentalist.

On the other hand, on a popular Christian TV Channel, another strange allegation about Annikki and me surfaced. Millions of viewers heard that we had been "anarchist hippies"!

Well, well, well - what a contradictory couple of allegations and turn of events.

In response to the Anonymous Commenter, I protested that I do not belong to ANY religious faction and never have. I have not subscribed, contributed or financially supported any religious movement.

The only monthly contribution that Annikki and I make regularly is € 20 to Amnesty International.

Cover of book by Annikki
published in 1994.

Annikki does belong to a Christian movement and her conversion to that faith to the extent of being baptised at the age of 40 can be found in the pages of her best-selling book "for the hour of his judgement is come:...."

In response to the "anarchist hippie" comment, we sent the tv station this comment. This allegation has been described to me by some people as saying Annikki and I are "hip" people in today's context - more a form of tribute!

Sadly, Annikki and I are not "hip" enough to understand this modern day lingo!

Given below is my email to the tv station:

Credibility of the Hope Channel!

Annikki and I listened to the interview of .................

We were quite horrified to hear the two of us described as "anarchist hippies".

Nothing could be further from the truth.

Annikki has been a dedicated Adventist from her childhood days, following in her father's footsteps. But she was only baptised as late as 1984 (when she was 40 years old) when she went through marvellous experience which is described in her book "for the hour of his judgement is come;..." (You can read this book on the internet at
 
http://koti.netplaza.fi/~amatthan/hour01.html!)

Annikki is a creative and highly talented artist and author, a Montessori Educationalist, a trained hospital helper (having worked even at Adventist Hultafors Institution in Sweden in the early 1960s and also in the Marie Curie Hospice in London) and has worked in Sweden, England, Germany and Finland.

There is hardly another private expert on Ellen G. White and her writings than Annikki, having read and understood all her books in two languages!

She has never been part of any anarchist or hippie movement.

Jacob sang in the St. Thomas Cathedral Church Choir in Bombay all through his childhood in Bombay. He was outstanding student, both in studies and sports, in his school days being House Captain! He was part of the International Youth Christian Movement during his days in Delhi University, even holding the elected position of President of College Residents!

Jacob completed his second higher degree in England after his first degree from Delhi University. The day he completed his second degree he was employed by a Government Research Centre in England - in Shawbury.

It is only after Jacob completed his second degree and got a job that he and Annikki entered into the serious commitment of a Christian marriage, over 40 years ago!

We have always been law abiding responsible citizens and have given our life to give our children the very best in terms of education. Maybe you should look at these two web pages

A Tribute to Annikki:
http://kotinetti.suomi.net/hilja.reinikka/AMTribute/annikkitribute.html
Biodata of Jacob Matthan:
http://koti.netplaza.fi/~jmatthan/jmbiodata.html

Our daughters were never sent to any boarding school in England or anywhere else. Like Jacob, who left for higher education at the age of 17, our elder daughter also proceeded to her further education away from home at the same age!

Our elder daughter (and our elder son) was able to settle in England only because we were responsible parents and preserved her birthright even when we were living in India!

Hardly what an anarchist hippie couple would do!

In later life we have devoted our life to helping various ethnic minorities and refugees. Even today, in our retirement, we look after an 87 year old dementia, tunnel vision impaired, physically weak lady, Annikki’s mother!

Hardly anarchists or hippies, then or now!

In the interests of accuracy, it would be only fair if the Hope Channel would correct this serious misconception, which borders on libel, which came through in your programme.

Annikki & Jacob Matthan
Oulu, Finland

The question arises as to my Christian roots.

Yes, I was born a Christian into a mixed very traditional Orthodox Christian/modern Protestant roots family and was brought up and educated by wonderful Christian Educational Institutions in India. Good Shepherd Convent in Mysore, Bishop Cotton School in Bangalore, Cathedral and John Connon School in Bombay and St. Stephen's College in Delhi.

I greatly valued the principles that were taught to me in these educational institutions which gave me strength to say that I was probably "educated" and not just a person who knew how to crunch numbers.

Yes, I was active in the Church Choir while at school.
Yes, like School Prefects of all faiths, I did read the Bible at the School Assembly.
Yes, I did read the Bible at the small College Chapel.
Yes; i was involved with the International Christian Youth Movement while in College. (We distributed food to poor villagers around  Delhi.)
Yes, I was part of the movement to start the non-denominational Christian prayer group in Oulu called as the International Church of Oulu.
Yes, I was even married in a Christian Church in the lovely town of Shrewsbury in England.

My break with the established church took place soon after our eldest daughter was born, when the vicar of the local church turned up at our home a few days after she was born to tell us that we should "christen" her quickly as otherwise, if she died, she would not be buried in a Christian graveyard.

What he said was hardly a Christian value that I had held so dear. It was, to me, emotional blackmail.

Annikki believed in a Church that did not support "child baptism". In her words one had to personally mature before one committed oneself to a religious institution, and as mentioned earlier, she found that strength only when she was almost 40 years old.

That experience ended my relationship with the established church, but not with religion or religious institutions of all shades.

My roots of education which I received from the schools and colleges that I attended were totally secular. There had never been any form of discrimination against any individual in any of these institutions. And my own classes both in school and college had people of many faiths in it - all brands of Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Hinduism, Sikhism, as well as people of all different colours from a variety of nations.

I will tackle the reason for the charge against me for appearing to be a Christian Fundamentalist in a separate blog entry as I am in the process of creating  a background document about education in India. It should be tackled in that context and not outside of it.

To date, I have not had any return comment from the Anonymous Commenter on my blog or from the tv Channel.

But I think Annikki and I got what we had to say off our chests!

Do tell us whether you think we come to any of you as being "religious fundamentalists" or "anarchist hippies"! Maybe, appearing at both ends of the spectrum sort of says that what we practice is just about right?

Another Cathedralite Visitor to Oulu

Posted in Jacob's Blog and the Cathedralite Seventh Heaven Blog.

Both Annikki and I were thrilled when we got news that 59er Viney Sethi would drop in on us in Oulu at the end of July or early August. He and his wife, Purnima, were visiting Purnima's daughter who lives in Sweden. Viney thought that he could pop over for a few days.

Viney and I have been friends ever since I joined Cathedral School in 1954. Viney has always been an outstanding student and a great sportsperson.  Like me, Viney was House Captain (Palmer) in 1959. I was Savage House Captain. The other two House Captains were from a year senior to us, the late Michael Colaco (Wilson) and André (Bahram).

Soon after we got our Senior Cambridge results, some of our parents gave us a holiday to a hill station. A few of us went to Mussoorie via Dehra Dun. Classmates Viney, Vijay Shivdasani, Noel Ezekiel, Ashok Ruia, Anil Ruia, Arvind Thadani and myself stayed at the Ruia Guest House in Mussoorie. This was my first visit to the North of India. I was glad we had people like Viney who spoke the "foreign" language - Hindi - to help us out.

When we finished school in Bombay, I went to Delhi to University. Viney went to Dulwich in England to do his A Levels.

Our paths crossed again when I went to London to do my specialisation in Polymer Science and Technology (Plastics, Rubber, Adhesives and Fibre Technologies). Viney moved to Loughborough to study Mechanical Engineering.

As 60er Ajeet Mehra lived round the corner from my flat in London, the two houses were the centre point for out-of-town visitors to London.

In 1964, a few of us, Viney, Ajeet, Ashok Kapur, Noel Ezekiel, Navin Bahl and myself took a battered Bedford people carrier and drove through France to St, Tropez, camped on the beach for a few days, and then went through Nice and Monaco into Switzerland. I was dropped off in Germany where I had a summer training assignment in Leverkusen. It was an unforgetable trip. It built an even stronger bond between all of us.

2007: Viney (by Hasnain Chinwalla)

This visit of Viney to Oulu was something that has moved Annikki and me to the core.

As a present, Viney gave us a short DVD.

We had no clue as to what was on it.

When we played it, we were astounded. Viney had converted some of his ancient 8 mm movie camera film onto the new media. He had us disc celebrating the first birthday of our elder daughter, Susanna, at his home in St. Helens where he was working at that time in Fibreglass Pilkington in 1968.

Not only that, as he had visited Annikki and me when we were living in Madras. He had some amazing short clips of a much younger and "athletic" looking me, Annikki in all her youthful beauty, and clips of all of our children including of our younger daughter, Joanna, then just a few months old.

Such nostalgia is something that breaks one's heart and makes tears pour from the eyes. Viney certainly knew what matters in friendships and relationships.

Although his visit was short, we caught up on a lot of news.

Viney briefed me on possible plans for the 50 year 59er reunion in 2009. I shall be sharing this with you on our special 59er Google Group in a short while. I liked the sound of what I heard and I am looking at all the financial and other implications before I lay it out as a sound proposal coming from Shivi and Piloo.

We discussed almost all of our class, person by person. If your noses were twitching, you now know WHY!

I was glad to get the latest news of many of you. Although I have been writing about many of you from your inputs to me, the difference between Viney and me is that Viney has been meeting all of you and was able to give me all the scandals in all their glory!

Thank you Viney for taking the time and trouble to visit us in Oulu. Both Annikki and I were truly honoured by your visit. The meal you organised at Michelle's Indian Restaurant was truly unique. Michelle and Nushad send you their regards as they learnt a lot about good Punjabi food from what you dished up for us.

It was sad to see Viney leave. (Unfortunately, my camera was broken so I do not have any photos from this visit.)

I knew from Viney's visit that the 59er reunion in 2009 is going to be wonderful event remembered by all through the rest of our lives. Even a week together is not going to get to even scratch the surface of how all our lives have been intertwined through all these years.

Other visitors to Oulu

Posted on Jacob's Blog and the Cathedralite Seventh Heaven Blog.

I am pleased that so many of you reacted to my post of yesterday, welcoming me back to the blogging world.

It was not only the visit of our grandchildren that kept me away from blogging. I was blessed with a series of other visitors who travelled from afar to spend some time with me.

54er Sadhana

54er Sadhana Madhusadan (née Shah) became a fast friend when she contacted me almost six years ago when i was still runing Seventh Heaven as a web page. Then we discovered that we had a common interest as 59er Inderjeet Shah was my classmate. Another of Sadhana's brother's, Randhir, sadly no more, was a 56er.


54er Sadhana and daughter, Gopa


Timo and Gopa

Later, Gopa, Sadhana's daughter married a Finn and settled in south Finland and became a part of our family. And after that I did extend my helping hand to Sadhana to organise the 50th year reunion of the Class of 54. The 54ers rewarded me by making mention of my assistance during their reunion and also sent me details, CD, etc. of their grand reunion.

I have been asking Sadhana to visit Finland as her daughter is here and she could spend some quality time with Annikki and me. Leaving her husband, Madhu, a Mallu like me, and son, Sid, she traveled to Helsinki to visit her daughter. Gopa and her husband, Timo, organised a holiday in a nearby ski resort (no snow in summer, but great nature walks) and after a few days there, they dropped of Sadhana in Oulu to spend a few days with us.


The reindeer and me!


The Reindeer and Sadhana

I was able to show Sadhana our home of the last 23 years including the unique Zoological Museum where one can see the whole flora and fauna in Finland in 10 minutes, flat!

The stuffed reindeer was one of the exhibits.


Sadhana, Gopa, Timo and me at Michelle's Indian Restaurant


Michelle with Nushad

We dined at several of my friend's restaurants and the last meal before Sadhana departed was at Michelle's new Indian restaurant where Michelle and Hushad served us a wonderful meal.

It was a wonderful time as we talked and talked and talked, while Annikki and Sadhana laughed and laughed and laughed.


Anniikki bids goodbye to her new friend

Parting was sorrow for all of us as Sadhana, far from being just another internet friend became someone live and flesh and blood for both Annikki and me!

Sadhana, thank you for spending time with us.

Joanna and Susanna are back in the UK

It has been a long summer, but one where Annikki and I were able to enjoy our two girls, their husbands and our grandchildren.

Joanna returned early from Newcastle in the beginning of July as she was not well and got permission to appear for her year end exams in mid August. She returned at the beginning of July with Tony and the boys, Samuel and Daniel.

Before Joanna came back she had made me promise that I would be able to spend quality time with the kids so that she could study.

I would wander across to their house every day at around 11 am, when they were finishing breakfast. I would push off with the kids to all sorts of places - the Oulu Traffic Park where they could drive pedal cars, the Oulu Speed Park which has greatly expanded its offerings for children, the Oulu Zoological Museum, the Oulu Botanical Museum, the Oulu Geology Museum, the Oulu Car Museum, the beach, various parks, and take Samuel for his football training and football tournaments.

The photographs give an idea of the varied

things "we kids did this summer". 

At the Traffic Park




Samu striding out Kimi-style



Samu on his final drive at the Traffic Park



Daniel fills petrol



Daniel drives

 Daniel pedals

At the Speed Park



Asha driving the motorcycle




Asha and Samu driving the electric vehicles



Samu fires a gun



Daniel shows me he is turning left



Daniel at the car computer game

At the Zoo

 

Asha and Samu covered in Plastic Balls



Daniel in the Plastic Balls



Asha and Samu trampolining


Asha, Daniel and Samu at the Zoo

At the Market Square



Daniel at the market square



Asha sees how Finnish drunks,
even invalids, are handled

Jogging in the Park



Building an appetite, jogging!

At a football match



Asha watches a football match

We would end our wanderings at some friend's restaurant (Pailin, Goreme, Royal Garden, Nispero) so that the kids could tank up on their goodies.

I always carried chocolates and crisps in the car. Crisps were doled out "one-by-one".

On a few occasions, Samuel would go out with me on the scooter while Annikki minded Daniel.

I would return back to our home in Kampitie when I knew Annikki was rested and she could also spend quality time with the grandkids. She would rustle up some food, usually chicken nuggets and chips or turkey sausages with something else. We had plenty of ice creams of all sorts on offer. We were all spoiled and Samuel put on about 5 kg, Daniel a couple of kg and me - 8 kg!

The kids just loved to play in the Kampitie garden creating a mess in the sand pit. Even as late as 9 pm the kids did not want to return to their home - Kampitie was where they wanted to be!

We were blessed with a great summer, so very few days had to be spent indoors. Samu did spend some time on the computer getting me all sorts of stuff in my Penguin Club Account.

In mid August I drove Joanna to Tampere (5 and half hours) to take the Ryan Air flight to Newcastle via Dublin. I picked up Susanna and family and drove back to Oulu. Susanna gave us a scare en route when she had a bad attack of gastroenteritis. I stopped at a friend's place about a 100 km from Oulu at around 5 in the morning and got his son to call an ambulance to transport Susanna directly to the Oulu University Central Hospital, where they checked her out and after doing all the necessary released her the next day.

We celebrated Asha's 10 year birthday one day early to allow Tony to take the two boys to Newcastle to rejoin Joanna after her exams.

Susanna, Chris and Asha insisted on staying in the Kampitie cellar, although Joanna's house was empty. Asha and I had a great time doing what I had done with the boys earlier, except the Traffic Park, which had closed as soon as schools started in Finland. We did a lot of mileage on the scooter and we had some great experiences.

Asha and I could not also visit the Car Museum due to a shortage of days.

Last Sunday, Chris drove Asha and Susanna in the SAAB to Tampere, where they met up with Kannan. They handed the car over to Tony who drove back on Sunday night so he could get back to work on Monday morning. He did the return trip in less than 5 hours!

Joanna gave us a scare saying that she may have fared badly in her exams. When she did not get a call for a Viva, she was half convinced that she had failed and was even contemplating quitting her medical studies.

Yesterday she got her results.

She got Merits in everything except in one where she missed her Merit classifiucation by just 0.3%. I was hopping mad with her as she certainly gave us a scare.

On the other hand, more fool me. I should have known as Joanna has been an outstanding student right from kindergarten!

We all will get back to our routine now that summer is over and the autumn leaves have started to fall.

Annikki is back in her elements have turned the living room topsy turvey and rearranged it, all by herself. The kids are waiting for the photographs, which I shall endeavour to have in a day or two.

My carpentry skills?

Kampitie Pergola

(Cross posted on the Seventh Heaven Blog for Mumbai Cathedralites.)

Not having published the final outcome of my front porch carpentry effort, many of you have cast serious doubts about my carpentry skills. I many not have the talent of my wife in creativity, I can design and create mathematically designed objects - small ones.

I will now educate those who query that aspect of my life!

I learnt to use wood, hammer, nails, saw, screw driver, screws, drills (hand variety), pliers and other simple carpentry tools while at Cathedral School, Mumbai. Many thanks to our carpentry master, Mr. G. M. Hazarnis, who guided us with simple tasks for 12 and 13 years olds. Although we had only one class per week in our lower years, it was fun, but I learnt to do things with my hands.

Later, when I was at the National College of Rubber Technology, I studied engineering drawing and also did work in a metal workshop, learning to use the lathe, welding machine, and other simple engineering tools.

When I had my first paid job at the Rubber and Plastics Research Association of Great Britain (RAPRA), I was fortunate to have to work alongside an architect studying about plastics and rubber in building, while I was looking at the durability of plastics in building. Ken Taylor is an outstanding individual as he could visualise things and create them with simple tools, without going through the process of putting them on paper. As he was a bachelor, he used to drop in at home. He and I would have brain-storming sessions with lots of wild ideas flying around. As much as he learnt about plastics from me, I learnt much about architecture from him, which helped me lecture to architects about Plastics in Building, a hot topic of those days.

In 1969, when I returned to India, we needed furniture. As carpenters were cheaper by the dozen, I was not put to the test. However, I followed Annikki's instructions and created the furniture of her liking on to paper and helped the carpenter to turn them into our unique furniture.

Many years later those skills helped me visualise design and create objects in the air and the drawing board, but I did not have much opportunity to physically create anything.

So it was only after we moved to Kampitie after the demise of Annikki's father that I had the need to use those talents. (He was a carpenter by profession, and hence I did not interfere with his work so long as he was alive.)



The first job was a porch over the rear entrance to the house. The snow used to make that entrance most difficult to use in winter. I designed and made a simple covering which has now stood the test of adverse weather conditions for the last 6 years.

When Annikki re-made the greenhouse, I did not do much except install a plastic roof.

 

Then Annikki wanted a cover over the bathtub, the centre-piece of the Kampitie garden. I designed the structure and erected it and my Thai friend, Unnop Khungrai, gave it the finishing touch of cutting and putting up the Thai design decorative effect.

And now to the cover over the front porch so as to protect Mika from the rain and snow, as it is his smoking patch.



Once Annikki acquired the waste wood from our neighbours, and having a large structural section from Joanna's garden, which was destined for the rubbish dump, I designed and set up what I think is a satisfactory protective cover, which looks nice and executes its purpose.

Life is one of learning and I can say that right from my school days, even the very simple things that I was exposed to has helped me do what is required in life in as simple a way as required. That is what life is about.

Thank you Mr. G. M. Hazarnis, my instructor at the National College (a person of Czech origin whose name I forget), my good friend, Ken Taylor, my late father-in-law, Matti Reinikka (who would have been 91 yesterday had he been alive), and above all, my dear wife who has implicit faith that I will execute her commands satisfactorily, even though I may serious doubts till the last screw has been put into place!

Blooming Midsummer Rose

(Cross posted on the Oulu CHAFF Blog.)

We have something in our garden that is called the Midsummer Rose, which starts to bloom on Midsummer Day, plus or minus a couple of days. Midsummer Day, as usual, the 21st of June, was last Thursday.



I was watching the rose bushed very carefully and although there were several buds just ready to open, there were NO blooms visible.

Today, Saturday the 23rd is when we are celebrating Midsummer Day. It is the fashion in Finland to celebrate it over the closest weekend after the 21st of June.

I went around the garden in the morning and did not see any rose in bloom.

Later in the afternoon, Annikki and I were lazing in the garden arguing about the amount of Vitamin D were were each generating while exposing ourselves to the sun, when I told her that I had not yet seen a Midsummer Rose.





She excitedly took me to the bottom of the garden, where, hidden by a lot of rose bush leaves was a solitary rose in full bloom. Nature had not failed - it was just my lack of trust in nature!

The fusion festival at Vaala was an event planned for today.

Vaala is located about 90 km from Oulu driving south east. It is at the top of the Oulu järvi (Lake) and is a very small town.





One of our regular CHAFF Participants, a Finn, Jarmo Suomela, and his friend from Thailand, Siam, have bought a restaurant, Ravintola Janoinen Hauki, in Vaala town centre. It serves pizzas, fast foods, Thai food and Finnish food, and is also a popular bar and Karaoke Centre in the evenings.

When Jarmo suggested he organise a Midsummer Market for Midsummer Day, the Thai Community in Oulu responded positively.

They went there to set up a morning of Thai culture and selling some great art work, Thai food, clothes from Thailand, trinkets from Thailand, and to perform a whole set of Thai cultural programmes of song and dance.

As it is just an hour from Oulu, I decided to pay a quick visit just to show our support for Jarmo's venture.





I arrived at 10 am and the crowd was just starting to arrive.

I had a cup of tea on the house, bought and ate three spring rolls and had a plate of delicious Salmon Soup, the most traditional of Finnish Midsummer offerings. I watched the two little girls, Kwan (7) and Pupe (14) do a great Thai dance.

Just as the Thai ladies were preparing to do their number, I had to leave as I had to get back to Oulu to help Annikki get her mother out of bed for the daily routine.

I can certainly recommend this restaurant in Vaala.

I heard later that the festival was a success. Maybe this will become a traditional event in Vaala in the years ahead.

Can anyone give me an authorative account on how the human body accepts Vitamin D, especially the difference between darkies, like me, and light skinned people, as Annikki.

May resolve a major health discussion conflict! :-)

You Mallus are so quick!

I had a reply from Malayalees in every continent about the Thai sweet which we also make in Kerala, India. The fastest came from a Mallu in Helsinki, Mathew, even before I went to bed last night.

Thanks Mathew, I slept in peace.

The name of the sweet is Achappam.

When I looked through the recipe books by Mrs. K. M. Mathew, I found it in all the three editions of her book called Kerala Cookery, also known as Nandan Pachakarama (1st edition in 1985, 2nd edition in 1986 and the 3rd edition in 1992) and also in her "The Family Cook Book" published in 1987.

The late Mrs. K.M. Mathew admiring the White Chocolate Wedding Cake and decorated with fresh red roses made by Annikki for our niece's wedding in 1999. Annikki is standing behind our aunt.

The recipe and method of making Achappam is described below:

ACHAPPAM

Ingredients:
1/2 kg fine raw rice flour
2 cups grated coconut
2 eggs
2 dsp sugar
2 tsp gingelly seeds (sesame seeds)
a little salt
1/2 tsp vanilla essence
Oil for frying.

Method:
1. Extract the milk from the grated coconut and mix the maida (fine raw rice flour) with it.
2. Whisk the eggs stiff and add the batter with the sugar, gingelly seeds, essence and salt. Use less sugar as otherwise the batter will stick to the sides of the mould.
3. Take a small portion of the batter in a small vessel. Put the ACHAPPAM mould in very hot oil kept on the fire.
4. Dip 3/4 of the mould into the batter when the mould is very hot and then dip into the hot oil. The achappam will fall off into the oil by itself. Turn it over. When fried, drain the oil by putting the achappam on paper. When cool store in bottles.

Now-a-days things are much easier in that ready coconut milk is available from a tin and you can buy the fine rice flour from the shops. But there is a great deal of skill in making it exactly to my taste, just as my aunt did! ;-)

However, no one has provided an explanation of why Thai Cooking Culture is so close to the Kerala Cooking Culture.

Ethnically we are very different - but somewhere the lines of culture have crossed. In which direction? I am fascinated by this discovery, as in Oulu, with Annikki so preoccupied, to enjoy a taste of near Kerala style spicy food, I have to go to The Pailin Thai Restaurant!

Rice, Green Curry, Red Curry, .......

I finished the last of the "achappams" already before going to bed last night.

Yummy yum,
They are in my tum!

Help me PLEASE, before I go crazy!

Yesterday I went to the Thai Pailin Restaurant. The owners offered me a "sweet" with my tea, which they called "a traditional THAI sweet".







The look, the feel, the texture, the taste - all drove me crazy. This used to be one of my favourite crunchy sweets when I was in Kerala. But for the life of me I could not remember what it was called - Dementia?

I rushed home carrying a bag full of these delicious crunchy flower-shaped sweets and went to browse through all the books of the late Mrs. K. M. Mathew (Annammakochamma) on Annikki's book shelves - and I could not find it mentioned.

Not an appam, not a dosai, not a wada, not a jamuun, not a rasgoola, not a jilebee, not a ..... - What is it?

For a day, while taking regular bites into this delicacy, I have been trying to recall the name of this item. ( I have almost finished the stock my friends gave me!)

Anyone out there to put me out of my misery - PLEASE?

I have noticed that Thai cooking is very close to Kerala cooking in that they use a fair amount of coconut milk in their curries and they also use a lot of chillies. They have several sweets which are close to what Annammakocochamma used to turn out for weddings. Comments on the possible reason for this?

Memory sends me into splits of laughter

Yesterday was shopping day. We were looking for a mattress for Mika's bed. The present one has the springs popping out and a cavity in the centre.

The best place to find one is one of the flea markets. I drove up to one which is part of a row of shops. I found a parking place in front of the shop right next to the flea market. We both got out and I walked back to the flea market door. Annikki got out and walked directly into the next door shop, a baby and children's store!

That sent me into splits of laughter as I watched her looking at me in wonderment, not even realising what she had done.

She asked me what had caused my mirth.

I told her that at that moment she reminded me of my mother, who would tell her driver where she wanted to go. When he parked the car, she would walk into the first shop door she encountered. She trusted that her driver was a magician capable of parking directly adjacent to her destination. On Commercial Street, Bangalore, this is a near impossibility!

On Commercial Street it did not matter as she knew every shopkeeper and she was usually greeted with great enthusiasm wherever she walked in!

One of the last pictures of my father - taken in 1992.

The reason was she had been spoilt by my dad during our life in Bombay. He would always find a parking place exactly where she wanted to go. She would go into the shop and come out walking directly into the car, while my dad sat in the car doing the daily crossword puzzle in the newspaper or some other mundane thing, like working on some maths problem, to keep himself occupied. He did not enjoy going in to do the shopping!


My mother with her grandkids, Joanna and Mika, in 1983.

Many fond memories of my mother flooded back. It gave me goose pimples to remember her in her lighter moods - and this was one I really enjoyed.