Annikki is famed for many things - but one of her specialities is designing snowmen.
Many will recall how, a few years ago, I was greeted at 4:30 am by this snowman.
Or the one she created in 2006 November:
Or her seated laplander of late last year:
But her creativity phase has reached a new high.
She wanted to make a snowman which moved.
Who would think she would ever achieve this goal?
But now she has succeeded, aided by the enthusiasm of her grandson, Samuel. First they created a snow-slide:
And Annikki created a snowman which is delicately balanced on a plastic plate which children use to slide down snow hills.
We are waiting for a good video camera before she lets the snowman slide down the snowslide!!
Annikki takes art to the limit.
I was really amazed and laughed my guts out when I saw her working in the garden late last night (after 11 pm) and saw that snowman just ready to slide down the snowhill!
Friday, February 08, 2008
World's first "Action Snowman"
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
The seamier side of my life
Yesterday, I told you of my first love - my Miss Universe who has been at my side for 44 years and as my partner for 41 years.
But alas, man is weak, and there have been several women, besides my wife, who have shaped my life.
My latest love affair is just 9 days old, and is a girl who has not yet got a name. She is a great bundle of joy. I call her "Kochmol", which means "Little Girl".
She is the latest addition to our family, born on Sunday, the 20th of January (9 days ago) here in Oulu.
till her parents decide on a name for her!
She joins a beautiful young lady, Asha, who has been a great joy in my life for the last 10 and a half years.
Asha entered my life 10 and a half years ago, and there is not a day when I do not think of this beautiful baby who has grown to be a poised young and highly talented lady and, above all, a loving granddaughter.
When I think of my grandchildren, I must say that the two ladies, my gorgeous daughters, who have "ruled" my life started as similar beautiful babies:
Although one of them describes me as an "anarchist hippie" and the other as a "workaholic", I still love both of them dearly. If they love me even 10% of how much I love them, they remain the apples in my eyes. (Fact: I have not ever been and am not an anarchist, hippie or a workaholic!)
at the Opening of the new wing YMCA in Fitzroy Square, London,
just a few months before her demise.
Another lady, who has by her very absence, been a lasting influence on my life is my late elder sister, Nalini, who died after childbirth in 1960. I know her spirit in my heart has been watching and looking after me all through these last 48 years.
The lady who has most influenced my life was one so simple and kind and yet so powerful that no one realised her shrewdness. An only daughter and the only sister to 8 brothers who loved their sister dearly, she held them together to control them to build the huge family publishing and industrial empire from the time her parents passed away in the early 1950s till her own demise in 2000.
the Women's Christian College, Madras.
after returning to Bangalore.
My mother, Ammachi, inherited her kindness and gentleness from her mother, Valliammachi, my grandmother, and her shrewdness and business acumen were from her father, the late K. C. Mammen Mappillai.
One personal example will show you the nature of my maternal grandmother.
In 1950, when we were visiting Kottayam, the family of uncles and cousins, several tens of us, decided to go on a trip to Periyar, the Elephant Sanctuary. The day before, I ate too many jackfruit causing me severe colic pains. I was really ill. It was decided by the powers at the top that I should be left behind as it would be too dangerous to take me on such a long trip.
I was heartbroken as only a child of 7 could be. I was left in the custody of Vallammachi. I was feeling as fine, but was really feeling emotionally upset. Valliammachi had been instructed to keep me on a total light liquids diet.
In Kottayam, in her home, such an atrocity was just not possible.
Within minutes of the family members leaving for the elephant sanctuary, I was treated like a little Prince and given every delicacy she could summon, including a healthy dose of the offending jackfruit which had caused the colic problem initially.
I could not have had a better day in my life than that in the company of such a grand lady!
And this remained a secret between us till today!
The last lady who played an immense effect on my life was my paternal grandmother. A tiny woman, no one would have suspected the powerhouse that she was.
She brought up her 10 children, 5 boys and 5 girls with a whip hand to make all of them outstanding students and the 5 boys became top professionals during their life time. (One was a senior administrator in the Mysore Government, the second headed Tata Consultancy Engineering Services, another worked for the Shri Ram Group as their senior Administrator, one headed various sections of Indian Railways and also the Intergral Coach Factory in Perambur, and the last ended his career as the Chairman of the Life Insurance Corporation of India!
As the wife of one of the Mysore Maharaja's senior administrative officers, she was formal enough to run her household in accordance to all the rules laid down by the aristocracy. She ruled her dining table with such firmness that children knew they were children to be seen and not heard.
Yet she was a mellow as a lamb outside of her hours of duty. In her later years she was a loving character who could not have enough of the company of her grandchildren. She outlived her famous husband, Dewan Bahadur Mysore Matthan by over 20 years.
During that time she was respected and adored by all her grandchildren.
My love affairs with these 9 women are what made me what I am TODAY:
They say that behind every man is a woman.
I am proud to say that behind this poor human being there have been 9 outstandingly great ladies.
Monday, January 28, 2008
Secret revelations: The women in my life
chalk crayon drawing on the green grass of Woodchurch Road (Photo by Josey).
our engagement at Woodchurch Road, London.
When I was courting my Miss Universe, one would think there would never be any other women in my life!
arrives at St. Mary's Cathedral, Shrewsury.
to embark on our difficult journey through life.
Annikki became my Mrs. Universe.
Then Annikki became my Mother Universe. A more capable mother there never has been. She brought her children up in the most difficult of circumstances with never a complaint!
In 1997 she became my Grandmother Universe.
Annikki, besides being the most beautiful woman alive, is also one of the most principled persons you are likely to see on the face of ths earth. In all my 44 years with her she has never been able to tell a lie, not even a white lie! She would rather say nothing than tell a fib! And what gave her all these Universe titles are her creativity in so many ways - from cakes to interior decor and creating art from rubbish, and even in her novel methods of educating her children.
To see her in her fullest glory, do visit the website A Tribute
So one would suspect with that string of "Universe" titles, there would be no other women in my life!
How wrong can you be, as I expose all!
But you will have to wait till tomorrow, as it would be shameful to tell this part of the story on this our 41st Wedding Anniversary. :-)
Sunday, January 20, 2008
Pleased as punch?
Posted on my Jacob's Blog, the Oulu CHAFF Blog, the Mumbai Cathedralites Seventh Heaven Blog and the Delhi Stephanians Kooler Talk Blog.
Does the term "pleased as punch" refer to the condition after drinking an ample amount out of the Punch Bowl (remember Annikki and I are teetotallers) or is it some condition of Punch in the "Punch and Judy" Show?
However, Annikki and I were pleased as punch yesterday, whatever the origins of this phrase.
As was conveyed to most of you by "Manorama JM" yesterday, our younger daughter, Joanna and her husband, Tony, have produced their 3rd child, 3.49 kg in weight, 52 cm in length, at 15:35 on Sunday 20th January 2008.
Samuel and Daniel are very happy with their new baby sister, who is our second granddaughter, and just as beautiful as lovely Asha in England.
I took these pictures (with my camera which is held together by sticky tape) at the hospital for Annikki, who cannot leave the house as she is looking after her mother. Grandmom was so pleased to be part of the event! And greatgrandmom was also quite thrilled to hear the news.
Annikki is the only one, who from the time she saw Joanna in mid-December, has been saying that the baby would be a girl!
Knowing Samuel and Daniel, this little girl is likely to grow up as a tomboy!
Friday, January 18, 2008
O-India Pongal / Shankaranti Celebration in Oulu
Pongal / Shankaranti Celebration in Oulu
by
Jacob Matthan
Photographs by
Vishwanath Mallabadi, Sreekanth Kanjarla, Nagendra Kolar
There could not have been a more auspicious celebration to launch the activities of the O-India Group representing the concerns and interests of Indians resident in North Finland (Oulu, Raahe, Kajaani and Rovaniemi).The season in mid-January represents, amongst many things, the ascendancy of the sun, the abatement of the north-east monsoon and the harvesting season in many parts of India. It is celebrated under different names by all communities in all corners of India.
An event was organised by the local Indian population at the Oulu Kolutuskeskus on Asemakatu where everyone brought a small amount of their home prepared Indian vegetarian food.
The early arrivals waited expectantly for the proceedings to begin.
The evening started with an Introduction by Kiran Kumar Nataraj, one of the founders of the O-India Group.
Then to the melodic voice of Sulochana, four Indian ladies performed the traditional welcome Arathi Pooja.
This was followed by a short talk by Nageshwari who told the audience of the national meaning of this period of the year.
The whole audience were then divided into four groups representing four of the great rivers of India. It was then time for some fun games while the audience enjoyed chips and soft drinks.
Dumb Charades organised by Shalaka and Ashwini was a great fun, and the audience proved to be very experienced at this game.
This was followed by another popular game organised by Kiran, of identifying the songs associated Indian movie clips. It was interesting to see how this young audience was so clued up of hits before they were even born!
The last (luckily for me) game organised by Nisha and Sunil was more active in that blindfolded audience members had to pin thetail on the elephant.
The game which was abandoned due to lack of time was supposed to be make a fun scapegoat out of me!!!! The Good Lord was on my side vis-á-vis the mischievous Mallu couple! :-)
The games were followed by a scrumptious dinner with Srini providing the base with Tamarind Rice and Hot Pongal (prepared in the attached kitchen). A special thanks to Pizzeria Göreme who provided us with the large cooking vessel. The dinner had preparations from all parts of India, as egetable Curry, Dry Spicey Potato, Kheer, Sweet Pongal, plenty of delicious ice cream and lots of Mango phool! The food vanished but there was plenty for all.
(Nagendra replaces Bala as the camerman
in the second shot.)
And after all the O-Indians left the organising team could sit back and relax for a few minutes.
Already calls are coming in for more such events. And we are sure that will be many such events in the coming years as the people who are running the O-India Group are YOU, and all of you are enthusiastic and energetic youngsters.
Saturday, January 12, 2008
Why we did not get one important greeting
Annikki and I just received a letter which told us why we DID NOT get one important Season's Greeting in the many thousands that arrived here in Oulu!
This aerogramme from our former driver, Narayanan, brought tears to both Annikki's and my eyes.
Narayanan was the driver for the Tata Consulting Engineers (TCE) office in Madras in 1970. The office was being closed, and my dad, who was the CEO of TCE told us that they would be ending the service of a driver whom he thought was a wonderful individual.
Narayanan became my family driver in 1970. As he spoke a smattering of good English he became a confidant of Annikki who had just settled in Madras.
As I was in the process of establishing my Consulting Company, Polymer Consultancy Services, which required me to travel extensively in India, I was greatly blessed by Narayanan who took care of Annikki and the children with so much love and affection that he became an important member of our family. Every time the children got into the car, he would make sure that each one was safely seated before he started to drive - pre seat belt days.
When we moved to Bangalore in 1976 he continued as our company driver in Madras till he started his own taxi service till his retirement.
On every visit we made to India after we moved to Finland, Narayanan was there to drive us around in Madras.
When we went to India in 1991-92, he turned up with his whole family to see us. I have many beautiful pictures of him and his family with Annikki and me, which we greatly treasure.
His annual greetings were a great comfort to Annikki and me as we knew he and his family were doing well. When we did not get his greetings this last holiday season, both of us were wondering why.
Then this letter brought us this sad news of the demise of his wife and the loneliness that has crept into his life.
Our prayers go out to him and his children as we know they will miss a wonderful lady who had helped Narayanan live a good but tough life and raise a wonderful family.
We, and the many guests of ours whom he looked after with such love and care, grieve with Narayanan and his family.