Latest published articles

Posted on ALL our major blogs - my Jacob's Blog, the Oulu CHAFF Blog, the Mumbai Cathedralites Seventh Heaven Blog and the Delhi Stephanians Kooler Talk Blog.

Annikki was Chairperson of The English Club of Oulu almost 2 decades ago. We were also the first Life members of the Club. The Finn-Brits Magazine is the publication of The Federation of Finnish-British Societies under which English Clubs function all around Finland to promote the English Language and the cultures associated with English speakers.

Cover of Autumn 2007 edition.

The magazine decided to do a special feature about Oulu in the Autumn 2007 edition and they asked us for a couple of articles.

The first was an article about the Chamber of Assistance for Finns and Foreigners which was founded by Jacob and a few friends a couple of years ago. The article was authored by the present CHAFF Monitor, Ildikó Hámos-Sohlo, along with Jacob.

The second, a highly controversial one was authored by Annikki and Jacob about the lack of Free Speech in Oulu.

Hope you enjoy them!

TODAY: Mumbai Unplug / Batti Bandh -- This is how Mumbai will "Unplug"

Posted on my Jacob's Blog, Mumbai Cathedralites Seventh Heaven Blog and Delhi Stephanians.blogspot.com.

I have received this message from many sources and I thought to give it the desired publicity and pray that this is not a "one-off" event but one which will be repeated again and again across the world.

Old Bombay - Apollo Bunder.

This is how Mumbai will "Unplug"

Batti Bandh! Switch off Mumbai
Mumbai Unplug / Batti Bandh tells you how

Mumbai city uses an average of 550 megawatts of electricity on a Saturday between 7:30 pm - 8:30 pm. Let's see how much electricity we consume on December 15 between 7:30 pm -8:30 pm. Unplug tomorrow and vote for a green planet! Switch off and come to enjoy electricity-less entertainment at these locations.

Bandstand
Shaair and Func
Cirkles—Timir and Abhishek (band)

Carter Road
Gullywood (performers)
Dischordian (band)
Concorde (band)
Ideal Drama and Entertainment Academy (IDEA ) enact a Hindi play

Marine Drive
Gullywood (performers)
Anoushka and Friends
Violin Recital
Sophia College carol singers
Something Relevant

Ghatkopar
NSC/NCC Human Chain – MG Road to Station

For more updates on performances at Gateway, Kala Ghoda, Hard Rock Café and InOrbit Mall visit Mumbai Unplug.com.

So far, the Marine Drive landmarks, The Hilton Towers and the Air India building, have promised to switch off their façade lights for Batti Bandh. Essar is accommodating Batti Bandh on their Founders' Day conference which happens to be on December 15 too. As a part of their event, they will be switching off lights from 8:30pm-9:30 pm. Bank of Rajasthan will unplug all branches across India for Batti Bandh. Restaurants along Colaba causeway like Café Mondegar, Hard Rock Café and Shiro at Lower Parel have also pledged to "switch off". Perfetti India and Mentos have created an ad campaign centered around Batti Bandh. Students at St. Xavier's College are forming the Batti Bandh logo with candles in their campus.

There will be music bands playing at Carter Road, Marine Drive and Bandstand. At Kalamboli, Panvel and Navi Mumbai Dhol players along with 50-100 rickshawwallas will hold a peace rally. Bombay Catholic Sabha is holding another peace rally from Sahar to the Airport in Andheri. Residents of Raheja Hillside society in Powai are planning an antakshri competition during the Batti Bandh hour. "You don't have to wonder about what to do in the absence of electricity. Have a community hour," says the Batti Bandh team.

Modelled on the Sydney Earth Hour 60 held in March 2007 (that had 2.2 million citizens of the city switch off lights), Mumbai Unplug / Batti Bandh is an initiative taken in order to educate the masses and make them aware of their contribution to the deteriorating environmental conditions of not only Mumbai but India and the world. "Unlike Earth Hour 60, which was initiated by organisations like Leo Burnett and WWF, Mumbai Unplug / Batti Bandh is a citizens' initiative," said Keith.

WWF has also supported the Mumbai Unplug / Batti Bandh initiative. For more information and updates on other performances happening across the city on December 15, visit Mumbai Unplug.com.

Take a stand. Unplug.

For more information, contact:
Keith Menon
Email: info@mumbaiunplug.com
Phone: 9819769933

Rustom Warden
Email: info@mumbaiunplug.com
Phone: +91-9820806355

Neil Quraishy
Email: info@mumbaiunplug.com
Phone: +91-9820353067

Shiladitya Chakraborty
Email: info@mumbaiunplug.com
Phone: +91-9833229449

Web Site: Mumbai Unplug.com
SMS Unplug to 56363

Thank you for all the concerned Mumbaites for sending me this amd I will be there with you in spirit.

I will symbolically UNPLUG here in the Arctic between 16:30 and 17:30 today!

Kamalesh responds

Posted on Jacob's Blog and the Kooler Talk Blog for Delhi Stephanians

A couple of weeks ago I sent the congratulations from all of us of the Stephanian era of 1960s to Kamalesh Sharma, High Commissioner of India in the UK, when he was elected to serve as the Secretary General of the Commonwealth.

Today, I had his response:

from Kamalesh Sharma, High Commissioner of India, London
to Jacob Matthan
date 11 Dec 2007 17:03

Dear Sushil,

Thank you for your kind message of felicitations and good wishes. This is greatly appreciated. The assignment with the Commonwealth is one of great responsibility and challenge but I look forward to it with anticipation and enthusiasm.

It is strange to see oneself on Kooler Talk, having been associated with its birth. But I appreciate the efforts that has gone into it and the warmth of sentiment.

Very best regards and happy new year.

(Kamalesh)

Kamalesh had better be careful with all these fake Santa's pumping his hand.


My sleigh-pulling Elk (not reindeer) with me!

There is only one genuine Santa from the Arctic, ME! (As Rudolph, my ELK, will testify!)

Reindeer are too weak to pull my sleigh around the world. Only a set of powerful Elks can do that job!

It is also great to be the one continuing, 47 years on single-handedly, the pioneering work of the original creators of Kooler Talk, which included
Kamalesh, Sarwar Lateef, Peter Philip (Tubby), Prakash Joseph, Sayeed Rizvi, Zaffar Hai, Swaminathan Aiyar, Chinmoy Banerji, Montek Singh Alhuwalia, etc.!

My version of Kooler Talk (Web Version) has out-lasted any other incarnations of this rag!

No Winner!

A few weeks ago I had asked what my amazing wife, Annikki, had in mind when she created this contraption out of chicken wire.



There were hundreds of guesses - but not one was anywhere near what Annikki had in her mind, which was this.



As this wire mesh "Christmas Tree" stands outside in the garden, the tinsel twinkles with the street lights across the road. It is a truly magnificent creation which unfortunately my ancient digital camera, held together by sticky tape, cannot do any justice to.

Remember the other question: "Why did Annikki create the snowman this year in a sitting position?

Lots of great answers, but so far not a correct one!

Online Spice Shop from Oulu

Posted on Oulu Best Buy, Oulu Chaff and Jacob's Blog.

About six months ago a long standing Indian resident of Oulu, Atul, informed me that he was planning a Spice Centre in Oulu. There were a couple of physical Spice Centres in Oulu in the late eighties and early nineties, but Indian food was not so popular then and there were just a handful of clients as us.

Sadly, Atul did not let me know about the progress.

Findian couple Helena and Atul, who are behind Maustekauppa.fi

Last night, when we had a meeting to set up a new Indian Group in Oulu, Atul mentioned that his Spice Centre was up and running and that it was on the internet.



The online shopping experience, which is offered in both Finnish and English, is simple as Atul has the alternate option of using a post or bank account besides a credit card.

I, for one, do not use credit cards, so this means I can happily shop online using my direct online banking facility.

The pages are clean and neat and quite unusual in the way the spices are offered. Atul is also attempting to promote Indian cooking as he has started a recipe page, but at the moment there are only two recipes online.

I tried to log in, but found all buttons related to this process inactive. But it is not necessary to log in to shop!

Hope you have a great shopping experience in Maustekauppa.fi.

Let us wish Helena and Atul all the very best in this venture.

Am I a pastor?

Posted on the Oulu Chaff Blog and on Jacob's Blog.

I was returning home yesterday from a meeting at about 10 pm, when, quite close to my residence I saw an African man standing at the pedestrian crossing, map in hand, in a biting blizzard, obviously trying to find some address.

I pulled up the car and asked him where he wanted to go.

His hand and the map were shaking in the bitterly cold wind making it impossible to understand where he wanted to reach. I asked him to jump into that car.

The X on the map was too large to tell what the exact address was, so I asked him whether he had the phone number of his friend. He pulled out a phone and found the number - but as he had no credit in his phone account, he could not dial. So I asked him for the number and dialed.

The house was not more that a few hundred metres from where we were.

I dropped him off and handed him over to his friend who had come down to greet him.

In the process, I asked this young man where he came from - which was Ghana, and his name - which was Peter!

He in turn had only one question for me - which had me in splits of laughter - Was I a pastor?

I assured him that I was not, but I was a participant of CHAFF, which is where common folk in Oulu help one another!

What did this act of kindness cost me? 5 minutes of my time and one phone call charge!

Was it worth it? In my humble opinion - Certainly!

Have you done your good deed for today? :-)

Our last meeting on Sunday concentrated on problems of newcomers to Oulu, especially education and housing. I have some excellent flats at Puolivälikangas for rent, so contact me if you are interested - and fast!

Remember to inform Ildikó (or me) if you will be attending the dinner at the Ravintola Marrakech the coming Thursday (13th December) at 18:30 hours. Registration is imperative.

Also do remember the English Language Christmas Carol Service at the Oulu Cathedral, this Saturday, 8th December at 16:00 hours. All are welcome.

Stephanian Kamalesh Sharma 60er / 62er

Posted on the Kooler Talk (Web Version) Blog and my Jacob's Blog.

College ragging is much in the news.

The first person who "ragged" me in college was Kamalesh Sharma!

He, along with his friends, Jerry and Chinmoy Banerji, took me, after my very first college dinner, to Kamala Nagar to buy me a masala dosai and a cup of coffee!

I still remember the knock on my darkened college room window on my first night in college. When I opened it, I saw this huge guy, whom I had never met before, telling me to get dressed and accompany three of them for a walk!

During the 10 minute walk to Kamala Nagar they never revealed who they were but asked me probing questions. My heart pounded not knowing where I was being taken! And when they ordered the dosai and coffee, I thought I was being made to pay for their after dinner snack!

It was only after we finished eating they all laughed and introduced themselves as block-mates and friends of my elder brother who had lived in Rudra North (Q Block) during the previous three years!

It was with this friendship and their solid support that I was able to be elected as JCR President the next year, the first second year student to enjoy that honour.



As I watched the tv yesterday, the BREAKING NEWS was that our very own 60/62er Kamalesh Sharma had been elected as the Secretary General of the Commonwealth.

Queen Elizabeth is the head of the Commonwealth, but it is the secretary general who is responsible for its effective day to day functioning.

The Indian Diplomatic corps and especially our Stephanian alumni scored a major diplomatic success in Kampala, yesterday, when Commonwealth leaders chose the current Indian High Commissioner to the UK, Kamlesh Sharma, as the new secretary general of the 53-nation grouping.

Sharma, 66, was the pick of the Commonwealth when its leaders met at the retreat at Munyonyo.

Outgoing Secretary General Don McKinnon, a former New Zealand foreign minister, announced that Sharma was the unanimous choice of the Commonwealth, a grouping of English speaking countries that works on the principle of consensus.

"I would like to express my gratitude to all the leaders for the responsibility and trust they have given me to carry forward the task of the Commonwealth," said Kamalesh, who will take charge in April 2008. "It is an honour and privilege to serve this great institution."

Kamalesh is one of the few Indians who has won such an honour in a major international body. [Mr. K. M. Philip, my late mother's elder brother, now 95 and still playing golf, father of Stephanian 62er Peter (Tubby) Philip, uncle of 63er myself and 64er Mammen Mathew, was the first Indian who served as the President of the World Alliance of YMCAs (Young Men's Christian Associations)].

Kamalesh has also been India's representative on the Board of Governors of the Commonwealth since 2004. He was the first Special Representative of the UN Secretary General to East Timor in 2002-04 with the rank of Under Secretary General.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said he was "delighted" by the selection of Kamalesh.

"(Kamalesh's) long record of public service in the international community has been capped by this recognition of his capability and his inclusive vision of the Commonwealth," the prime minister said in a statement.

"I am confident that he will acquit himself well in his higher responsibilities as the first servant of the entire Commonwealth."

Besides doing his English Honours, B. A., and his M. A., from our alma mater, he went to King's College, Cambridge.

Kamalesh has been a member of the Indian Foreign Service from 1965 to 2001 and has been India's ambassador five times.

Kamalesh also served as the permanent representative of India to the UN in Geneva where he was spokesman for developing countries in the UN Conference on Trade and Development (Unctad).

Kamalesh later became permanent representative of India to the UN in New York during the Uruguay Round of trade negotiations (1996-2001).

I remember that when he was in this post, he was interviewed by the B.B.C. on Kashmir. When I heard this interview, in which he expressed the issue about Kashmir in a crystal clear format, I emailed him. He expressed surprise that someone had actually heard that interview!

An official said that throughout his career Kamalesh had shown a strong commitment to all facets of equitable global relationships, enlightened governance, gender equity and engagement with issues of global regimes involving trade, technology and finance.

Congrats Kamalesh. All Stephanians will be watching your performance in this important post and we know you will do us great credit. The Kooler Talk (Web Version) Blog will be recording your historic tenure

Oulu is full of Life - Welcome

Posted on the Findians Group site, Jacob's Blog and the Oulu CHAFF Blog.

As Christmas season dawns on us, Christmas shopping has already arrived with the major shops all open on Sundays.

Last Sunday, we had an great CHAFF Lunch at the Göreme Kebab and Pizzeria where Hasim and Kasim made a speacial Turkish meal for us last Sunday. About 30 lunches were served and our crowd included Chinese, Finns, Hungarians, Indians, Nigerians, Slovenians, and Zambians.

After the lunch we were shown the Leather shop of Goreme, and I got myself a wonderful leather jacket at a very special CHAFF price!

Three of the CHAFF Founders, Kamutaza Tembo from Zambia, Bill Zhang from China and myself, were present at this meeting. It has been a long time since the 3 of us were present together. (The 4th Founder, Saikou Marong has moved to Helsinki.)

On Sunday evening I went to a prize giving ceremony where the young footballer that several CHAFF members have been supporting once again got the best player award. Soda, who is just 16, has maintained his position as the leading young player in Oulu and if he keeps to his true self, we will see an international develop. Congrats Soda.

There are lots of interesting events going on in Oulu during the last part of November till mid December.

The next two Sundays, the 25th of November and the 2nd of December will be the usual informal gathering at The Coffee Shop on Isokatu (inside the Arina Hotel) between 13:00 hours and 15:00 hours.

The meeting on the 25th November is very important as I have a special meeting with a representative of the City of Oulu on November 30th to discuss the problems being faced by those who come from outside to work and study here.

The list of issues is already long - accommodation, transport, banking, police, registration, sports facilities, internet connection, family reunification, schooling, health care, insurance, taxes, language, etc.

But your inputs are very important as, unlike many, when Annikki and I speak in Oulu we can do it without fear of recrimination. We are not here to build an image for Oulu but to raise the issues which will make Oulu a better place for all of us to live in.

Chaff participant Matti Moisa is an avid stone collector and the first two weeks of December will see an exhibition of his stones at the Haukipudas Library. That will be well worth a visit.

Finnish Independence Day is a holiday, 6th December. Being a Thursday, if any of you want something special organised, please do let me know (as Ildikó will be away in the US) as there will be no CHAFF get together on Sunday 9th December.

Reason, on 8th December we have the famous English Language Carol Service at the Oulu Cathedral starting at 16:00 hours. This is an event which is well attended by most foreigners in Oulu who love to hear and take part in carol singing. People from all faiths join in unison that day and you are most welcome to attend.

Many of you would have received the email about the CHAFF Meeting on Thursday 13th December at 18:30 at the Restaurant Marrakech. For those that did not, here is the copy:

Dear CHAFF-members!

I am happy to invite you to a special occasion to close this year´s CHAFF activities: a gorgeous Christmas dinner at the Restaurant Marrakech, where a Christmas buffet will be made just for us! The date is Thursday, December 13 at 18.30 at Marrakech, Kirkkokatu 55. Note that this is during the week, not a Sunday! The price per person is 30 euros, dress nicely and be prepared for a beautiful end to a year of CHAFF friendship.

Please let me know by December 6 if you can come.

Until and after then, every Sunday, whoever is able and willing is welcome to Coffee House at 13.00 for a chat and coffee.

Best regards

Ildikó

Please inform Ildikó by the 6th as seating is strictly limited. It will be a great event and Ildikó will unveil the plans for CHAFF the next year.

Remembering one's dad

20th November is a day that I always feel deep in my heart as it is the birthday of my late dad.



After finishing his schooling in Bishop Cottons, Bangalore, (where later he was the Chairman of the Old Boys Association), he did his first degree in Mathematics at Madras Christian College, Tambaram, Madras, and then studied Electrical Engineering at Imperial College, London, in the early 1930s.



He worked as a student in Germany, before his return to India to marry my mother in 1936,

I do not know his earlier job positions although I know he served at the Sivasmudram Dam Hydro station, at the Jog Falls Hydro Station, as the Superintendent Engineer in Mysore City Electricity where amongst other jobs he was in charge of the lighting of the Maharaja's Palace, and then in Bangalore where he crossed swords with the Chief Minister Hannumanthaiya on principle so as to resign and move to his first assignment as Engineering Manager in Bombay in B.E.S.T.

From there he became the Chief Engineer of B.E.S.T, then served as Engineering Adviser in Killick Nixon (which included Bombay Suburban, and several electricity companies in Gujarat) and finally as Chief Executive of Tata Consulting Engineers (TCE) which he took from being a small engineering consulting company to be India's most prestigious engineering consultants.

Even after his retirement, he set up and guided the Bangalore Office of TCE, one of the finest engineering consulting centres, while at the same time sitting on the Board of Mysore Power Corporation supervising the design and construction of the Raichur Thermal Power Plant. He also was an Adviser to the Kerala Power Corporation.

Kuriyan Matthan, as was his name, was a fun guy all through his life till his sight was reduced through a series of problems which started after his 60th birthday which led to his retirement in 1972. With the reduced vision he lost his most favourite hobby, to solve, in writing, mathematical problems and to do crosswords.



I pay quiet tribute this day to my father on this his 96th birthday.



This was one of the last photographs of him taken by Annikki in 1992 when we visited India. He passed away in 1993, a few weeks after I paid him a visit to say my final goodbye.

Even at that age he was man enough to apologise to me for what problems had transpired between us and for him to tell me that he loved me. Tears were in his eyes when I left the front door to go to the airport. As I looked back out of the car window, although he could not see me, he was waving goodbye from the front steps, seated on a chair that he had insisted be brought out to see me leave.

He never showed the enormous power he wielded. However, what sticks out most in my mind is the way he had of dealing with people of all ages, as he gave them all equal respect and importance.

His best friends were the lowliest of those who worked with him, as the driver of his car, or a line electrician. All these "insignificant" people, in later life, were prepared to give their arm and their soul for him and his family!

I hope that this is the one most important characteristic that I have learnt from him!

I am proud he was my dad!

Why is the Laplander sitting down?

The temperature was just right and the snow was perfect for making the snowman. But, this year Annikki has him sitting down on a snow stone! (Sorry about the quality of the pictures!!!!!)




Was it just because the Laplander was tired like Annikki and me?

Actually, Annikki had a specific practical reason to have him sitting down on a stone also made of snow.

A prize for the first person who gives me the correct reason!

Creative artist's vision

When Annikki created this:



she had a vision of this:



and the detail is this:



When she created this:



she was seeing this:



What do you think she was thinking when she created this?



As it under the branches, the snow still has to fall on this bird to create the effect Annikki desires.

And I am still awaiting your entries of what she is thinking when she put that wire mesh in the wooden bucket. All entries received are nowhere near what she has in mind and she has told me what it is planned to be!

Kudos to Aruna and Mahesh

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


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

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

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

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

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

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


A section of the Findians audience.

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

And there were two retired participants - Annikki and me!

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

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

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

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

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

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

Thank you dearest Aruna and Mahesh.

The passing of my Godmother

Tomorrow would have been her 91st birthday. I had already planned to send her my birthday greetings.

When I reached my computer this morning, a nephew from Bangalore, Chacko Kovoor, had a message on Skype for me telling me of her passing away at 4 am Indian Standard Time, this morning. I was informed that after six weeks of fading health and a day short of her ninety-first birthday, she had passed away.

A great sadness ebbed over me.

Chinchaya in Bombay in 1990.

Dear Chinchaya (Mrs. Elizabeth Thomas - née Matthan) was a loving personality who knew how to bridge the generation gap. She was a friend to people of all generations, and to me she was a wonderful and caring Godmother. She took special pains to attend my Confirmation in 1957 (which was St. Thomas Cathedral in Bombay).

She spent time with me and told me the meaning of life and how to live it.

Chinchaya was always practical and organised in what she did and how she lived her life.

Chinchaya was the immediately younger sister to my father. Of her siblings, she is survived by her youngest brother, Jacob (Kochuppapen) and her two younger sisters, Grace (Accachi) and Susan (Papachi).

She is survived by her daughter, cousin Nirmala, who is the same age as me, Nirmala's husband, Gulden, and their son, Vikram and his family who live in the US. Vikram was the golden boy of Chinchaya and she waited for him to come to Bangalore for his holidays.

I last saw Chinchaya in 2000, when on a flying visit to India, a few months before my mother passed away, I did a detour to Bangalore, especially to see her. She told me that she hoped that Annikki and I would come again soon as she did not have much longer to live.

But, soon after she was on the internet and she was exchanging email messages with me. When I told her that I would like to have the birthdays of all our family members, she painstakingly compiled it and sent it to me in a letter.

I know that this was an act of great love and this is letter that I treasure in my collection of family memorabilia.

In my last conversation with Chinchaya, she had told me that she was passing away the time till she could be in peace. I had asked her to wait for me as I longed to see her again. But, sadly, she could not and in that I grieve, with Annikki of the passing of a great lady, a wonderful friend, and above all, my loving Godmother.

Our deepest condolences go out to Nirmala and her family.

The funeral will be held in a few hours at the St. John's Church, Bangalore, which was close to her home. She will be cremated shortly thereafter.

May Chinchaya's loving soul rest in peace.

The quiet German girl gets....

Posted on the Oulu CHAFF Blog and my Jacob's Blog.

Almost two years ago, I picked up a very shy German girl at Oulu Airport. She had never travelled out of her home state. I took her to our daughter's home as she had signed to be a tenant. Then I took her for first meal in Oulu at the Pailin Restaurant, as Pornpailin Weber, spoke fluent German. Kerstin was "at home" within a few hours of arrival in this big bad world of Oulu!

Kerstin was clutching a little book in her hand. At the next CHAFF meeting I introduced her to the authors of that book, Ildikó amd Ilari, who had written "Culture Shock Finland" in German! Was she surprised!

From then, Kerstin became a dedicated CHAFF participant, attending many meetings and taking part in all the major CHAFF events in the spirit of all our CHAFF participants.

Kerstin became a great friend of our grandson, Samuel, as they could discuss "Football". They watched several World Cup matches together, each rooting for their own teams.

When she finished her stint at Oulu University, where she was working for her German employer, we were all very sad to see her leave, as it has been with many other CHAFF Participants from around the world.

This evening when I opened my email INBOX, there was an email with the subject line:

"We did it!"

Dear Friends,



Yes! From now on I am Ms Mike also known as Ms Birkner!!

Mike and I got married on October 27th and we returned from our honeymoon in Vienna last Tuesday.

The wedding was fabulous! - We had a great and long party with family and friends.

Unfortunately until now I have only a few wedding pictures of groom & bride together, snapshots taken from my little brother. As soon as I receive the other pictures I will email them to you.

For the beginning I send you a few snapshots...

And now...there is another news...Mike and I are pleased to announce that our small family will grow next year (end of April)...I am pregnant and we are happy!!!

Love from grey and moistly Germany,

Kerstin

Kerstin with her Grandma.


Groom Mike with Best Woman and husband of Best Woman.
First time I am hearing of a Best Woman!


Kerstin dancing with her kid brother.


Bride and Groom.

All at CHAFF are immensely pleased at this news. I share the photographs that Kerstin sent with all of you.

I hope Kerstin and Mike will accept the congratulations and best wishes from all their dear friends from Oulu and hope the "family" will visit us here in the not too distant future.

Conference Call, Democratic Underground Forum, Impeachment

It is rare that I mix a political entry on our Jacob’s Blog as I usually reserve it for my Jacob’s Politics Blog.

Dennis Kucinich with his English wife, Elizabeth.

Today is different as Democrat Congressman Dennis Kucinich is presenting a privileged resolution, HR 333, in the US House of Representatives to impeach Dick Cheney. He has 21 co-sponsors. It is likely that besides the Republicans, most Democrat Congressman will throw their oath to uphold the US Constitution to the winds and not support this outstanding Congressman in his effort to save America and the world from a couple of madmen and their cohorts.

In a Conference Call today which was packed out to such an extend that even top Talk Show Host, Peter B. Collins, was unable to enter into the proceedings, Dennis Kucinich showed that even though his fellow Democrats may sabotage HR 333, he has many steps up his sleeve so as to keep this on the table and that it could also lead to his steps to Impeach Bush.

It was amazing that Senator Bernie Sanders, the Independent Senator from Vermont, was worried about what Bill O'Riley would say about impeachment rather than his constitutional responsibility. This is not a question about votes but following ones constitutional obligations.

Dennis Kucinich and his band of 21 are showing the way ahead.

In a straw poll that the Talk Show Host, Thom Hartman did on his programme at the end of last week, he held a rapid fire 10 minute caller poll and out of 73 callers, 41 supported John Edwards, 21 supported Dennis Kucinich, 7 supported Barrack Obama. there was 1 for each of Hilary Clinton, Chris Dodd, Bill Richardson and none for Joe Biden and Mike Gravel. One voted for Al Gore, even though Al Gore was not on the list.

Everyone thinks that Dennis Kucinich is not a serious contender for the post of US President. That is because the Corporate Lobby which provides 90% of the funding for Presidential Candidates and the Main Stream Media, which is owned by these Corporates, do not want to tell the Public of the tremendous grass roots supports that Dennis Kucinich enjoys.

Over the last six months, ever major Liberal Talk Show Host has been screaming that Dennis Kucinich is the only credible Presidential candidate who has stood consistently and in every respect against the illegal invasion and occupation of Iraq and has promised to bring the troops home within 3 months of his Presidency.

Every vote he has made and every speech has given is consistent with this stand. There has been no flip-flopping, like every other Presidential Candidate, who are time servers and sycophants to their funding sources.

Democratic Underground (DU) is the largest forum the Democrat intelligentsia base. They have over 110000 committed Democrats who take part on this forum with over 32 million postings since 2001.

I am a registered member to this forum where I air my ideas and thoughts and take part in all things which non-subscribers are permitted to do, including partake in the various polls that frequently come on line.

Thursday before last, one of the members put up a poll regarding whom the members thought should be the Democrat Presidential candidate. In the media Hillary Clinton is the front runner with Barrack Obaam and John Edwards following close behind. This is in keeping with how much money they have raised (which translates to the media in their potential advertising earnings) from their Corporate base.



From the very beginning of this DU poll, Dennis Kucinich, who has just 1 to 2 % in media run polls, pulled away with 36% with his closest rival being John Edwards with 31%. As the poll went on this ratio did not change.



After almost a week of polling, with one of the highest polling rates in all DU Polls the final standing was as shown in the screen shot below.

I tracked the polls from the very beginning, but only stared taking the screen shots when over 900 votes were cast and the results show that Dennis Kucinich is the choice of the educated and informed Democrat.

I have been a Dennis Kucinich supporter because he is only one I can trust. He is the only one who can bring back the US from being a banana republic into the group of civilised nations who believe in the rule of law, international peace, diplomacy and true democracy, not Corporatocracy which is just short of fascism.

Indian Engineers pouring into Finland

The last two days has been busy looking at the issues facing Indian Engineers who are pouring into Finland, especially north Finland.

Yesterday, I had a talk with Vikas in Mumbai as he plans to come to Finland with his wife and 5 year old daughter. That is a problem as in Finland 5 year olds do not go to school, they go to Play School. This would be a problem when the child goes back to the fierce competitive life of little children there who work to a strict syllabus already from the age of 3.

I went to a school near where Vikas could find suitable accommodation, only to find it closed as the school is being renovated. I went to the International School to meet the Principal to discuss the problem, but she was away in Helsinki. I have to wait till Monday to try to find a solution.

In the meantime. I talked to my daughter, Joanna, who did her Master's thesis on Immersion learning. She suggested that the little girl be home-schooled so that she does not lose out on her status on Indian Education.

I spoke with one engineer, Raghu, who has been sent to a small town of Kajaani. He is another Keralite and hopefully I can get some locals to help him settle in.

Today I met up with 4 engineers now staying in a hotel in Oulu - Srinivasa from Vishakapatnam, Generous from Meghalaya, Seshukumar from Hyderabad and Mandar from Mumbai.

The guys are not equipped for the fast approaching winter and they did not know that if they shop in places like Stockman, their money won't go very far.

I will try to help them out next week by taking them to a few shops where they can get their necessities at reasonable prices.

(Seems there is an immediate demand to update the book "Handbook for Survival in Finland". Ilari mentioned that the book by Ildikó and him "Culture Shock Finland" is also being updated, but unfortunately they will only print that in German.)

I took my new friends to the City Goreme and introduced them to Mehmet. We had coffee and some freshly baked bread with garlic butter. As they had just had lunch, we split a vegetarian pizza amongst the four of them.

I also introduced them to Tapon of the New Bombay restaurant who is setting up a second restaurant adjacent to his present one. I am trying to convince Tapon to make it a South Indian Vegetarian restaurant as the number of vegetarians from India in Oulu is spiralling upwards.

The necessity is to find two houses for these engineers next to each other as soon as possible so that they can use a single kitchen while enjoying the luxury of two toilets. In Oulu it is quite difficult to find flats with more than just a single toilet. With all of the engineers having to set out to work at the same time, one toilet would be impractical.

One more friend will join them on Tuesday and we should have another 14 arriving later in the month.

How I wish they had an intensive orientation session BEFORE landing in Oulu. That way they could be more productive as soon as they land without going through the hardship of finding their legs in a strange environment.

A new artist phase - Wire Mesh....

Annikki goes through phases as an artist. She has been through her chalk drawing, textile designing, ginger bread houses, edible art, rubbish recreation and many other phases in her 60+ years. Each one is ahead of its time and a few years after she has exhausted her phase it can be seen in art decor magazines.

Winner of the 1998 Ginger Bread House Competition.

Her unique cake calendar adorned many tables across the world for the whole of 2005!


The happiest face of this creative designer -
When she has ME guessing!

This year she wanted to protect the sand pit from cats in the neighbourhood who were using it as a toilet.


Cat intruder protector disguised as a wire mesh wigwam

So she created a wigwam from chicken wire mesh, but her thoughts were not just about the protection as she was already thinking artistically as to how that wire mesh would look as winter snow and frost descended on Oulu.

A few weeks later she was hunting in Oulu hardware shops for all sorts of wire mesh as she had entered a wire mesh designing phase


Cone covers for plants

Her first attempt was to create some cone covers for new plantings.



Then she created a bird which she hung on the tree in front of the garden,


Wigwam now gets clouds

Then she decided her wigwam needed some clouds hovering over it.


What is this going to turn out to be?

Many more creations have found their way into the garden. But now she has got me foxed as she has put a bundle in a wooden drum in the front of the garden and she has me guessing what this is going to turn out to be.

I will have a prize for anyone who correctly forecasts her intentions! (Honest, I have no idea what it is going to turn out to be!)

It's great fun to be married to someone who has retained her little girl character and enjoys playing with things!

Thayyil Kandathil Family Directory 2007

Yesterday's post brought me much joy as there was a small package from my uncle, Mr. K. M. Mathew, now 90 but still quite active. It contained 2 copies of the Thayyil Kandathil Family Directory 2007.



The cover features a picture of the Thayyil Tharavadu, the original Thayyil family House, which now rests in the compound of the Kodimatha Unit of the Malayala Manorama newspaper.



As I thumbed through the directory, many old names and faces which had been erased from my memory as a child came flooding back, those long gone, those who have similarly aged with me, and those younger ones whom I have seen growing up.

Mariam Matthan Family Tree

It was interesting to read from our family tree that our son-in-law, a hardened Finn, had been given a traditional Malayali name, Manninen being transformed to Mammen!

These mistakes are not to be taken seriously, as this compilation by Mr. P. T. Elias is truly historic. Our thanks go out to him for his dedicated and wonderful work.

It will now give me a chance to complete a lot of my online web pages about the Thayyil Kandathil family tree which was something I put up for the first time in 1994 as a tribute to my grandfather, K. C. Mammen Mappillai, the doyen of Kerala.

So stay tuned for some exciting news on this blog as this basic ground work is transformed into a glorious online work of Kerala Culture.

Bombay Mix in Oulu

Posted on Jacob's Blog, the Oulu Best Buy Blog and the Oulu CHAFF Blog.

Last Sunday, after our CHAFF get.together at the Coffee House, I dropped in to see Indu, Ashesh and little Karthik. Indu served me two varieties of Bombay Mix, one that she had brought from India and the other that Ashesh had picked up from London.

I have a great love for Bombay Mix and I had located that the Secondhand Shop on Isokatu (next to the Hai Long Chinese Restaurant) has a wide selection of nuts and other delicacies, including Bombay Mix at € 7.50 per kg, Pecan Nuts at € 25 per kg and Brazil Nuts at € 20 per kg. Annikki loves all the three, while I confine myself to the Bombay Mix.

Another shop which also has this great selection of nuts is Herkku Rosa next to the Oriental Shop on Rautatienkatu (the road on which the Oulu Railway Station is located). However, prices here are higher here. They have two types of Bombay Mix, spiced and normal, both at € 9,90 per kg, Pecan Nuts is € 29.90 per kg and Brazil Nuts at € 19.90 per kg.

Do remember that at the Secondhand Shop that whenever you buy € 15 at one time, you can get a stamp on the Customer Card so that on the 10th time you get € 15 back, an effective 10% discount on every € 150 of purchase.

As this is also being posted on the Oulu Best Buy Blog, the best buys of today are at the Tokmanni shop, one of which is at Kaijonharju Shopping Centre (near the University) and at Jukkolankuja on the south side of Oulu. Oranges are €0.89 per kg, Bravo ice cream is just € 0,50 per litre when you buy 2 packets, and Beef Mince is € 1.99 for 400 gm which works out at less than € 5 per kg.

On a sad note I have to inform CHAFF participants that the Pailin Restaurant where we used to meet with the wonderful cooking of authentic Thai food by Pornpailin Weber, has finally closed its doors on the 25th of October. We will all miss the wonderful friendship of Pornpailin and also her superb cooking.

The next CHAFF meeting will be on Sunday at 13:00 hours at the Coffee House with entrances on both Isokatu and also the Rotuari Square. Last week the bulk of the meeting was about "Arctic Syndrome" which I had written about on the blog.

87 year old great grandmothers

Yesterday evening, Annikki came running down to the cellar wanting me to rush up to the kitchen with the camera.

There I found two 87 year old great grandmothers dozing together with quiet peaceful music coming from the radio.



Hilja was 87 in March of this year. Iitu, our cat, was brought home by Joanna as a present for Annikki in March 1991. Converting cat years to human years, Iitu is also around 85 - 87 years old.

Iitu is remarkably fit and well, going out hunting every day and making sure her territory is free of intruders.

Iitu is a superbly intelligent cat. Even as a little kitten she knew how to jump on door handles, put her weight on them and push doors open.

She was taught hunting by me. Every night, as I brushed my teeth before going to bed, she would jump into bed to wait for me. There, she insisted I play a cat and mouse game, with me moving my hand under the blanket while she would pounce on it the minute I exposed even a tip of a finger even for a second. For Iitu it was not a game, as she used to keep her sharp kitten claws fully extended at each pounce! As soon as I fell asleep, she would push off.

Even these days, she trots up to bed at my side, and though she does not want to play the cat and mouse game very often, when she gets a chance, she goes for my fist! After she executes the kill she will lovingly lick the injured finger!

In the old days, the roof at Kampitie was a felt roof. Iitu could go in and out from the upstairs window using the fire escape ladder and the roof above the entrance porch to the house which was just below the window. The first rung of the ladder is almost 2 metres off the ground. This little kitten could jump up, and in one smooth movement climb up the ladder going in and out between the rungs.

In 2003 we changed the roof to a metal one. Iitu learnt fast that she could not use it the same way as the felt roof as she slid down it just once. She lets us open the front door or the cellar door to go out, calling us from whatever we may be doing. To come in, she climbs 4 metres up a tree in the neighbour's garden which is just next to the roof ridge. Then, keeping her paws on both sides of the ridge, she is able to walk on the metal roof without sliding. Iitu then uses the window to come in!

When Iitu was a kitten, Annikki's father was so amazed by the agility of this kitten and her intelligence, he built a small ledge outside the upstairs window so that Iitu could use it as her perch to see the world and also to make it easier for her to come in or go out.



Iitu had only one litter - when she was 2 years old. She was a good mother, but when the kittens were a few weeks old, she made it clear that they had to fend for themselves, just as she had done! She was glad to get the home for herself after we found good homes for her kittens.

We let the great grandmothers enjoy their restful evening together!

Remembering two important people in my life

Last night, as the clock ticked past midnight, Annikki and I remembered two people, both of whom Annikki did not have the chance to know as they passed away before we met. But she knew them through me and others whom she had met in later life.



Today is the 130th birth centenary of Dewan Bahadur Kuriyan Matthan, also known as Mysore Matthan, my paternal grandfather. He is survived by four of his 11 children, Mrs. T. Thomas (Elizabeth, Chinchaya, my godmother, standing second from left), Mr. Jacob Matthan (Kochuppapen, the youngest son who at his retirement was the Chairman of the Life Insurance Corporation, standing on far right) and the two youngest children, Mrs. M. V, Kurian (Grace, Accahi, sitting far right) and Mrs. G. T. Verghese (Susan, Papachi, sitting third from right). All of the surviving members, including grandson George Matthan Jr.. sitting on the floor, now reside in Bangalore, although Accachi does spend time with her daughter in Ernakulam.

At one point of my life, Annikki and I did live in Mandya District in Karnataka. It was only then that I discovered how Mysore Matthan was loved by so many people in that part of Karnataka, as he had changed the lives of many people by his wisdom and concern for the ordinary people that he had governed when he was an Administrator in the service of the Mysore Maharaja.

The second person that I remember today is my elder sister, Nalini, who tragically passed away on this day 47 years ago.

Nalini, as a baby - with the beautiful smile
that she carried through her entire life.

I remember, vividly, how she returned to India to have her baby in Bombay. I was at the Santa Cruz airport to receive her, as I was on holiday from college in Delhi.

It was a wonderful holiday, as it included a family weekend of living in a shack in Juhu Beach, Bombay, as my mother's brother's family, Mr. K. M. Philip (Peelukuttychayan, former World Y. M. C. A. President and now 95 and still active), his wife, Chinnamakochamma, and children, Sen and Suresh, were also with us.

During that wonderful weekend where we swam in the sea, played games on the beach, played cards in the shack, and in general had a really great time, we enjoyed having my sister back from her time in England where she had been living with her husband.

Nalini, although eight months pregnant, was so full of life. She was really close to all of us that weekend.

But then, it was time for Suresh and me to return to College. Despite her condition, Nalini insisted on coming to the station to see us off on the Air-Conditioned Deluxe train. She met all my other friends who were travelling with us and walked the long walk down thee Bombay Central Station platform to say goodbye at the door of our compartment. She stayed there to wave goodbye to us as the train pulled away.

Just 2 weeks later, the news of the birth of my first nephew was relayed to me in Delhi. I was able to ring the hospital and speak with her at the joy of the arrival, albeit, just for less than 3 minutes.

But that joy did not last for long as just 4 days later I was told that I should return to Bombay as Nalini had a problem. As I flew from Delhi to Bombay I was told that she had contracted tetanus, a fatal infection, especially in her weak state after childbirth.

When I reached Bombay and went directly to the hospital, she was already in deep sedation as the lock jaw was excruciatingly painful and the body would be put into spasms, which were so strong it could crack the spine.

Although under sedation, she knew when family members were in the room, as when I clasped her hand, she reacted almost immediately to tell me that she knew that I was there.

The next 10 days were nightmarish, as each day we hoped for better news, but each day the news was not good. There were no signs of any improvement and the pain was getting worse by the hour, till at one point we all prayed that God relieve her of this terrible suffering.

And on 29th October 1960, the end came and we all were deeply moved by the passing of a wonderful human being, my dearly beloved sister, who had meant so much to me as also many other people.

The funeral was the next day. Her husband had arrived from the UK. When we said goodbye to Nalini at the Sewri Cemetery, there were tears streaming on faces the many tens of mourners who were there, which included, besides relatives, many of her dear friends from her college days in Bombay and their families, all of whom had been touched by the gentleness and kindness of this human being.

So today, I honour, with a feeling of humbleness, these two wonderful people on this our blog.

Indian contingent due in Oulu

Posted on Jacob's Blog and the Oulu CHAFF Blog.

November 2007 will see a large increase of the Indian engineer population in Oulu. There is a contingent of 20 Indians some with wives and children due to arrive in Oulu during the month.

The first group of 5 are already scheduled to arrive on the 1st of November. The others are waiting for their visas and other papers to arrive.

They are looking for houses, furnished if possible, to rent.

If any of you have any offers to make, please get in touch with me and let me know, as I can put you in direct touch with those arriving.

If they are unable to get furnished appartments, they may need furniture and other household equipment. If you have any, please let me know as I am compiling a list of stuff required against what is available.

Kamu just informed me that he has a good dining table with 4 chairs available for under € 100. We were able to provide a tv, coffee maker, toaster to a young student last week from our existing stock. We still have lots of cups, saucers, glasses, from the summer flea market remains.

This week's CHAFF meeting will be at the Coffee Shop, entrance on Isokatu as well as from the Rotuari Square. Those attending will probably be there after 13:00 hours.

One of the questions that we may discuss this week is the setting up of a Kindergarten, especially for the children who may have to go back to the Indian Education System, which can never be from a Finnish run Play Schools.

This is an enormous social issue and one which needs to be taken very seriously. If there are enough people interested, then we should take it up with the companies, especially the Indian companies, who are deputing their personnel to Oulu.

My recent discussion with the Oulu City Manager for International Affairs was rather disappointing on this front concerning one child, who, because of the pressure we put, will now get admission into an English Platy School by January 2008, after having had to languish in a Finnush language Play School for over a year.

Let it be understood that Oulu, although it claims to be an International City, is far from being International, and the City Authorities neither have the resources or the will to help out those who need their help. They may write nice letters, but that is just not enough!

As was so correctly put by one family (to the City Manager of Oulu International Affairs) which has gone through misery and from pillar to post:

"Thanks you for your understanding.

Teachers in xxxxxxxx Kindergarten asked us to give an application to the yyyyyyyyyy kindergarten.  We gave the application. It was in fact the same application which my wife gave to yyyyyyyyyy in Nov 2006.

They told us that there may be openings in 2008 only.

I think this is too late for us.

We have severe problems with Language issues already now.

Since our native language is not Finnish and our stay in Finland is not confirmed to be permanent, we want to pursue our daughter's studies in English. We are unable to help her with her simple questions due to the language issue. This is getting worse day by day.

May you please expedite this matter and help us in getting some place in yyyyyyyyyy sooner than 2008.

Thanks again for your time."

To solve these problems, yet to be able to meet the requirements of a short stay in Finland, it is imperative that the Indian Style Kindergarten has to be started in Oulu. Annikki and I are willing to help, but the onus must lie on the Indian Companies who are deputing their staff to live and work in Oulu. Expect nothing but lip service and a lot of red tape from local authorities who are just not in the know of what an international environment demands!

Blogged with Flock

Arctic Syndrome

A young student from a country far south of Finland expressed to me yesterday that she was suffering from a seasonal illness. On further questioning she told me that she could feel her heart pounding and it was almost as if she was having a heart attack. She had been advised by doctors that this was because of the darkness, and that she should have more lights in her room.

With lots of Indians now coming to live in these northern latitudes, I felt that maybe I should share some of the thoughts I have on some of my experiences of living in Finland, as it may help some of the newcomers.

What this young student is gong through is what I have labelled many years ago as "Arctic Syndrome". This is not to be confused with "Arctic Hysteria" which is also known as "Piblokto", which  is a condition exclusively appearing in Inuit societies living within the Arctic Circle. This appears most prevalently in winter and is considered to be a form of a culture-specific disorder. The symptoms could include intense "hysteria" (screaming, uncontrolled wild behavior), depression, coprophagia, insensitivity to extreme cold and more. This condition is most often seen in dogs and Eskimo women.

The forms of Arctic Syndrome that I have experienced and is common to men and women as far south as Oulu, about 150 km south of the Arctic Circle, is similar to the extent that it causes rapid increase of the heartbeat, but the hysteria is almost as if the person has become claustrophobic.

I first felt this the very first winter I faced in Finland in 1984. I realised that what was affecting me was the lack of sunshine, and probably the lack of Vitamin D. This may have been part of the reason. I knew I had to overcome this. Nobody I talked to had any explanation and there was no easy access to internet databases those days to tell me what I was experiencing.

My own remedy, which was what my body told me to do,  was that I went to work very early, before the sun rose, and I stayed at work, in a warm bright environment till well after what would have been my normal sunset - after 7 pm, whereas the sun was actually setting before 5 pm. My body told me that my mental clock was out of rhythm with the daylight clock around me. I felt that if I could immunise myself from the actually time clock and fool my mental clock to think I was still in a time zone it felt comfortable with, my body could be fooled into thinking that my mental clock was functioning normally.

The atmosphere where I worked, inside the University, was such that I was able to do this quite well. I found that my mental clock believed that I was in the time zone which I was used to. I had problems on weekends, as I was usually the only one at work and if I happened to look out of my window, I could see the darkness coming down. So I pulled down the shutters of my office room to allow myself the isolation from the darkness outside of my brightly lit room.

It took me about 3 years to get over this and after that I found I was not bothered by this problem.

Annikki also has a similar version of this Syndrome in that she cannot sleep at night till exhaustion puts her to sleep. But she does not have the other side effects as the feeling of being shut in. That is probably because is born in this environment and her mental clock is able to run into the new darkness routine. However, even after the last 20+ years after her return to Finland after living in India, she still finds it difficult to get to sleep in winter.

I have not used any artificial aids to get over this syndrome, but it is likely that extra dosages of Vitamin D could help. Bbut then, I am not a doctor and also not a quack to give any prescription to anyone!

Blogged with Flock