As each day in India passes, I feel that I am being rewarded even more. The rain has been hitting Chennai and the friends are thanking Annikki and me for bringing them the relief. The dry spell of over a year has gone and the parched earth is soaking up the rain. Road traffic has been disrupted, but it still continues to flow.
In the morning I decided to visit Vishnu and Veena as I had a great desire to meet his parents before I left. It was a visit well worth making as I have great respect for Vishnu's father who was, like my other very good friend, my uncle, Kuriyan Matthan, a meticulous personality with similar traits. Vishnu's mother was still the same as when I last saw her. Vishnu's uncle, whom we refer to as "Tablet's uncle" was also there and also very much the same as when I had seen him last. Time has stood still and they have retained their youthfulness.
I was able to speak with Vishnu's brother, Gishnu, and also meet Vishnu's sister's son.
Many people do not realise that lesson's are learned from all around you. I have learned much from this family, and although they look at me with great respect, I think it is I that owe them a debt hat I can never repay.
I returned back having been fed Veena's rasam that is my ether of life.
Annikki was ready and I thought we would go to have a buffet at one of the good hotel's in Mumbai. I chose Chola, which is an ITC hotel.
The spread was stupendous and all of us did it justice, especially Mika, who ate two helpings of everything he liked and could lay his hands on. The cost was also high compared to what we have been paying, but by Finnish standards, it was still very very low for wahat we ate!
After dropping Mika back at the room, Annikki and I went to City Centre as she wanted to buy some books. Sunday afternoon, and I understood well that there is no recession in India among the middle class. The shopping mall was packed to the brim that we could not get a parking place. The mall was thronging with people of every shape and size, all dressed well and with money in their pockets. I sat near the doorway and waited till Annikki finished her shopping. She had gone to the bookstall to find a book about butterflies and found two, but one was too enormous to carry back to Finland.
A short rest and it was time to visit my dear friend Isaac Sundarajan and his wife Nalla. Nalla is doing what her heart wants her to do, rehabilitating destitute women. She has chosen a place far from the city centre and is building the infrastructure to execute her work. She is finding progress slow, but I did not see a dampening in her enthusiasm to do what is God's mission for her.
Isaac is jet-setting in his new job as Vice President of a wing of LnT. The two LnT guys in Oulu come under him as also all the guys who were my good friends in Oulu and now back in Mumbai. Isaac has promised that he would soon be back in Oulu and we certainly are looking forward to have him with us again in our midst there, even if it is only for a few days.
Nalla said a wonderful and moving prayer before we left. We could see the spirit of God in her life and I silently prayed that her mission would be successful.
It was along journey to our next port of call.
Abraham Tharakan is 9 years my senior, studied in St. Joseph's College in Bangalore in the early 1950s, stayed in the hostel across from my Lalbagh Road home , and was probably the greatest influence on my life. He told me that we had met once in 1975. I do not fully recall that meeting. In my mind I was meeting him for the first time after we parted company in 1954.
Abe is still the same as I knew him then. A character whose tenacity and will are as tough as then and who is still as gentle as a lamb. He is recovering from a heart by-pass surgery.
I felt terrible that I had kept him waiting for so long, but with the rains, all my well laid out plans were running hours behind schedule. I felt especially sorry for his wife, Annie, as our late arrival had meant she was dragged out of bed.
Many thoughts went through my mind when I met Annie and then the two daughters of Abe. I was glad that he had such a happy family around him and I hoped that our friendship which started 57 years ago would continue in the same spirit.
The daughters told me that he had been interviewed by The Hindu about his blogging. I hope he willlink to that piece when it is published.
I was surprised to learn that Abe had been one of the original promoters of Apollo Tyres before Raunaq Singh had taken over the project. When they started looking at the project, the cost had been estimated at Rs. 9 crores, but with the Oil crisis, it had shot up far beyond the financial capacity of the original promoters, leading to the entry of Raunaq.
Apollo Tyres is on the ascendancy again. The company has been buying projects in different countries. MRF, if it wants to be a leading global player, must watch out. It cannot rest on its laurels. MRF needs people with a greater vision about global strategies to survive in the next decade.
Mammikochamma had recommended a Chinese Restaurant in Adayar called Liu Waldorf, so we stopped there for a light repast as we were still full from our lunch. I remembered having been to this restaurant over 35 years ago when it was the haunt of IIT Madras students. The food was excellent and the prices very nominal. Well worth eating at if you visit Chennai.
Back home to ring Joanna and talk to her and for Annikki to spend an hour on the phone talking to grandson Daniel. Maria spoke to Annikki and to Annikki's delight and Joanna's chagrin (I know this is not the exact word I should use here), Maria decided that she should speak in Finnish to her grandma!
We had tried to ring our other granddaughter, Asha, but no one had answered the phone. Hopefully we can speak to her today!
Now another day has ended and a new one started. It is just near half past five in the morning and we leave for Mumbai in the evening. There is till much to be done as I will try to get my Executive Health Checkup completed where I had done it the last time a dozen years ago. Maybe I will learn what I should not be doing what I am, which of course I know. Indulging my food cravings. But as we are on holiday, i certainly will not change my spots till I get back to my strict routine in Oulu.
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