The background to "Loma raha"

Many of you have been asking me as to the background to the "lomaraha" that many Finns receive. It is equal to a month's extra salary (but taxed at 50%). The translation means "Holiday Money".

In the old days, Finns would take the whole month of July of from work, to recover from a hard winter and to enjoy the summer sunshine. Work in the entire country would drag to an almost full stop as the Finns pushed off to their holiday homes, etc.

If the summer had been great and the look of August being an Indian Summer was a prospect, many Finns would not turn up for work on the 1st of August.

The Finnish companies had a real problem as this is a small country and every person's input counted.

To counteract this trend, the employers started an incentive called "Holiday Money".

If the people came back from their holiday on the 1st of August, they got a bonus of a month's salary.

This practice continued till finally it became enshrined as a worker's right.

Soon, everyone was getting an extra month's salary as "Lomaraha".

For 11 month's work the Finns got 13 month's salary.

I do not know if this system is still prevalent, but all through my working life I did enjoy the extra month's salary.

In my case, as I did not take my annual holiday in July, I got an extra week's holiday in December. Instead of 4 weeks paid annual holiday, I got 5 weeks. With one week off for Christmas and New Year, that made it 6 weeks. As I planned to give some lectures in India or UK, I got one week extra as a working week off from work - making it 7 weeks. 13 months salary for 10 months and 1 week work!!!!

Of course, this old man is now on a perpetual holiday! :-)

Midsummer Rose Blooms again

Every year, without fail, the Midsummer Rose at Kampitie, at least one, opens up and blooms. This year was no exception.

From 2010 Kampitie

There has been a dramatic change in the front garden at Vesaisentie, where Annikki has used a novel concept of placing wooden pavings, to complement her stone ones.

From 2010 Kampitie

They look unusual and great.

What a cosmopilitan mix

My Nordkapp Mini Bus trips are proving to be popular and quite a cosmopolitan mix.

Last week we had 3 Finns, 2 Indians, 1 Romanian and 1 Zambian (4 ladies and 3 gents). This week, we have 3 Chinese, 3 Indians, 2 Sri Lankans and 1 Sudanese (5 ladies and 4 gents). Next week....??

I was planning to make the trip this week with two friends. But, we had a last minute request from one of my Chinese tenants in Raantel Oy Furnished Apartments to accommodate her and two friends, so we moved aside to give them the chance to see the sight of a lifetime.

The route is the same as on the first trip. The pictures from Sandra are amazing. I am supposed to indicate my top 10, which has proved impossible at the moment. Each of her compositions is like a picture postcard.

I have, however, chosen one so far....

Saana Mountain, Kilpisjärvi, Finland. (Copyright Sandra Rugina, 2010)

This surrealistic picture of Saana Mountain, the sacred mountain of the Lappish people, the original nomadic inhabitants of northern Scandinaviaa and Finland, near Kilpisjärvi, is just one of her photos from the trip.

What composition, what detail, what an effect it has on you!

I will upload Sandra's 10 top photographs over the course of summer as I report on each visit to Nordkapp.

In the meantime, may I invite you to make this experience this summer!

Is this THE Dara Singh?

As many of you may have noted, my blog entry about Dara Singh and the other wrestler's of the 1950s are some of the hotest pages that I have. The controversy rages, and even as I try to put it out, it flares up again.

Now I have an email from Mahabir. He has sent me some photographs of a person whom he says is the Dara Singh.

From Dara Singh

From Dara Singh

From Dara Singh

I cannot think that it is the Dara Singh that I watched!

First Nordkapp trip travellers return

It was at about 00:30 am on Monday morning when I got the call from Hannah, the tour guide of our Nordkapp trip, that the Mini Bus was just leaving Kemi. I told her I would be at the office to meet them.

From Nordkapp Tours

 The Ford Transit 9 Seater which took the travellers to Nordkapp and back.

The tired group of travellers, 3 Finns, 2 Indians, 1 Romanian and 1 Zambian arrived at India House at 01:30.

Their journey, which had started on Friday afternoon at 14:00 hours, had been arduous, but as I understood, quite exciting. Although the cloudy skies prevented them from witnessing the Midnight Sun at the horizon, they certainly got a glimpse of the beauty of Northern Finland and Northern Norway. Two of the Finns were so experienced that our Tour Guide only had to translate what the two were saying!!!

I quickly glanced through the 300+ photographs that trip photographer, Sandra Rugina, had taken. There are some really great ones in the collection. She is a truly outstanding photographer. She can capture that moment that counts.

I will put up the best ones as soon as Sandra gets the top 10 to me.

Am I a crazy dosai lover?

Many of you have asked me why I get so excited when I am served Masala Dosai in Oulu. You can get a reasonable dosai in every street corner in India. To an average Indian, my excitement will seem foolish.

Unfortunately, the availability of a dosai in many parts of the world is strictly limited. When one is served one, and after a lengthy period of not having even seen one on the horizon, the excitement knows no bounds as the juices start their work even before the first morsel is in the mouth.

From Annikki's Oulu Masala Dosai

From Annikki's Oulu Masala Dosai

From Annikki's Oulu Masala Dosai

Yesterday, Annikki produced a superb dosai meal for me with a tasty tomato curry. The filling was a spicy potato mix. I enjoyed three of them in one go.

The reason for the arrival on the table was that Annikki found that a good small coffee grinder can churn the Urad Dal into the right powdery consistency, something she could only do before with a heavy duty coffee grinder which we have left behind in our old home. Too heavy!

I hear that Nushrat and Arindamof the Indian Cuisine Restaurant are still in the planning stage of launching the Oulu Masala Dosai after they get a good South Indian cook. 

Sorry, can't wait for that. My wife certainly learnt the right things from her 15 year sojourn in India - which shows all over me! :-)

Thanks, Annikki, for the Dosai. Thanks to you people out there for taking time to read this entry dictated by my pot belly!

Our joy knows no bounds

It was on Wednesday that i reluctantly rang Joanna as soon as I reached home. Samu, as usual, picked up the phone and I asked to speak to Joanna.

Joanna was aggressive as she wanted to know where we both had been. She had been ringing to speak to us, but no one had picked up the phone.

Then she asked me whether I had seen Facebook. I told her I had been busy and I had not. Then she dropped the bombshell.

SHE HAD PASSED WITH MERIT! She was now a full DOCTOR.

10 years had passed. (She thought it was only 9. She had forgotten that first year where she studied the fundamentals!) It has now culminated into her being what has been her ambition from childhood.

Not satisfied with her Master's Degree in English Philology, and her cushy jobs with Nokia Mobile and Nokia Networks, she had become a single mother in Newcastle, had two more children along the way and struggled through all what a person can face, so ably assisted by a few wonderful people, especially her dear friend Ulla and a lovely young girl, Anni, to achieve her ambition.

She has paid a heavy price but the final result has made it worthwhile.

From Doctor Joanna

My mind flashed back to when she had been a bundle of joy for us in 1971. She was a quiet baby and gave us no trouble. (Not trhat our other kids gave us any trouble when they were kids!)

From Doctor Joanna

Joanna had been an outstanding student all through her school life. I used to enjoy reading her half yearly and annual school reports. She really enjoyed life the way I had wanted her too. Her friends and her hobbies were equally of great satisfaction to me. She was no bookworm, but yet she was always doing well in her studies.

From Doctor Joanna

When she finished her High School, both Annikki and I were thrilled to bits by her performance

From Doctor Joanna

And with all her burdens of single parenthood and 3 small beautiful children, Samu (13), Daniel (6) and Maria (2), she had achieved her life's first ambition - to be a Doctor!

I shouted with joy as she broke the news to me. Annikki grabbed the phone to hear the words from her daughter. We both were in shock with joy. I cried at the thought of all this poor girl has been through to reach this.

Well done, Joanna. Thank you Ulla and Anni.

I never had a doubt what Joanna would achieve. And I never had a doubt that she would reach there with nothing but MERIT.

Why was I quiet? Feeling India at Oulu!!!

It is quite common people that email me when I am quiet on the blogs. Late last week, I got a call asking about my health. I assured the caller that I was in peak condition, despite all what the doctors are saying. My blood sugar is raging high, my cholesterol is over the top... ...... But I feel fine as a fettle.

 I did want some time to digest the event that was held last Saturday. In my short posting to the participants I expressed Annikki´s comment that this show was outstanding in that it was "from the people, by the people, for the people".

I thought to give you an insight about how this event actually developed.

Mani wrote an email to a few people asking whether they thought it was a good idea for our O-India Group to do something. Many, including myself, thought it was about time that we did.

Masterfully, Mani organised a brain-storming session. We had plenty of ideas. This was very cleverly filtered during the course of a few sessions into a "programme" which everyone thought was do-able.

Then started the hard work of writing the script, editing it (in which I contributed a very small part), and then organising a bunch of common people to bring out their hidden talent.

And talent we found in plentiful.

I am glad to say that India House was throbbing with activity. I was able to offer first the office and then an apartment which was free for a couple of days, as the practice venue. This was when Ville Victor was not available. Our special thanks to Shahnaz, Hassan and Tapsa who made it possible to enjoy those facilities to the fullest. Aruna chipped in by offering the Setlementti premises in the City Centre and Tuira when they were free.

But the over-crowded rooms of India House were humming with activity and the strains of music of all ages from all parts of India, as a group of youngsters took their own parts so seriously.

As the show developed, I was able to secure the YMCA Hall at a reasonable cost for the event and also get their powerful audio equipment for the show along with a excellent microphone input.

Mani was a gentle but hard task master. Starting with weekly practices, he then put the screws on till they were virtually every other day. Driving a group of people who have never done any professional acting in front of a huge audience certainly needs the skill of a "Slum Dog" Director - and we had that in Mani.

I know I am going to earn the wrath of both Pooja and Mani, as they shun publicity - but I feel credit has to go where credit is due - and it was this superb husband and wife team that made us be this GROUP.

Just as we thought we had it all organised, Arindam rang me and said he had a discovery, a dancer from Sri Lanka. This young and talented girl was injected into the group. It really gave the group an extra layer of gold polish.

Each participant became adept at what he or she was going to do. Nonchalance was driven away by the need to work as a team. And as a team they worked, husbands and wives, even to the point of their children being left to watch Walt Disney movies in the care of Karteek at India House.

From Fieel India

The poster created by Mani was simply superb. It had a touch and feel  of professionalism, which even amazed the creator.  I managed to blow it up and create fliers which were then strategically placed in points where we could generate an audience, especially the Findians amongst us.

The first full practice session was on the 12th morning. I saw the production through for the first time, and I was really overjoyed to see the outcome. The music had been put together masterfully. the script was full of meaning and the diction was perfect. The dances were superb and the skits were done magnificently. We had a bunch of really talented actors on stage.

With the help of the younger crew, the hall was made ready and the performance which was to start at 17:45 and run for about 45 minutes.

Then we waited with baited breath to see how many people would turn up. By 17:30 we had "HOUSE FULL"!

The show commenced and ran without a hitch. It was as if I was sitting in an Indian movie theatre as the whistling and clapping at each performance showed as that it was being appreciated. There was everything - colour, beauty, brawn, and amazing talent plus humour. The show ended on a real high of the comparison of our Bharatanatyam with Michael Jackson! Who won? The audience rocked and laughed!

From Fieel India

The cheers at the final curtain call showed the appreciation.

The event was followed by Nushrat and Arindam serving tea and coffee and some Indian food at a very affordable price. This helped people to mingle and meet and show their appreciation to the actors and all the people behind the production. 

Then the team cleaned up and left the hall the way we should. 

Thanks girls and guys for this. People are waiting for your next production!

The secret of my NORDKAPP Trip

The reason why I am pushing my Nordkapp trip is that you may witness something that no one alive may never again see in their lifetime - TWO - YES, TWO SUNS.

The whole world is waiting for 21st June 2010 to witness a wonderful
vision which may appear next time this close, is in 2287 only.

From 2010 Two Suns

21st June 2010 - TWO SUNS?


STAR ADEROID will be the brightest in the sky, starting 10th June.

It will look as large as the sun from naked eye.

This will culminate on 21st June 2010 when the star comes within
34.65M miles of the earth.

Be sure to watch the sky between 18th and  27th June 2010.

On 21st June at 12:30 pm it will look as if the earth has 2 suns.

NO ONE ALIVE TODAY will ever see it again. Don't miss it.

I cannot predict what it will look like at Nordkapp.

If you are one of the lucky ones to be there, you may have a set of
photographs which may be worth a small fortune.

That is why top photographers are going on my Nordkapp trip.

I will have copyright access to each of their top 10 photographs!

Don´t say I did not tell you! :-)

Most pleasantly surprised

Yesterday, I visited an Indian software engineer who has not been very long in Finland, maybe a month and a half. Along came his friend who lives next door.

I was most pleasantly surprised to hear the conversation between them.

One told the other that eggs were only € 0.49 in one shop, but that when he went there, he did not find it. Then the other responded that tomatoes were just € 0.89 in another shop.

I asked them where they had got the information. They brought out a copy of the twice a week newspaper, FORUM, and they pointed to two advertisements, both from K-Sopermarket.

The information they had had gleaned was partially correct, but the niceties of their finds were missing because of their lack of knowledge of Finnish.

The two shops were differen. The dates on which these special offers were also restricted. There was also a restriction on the number of packets of eggs that could be bought at this price.

But it was a real eye opener to me that the guys had actually bothered to go through the newspaper.

Considering how I started the "Survival" system in 1984, I was really happy to see our cost conscious Indian software engineers using this approach.

Wish I could give a copy of the "Handbook for Survival" to each person who arrives. Sadly, it is out of date, having been published in 1994. Also, one has to have the energy to go through the entire printing and publishing process again.

Who in their right senses would...

I read with great interest how billions were being promised as new investment in Bangalore and how the Chief Minister had rode rough shod on the protesters.

Those of whom have been following this blog when Annikki and I were travelling through India, and especially when we were in Bangalore, would certainly be wondering what I thought of this!

Being a Bangalorean by birth and a lover of Bangalore when it was a "Garden City", what I saw was a unplanned, unmanaged growth where only the power of money ruled the streets. A filthy, unkept Bangalore where kids and garbage were brought up side by side, as the "investors" have no time for such niceties of keeping a clean healthy city, as it would affect their bottom line if they did anything about this.

I am unlikely to visit Bangalore again, unless I have to. It is "dead" city to me.

I refer to my many posts on this blog about Rural Urbanisation.

I wish those investors planning to invest their billions would show some sense before the "oil catastrophe" symptom of the Gulf of Mexico, in its land form, hits and destroys.

As I have said a couple of times - the only salvation will be when Bangalore dies and sees rebirth!

Dandia brings alive India House

Last Sunday, India House in Oulu was throbbing with the sound of Indian Music and Dances. The cultural group planning and preparing for the programme for Saturday the 12th of June in Oulu was busy, practicing.

As one apartment was free, I was able to allow them to use it for the practice.

But the ladies found they needed more space.

From India House Garden

They moved to forecourt to practice the Dandia dance.

The sound of the the sticks and the rythym of the dance certainly had all the onlookers hearts throbbing. If it was any indication of what is to come on the 12th evening, it is going to be just great. We have so much beauty, brawn and talent in Oulu.

Yes, India house was really alive.

Thanks, ladies!

Indian Buffet in Oulu

Yesterday, I decided to try the new Indian Buffet on offer in Oulu. I had promised the owner that I would drop in on Monday, and then Tuesday, but I just could not make it.

So yesterday, I went in a little late (after 14:00 hours).

From Indian Buffet in Oulu

The restaurant was not crowded, but it was obvious that they had had several guests in the early afternoon.

The buffet was good but not outstanding. There was a salad table, but I do not normally take salads. Rice and pakoras were on offer. The pakoras were cold. I like mine piping hot. There were three wet dishes - channa dal, chicken curry and lamb curry.

The channa dal was made for a Finnish palette, not for an Indian one. The chicken, which was cooked in curd, making it like a kurma, was a bit too sweet for me. The lamb was just about right.

The papadam's were freshly fried and great.

Being late, the nan's were cold and rather hard and crispy! I found a few soft ones.

I would have liked a dry vegetable, as we have so many wonderful dry dishes as accompaniments at all Indian tables. As I am allergic to cold or unwashed cooked rice, because of the starch, I did not try that. I stuck to cold hard nans!

Various sauces adorned the serving table, but I was not attracted to any of them.

The meal was followed by a small bowl of fruit salad served at the table. I had a Chai, after that.

The price at € 9.80, including the soft drink, is higher than what the Chinese restaurants charge (between € 7 and 8).

The Experience: Moderately good and a good starting efort. Probably a once a month visit will be what will be my schedule!

One man Crusade

There is an interesting article in the New York Times of 31st May 2010 about the power of the internet and the ability to publish one's personal opinions critical of a business.

Venting Online, Consumers Can Find Themselves in Court is about how a young man posted the story of his car was wrongfully towed away by a towing company from his parking slot.

“There’s no reason I should have to shut up because some guy doesn’t want his dirty laundry out,” Mr. Kurtz said. “It’s the power of the Internet, man.”  

This subject has a very personal interest for Annikki and me. We have been internet activists for over 15 years.

When our company, Findians Oy,  bought a portable computer  from AST Inc. (Finland), the 5th largest computer company in the world in 1995, and we found it to be a total and complete dud, and when our grievances were not handled by the company, we started an international internet campaign. This brought in responses from across the globe and highlighted that we were not the only ones who had been conned by this company.

The Finnish legal system we found was weighted heavily against the small individual. We knew we would never get justice in the Finnish Courts - which situation exits even today.

Our internet campaign was an enormous success resulting in the closure of AST Inc..

They sold the brand name to SAMSUNG. But the public outrage we had created was so strong, the brand name never again saw the light of day.

When we started our "Oulu Best (Worst) Buy" blog and we exposed some of the practices of some Oulu businesses, we had enormous success.

We recently published the list of worst lawyers in Finland and especially Oulu. Recently, our blog was quoted in an application to the Finnish High Court when a plaintiff tried to get out of the clutches of Finland's worst lawyer.

Of course, the legal system is a complete farce in Finland. The Finnish Lawyer's Association (Suomen Asianajajaliito) has a process which is supposed to investigate any complaints from the public against lawyers. Our recent protracted experience showed that it does nothing of the kind. This organisation exists only to "look after their brother" and it has nothing to do with law or justice.

The main problem in Finland is that the media is also subservient to the authorities and those in power, so there is simply no recourse for the general public to get any justice from this twisted legal system.

We have many sleepy Ombudsmen all over Europe. In theory, the Ombudsman is an excellent system, but it has been usurped by those in power for their own ends.

The Police, especially the Oulu Police,  are also extremely corrupt. We have seen this from our several personal experiences,. They go to great lengths to preserve their fear power base over the people. Legalities are not for them! And the rot is at the very top from where the orders come downwards!

But this corruption is different from the general corruption we have in India. That is for people to earn a wage to exist. Here, in Finland, it has nothing to do with the monetary return. It has to do with "POWER".

The local newspaper started  "Free Speech Day".

From Jacob's Blog

My platform, from where I spoke on all the subjects that I had investigated the previous year, was a great success. So, last year, the newspaper changed the format so that I could not get a chance to speak! And this year it appears that they have decided against having the event altogether.

If it is not permitted to publicise the misdeeds of an individual,  company, organisation or authority, then, by the same standards, it must also be illegal to publish "kudos" about them.

If this is so, it heralds the death of investigative journalism and also the end of democracy.

FREE SPEECH is already dead in Finland!