Inactivity

I must beg pardon for my inactivity on this blog for almost 8 months. I have been posting regularly on Facebook, and keeping in touch with friends and relatives.

It was my 70th birthday this year. Jacob threw me a surprise party, which was such a wonderful occasion attended by many friends.

I was also able to take part in the reception to meet the Indian President His Excellency Pranab Mukherje  and his daughter, Sharmistha. 

83er Sharmistha is a Stephanian, like 63er Jacob, about 20 years his junior. She passed out in 1983, having done History. They are Facebook friends. She is an very competent Indian dancer. She has shared a few of her performances which she has choreographed herself.

She has just informed the public that she is going stand for the Delhi Assembly from Greater Kailash and wants suggestions how SHE can make a difference the lives of Indian women. She is practical and not building castles in the air. She wants suggestions on what she can do, and not things like bringing legislations,etc.

I do hope she will get elected, as she seems to know her priorities and may not be a chamcha to the Nehru-Gandhi family! 

Delhi is given the honour being called the most polluted city in the world. I can vouch for that. I hope she can do something to save this city, which is choking itself!

If Jacob and my reading is right, Sharmistha has the character and personality to become the next head the Indian Congress party, a fitting tribute to the work of her father! 

With young dedicated and competent leaders, the Congress party could rebuild itself after getting rid of people like the 7 Stephanians (68er Kapil Sibal, 72er Ashwini Kumar, 73er Salman Kurshid, 74er R. P.N. Singh, 76er Shashi Tharoor, 90er Joyti Scindia and 97er Sachin Pilot) who sat in the previous Manmohan Singh Government as YES men to Sonia and Rajiv Gandhi. They are the ones who have brought St.Stephen's College to disrepute, filling shoes they did not have the competence to fit!

In comparison, I have only Dr. Verghese Kurian of Anand and Amul fame, who used to do something and then tell indira Gandhi, the autocrat, what he had done. He knew going for approvals was a waste of time and money. The White Revolution was the result of his dedicated work starting at the grassroots level in Gujarat

It was nice to see the the day we flew from Delhi to Hyderabad, it was named as National Milk Day as tribute to Dr. Kurian, known to us a Jollychayan, who was married to Mollykochamma!

Jacob and Annikki standing behind Sharmistha at the Helsinki reception for Indian President His Excellency Pranab Mukerjee. Also seen are Indian Ambassador to Finland, His Excellency Ashok Kumar Sharma and Finnish Foreign Minister, Erkki Tuomioja.

I have been quite active otherwise. We have had the grandchildren,Samu, Daniel and Maria over for summer and Joanna, our younger daughter, brought the three of them also for Christmas.

We had a disastrous trip to India in November and December. Jacob and I are documenting it on our new web site, http://www.findians.com. The new book is being serialised on Jacob's Blog as "The Titanic called India". I did see the Taj Mahal and witness the making of the decorated inlaid marble. And I lived on the edge of a jungle just on the outskirts of Mumbai!

Several have asked why we callled it that, when the Indian greatness is being shouted by the Indian Ministers.

Believe it or not, Indians were flying around the planets many thousands of years ago, but sadly, today, they do not know how to design a simple road and pavement in India. Take a person in a wheelchair anywhere on a street in India, and you will know what we mean.

Maybe the Indian knowledge went along with those who designed those amazing flying machines! :-)

I have designed a few cakes, the last one being based on my discovery of the Agra Petha, a delicious Indian sweet made from Pumpkin. Granddaughter Maria I used it to decorate Joanna's mango Petha birthday cake a few days ago.

I have been crocheting in my spacetime. Jacob complains that I am cutting up his lungis. These lungis are over 25 years old and fall apart the minute you touch them. Does well as colourful crocheting material when I tear them to shreds! This was a my latest piece, a butterfly, but I have been making lots of cylindrical baskets to keep the various papers that Jacob keeps lying around as well his many spectacles which he keeps misplacing! (Earlier I had used Haldiram's Soan Papdi as cake decoration, and it was also a great material!)

Jacob wants me to sell them so he can afford to buy 110 count lungis from his old friend from Madurai, Mohammed Abubacker, the Chank brand lungis. I wonder if the Chank brand exists today as Jacob is talking about 1975!

We received news a few days ago of the passing of another family member, journalist B. G. Verghese.  He and his wife, Jamila were Stephanians, like Jacob, but about10 years senior to him.

I used to enjoy the writings of Bublichayan, as he is known in the family, as they were sharp and incisive!

There are many people that need to be thanked for the help and generosity in looking after us in India. Surya and Devi (Hyderabad), Raghu and Gayathri (Bangalore), Rajen and Prema, Chacko and Ammu (Kottayam), Bina (Cochin), Malathi, Amal. Joseph and Sam (Mumbai). Other names will be thanked by Jacob who kept a meticulous record of the trip!

You will also soon find this blog on our new web portal, http://www.findians.in. Hope you enjoy the re-emergence!:-)

Dubai The International Indian

There is a very nice article about Jacob, quite wrongly stated as being the Oldest Malayali in Europe! He is not the oldest in Europe and also probably not even in Continental Europe, which was the original research topic by Prof. Prabhu Guptara, the author of this article. It is a chapter contained in a book on the Malayali Diaspora which was released in Cochin last January.

However, I do know that although he may be the oldest Malayali in Finland, he is also the youngest at heart! :-)

The International Indian
Reported as being the Oldest Malayali in Continental Europe

Finnish TV interview about Me!

I am pleased to give you two links to a TV interview by Helena Lehtimäki of Laureus University of Applied Sciences, Espoo, about me. I really enjoyed myself! It was aired in a new TV station called CaringTV which is to motivate us older folk to do creative things.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yEwPv_6U0X8&feature=youtu.be

http://youtu.be/yEwPv_6U0X8

Helena and her team have gone a great job. Thank you Helena.

Correspondence Course Tutorials 4 A and 4 B

With this tutorial we are moving into areas which are important from the parents point of view of how they react to the development of the child.

You can find this tutorial at Scribd.com.

MMCC Assignment Correspondence Course Tutorials 4 A and 4 B

Finally completed and uploaded

An effort of almost 2+ years to update our 1994 best-seller has now been completed and uploaded as an eBook on Scribd.com (eBook Handbook for Survival in Finland).

Handbook for Survival in Finland by Annikki Matthan

The book is meant for foreign students coming or in Finland, out-source engineers, those foreigners living in Finland and also tourists coming to Finland.

The Survival System developed by us can help you live a comfortable life in Finland at a reasonable cost. 

It is not only the front and back cover that has been changed. The entire book has been re-written and the full advantage of an eBook with hundreds of useful links have been introduced which will take you to all the important pages about Finland which we used in doing our research. It covers almost every aspect of this wonderful and beautiful country! But it also thells you of the many hundreds of pitfalls that you will encounter when you live here.

Our original Guarantee goes with the new eBook that if you do not recover the cost of the book after using our system for 1 month, we will refund you the cost of the book.

Thank you for the patience, but it was a really hard task to do this!

Comments welcome so that we can quickly correct any errors.

Which 2 books should be on your bookshelf?

Together with late Dr. Benjamin Spock's book on "Baby and Child Care", my latest publication "Raising a Child the Montessori Way" is my most important work to help build the next generation. 

I was a mother at the age of 23, alone with my husband. No parents to help us in the middle of nowhere in a remote English Village! 

I raised our four children in England, India and Finland using my own method - which is similar to what Maria Montessori has expounded in her theory "The Child is the Father of Man."

I have blended the work of educationist Maria Montessori and that of spiritualist Ellen G. White (author of "The Great Controversy") to produce a masterpiece which gives a detailed account of how to bring up a child from the prenatal stage till the age of 6 years. 

I also tackle the problems that would be encountered when a new sibling arrives in a household. 

The roles of parents and the Community are essential to raise a child of the future. Living in a strange and distant country makes it even more important to develop the important skills as the local language while keeping your mother tongue also strong.

I tell you on reality being the essence of child upbringing rather than fantasy. Building blocks are far more important than Computer Games! 

You have to create the strong foundation in your child. That is your child's healthy future at stake.

I explain how you do just that.

The basic philosophy is that the Child is the Father of Man. 

Below is a picture of granddaughter Maria, aged 5 making her own cake in my kitchen, and thoroughly enjoying the experience. rather than playing games on computers. 

Such experiences are what children want and need.

You can forget toys which keep the attention span of children for a few hours or days and spend doing with them as a parent or grandparent what the child wants to do and enjoys - doing work to become a better individual.

This is an eBook which you cannot afford to miss!

Raising a Child the Montessori Way

This work is based on the intensive study I completed as Correspondence Course Tutorials. My Tutorial Guides are available online eBooks, also through Scribd.com.

Details of the Bangalore earthquake in 1984! Natural or intervention from above?

You can make your own decision whether this earthquake was a natural phenomena or whether there was intervention by a higher being!

There is a web site, Amateur Sesmic Centre,  which lists all the major earthquakes in Karnataka and Goa, with their listing starting in August 1507. they are not very frequent.

This was the listing for March 1984:

20 March 1984 - Denkanikota area, Karnataka, Ms 4.6 (1).
12.550 N, 77.770 E, OT=10:45:22 UTC (2)
Felt (14) in southern Karnataka at Bangalore and Mysore and in Tamil Nadu at Krishnagiri. Intensity VI (15) was observed at Kelamangalam and Kowthalam in Karnataka. Cracks were seen in plaster and utensils were overturned at these places. A section of a mud wall also collapsed and a 2-metre tall papaya tree was uprooted (14).12.550 N, 77.770 E, OT=10:45:22 UTC (2)Felt (14) in southern Karnataka at Bangalore and Mysore and in Tamil Nadu at Krishnagiri. Intensity VI (15) was observed at Kelamangalam and Kowthalam in Karnataka. Cracks were seen in plaster and utensils were overturned at these places. A section of a mud wall also collapsed and a 2-metre tall papaya tree was uprooted (14).

When you read "...for the hour of His judgement is come:...", you will see how circumstances caused me to receive my freedom from the corrupt judicial system in Karnataka!

Here is the Preface to the book written by me!

When I went to live in India in 1969, I had expected my life to be full and rich in content. I entered a strange and wonderful world. I knew that I had entered a world previously unknown to me, a world which was a blend of ancient history, customs, cultures, languages, religions and people with a touch of each bygone era existing together with the development and infiltration of the modern age. I enjoyed unravelling some of its past in trying to understand better its present. The country's past and present, its nature and people were full of surprises, both big and small. Each day was for me an adventure of discoveries, from the smallest insects to the big mysteries of life, the reasons for existence and the meaning of life.

I wanted to know the ways in which Indian society functions. I had not intended or expected to have any close encounters with its legal system, but that was in store for me, and I faced it. Along with the daily discoveries of life in India, I made my biggest and most important discovery: Life in Jesus Christ. I came face to face with my God and Saviour who freed me in a breathtaking manner during the final moments of my court appearance. He declared me not guilty.

On returning to Finland many people have asked me why we left India. After hearing some of the incidents, several people asked me to write about them. There are also many close friends and family members in India who do not know all the facts. Many did not hear of my final appearance in the court room and its outcome. The reason for writing this is to narrate, as clearly as possible, all the main events as they occurred.
The legal case was complex. Few people know little of the legalities of what it means to be a foreigner in India, or for that matter in any part of the world. The spiritual side of this episode could perhaps be even less understood without the exact account of the events and how they were relevant against the Biblical background. A struggle is going on, unseen in this world, between the forces of good and evil. For God, it is to free man from all bondage and slavery. For the devil, it is how to enslave and capture man without him having the least suspicion.

The intention of this book is not as a theological reference to the pages of the Holy Bible to persuade anyone to believe in, or an attempt to prove the existence of a distant, uninvolved God unaffected by the events in the lives of people. It is, however, my sincere attempt to prove the love and power of the living God of the Holy Bible, who is involved and interested in the lives of individuals, whoever and wherever they may be. The pages that follow are intended as an encouragement for people in situations that may appear humanly impossible to show how help can come in the most unexpected ways. It is also to show that when you take even the first feeble step towards God, He comes all the way towards you and remains faithfully with you in all your life experiences.
This book is not intended to be of theological or literary merit. It is the true life story of a mother of four young children living an ordinary life and the extraordinary circumstances which caused great changes to happen to the family. It is a story of how the presence of forces of good and evil touched them in a tangible way, where the presence of God was felt concretely in the events that took place in an unusual, awesome manner and caused her to accept God personally and His guidance in her life and that of her family.

Looking back to the time I was fighting my case against the police and the government and facing uncertainties as to the outcome, I remember a discussion with my family while we were living in Sommanahalli (Mandya District) village in the beautiful, tranquil Indian countryside. I was airing my feelings after one of our trips to a court hearing in Bangalore. I said that when this incident was over I would write a book. After my case came to such an incredible ending, I had all the more reason to put down the unusual twists and turns of events which led to those final extraordinary moments. This has been the time for it, nine years on.

I look forward to the release of this web version which was voted by you, the reader, to be the first of our books to be published on the World Wide Web to reach the widest possible world audience as part of our committment to spread the Word of God and his fantastic deeds and as a thanks to him for having kept us safe from evil all through these years.

Rauha Annikki Matthan Oulu, Finland.

He tested me in several ways. Our elder son was bitten by a deadly snake, the krait, far from civilisation, where there was no doctor or anti-venom, and he survived! 

In my greatest hour of need, He was always with me. He was my strength!

Can I ever repay Him?

  After all the legal obstacles were removed and I was free to go, Jacob had to wind up his work and business and be ready to travel. Although I was very happy to get back my passports and was now able to travel anywhere, I was very sad to leave my home and life in India. If I could have reversed those two things I would have. Everything would have been perfect. But I accepted the situation and knew we had committed ourselves too far to change anything. I trusted that there was a purpose and a meaning for us to start our lives somewhere else. It was not for us to know then, but time would reveal His will and it has.

"I will praise thee: for thou hast heard me, and art become my salvation." Psalm 118:21

The purpose of our move to Finland will be revealed in future blog entries, so do come back to read my continuing "love Story"!

Hope you enjoy my book! Indian, Finn, Christian, or one of any religion, you will see the importance of trusting implicitly in your Maker!

Does it need an earthquake to get justice in the Indian System?

I talk of a Love Story and I am trying to give you different aspects to this picture of this Love. 

Husband, children, grandchildren, parents. siblings, in-laws, friends, relatives, those who worked with you, and one more, above all!

In this list I must also include the undying Love of my Maker for ME!

When I was arrested and prosecuted by the corrupt justice system in Bangalore in the 1970s, I went through sheer hell for over 4 years. 

I had to present myself week in and week out in the Magistrate's Court in Bangalore to be humiliated.

But I never lost my faith in my Maker.

It was He who intervened with His full power to get me justice.

This is described in my eBook "...for the hour of His judgement is come:..." which I wrote after I had returned to Finland. It was published on the internet, probably one of ther first books to be published fully on the internet.

You can also reach the book by clicking the link at the bottom of this page.

Did it need an earth quake for me to get my freedom? 

The answer is YES!!!

How would you like to remember Nelson Mandela (Madiba)?

Those of you who have been watching the news yesterday must have been surprised how South Africans celebrated the passing of Madiba. 

It was full of song and music as they sent him triumphantly on to his after life.

Annikki and Jacob wanted to add to that by producing a book of the happiest moments of Nelson Mandela's life as he celebrated each birthday with cakes and cakes. 

Madiba had a sweet tooth and enjoyed all the cakes that were made for him.

You can find our compilation of almost all the cakes made for his birthday from the age of 72 to 95!

CAKES THAT CELEBRATE

NELSON MANDELA

75th birthday Cake of Nelson Mandela

Compiled by Annikki & Jacob Matthan

May Madiba rest in peace.

Testimonial Page for Annikki as an Artist

According to the guide for marketing a book, the first step is to set up a testimonial page.  

These testimonials are for my work as an Artist and for the book "Edible Art"

Out of the many tens of testimonials I have received (no negatives so far!), here are just a few. 

I am glad that my work has been reviewed by friends from around the world, and they like it.

Geordy George (Cochin, India):

"Heartful congrats for bringing out such a wonderful book.

I can definitely tell you that your Ginger cakes are really world class as an edible piece and an artwork. I appreciate the pain and patience behind each such wonders.”

Satish Abraham (Kottayam, India)

"Hello Annikki and thanks for the information on your book and congrats.

You have done a fantastic job in bringing out this work of art through cakes and using your imagination to the maximum.

I am circulating your email to all my circles.”

Ranjeet Jacob (Chennai, India):

"Really impressed about your Edible Art book."

Anuja Saxena (Gurgaon, India)

Toooooo good..... :) 

Aditya Sondhi (Bangalore, India):

“Fascinating!”

Abinash Mahala (Tampere, Finland):

"Its really a great work and especially I liked that pond cakes, it looks so lively :)

I just bought an e-book from scribd.com for my personal learning :) Am sure many of our O-Indians would buy it for their learning and help in spreading the news, so that we can see many more creative works from you in the future!!"

Mani Bhowmik (Oulu, Finland):

"You have all our support. I have seen few live demonstration of your art. May be it is time to have a bigger audience. A live demonstration would be nice.”

Aruna Somani (Oulu, Finland):

 "wow!!!!!!!!!!"

Ashwini Chitrapurisha (Oulu, Finland) 

"Beautiful!!!…”

This is a cake that did not make it into the book. It is called "Blueberry River".

Launch of Paperback English Version of "Edible Art"

Once the eBook version was launched, we decided to launch the smaller size A4 Landscape version of "Edible Art".

As Jacob was familiar with Lulu.com, as we have published Annikki's book about her last stages of her fascinating life in India, "...for the hour of His judgement is come:...",  our 1994 best-seller "Handbook for Survival in Finland" and also the 2009 Coffee Table Book, "Golden Reunion November 2009, Cathedral & John Connon School, Mumbai, India, Directory of 1959 Cathedralites", Jacob decided to stick with a known and tested service. There was an email from a company, Archway,  which worked with the international publisher Simon and Schuster, but they wanted us to buy a package which we already had, so that idea was thrown out.

Also there were no upfront fees to pay to Lulu.com. We could pay for hatever services we int ennded to use.

Converting the Powerpoint presentation into a pdf file first seemed to be unsurmountable. Powerpoint did not offer the option to save as a pdf file. Also OpenOffice did not offer this alternative. But NeoOffice, the Mac Version of OpenOffice had an export feature and the document was saved as a pdf.

All the inside pages were uploaded onto Lulu.com and then the single front and back cover was created. The spine was a problem, and only after we receive the proof copy can we finalise it.

But we decided to launch the book and inform our friends about its availability.

The reaction was spontaneous and overwhelming. We will publish some of the comments we received in forthcoming posts.

Probably the most liked creation was Annikki's Pond Cake.

Whoever met Jacob was fascinated by this cake.

Now it has come to the process of marketing the book. We knew from our many relatives and friends that the book was excellent and would be well received. 

The first eBook, meanwhile, was sold to a nephew in Belgium who bought it as a present for his wife who loves cooking.

However, before the final marketing thrust, a proof copy has to be received and any final adjustments made.

LAUNCH

This is a still life painting by Annikki, one of the many beautiful works of art by her.

The intention of the blog is to bring to light the art of Annikki. It will talk about her paintings, her interior decor expertise, her designs of cakes, gardens and snow creations. The blog is authored by her husband, Jacob, and herself.

We really would like your criticism and comments.