Doubt! Now I am reconsidering a decision..

My daughter, Joanna does not believe that I have over 80,000 personal friends around the globe. She says that it is impossible to remember 80,000 individual names and intricate details of their lives.

Although I have never met most of these 80,000 and more people, each one is closely entwined in my daily life in numerous ways. And many of their lives are entwined in ways that even they do not know - till they discover it on my blog!!!

I was seriously considering splitting my blog based on the interest groups. Joanna also told me yesterday that I was long-winded on my blog. That is a matter of debate as Omenakochamma from Bangalore wrote:

"Thanks for the update. It sure feels good seeing all the details recorded not only for the information of today's generation but also for posterity. We sure need to thank you for this - THANK YOU!"

Then she added:

"Stories of yours are very interesting. I do hope many more will write in!"

Joanna, on the other hand, wants me to write my thousands of stories as children's stories, and little Samuel wants to illustrate them for me - he is a great computer artist at the age of 8!! He certainly would do them justice.

Then, when I received Cathedrlaite 69er Shyla Bogla's email late this evening, I have had to seriously reconsider this line of thought. She wrote:

Hi Jacob,

It's such a small world...

I have a friend in Poona, Jehangir, (also class of 69) who knows
Gopa who is in Finland now. I remember you writing about
her on your site.

Earlier this month we returned from Kerala, after attending Riyad
and Keya's wedding.

The Tharakans are dear friends...

this too I read about via you, reference the Mathews!

Regards,

Shyla

I have sent this reply to her and to several others:

Hi Shyla,

Small world indeed - I think we are all living in the same 50 foot
square compound called EARTH!!! :-)

Riyad's dad, Thambi, is my cousin and a Stephanian.
Abe is also my yearmate from St. Stephen's!! (I don't have Abe's
email address, so do send him a copy if you can or send him my blog address!)

I do not know Abe's kids as yet, unfortunately, although they are
now my nieces!

You may have seen a picture of Thambi and Bina (from my archives)
on my blog, as also his elder brother, Rajen, with Clinton, when I
blogged about him getting the Padma Bushan. I am waiting for a
picture of him receiving the Padma Bushan from the Indian
President earlier this year!

On the blog there is a youthful picture of Thambi's dad (my
mother's younger brother Padma Bushan K. M. Mathew) at the
wedding of another Cathedralite, Sen Philip, 53er, which also
shows 58er Dr. Peter Philip (also a Stephanian) in the corner.

Gopa Haikkonen (daughter of 54er Cathedralite Sadhana (née Shah)
Madhusadan) is my foster daughter in Finland - speak to her often
as she adjusts to life in this torrid (wonder whether I can really use
that word) climate!!

In fact, Gopa rang me yesterday morning to discuss some
aspects of life and other common friends (Malathi and
Ashok (Dr.) Khembhavi) in Mumbai whom I had introduced
to her mother, 54er Sadhana. I spoke to Malathi and Ashok
yesterday as my dear friends Ilari Sohlo, from Finland, and
girlfriend Ildiko Hämos, from Hungary, are going to meet
today as they land in Mumbai after travelling overland from
Hungary, through Turkey, Iran, Pakistan!

Ilari used to write a great column for my now being revamped
online web fortnightly Findians Briefings. Ilari was a classmate
of my daughter, Joanna, when they did their Masters in English
Philology from Oulu University.

Ashok has been a doctor who has been selflessly working in
the Dharavi slums for years and years, still charging Rs. 10 to
Rs. 20 to treat a patient!!! Malathi loves Finland as she spent
a year here looking after a physically handicapped young man.

All of us in Finland love her immensely.

She and her sister, Lalitha, originate from my hometown,
Bangalore, are close friends of the Indian supermind, Anil
Ananthakrishna, also from Bangalore, who for almost 40 years
has been developing the electric vehicle, and is the brains
behind the petrolless Electric Scooter, which is being
launched all over the world by many different groups!!

In Finland this is being done by a former Motor Cross
Champion driver, Jussi Kynsilehto, right here
from my present home town, Oulu, using the "Solifer"
brand name, which is like using the "Bullet" brand
name in India. Jussi has a great sense of humour as he has threatened
to call a forthcoming model as "(Harley) Jacobson"

Jussi and me at the opening of his Petrol Station in Pulkkila.

Just invited Gopa to get the gmail email address as yahoo
and hotmail are no match to what google is offering. Also
I am persuading Gopa to install Skype so we can talk more
frequently at no cost.

54er Sadhana (Gopa's mom in Pune) has become a dear dear
friend and was instrumental in getting the 54er reunion
together in cooperation with Suhas Phadke and Gracie Hayeem.

I was so happy that they mentioned me on their reunion video!!
(I do understand that especially you helped them
considerably.) And through Gracie (in California, USA), the
circle got completed when I organised her reunion with
your classmate, Barbara Rossi, in Italy who was
in her kindergarten class!!!

And for all this I must say it was my "Seventh Heaven" web
page started way back in 1996 and that later reported the
tragic and early passing away of 54er Head Girl Pamela
Ballantine, which brought so many of different years of
Cathedralites together on my web page. That was because,
Aubrey, Pamela's younger brother, in Canada has been
online with me for several years.

Now, after your email, I am seriously wondering whether
I should split the blogs into my interest groups?

Maybe it is just my torrid (and here I use the word correctly)
political musings that should be split off?

Regards

Jacob

Prakash updates me from Mumbai

First book published on the internet in 1994

Dear Jacob,

It was great to hear from you.

I have tried to keep in touch with all my batchmates of 1969. Not 1959 (JM: But thanks Prakash, as I have always enjoyed your updates). Many of them don´t even bother to reply or even acknowledge an email / letter because they all seem to be too busy with their lives and many don´t have such great fond memories of school as I do (JM: or all of us 59ers - we had a great batch - both the A and B Sections).

My sporadic news has declined as I have undergone some surgery, and this has kept me housebound for over a month.

Last weekend I happened to bump into Pierce Brosnan (JM: For those who do not know, Pierce, who is now about 52 years old, was born in Ireland and is one of the great character actors. He has acted in over 50 movies starting in 1979 and has produced 6, and the next will be "The Topkapi Affair") who was in Mumbai at the Taj shopping arcade, strolling casually, when I noticed him at 9 am. I got an autograph saying "Love Life" from him. This was published in the Asian Age, where the newspaper got his autograph analysed.

Then a fortnight back, the Norwegian Consulate held an event to promote salmon from Norway (JM: I love lightly salted salmon for breakfast, while the very traditional Finnish salmon soup in cream with rieska - a light chapti type bread - is simply superb). I was invited to meet with chefs from several hotels and restaurants and discussed Indian preparations for salmon, as I had won the MEN CAN COOK CONTEST with my signature dish "Chicken with dill sauce". (JM: Dill sauce with anything is GREAT.)

Several art auctions are being held in Mumbai, including "Concern India and Harvest 2005", after the success of the Osian auction, that raked in nearly Rs. 5 crores (Rs. 50 million). The famous Satish Gujral, Delhi based artist and sculptor (former Prime Minister's brother) had his show at the Jehangir Art Gallery and Sharukh Khan, the leading Indian Bollywood star, picked up his most expensive painting.

December was a month full of weddings and parties with all the NRI's (non resident Indians) (JM: Except Jacob from the frozen Arctic) in town avoiding the bitter cold of Europe, England and USA.

Natasha Advani got married to Kabir Hingorani (ex-Cathedraite) who is based in New York and is in the garment business.

Mohamed and Sartaj Noorani's daughter Aida (JM: I remember Aida as a baby and then as a little girl - she was such a delightful looking and well behaved tot, taking after her mother, Surtaj, who is a 62er and the daughter of a true Nawab. Surtaj's brother, Zaffar Hai, was a year senior to me in St. Stephen's College, Delhi. Surtaj's husband, Mohamed has been a close close friend for over 40 years, ever since we met in Germany in 1964.) got married on 2nd Feb at the Taj in a beautiful ceremony followed by a memorable dinner.

An article recently published in the Newsweek mentioned the increasing availability of synthetically made diamonds from a Russian company. This has given food for a lot of serious thought.

With the Internet family growing, the number of book lovers and readers has dwindled, resulting in bookshops having sales at over 50% discount on their regular prices. (JM: Books are books and Internet is Internet - I think both have their place in this world and neither can replace the other - although I was probably one of the first to publish a book by my wife, Annikki, in toto, on the internet.)

Nowadays, how many youngsters have the time for Coins, Postcards, Stamps? (JM: That all depends on how this is cultivated. Grandparents have a great job cultivating love of beautiful things in their grandchildren as parents have little time for that. And that is what Annikki and I have been trying to do.)

The only tangible items left is ART and Property. Art and paintings sales are not regulated in India, prompting helpers of
artists & con artists to produce fakes, many of them circulating with collectors and galleries. So its really high time a Regulatory Body was set up in the interest of promtoing ART and keep both the interests of the artists and collectors in mind. (JM: I agree with Prakash here, except that the Mona Liisa profile by Annikki obliterates the original by a mile. Also if the knowledge of art is not cultivated in youngsters, they will fall prey to pseudo and fake art!!)

Sadly, the older and established Galleries have not moved with the times and the recently started galleries with younger management have adopted modern sales gimmicks to promote and sell art, which is working, as there is the demand and the turnout at the Sales bears witness to the large crowds attending.

More news later after my return from my trip.

Do keep in touch.

Cheers

Prakash Thadani (69er Cathedralite - Adopted 59er)

2005 Cathedralite Golf Tournament, Mumbai

Best of luck to our Cathedralite Golfers - May the best one win!!

11th Alumni Golf Tournament on Saturday 5th March, 2005 at WSC.

Dear Alumnus

The 11th Alumni Golf Tournament has been scheduled for Saturday, 5th March 2005 at the Willingdon Sports Club (WSC), Mumbai.

Tee Off Time : Between 11 am to 12 noon

Entry fee : Rs 400/-
Note : Non-WSC members please bring IGU card along

Draw : Will be available with WSC caddie master from 3rd March evening onwards

Contact : To register please contact

Kiran Kanwar or
Harsh Amersey

Cathedralite 67er Reunion Report

"Dear Jacob,

Lovely to know that sitting there on top of the world, 'midst the
polars and snow, you know of the heat and fire generated at
the Reunion of the '67ers.

37 years after leaving School, the bonding still remains. The head
is short of a few hair, the waist is thicker by a few inches, the eyes
are a wee bit dimmer, but the sparkle in them still remains bright.

The girls ofcourse looked young and well turned out. Age had only
matured them like good wine. The boys with salt and pepper manes,
looked dapper. Old school flames looked at each other and giggled
and blushed, The spouse was then introduced to the their youthful
paramour. Lots of back slapping, lots of jokes, lots of oooohs and
aaaahs, and the general feeling of bon hommie all around.

Spirits flowed as spirits soared. The boys school song, 'Prima in
Indus, Gateway of India....' was belted out with great enthusiasm.
I had taken xerox copies to be shared, among the 50 of us
gathered in the room. The girls school song, was sung with more
piety than we ever gave it in school!

An evening of nostalgia and magic. Where CEO's and Captains of
Industry rubbed shoulders with housewives and those leading a life
of leisure, living off old family fortunes, spouted forth on the
importance of industry.

The spouses smiled at our idiocyncracies, our excitement, our
shouts of glee. The old headgirl Zarine Kotval, spoke a
few words of praise, and her husband an old headboy,
Homi Bhedwar, applauded with enthusiasm.

An assorted gathering of men and women in various fields of Life,
bonded by the tag Cathedral - Class of '67.

I promise to post some photos on the website, as soon as they
are loaded. But for now let it suffice, that meeting after so many years,
never lessens any of the camaradie. We just picked up from where we
had let off. And had a blast

I had made out a Class Directory for our '67 batch, and we could
source out 50 kids from our batch of 88 girls and boys who
graduated that year. I had done a detailed report on each person,
with date of birth, Wedd Ann, spouse, children, tel nos, mobiles,
emails, line of work listed against each person. It was tough work,
but the result, encapsuled in a small purple covered book
(school colours) with a page on each person, to make future
networking possible.

Everyone was thrilled with the effort, and that was the end to a great
evening.

Will keep you posted

Shobha Jhunjhunwala (née Agarwal)"

Shobha must have also won the Ookerjee Memorial Essay Prize, so obviously also holds the nickname "Ooky 66".

Thank you, Shobha, for the rapid update and I look forward to receiving some group photo's from the Reunion along with identification name labels to post on the blog. Maybe one of your kindergarten teachers will recognise one of you!! :-)

67er Reunion TODAY

Cathedralites, especially 67ers

News has just reached me that in a few hours 67ers will be having their reunion at "Starter's and More*" (near Eros Theatre) in Mumbai, starting at 19:30 Indian Standard Time.

I believe about 15 Ladies and 10 Gentlemen are already registered to attend.

You should contact Shobha Jhunjhunwala (née Agarwal) for further details if you happen to be in Mumbai.

I have sent them greetings from all Cathedralites worldwide.

Recognise this "Birthday Boy" en route his wedding ceremony?

I wonder how many will recognise this nervous handsome young man and his helpers on his wedding day?

Rajen, Mathukuttychayan, late Kunjumonchayan, Senchayan and Suresh prepare to go to the church for Sen's wedding. Copyright: My father, the late Kuriyan Matthan.

Senchayan (Mammen Philip), a brilliant Cambridge economist, and part of a family of renowned economists comprising of his father, K. M. Philip (Peelukuttychayan) and Dr. Peter Philip (Suresh) finished his college from Madras Christian College, Tambaram before joining Cambridge University, UK.

Didn't he look smart? Today, he still remains cool and smart as he celebrates his 67th birthday.

I am sure all you 53er Cathedralites and Kandathils will join Annikki and me in wishing him a very happy birthday.

Sen now lives in Chennai. His two kids, Kavitha and Karun, both absolutely brilliant minds but truly humble human beings, take after their dad on both counts.

Senchayan's home used to be our Saturday or Sunday afternoon relaxation centre for a few of us who wanted to play a few rounds of friendly bridge in Chennai in the early seventies. We downed many a bottle of cold beer during those sessions. (That was well before I stopped imbibing!!)

Thanks for all the great times and pleasant memories, Senchayan!!

I had to laugh to myself...

I do get a lot of email from all corners of the globe. It has not reached the enormous proportions of early last year. I had to laugh to myself when I got this one:

"Dear Jacob,

I was surprised to see my name in your newsletter. I am
Neelam Lakhani, and I have no recollection of playing
football, cricket or table tennis with you, as I read on
your Cathedral Newsletter. Incidentally I'm not from
Cathedral.

In fact, I don't even recall the names Jangoo Moos,
Percy Mistry, Amin Choksi. Care to jog my memory?
Or is this another Neelam?

Regards,

Neelam Lakhani"

It prompted me to reply with some wit:

Dear Neelam,

If you go to my blog at

http://jmatthan.blogspot.com

and look at the picture for the blog entry in the archives
for December 13th 2004, the shorty in the top row
extreme right, standing, with glasses is NEELAM LAKHANI!!

School Prefects 1969

Neelam was in my House of which I was House Captain.
I am the guy with the head circled in the seated row.

Does it look like you in your younger days, or has
dementia set in?

Regards

Jacob

Actually, sometime about 3 years ago, the correct Neelam did contact me by email, but I lost his email address. If anyone knows where he is, I would love to get back in contact with him!!