KTWV06 - Issue 11: Completed the article for "The Stephanian"

Several weeks ago, a new correspondent, Yakub P. Mathew, a Stephanian Malayali, also with the name Jacob, but much junior to me, who did his BA (Hons) Economics during 1982-1985 and then his MA (Eco), and who is at present a banker with HSBC, New York, alerted me to the fact that "The Stephanian" was bringing out an issue, and maybe I should contribute a piece, the deadline being end July.

As summer was here, the deadline passed, and I had not done anything about it.

So I wrote to the editors at the beginning of August asking whether they were still interested.

There was a prompt answer - Yes, and could I get it to them by the end of August.

I completed the piece called "Kooler Talk - A revolution in the making" and was able to send yesterday it with a couple of quite topical scans before the new deadline.

Hope you will enjoy it when it comes out!!

KTWV06 - Issue 10: 100% Reunion AGAIN!!

Professor Ajeet Mathur who lives in South Finland in the largest Industrial town, Tampere, was here for a brief visit. He arrived by the early morning train at 07:30 and left by the train at 16:00 hours the same day.

Ajeet and me

In the meantime we managed to have two alma mater reunions.

Like me, he is a Mumbai Cathedralite. But also like me he is a Delhi Stephanian.

And we are the only two Cathedralites and Stephanians in Finland.

So, whenever we meet, it is a Reunion with 100% attendance.

There are few who share this unique combination:

• Cathedralite 54er, Stephanian 58er Rahul Bajaj,


• Cathedralite 56er, Stephanian 60er Ranjit Matthan,


• Cathedralite 57er, Stephanian 61er Ashok Jaitly (Tony),


• Cathedralite 58er, Stephanian 62er Dr. Peter Philip (Tubby),


• Cathedralite 59er, Stephanian 63er Jacob Matthan (Dead Chicken),


• Cathedralite 59er, Stephanian 60er The late Jacob Eapen (for a very short time a Stephanian),


• Cathedralite 59er, Stephanian 63er Sujit Bhattacharya,


• Cathedralite 70er, Stephanian 75er Professor Ajeet Mathur

If you know of anyone else who has this combination - please do let me know.

KTWV06 - Issue 9: Padma Shri Award to Mammen Mathew (exclusive pictures)

In January of this year I blogged the great news of my fellow Stephanian and my cousin being awarded the Padma Shree. I am now able to give you the exclusive pictures of the event as they were sent to me directly by Mammen.

The President of India, Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam, conferred on Mammen Mathew (Kandathil, Stephanian, commonly known to all of us as Rajen) the PADMA SHREE Award.

Stephanian Mammen Mathew receiving the Padma Shree Award
from President of India, Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam

This important news was announced on Republic Day at New Delhi.

Mammen studied journalism on the job at Bristol in Wales and then in the USA. In 2002 he received the rare honour of being appointed as a Reuters Trustee, the first Indian to be appointed to this position. He has been the Chairman of the Indian Section of the Commonwealth Press Union, President of the Indian Newspaper Society, and the Editors Guild of India, and has also been on the Press Council of India.

Today, he is the guiding spirit of the Malayala Manorama Newspapers Group, India's most outstanding newspaper and magazine publishing centre, founded by our greatgranduncle, Kandathil Varghese Mappillai, given shape by our grandfather K. C. Mammen Mappillai and then guided in turn by the late K. M. Cherian and then K. M. Mathew, till Rajen took the helm.


Mammen and his father, K. M. Mathew,
who was also awarded the Padma Bhushan in the mid-nineties

Mammen's daughter-in-law, Miriam (Anu) Mathew (née Paul), is also a Stephanian. She was a leading executive in a US bank till she returned to India to take the helm of Manorama Online. Her husband Jayant, is also in the newspaper business.


Mammen and his family, wife (Prema) on his left,
son (Jayant) behind him, father (K. M. Mathew) on his right,
and Stephanian daughter-in-law (Miriam) on the far right

The other Award Winners in our family:

1. The late Mr. K. M. Cherian - first awarded the Padma Shree and the later he was given the Padma Bhushan.
2. Mr. K. M. Philip (Stephanian Dr. Peter Philip's (Tubby) father) was given the Padma Shree three years ago ago.
3. Mr. K. M. Mathew (Mammen's father, and also grandfather of several Stephanians) was given the Padma Bhushan, nearly a decade ago.
4. The late Mr. K. M. Mammen Mappillai (Grandfather of several Stephanians), received the Padma Shree half a decade before he died in 2003.

Mr. K. M. Mathulla, founder of H.M.T. (Hindustan Machine Tools - India's largest producer of machine tools) and a die hard Kandathil, got a Padma Shree some 20 years ago.