I am listening on the internet to the audio commentary from BBC of the fourth one day international being played at Leeds between England and India, where India is trying to cut the lead in the one day series.
Also, yesterday here in Oulu we lost our television reception at home. Finland went over to Digital Television. I have not installed a Digi Box. We have a satellite antenna with access to two satellites. However, as soon as the green leaves appear on the trees in late April, they mask out the reception. Autumn is a bit late, but in another few weeks all the leaves on the trees would have fallen. We can get our satellite reception back again. I can then think whether to invest in a Digi Box by next April.
I am so happy at the emails that I received welcoming me back to the world of blogging. Here is a small cross section of the mail I received:
From Mumbai, India:
Dear Jacob,
26th June to 31st August was a very long sabbatical Never mind, it's good to have you up and about. You were missed!
Looking forward to a normal, hyperactive Jacob's Blog!
The only "fanatical" or "fundamentalist" attribute, you can be accused of, to my mind, is your fierce loyalty to the educational institutions that you studied in and your fellow students, young and old.
Of course, I will not list your other attributes lest you should get a swollen head!
Carry on carrying on!
Regards,
Ubi.
From Mysore, India
Dear Jacob,
With joy I observed that you were back to providing entries in your Seventh Heaven blog, after a long hiatus.
I was then deeply shocked to read of the calumnious references made to Annikki and you, to which you refer.
Be assured that at no time have I perceived the least religious bias in any of your writings or responses; I doubt these could possibly occur, given the wonderful truly secular attitudes bred into us by the educational institutions in India which we were fortunate to attend. I pray you will retain strength to defeat your detractors.
An earlier entry mentions that Viney Sethi was at Loughborough in the 1960s. I read Chemical Engineering there from 1954 to 58, so the association pleased me. If it so pleases Viney, I would be happy to hear from him.
Regards,
Naval
From Toronto, Canada
Hi Jacob,From Milan, Italy:
Just a short note to let you know that I am really pleased that you are back blogging!
It's a real pleasure to read your 'ramblings'. Pity about your camera breaking down whilst Viney was with you, but .......
Take care, and all the best to you, Annikki and the family.
Chinnie
Dear Jacob,
Welcome back to your internet heaven!
It felt rather eerie without your entries these past two months!
Love
Barbara
From Perth, Australia
Dear Sushil,From Rio de Janerio, Brazil
We have known you now for close to 40 years. Never have we once known you to be either a religious fanatic or an anarchist or hippie.
I wonder how anyone who knows Annikki and you could ever make any of these accusations.
Vera and I missed your blog entries, but we prayed for you and now we are happily settling back to our routine of checking your blogs.
Please do update the Maliyakal and Kandathil web pages also as many of us out here like to see what is happening with our many relatives around the world.
Rohan
Dear Mr. Matthan,
I was so glad to see your blog active again.
I have subscribed to a service which tells me when you update your pages. I was wondering whether the service had gone bust. It forced me to visit the pages, to see only the old posts, to my disappointment.
Having been reading your work online for close to 10 years, I cannot see how anyone could ever accuse you of being a religious fundamentalist.
And seeing the 40 year relationship you have with your wonderful wife depicted in your tribute to her, it is impossible to understand anyone accusing you or Annikki being anarchists or hippies.
Please do not take such words seriously, as all those who know you, either personally, or like me through your writings, know that these are just idle thoughts of thoughtless persons.
Dr. Samuel Pires
Thank you all for your concern and well wishes.
Annikki and I are strong enough to defend ourselves when people start any baseless onslaught on us. And dear Ubi, I already have an enormous swollen head that it could be used as a basketball. No need to cause it to swell any more!:-)
Yesterday I attended a Thai Festival in Oulu (had a taste of some really spicy papaya salad). I met a whole new lot of new Indians, as well as Sri Lankans, now here in Oulu. Engineers, software specialists, almost all of them.
And by today I find I have half a dozen committed readers of these blogs! Here was an email from a young Maharashtrian from Mumbai, India:
Dear Jacob Sir,
As you had suggested during our conversation at the Oulu Thai festival today, I read your blog.
It is really good and honestly it makes me proud to see an fellow Indian already done and doing so well far away from our motherland.
I also read your web page dedicated to your wife Annikki. It was really sweet.
I especially liked the pictures of the Indian evening. It would have been great fun doing those bollywood numbers. :-)
I would certainly like to be part of this unique community Findians.
Thanks n Regards,
Sagar Shinde,
Welcome Sagar, not only to the City of Oulu but also to the Findian Community which spans every continent. The very fact that you are an Indian in Finland makes you part of that Findian Community of which Annikki and are the proud parents!
Yes, it has been good to get back to blogging. I think the advice from the Anonymous Commenter for me to get a life was certainly good as it allowed me to focus on what is going on around me and to come back to blogging with some gusto.
I will have to get a new camera as the old one held together by grey silicone sticky tape is just to difficult to use. Joanna has sent me hers from England, so at least you will soon be able to see some pictures.
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