KTWV 08 Issue 27: Religious Fundamentalist of Anarchist Hippie?

Posted on the Stephanian Kooler Talk Blog, the Cathedralite Seventh Heaven Blog and my main Jacob's Blog.

One of the reasons that I took time off from blogging was that an Anonymous Commenter on the Kooler Talk Blog said that I had no life of my own and that was why I was running so many blogs!

So I took time off, causing deep concern amongst many of you about my health and well-being!

Those of you have been reading the Comments on the Stephanian Kooler Talk Blog would have seen some Anonymous Comments alleging that I am a Christian Religious Fundamentalist.

On the other hand, on a popular Christian TV Channel, another strange allegation about Annikki and me surfaced. Millions of viewers heard that we had been "anarchist hippies"!

Well, well, well - what a contradictory couple of allegations and turn of events.

In response to the Anonymous Commenter, I protested that I do not belong to ANY religious faction and never have. I have not subscribed, contributed or financially supported any religious movement.

The only monthly contribution that Annikki and I make regularly is € 20 to Amnesty International.

Cover of book by Annikki
published in 1994.

Annikki does belong to a Christian movement and her conversion to that faith to the extent of being baptised at the age of 40 can be found in the pages of her best-selling book "for the hour of his judgement is come:...."

In response to the "anarchist hippie" comment, we sent the tv station this comment. This allegation has been described to me by some people as saying Annikki and I are "hip" people in today's context - more a form of tribute!

Sadly, Annikki and I are not "hip" enough to understand this modern day lingo!

Given below is my email to the tv station:

Credibility of the Hope Channel!

Annikki and I listened to the interview of .................

We were quite horrified to hear the two of us described as "anarchist hippies".

Nothing could be further from the truth.

Annikki has been a dedicated Adventist from her childhood days, following in her father's footsteps. But she was only baptised as late as 1984 (when she was 40 years old) when she went through marvellous experience which is described in her book "for the hour of his judgement is come;..." (You can read this book on the internet at
 
http://koti.netplaza.fi/~amatthan/hour01.html!)

Annikki is a creative and highly talented artist and author, a Montessori Educationalist, a trained hospital helper (having worked even at Adventist Hultafors Institution in Sweden in the early 1960s and also in the Marie Curie Hospice in London) and has worked in Sweden, England, Germany and Finland.

There is hardly another private expert on Ellen G. White and her writings than Annikki, having read and understood all her books in two languages!

She has never been part of any anarchist or hippie movement.

Jacob sang in the St. Thomas Cathedral Church Choir in Bombay all through his childhood in Bombay. He was outstanding student, both in studies and sports, in his school days being House Captain! He was part of the International Youth Christian Movement during his days in Delhi University, even holding the elected position of President of College Residents!

Jacob completed his second higher degree in England after his first degree from Delhi University. The day he completed his second degree he was employed by a Government Research Centre in England - in Shawbury.

It is only after Jacob completed his second degree and got a job that he and Annikki entered into the serious commitment of a Christian marriage, over 40 years ago!

We have always been law abiding responsible citizens and have given our life to give our children the very best in terms of education. Maybe you should look at these two web pages

A Tribute to Annikki:
http://kotinetti.suomi.net/hilja.reinikka/AMTribute/annikkitribute.html
Biodata of Jacob Matthan:
http://koti.netplaza.fi/~jmatthan/jmbiodata.html

Our daughters were never sent to any boarding school in England or anywhere else. Like Jacob, who left for higher education at the age of 17, our elder daughter also proceeded to her further education away from home at the same age!

Our elder daughter (and our elder son) was able to settle in England only because we were responsible parents and preserved her birthright even when we were living in India!

Hardly what an anarchist hippie couple would do!

In later life we have devoted our life to helping various ethnic minorities and refugees. Even today, in our retirement, we look after an 87 year old dementia, tunnel vision impaired, physically weak lady, Annikki’s mother!

Hardly anarchists or hippies, then or now!

In the interests of accuracy, it would be only fair if the Hope Channel would correct this serious misconception, which borders on libel, which came through in your programme.

Annikki & Jacob Matthan
Oulu, Finland

The question arises as to my Christian roots.

Yes, I was born a Christian into a mixed very traditional Orthodox Christian/modern Protestant roots family and was brought up and educated by wonderful Christian Educational Institutions in India. Good Shepherd Convent in Mysore, Bishop Cotton School in Bangalore, Cathedral and John Connon School in Bombay and St. Stephen's College in Delhi.

I greatly valued the principles that were taught to me in these educational institutions which gave me strength to say that I was probably "educated" and not just a person who knew how to crunch numbers.

Yes, I was active in the Church Choir while at school.
Yes, like School Prefects of all faiths, I did read the Bible at the School Assembly.
Yes, I did read the Bible at the small College Chapel.
Yes; i was involved with the International Christian Youth Movement while in College. (We distributed food to poor villagers around  Delhi.)
Yes, I was part of the movement to start the non-denominational Christian prayer group in Oulu called as the International Church of Oulu.
Yes, I was even married in a Christian Church in the lovely town of Shrewsbury in England.

My break with the established church took place soon after our eldest daughter was born, when the vicar of the local church turned up at our home a few days after she was born to tell us that we should "christen" her quickly as otherwise, if she died, she would not be buried in a Christian graveyard.

What he said was hardly a Christian value that I had held so dear. It was, to me, emotional blackmail.

Annikki believed in a Church that did not support "child baptism". In her words one had to personally mature before one committed oneself to a religious institution, and as mentioned earlier, she found that strength only when she was almost 40 years old.

That experience ended my relationship with the established church, but not with religion or religious institutions of all shades.

My roots of education which I received from the schools and colleges that I attended were totally secular. There had never been any form of discrimination against any individual in any of these institutions. And my own classes both in school and college had people of many faiths in it - all brands of Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Hinduism, Sikhism, as well as people of all different colours from a variety of nations.

I will tackle the reason for the charge against me for appearing to be a Christian Fundamentalist in a separate blog entry as I am in the process of creating  a background document about education in India. It should be tackled in that context and not outside of it.

To date, I have not had any return comment from the Anonymous Commenter on my blog or from the tv Channel.

But I think Annikki and I got what we had to say off our chests!

Do tell us whether you think we come to any of you as being "religious fundamentalists" or "anarchist hippies"! Maybe, appearing at both ends of the spectrum sort of says that what we practice is just about right?

KTWV 08 Issue 26: General approval but...

The Press Conference and the release made by the Officer on Special Duty as Principal of St. Stephen's College, Revd. Valsan Thambu, seems to have got the right amount of spin. There has been general approval that the Dalit Christians will get a larger share of the seats at this prestigious college.

John Dayal sent me numerous pieces of information about the opinions of the Press, including the welcoming opinion of the All India Christian Council.

ALL INDIA CHRISTIAN COUNCIL

PRESS STATEMENT
NEW DELHI, 14 JUNE 2007

CHRISTIAN COUNCIL HAILS `HISTORIC' ST STEPHENS QUOTA FOR DALIT
CHRISTIANS; WELCOME NEW CATHOLIC EDUCATION POLICY FOR MARGINALISED

All India Christian Council president Dr Joseph D'souza and Secretary
General Dr John Dayal have welcomed as 'historic' the move by the St
Stephen's College to give preferential admissions to brilliant
students from the Dalit Christian community in the prestigious
institution of higher learning.

St Stephen's College, they noted, has become the first Church-
constituted Institution to take this long-due affirmative action which
will go far in undoing prejudices against Christians from the
erstwhile depressed classes and scheduled castes in north and south
India.

Dr D'souza and Dr Dayal have also welcomed the Education Policy
announced by the Catholic Bishops Conference of India which reaffirms
the commitment of the Church to the education of the marginalised.

"These revolutionary measures will go a long way in the empowerment
of 60 per cent of the Indian Christian community who had fallen out
of the development net of the church and were also ignored by the
State," the Christian Council leaders said.

These steps are also in keeping with the recent recommendations of the
Justice Rangnath Misra National Commission for Religious and
Linguistic Minorities which recently said Dalit Christians [and Dalit
Muslims] must be given scheduled caste status and privileges given to
Hindu, Sikh and Buddhist Dalits. "Religion cannot come in the way of
empowerment and development of a people subjugated for three
millennia," the Council said.

Dalit Christians and Muslims are in the Supreme Court through a PIL
seeking Scheduled caste status denied them by a government order that
communalised affirmative action and reserves it for favoured religion.

The Council called upon both the State and the Church to ensure
quality education through well equipped schools and modern curricula
in districts, towns and Dioceses where Dalit Christians were in
reasonable numbers. This will also be in keeping with the spirit of
the recommendations made for the Muslim community by the Prime
Minster's Special committee on Minorities headed by Justice Rajendra
Sachchar which gave its report some months ago.

Associates of the All India Christian Council already run scores of
high quality English-medium schools in several states in India and are
planning more schools.

"The move by St Stephen's college Officer on Special Duty Rev Valson
Thampu will help remove the impression that the Church runs only elite
schools and colleges for the rich and powerful without concern for the
poor," the Council said.

Dr D'souza and Dr Dayal also challenged statements that the
affirmative action for Dalit Christians will in any way dilute
academic standards for which the historic Institution is noted. St
Stephens' doors are now open to the brilliant students of the Dalit
community who otherwise find such institutions beyond their reach for
various reasons. It will sharpen the competition among the children of
the elite who had so far found it easy to get admission."

It may be recalled that yesterday Rev. Valson Thampu had announced
that 40 per cent of the seats in St Stephen's College will be
reserved for Christian students as against the earlier 32 per cent and
25 per cent of these will be kept aside for Dalit Christians. Ten per
cent of the total 400 seats will now be effectively reserved for Dalit
Christians as per the new reservation formula that will be implemented
from the coming academic session. The college, that has around 400
seats, will also have 15 per cent reservation for the students of
Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, disabled and children of defence
personnel killed in war, while five per cent seats will be meant for
the sportspersons.

But John also sent me this:

NEW DELHI: [Agencies]
Despite strong opposition from faculty members, St Stephen's College
will reserve 10% seats for Dalit Christians this year. The cut-off for
students from the category will be 60% - the lowest in the college,
and usually applicable only to Sanskrit - for all courses. There will
also be some financial assistance extended to them.

The 40% quota for Christians - which will include the 10% seats
reserved for Dalit Christians - will now be filled up ''at all costs''
and for that the college is ready to give students from the community
more than the usual 15% relaxation in cut-off. However, to allay fears
of faculty members that the elite institution's academic standards may
be compromised, the college proposes to start a regular ''merit
audit''.

''We will explore all avenues to make the stint of Dalit Christian
students in the college burden-free. But we are yet to decide whether
that should be in the form of scholarships or fee waivers. All
financial assistance will be need-based,'' said the college's
officiating principal, Valson Thampu.

As per the admission policy cleared by the Supreme Council of the
college on Tuesday, 40% seats are to be reserved for Christian
students - and mandatorily filled - out of which 25% will be reserved
for Dalits of the same category, that is, 10% of the total seats.
Forty per cent will be reserved for non-minority groups and 15% for
underprivileged non-minority students, including SCs, STs, OBCs, wards
of war victims and physically challenged students. The remaining 5%
will be reserved for admission through the sports quota.

This year, for the first time, the college will admit at least 40
Dalit Christians out of a total of 400 students to be admitted to
courses at the undergraduate level. Christian students who qualify on
merit will also be counted in the 40% quota.

In 1992, when the college got minority status, it was directed by the
apex court to reserve at least 50% seats for Christians. However, it
has so far been able to admit only 30-32% students from the category,
with 70% seats open to general category students who are admitted
solely on the basis of merit.

The latest proposal will cut general category seats by 30%, leaving
only 196 seats up for grabs.' It is now mandatory for us to fill the
40% seats meant for Christian students. If the quota doesn't get
filled by providing the usual relaxation in the cut-off by 15%, we
will lower the cut-off further,'' said Thampu. The 15% relaxation
given to SC/ST students till last year will continue this year. All
candidates though will need to appear for interviews regardless of
their caste status, Thampu added.

---------------

Stephen's faculty members object increase in quota

Pallavi Singh

New Delhi, June 11 [Times of India]

: THE meeting called to discuss the new admission policy at St
Stephen's College led to no consensus on Monday after its faculty
objected to the proposal to reserve more than 50 per cent seats.
The policy, formulated by Officer on Special Duty Rev. Valson Thampu
who is officiating as St Stephen's principal, proposes to increase the
quota for Christians from 30 to 40 per cent. The policy proposes 10
seats be reserved for 'Dalit Christians'.

With this, the number of seats available to general category students
is set to come down by 40.

The proposal also sets aside 20 per cent seats for 'other categories':
5 per cent for sports quota and 15 per cent for SC/ST, disabled and
children/widows/wives of soldiers killed or disabled. Sources said
faculty members, especially Heads of Department, objected to the idea
of reserving more than half the seats. "We don't want the college to
disturb 50 per cent of seats open to general category students," said
a faculty member who was part of the meeting. "Our argument was that
the college must not take regressive steps that dilute its excellent
academic record."

Objection was also raised on the college prospectus for this year
carrying no mention of the proposed policy for students. "This matter
was raised by a few teachers," said Prof Vinod Chowdhury, media
advisor to the principal. "But they were told that our prospectus
never carried any details on reservations, so why (include them)
now?"

The policy that invited objection from several teachers could not get
a unanimous nod from the 33 teachers present even after Rajshekhar
Rao, legal advisor to the college, discussed with them the probable
legal implications of the policy.

"There was no voting on the policy, nor was any resolution passed,"
Chowdhury said. "After a discussion for about two hours, we found that
though there was no fundamental objection, concerns were expressed
about maintaining academic excellence of the college. The teachers
have been asked to submit their objections, if any, by 1 pm on
Tuesday."

Meanwhile, the college also put up a notice in its staff room, asking
faculty members to not talk to the media. The policy is expected to be
tabled at the college's Supreme Council meeting on Tuesday for final
approval.

Revd. Thambu is a reverend of the Church and a recognised expert in teaching of English.

He is doing what he believes is right.

He carried out this reform from his heart. He did it so that there is no ambiguity in the policy of admissions. He did it so that there is no chance of corrupt practices in the most important area of the life of the College.

One must recall here what John Dayal had written in his earlier submission to me - so far all accusations of corrupt practices in admission had been just accusations without any proof!

In Revd. Thambu's report to me after he talked to our local alumni, he found all round approval for this step.

However, Revd. Thambu did what is typical of the Peter Principle.

Revd. Thambu has to stop being a person just committed to his ideals, however important they are, and become one capable of managing this glorious institution to fall in line with his ideals and values. This transition may take time, but it requires a sincere effort on his part to become "a Manager", first.

Revd. Thambu failed to unanimously carry the most important faction of his team with him. The Faculty seems divided in its acceptance of his approach. This causes friction and back chat, which will fester and affect Management Style. This is least what a new Principal requires as he drives the College to higher levels.

I sincerely pray that the Faculty will fall in line and help Revd. Thambu re-establish our College as the foremost institution in Education in India.

KTWV 08 Issue 25: In the eye of a storm: Social Justice

As I blog this, the Officiating Officer in Charge of St. Stephen's College is in a Press Conference.

Revd. Valson Thambu, referred to as Principal (OSD) has just issued this Press Release, 7000 km away from where I sit:

ST. STEPHEN’S COLLEGE:
A QUEST FOR INSTITUTIONAL RENEWAL

The Revd. Valson Thampu, Principal (OSD)

I. The background

Since taking over the responsibility of administering St. Stephen’s College recently, I have been concerned increasingly by the need to bring the College into harmony with the vision of the founding fathers for the College. It is clear to me that the Cambridge Mission to Delhi, which established the College in 1881, did not want the College to be a ‘brand name’ or to be defined wholly by ‘prestige’.

Authentic Christian education has, throughout history, prioritized social justice and social transformation, brought hope and dignity into the lives of the excluded and the disempowered, equipped the members of the community to serve the nation with devotion and distinction (as the prayer of St. Stephen’s College indicates), and played a catalytic role in promoting national integration. It is obvious, therefore, that a Christian College cannot remain the exclusive preserve of a class or caste, invoking the talisman of ‘academic excellence’. While academic excellence is very important, it is not the sole purpose for which educational institutions are established by the Christian community.

Right up to the forties and fifties of the last century, Principals like Principal S. N. Mukarji, used to visit the villages of the Punjab and adjoining areas to invite young men from rural areas with some potential, bring them to St. Stephen’s College, and educate them. They were urged to go back to their villages and serve as agents of change and hope for others. Somewhere alone the line, St. Stephen’s College lost this soulful emphasis on social justice and social transformation. It needs to be regained.

C. F. Andrews taught in St. Stephen’s College from 1904-1914. He was easily the most distinguished member of the faculty. Yet, the then Principal S. K. Rudra motivated him to join Gandhiji in the Phoenix Settlement in South Africa and strengthen his hands. The College was willing to lose ‘prestige’ for the sake of its wider vision and commitment. This is just one instance of the breadth of vision that underlies the greatness of St. Stephen’s College. The College is duty-bound to remain sensitive and responsive to the unfolding saga of nation building. We note with pride that the Central Government is committed to empowering the SC/ST as well as the economically and socially backward classes of our country. It is a sacred and timely mission which St. Stephen’s College feels urged to endorse and emulate. Even though Article 15(5) exempts all minority educational institutions from the reservation policies of the State, we in St. Stephen’s want to be a part, voluntarily, of this commitment to social justice. St. Stephen’s College cannot, and does not want to, be unmindful of the movement to build the India that Gandhiji dreamt: the “the India of our dreams”.

St. Stephen’s College is a minority educational institution. As a Member of the National Commission for Minority Educational Institutions and the National Integration Council, I am aware, and deeply concerned, about the abuse of minority rights in various parts of this country. Minority rights are a sacred trust the nation reposes in the minority communities. It has to be exercised with profound respect to the shaping vision of the Indian Constitution and its core ideals of socialism, secularism and democracy as well as fundamental values like equality, justice and human dignity that underlie the Constitution. Minority rights are not meant to create a special class of citizens, but to enable numerically handicapped religious collectivities to preserve their script and religious culture in a way harmonious with the ethos of the Indian Constitution, which dreams of a caste-less and class-less society where all people are free to develop and find fulfillment. St. Stephen’s College cannot afford to be blind to this national goal. We have to contribute out mite to the glorious destiny of India. It is our conviction that practicing social justice and pursuing excellence at the same time is the best we can do in this regard.

Finally, St. Stephen’s College has a duty to develop the members of the Christian community and prepare them to participate in nation-building. An under-developed community cannot be an asset to the nation. A nation is only as developed as its least developed community is. The Christian community in the North is at least as under-developed as the Muslims and Neo-Buddists are, though this is not talked about. As a person aware of the ground realities, I cannot remain deaf and blind to the deprivation and destitution of the people on whose behalf St. Stephen’s College enjoys minority rights. As a rule, the allergy to the poor is the loudest sign of corruption. Jesus came to preach the Good News to the poor; and the Good News to the poor is not instant salvation or a pie-in-the sky-when-you-die. It is empowerment through education. St. Stephen’s College cannot hide itself from this reality and the responsibility born of it.

This is the backdrop against which the review of admission policy has been initiated.

II. The Policy

One of my key goals, during my tryst with this great institution, is to promote a culture of collegiality, transparency and accountability. The enunciation of a democratic and dialogic culture is basic to this goal. Open discussions on policy matters have seldom been a feature of St. Stephen’s College. I am convinced that we need to change in this respect. For that to be possible, every member of St. Stephen’s College needs to adhere to the discipline of healthy debate and dialogue. The clash of partisan interests will strangulate the spirit of democratic culture and debate.

A comprehensive process of intra-institutional discussions was initiated soon after I assumed office on 21 May, 2007. I wish to report with immense satisfaction my colleagues have participated in this process with mature responsibility. Several of them avow that this has been a learning process for them, as indeed it has been for me. Based on, and closely following, the broad consensus that emerged, the Supreme Council of the College, which is the highest policy making body, has enunciated the following policy guidelines to guide admissions 2007-2008.

(a) Admissions from the General Category be 40%
(b) Admissions from the Christian Community: 40%, of which 25% [i.e., 10% of the total seats] to be set apart for Dalit Christians.
(c) Admissions from SC/ST, Physically Challenged candidates and wards of war victims be 15% in all.
(d) Sports 5%

The Dalit status of the applicants to be decided on the basis of the certificates issued by the authorities of the Church.

Providing for a 10% intake without relaxing the cut off will be a mocking illusion for such candidates. In this context, relying on the precedence for admissions to Sanskrit (Hons.), the Supreme Council rules that the cut off for Dalit Christians be on par with the cut-off for Sanskrit (Hons.), candidates.

Christian candidates who qualify on the basis of Sports Quota will not be counted against the 40% seats set apart for candidates from the community, as they are admitted not because they are Christians but because they are sportsmen.

It is clarified that all admissions will be based on inter-se merit, as stipulated by the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India.

I wish to close by thanking the Members of the Supreme Council, especially its Chairman, Rt. Rev. Karam Masih, who is the Bishop in Delhi of the Church of North India, of which St. Stephen’s College is a part. But for their assured support and encouragement this historic exercise would not have been possible within such a short span of time.

“Ad Dei Gloriam”

There has been much discussion in India under the title "Heated Debate" where several issues have been raised. I was fowarded an email which made many accusations. What distressed me about that email was that it was written by an anonymous source.

Any person who cannot put his name to the document he writes does not deserve to be heard.

I remember my grandfather, a humble Christian school teacher who fought for many social issues and social justice, had to spend many years in prison in British India. But the issues he fought for were won. With Indian Independence, the Christian Community in Kerala was raised from being a persecuted minority to the one which led to the State having the highest literacy rate in Free India.

But it was not institutions in Kerala alone that played a role. The Madras Christian College at Tambaram among many others were primary institutions that helped members of the Christian Community rise to the levels that they have reached today.

The family that controls MRF and Malayala Manorama enterprises are equated today of being among the rich Christians.

Nothing could be further from the truth as the philosophy of the late K. C. Mammen MNappilai, the founder of the MM Group, was that the money did not belong to his family, but was something that belonged to the people and the custodians had a responsibility to ensure that it was wisely and justly used to help society.

Many from this family have passed through the sacred halls of St. Stephen's College as this institution taught that secularity was the predominant aspect of life in India.

It is not sufficient to have a reservation policy for admission to the college based of class and caste. What is important, as has been stated by Revd. Thambu, is the importance of Social Justice.

What Revd. Thambu has to acknowledge is that a large proportion of those who have graduated from St. Stephen's College were busy in the professional lives ensuring that the values that they learnt while in College were used in their daily lives. They may not have been involved in helping to administer the College, as that was not their professional skill - that would have been a direct case of the the truth of the Peter Principle.

By all means have an admission policy which gives a chance to the broad cross-section of the disempowered to earn an EDUCATION. The College should not be bogged down with considering aspects of admission, but of ensuring that the students who graduate from the College are Educated.

The alumni have an important part to play in ensuring that the College continues to produce the people who will lead the world. For that to occur, it is not just the students that are admitted that play a role, but an ENLIGHTENED FACULTY.

For the College to be considered a Centre of Excellence, it is the faculty that makes a difference. Without a faculty which teaches the students the meaning of true education, the institution can be considered worthless - immaterial of what admission criteria are accepted.

My sincere advice to Revd. Thambu is to ensure that St. Stephen's College is a Centre of Excellence in Education of ALL Communities, Classes and Castes. The more the better!

Jesus did not only preach to the Jews - he educated the world!

Only then will the word reach through every spectrum of Indian Society. Stephanians will then make their mark in driving India and the world along a path of Social Justice, what appears to be the primary focus of Revd. Thambu.

I pray that the Good Lord will help Revd. Thambu just as HE has guided many of those who have preceded Rev. Thambu in this task.

KTWV 08 Issue 24: Distressing developments

When my cousin and Stephanian, Arun Matthan, forwarded me an email which had been forwarded to him by former vicar at the college, Dan O'Conner, I was greatly distressed by the contents.

I do not know the author of the original email, one D. Dodd. (I am not reproducing this email here as I feel I do not have full knowledge of the accuracy of the contents.)

Also Dan O'Conner was after my time at college and hence have only had a fleeting contact with him, online.

As you will recall there was a flurry of COMMENTS when I had written to wish the new Officiating Vice-Principal Rev. Valson Thambu the best in his new position. I disclaimed all knowledge of what had been happening in our sacred institution. The comment posted by Padma ended that rather sour phase in the life of my online editorialship of the Kooler Talk Blog.

On receiving this forwarded email, rather than rush to do a piece about what was happening in Delhi, I forwarded the same to four senior alumni. One is a leading Christian and minority activist in India, John Dayal, for whom I have a great deal of regard. John has stood up for the rights of all minorities in India against the rabid fundamentalists that want to destroy the fabric of secular India. I also sent the email to our Member of the Rajya Sabha, Rahul Bajaj, who was in college between 1955 and 1957. Rahul has managed his industrial empire with great wisdom and I wanted to see his reaction to this sad development.

I had also sent the email to two former Stephanians, one a retired senior Government Officer and a slightly younger Government Officer who is now a well-known journalist.

I have not yet received a reply from the latter two.

John's reply was a wonderful view of a person deeply concerned with our alma mater. I publish his reply with his express permission.

Dear Jacob

All this makes for sad reading.

As an old friend used to say, everyone is speaking the truth, but no one is speaking the whole truth.

1. No one in Delhi can really accuse Bishop Karam Masih of absolute Christian integrity, that is the truth.

2. He dearly loves his only son, and that too is the truth.

3. Only god knows how those in charge accepted him as a member of the governing body.

4. Branded colleges, such as ours, run the perpetual risk of someone or the other trying to encash the brand equity for his or her own good. At the end of every admission session, disgruntled Christian and non-Christian parents come to me by the dozen, claiming that someone they know got in by making a fat donation or cash transfer to someone or the other. I always tell them to make a similar payment, come to me, identify the person they have paid money to, and I will ensure that the man is sacked, however high a position he has, the child is admitted and guarantees given that he will not be victimised in the three years he or she will be in college.

I must tell you not one parent has bothered to do so. Says something.

5. Regarding merit versus reservations, this is an old debate in India and has no conclusive or universally acceptable argument in favour or against it. Reserving 40 per cent seats for Christians is a legal requirement and in no way dilutes merit. Brilliant boys and girls from the North east and the South will now find a place which was denied to them earlier despite their marks. Dalits too have their brilliant layer. The open seats get trimmed, and that may mean a more honest competition amongst the children of the elite who cannot or do not want a an undergraduate degree from some third rate college in Australia, the UK or the USA.

Let us give it a try, and let us divorce all this from Valson and Karam.

The corrupt will always find a way to make money, if not in admissions, that in purchase of kitchen rations, or the whitewashing of college corridors

It will be good idea for sane alumni to constitute themselves into a watchdog body. We need a good alumni.

By the way, not one non-Christian alumni came to the defence of the Christian community at the height of the persecution or the BJP propaganda that Christian institutions are there as instruments of forcible and fraudulent conversion.

Speaks of some sort of a lack of moral strength and integrity in some of our brothers.

In great sadness

John Dayal

PS: You could paste it on the Blog Kooler Talk if you think appropriate

Rahul was away in St. Petersburg when he received my email. He sent me a very thoughtful reply. However, he had not been in the loop as far as what has been happening in the college. But he made some important observations:

....As you are aware, there are a large number of Stephanians in Delhi, both in business and the government. Though I do not know what is happening, it would appear that the Alumni are not doing anything about whatever may be happening with respect to the management of St. Stephens.

....One also has to get in touch with Delhi University and, perhaps, the Ministry of HRD. To do this all, however, there have to be at least a few Alumni who can spend some time on this matter.

I presume there are at least a few Alumni involved in the Alumni Association who are aware of what is going on. If so, I am not sure why they are not doing anything about it. It is naturally important to ensure that the contents of the note are by and large accurate.

Also, it may not be enough for a few individuals to ask questions as suggested in the note under the RTI Act., etc. This needs to be done in a structured manner by the Alumni Association which can, if necessary, even collect some funds for this purpose to the extent one may need to engage a legal counsel if litigation becomes necessary.

It is my honest opinion that senior and respected members of our Alumni located in Delhi do have a role to play in ensuring that the Institution we all love and cherish in our hearts is not the private playground of anyone who enjoys power or tries to usurp it to change the vision of its great traditions.

The latest news, which reached my INBOX yesterday, that more seats would be reserved for the Schedules Castes and Scheduled Tribes could be interpreted in many ways. I quote a positive report which appeared a couple of days ago in the online edunews.net run by National Network of Education India St. Stephens to make room for SC/ST Quota: June 08, 2007

New Delhi: St. Stephens College of Delhi University (DU) is planning to offer 20% of its total seats to the Scheduled Caste (SC) and Schedule Tribe (ST) students from the forthcoming academic session.

According to the proposal, 40% of the 440-odd seats in 11 courses will be reserved for Christian students, 40% for general category students and the rest i.e. 20% seats for SC and ST students......

What surprises me is that during my days in college there was never that high a ratio of Christians in any course - my class of over 20 students had just 2 Christians (10%), which must have been the approximate percentage of Christians in residence! Of the staff teaching sciences to us we had just 3 Christians in the over 20 staff that were involved with my education. As far as the gyps and serving workers in the college, I think we had no more that a couple of Christians.

But, the feeling that was always prevalent in the college was a Christian philosophy - "Love your neighbour as much as you love yourself" with the second important rider to this that "your neighbour" is anyone who comes within your sphere of existence!

I do hope the local alumni will get involved to driving our college administration within the bounds of the values that all of us imbibed during our period in this hallowed institution.

I am not asking for a series of COMMENTS on this post. This is not a blog meant to have a serious discussion through that instrument. Do feel free to email me your views so that we can avoid washing dirty linen, especially when much of it will be unsubstantiated dirt, in public.

KTWV 08 Issue 23: Dangerous situation of VIOLATION

(Cross-posted on all my MAJOR BLOGS.)

A few weeks ago, I received an email from my good young friend, Soda, that he had TAGGED me and the email had a line implying that if I did not join this TAGGED network, my friendship with him would be in question!

Is Soda your friend?

Please respond or Soda may think you said no :(

When I get emails which border on being emotional blackmailed, I usually investigate a little deeper. When I went through the process of joining the TAGGED network, and it came to a particular stage, whoosh, I closed the link.

The process of registration was asking me to reveal, to TAGGED, my email password.

This is a sure recipe for your entire security on the Internet and your personal computer to be fully compromised. Once you part with your password to such an organisation, the robot can enter your personal email INBOX, your ARCHIVES, your ADDRESS BOOK and data mine all your sensitive information, which could even be your credit card details.

I sent a reply to SODA:

Hi Soda,

Tagged is asking for my Password when filling in details - which I cannot give. Be careful about this site!

Jacob

I few days later I had a similar request from a Cathedralite friend.

I replied him this:

Dear Adil,

Tagged is asking for passwords.

Quite dangerous.

Use LinkedIn, much better. Do you want to be in that Contact Manager?

Regards

Jacob

To which he replied:

I merely answered one tag message, filled a form in and I now see that this thing has gone to my entire address book ! Quite horrified. Any idea how I can undue this Tag business? Sorry, I truly didnt mean to Tag everyone, except the guy who tagged me! Help !!

Adil

He was in panic and I replied to him:

That was why they asked for your email address AND Password.

Dangerous situation.

Don't know how you get out of it except by directly communicating with them.

Stay away from anything that asks for YOUR password to register - you are in for some tough times!

Regards

Jacob

Since then I have had similar request from many friends who had compromised their system. Then came this from the Cathedralite daughter of another Cathedralite friend:

Hi,

Thanks for this mail - its really weird as I didnt tag anyone. Will check my system for a virus.

Thanks for letting me know,

Kind regards,

Dimple

Remember, this is not a virus, but a violation of your secrecy which you permitted by giving your password when you were emotionally blackmailed. Take action NOW before you are compromised on some other front.

My suggestion is that you bombard them with questions and demand restitution for compromising your email secrecy!

These are the CONTACT details for TAGGED:

CONTACT

Email support@tagged.com with site related questions or complications.

Company Information: info@tagged.com
Business Partnerships: business@tagged.com
All Other Inquiries: inquiry@tagged.com

web Address: http://corp.tagged.com/

Tagged Inc
P.O. Box 193152
San Francisco, CA 94119-3152

Do not violate Rule 1 of the Internet- never give YOUR PASSWORD to ANYONE!

KTWV 08 Issue 22: Review of John Dayal's book

John Dayal has been untiring in his effort to fight for the rights of all Christians in India. I read his postings on this issue which reach me here in Finland almost daily.



Being far removed from India presently, John certainly covers the urgency with which this subject should be treated.

This morning, a link arrived in my email which was a wonderful review of John's new book Christians: A Faith Under Assault In Secular India by Vidya Bhushan Rawat dated 30 May, 2007

Two sentences in particular got my attention:

The bitterest critique of Christendom comes from those who were educated at these prestigious institutions. They will not targets prestigious institutions in Delhi, Mumbai or elsewhere because most of their family members come out from these colleges.

Just ask Arun Shourie where he studied.

He was my hockey captain in St. Stephen's College in 1961-62!

Arun was a great journalist, worthy of the Magasay award that he received, till hatred and the need to get power to get back at his "enemies" entered his heart. From then onwards his journalistic talent went down the toilet and his hypocrisy has adorned his shoulders!

I am particularly taken with Padma's comment that appeared in relation to an earlier post, and like John, I give kudos to this wonderful young lady.

Although John is much junior to me, I watch his tireless work with awe and admiration.

KTWV 08 Issue 21: Be warned or die

(Cross-posted on all my major blogs.)

One of my alumni friends sent me this post which I think is very important.


Coke cans stacked in a warehouse.
Not all warehouses are so clean and tidy!

Leptospirosis -- VERY IMPORTANT PLEASE READ

This incident happened recently in North Texas.

A woman went boating one Sunday, taking with her some cans of coke which she put into the refrigerator of the boat. On Monday she was taken to the hospital and placed in the Intensive Care Unit. She died on Wednesday.

The autopsy concluded she died of Leptospirosis. This was traced to the can of coke she drank from, not using a glass. Tests showed that the can was infected by dried rat urine and hence the disease Leptospirosis.

Rat urine contains toxic and dangerous substances. It is highly recommended to thoroughly wash the upper part of Soda cans before drinking out of them. The cans are typically stocked in warehouses and transported straight to the shops without being cleaned.

A study at NYCU showed that the tops of soda cans are more contaminated than public toilets (i.e).. full of germs and bacteria. So wash them with water before putting them to the mouth to avoid any kind of fatal accident.

Same goes for the envelopes, do not lick it.

I do not know how many times I have drunk directly from cans. I have been lucky but may not be next time.

In an article which appeared in an English online paper Milton Keynes Citizen dated 22nd May 2007Rat infestations on the increase this was stated:

Among the 70 diseases that rats are known to carry are cholera, typhus, bubonic plague and leptospirosis, a bacterial illness spread by their urine contaminating water or food.

Leptospirosis is also known to infect anglers who can come in contact with rats' urine when fishing on the riverbank.

Council environmental health officer Simon Teesdale warned that bird feeding is one of the top causes for attracting rats to residential properties.

I am not an angler, so I need not worry about that. Annikki is planning on feeding the beautiful birds that visit our garden. We will now follow rules that will endure that no rats come to eat at the same bird house.



My thanks to my good friend 55er Bunny Rao of the Cathedral and John Connon School, Mumbai, for sending me this message. He may have saved many a life, including mine, with this one.

KTWV 08 Issue 20: Part 2: Why do I do the things I do?

(Cross-posted on all my major blogs.)

The reaction to the first part of this blog title was so overwhelming that I thought I would share another of my very simplistic theories with you.

This blog entry covers the subject of physical and mental endurance.


Beautiful Rauma.

Two scooters belonging to my friends had to be delivered to Rauma, a lovely small town in south Finland. In the normal course I would have just booked them in a truck service and sent them on.

Not having done a long distance drive since 2003, when I drove 1300 km to Helsinki and back the same day, I wondered whether I could repeat part of this by driving to Rauma and back the same day - a total distance of 1100 km up and down.

When I told Annikki my plan, she said I was crazy. She tried to talk me out of this foolhardy mission. But my mental make-up was such that I knew I had to do this trip.



I loaded the scooters onto the trailer. Just as I was tying them down as firmly as I could, my Zambian friend, Kamutaza Tembo, turned up. He did the job of tying both the scooters down as tight as he could.

It looked as if we had done a good job.

Friday was a busy day. We had been invited to dinner by Indu and Asheesh, an Indian couple newly settled in Oulu. Their 4-year old son, Karthik, is a real whiz kid. I get on famously with him.

Indu and Asheesh decided we would dine at the Indian Cuisine, the new Indian Restaurant in Oulu. The owner, Michelle, was there to look after us. She produced an absolutely great meal. For the first time in the last 10 years we had tandoori chicken which tasted as much as tandoori chicken from Moti Mahal on Chandini Chowk in New Delhi.

After this meal, eaten slowly and enjoyed till the last mouthful, Indu and Asheesh suggested we visit their new home. Indu has done a wonderful job with this flat, bright and airy and really home-like. We chatted and finished with ice cream. I had to drag Annikki away, as I planned to leave at sunrise, about 3:30 am.

When we got home, I go a shock.

Annikki said she would also accompany me on this long journey! Although grateful to have her company, I was wondering how she would last this journey, as I had no intention of stopping halfway!

She has not done such an arduous journey in the last 15 years.

I had a shower and hit the sack. I was tired when I went to bed, but I was up, fresh as a daisy, at 3:30 am. As it was raining I decided to wait till it got a bit brighter. I let Annikki sleep while I got all the paperwork for the trip ready. Just as I was going to fill the petrol at 4 am, I told her that she should be ready in about half an hour.

As soon as I hit the first bump on the road, I realised that the scooters would give me trouble en route. After filling the petrol, I thought of a great idea and put the spare tyre between the two scooters, wedging it in tight. I then re-tightened all the ropes. When I tested it driving home, I was sure that for the most part there would be no damage en route.

I was home by 4:30 and we were able to get on the road by 4:45.

We took a route which is non-traditional. Although driving slowly because of the load in the trailer, we made good time. We stopped at a petrol station for a cup of tea. I stopped another 3 times to ensure the ropes were tightened. By 12 noon we were in Rauma.

After unloading the scooters, we dropped in to see our friends, Padma and Mika. It was Mika's birthday so we had a piece of cake and some great Indian tea. We had to refuse the meal that Padma had cooked for us as Annikki and I had eaten crisps all the journey down to Rauma.



Kannan is moving to a new flat at the end of the month. We went to see his nice new apartment. Then we drove to a lovely restaurant, HR-Kala in Olkiluoto, which specialises in Fish.

The lunch, two pieces of beautifully smoked salmon, a large fish cutlet and sliced gravey salmon served with freshly cut vegetables was superb.



HR stands for the name of the fisherman, Hannu. He has two boats, a 5 metre and a 10 metre one. He fishes in the waters of Olkiluoto and sells his fish at the Rauma market. He and his wife run this great fish restaurant.





We had this delicious early dinner. By 4 pm we set on our way back, Kannan taking the trouble to put us on the highweay.

We took another route, the main road between Rauma and Oulu, but we discovered it was a ghastly mistake.

This route is lined with camera speed checkers. I am not averse to camera speed checkers, but in the Swedish-speaking section in Finland, the Police have deliberately placed the cameras in a way to catch offenders by creating them.

The cameras are set up in one speed zone (say 100 kmph). Then, all of a sudden, one hits a speed limit change sign (say to 80 kmph) and even before one has the chance to reduce one's speed to the new speed, less than 50 metres away, they have placed the camera.

In other parts of Finland the cameras are at least 200 metres after a speed change sign.

Keeping the cameras so close to the speed change sign, has one hitting the brakes, causing the cars behind you to focus on why you are braking, and then they too realise they are being forced to brake to reduce the speed dramatically to avoid being caught for speeding.

This is catastrophic and causes a great deal of mental anguish while driving.

The whole object of this exercise is to trick drivers into a mistake and then they get caught for speeding.

It was close to 11:30 at night that we were on the last stretch home. I had been driving well within the speed limit, but as the last 5 minutes were ahead of us and we were on a motorway, I told Annikki we would be home in 5 minutes and I speeded up.

Just as we were pulling of the highway I saw the Police car behind me. I pulled up, knowing my mistake instantly.

With a trailer one is limited top a speed of 80 kmph. I had been at 110 kmph. I knew I was going to be fined. The Policemen were courteous and sympathetic, but I got my dose of the correct medicine!

Because if this slight deviation from the routine we got home just before midnight.

The entire day for me was from 3:30 am till midnight: 20+ hours approximately, in which I had driven 1155 km. The real pick-me-ups on the way had been three extra strong cups of tea, two lie-downs of about 5 minutes each to rest the eyes and limbs, and a couple of stops to fill petrol and stretch my legs.

After a quick sauna, I hit the sack at a quarter past midnight and I was asleep in less than a minute. I slept like a lamb till 9 am, five hours longer than normal, but on waking up I felt on top of the world.

The moral of this story is quite simple.

Test your endurance capacity regularly as you grow older. It is important that you know where your body stands. Any weak links will be shown up immediately when stressed to the limit. Then, you can work to correct the problems.

My weak link is that when driving for a long spell, I get an ache at the knees. Stopping and walking around for a couple of minutes eases this ache completely for the next couple of hours.

I must find out the reason for this. That was the only problem I had during this 1155 km 20 hour drive day. Mental agility and reactions were as perfect as when I used to drive like this in my younger days.

Annikki also lasted through this trip without any problems. We mid-60ers can claim to be in a reasonably sound condition as our bodies have spoken!

KTWV 08 Issue 19: A genuine "Finnish" misunderstanding by me

(Cross-posted on my major blogs.

When I was told by Ville Suomi that we would have two visitors from the Palam Rural Centre in India, I believed that they were from New Delhi, assuming Palam to be related to the Palam Airport.



However, when I went to the chappal making demo on Tuesday noon, I saw a humble "moochi" sitting on the floor making a sandal using his traditional skills.

Daniel Jesudasan, and his boss Benjamin Sundarkumar, are from Tirupur in Tamilnadu.

The real name of the organisation should be Paalam. Paalam mean "bridge" in both Tamil and Malayalam.

Tirupur is the major textile centre of India producing undergarments and t-Shirts by the millions and these can be found in even the most exclusive of shops around the world.

Daniel is a humble cobbler, having learnt the profession from his uncle over 30 years ago. In the period since, he estimated that he has made over 50000 sandals plus a variety of different products as leather bags, key ring holders, and many other leather products. His wife and his children have also been part of his professional activity.


Range of fragrant soaps "literally" lovingly hand-packaged in beautiful hand-made paper cartons from the Paalam Rural Centre.

Benjamin Sundarkumar is the Secretary of the Paalam Rural Centre, which is a cooperative of around 130 families, who are working to create an honest and good life for themselves and their children. They are producing leather products and also about 30 different fragrant soaps at their facility. They now intend to diversify into liquid soaps and shampoos.

Over the last 30 years the cooperative, started by a Swedish pastor, has taken legs of its own and has become part of the Fair Trade worldwide programme. (After Oulu, Daniel and Benjamin were on their way to Sweden so see this 80 year old pastor, now living in retirement in Stockholm.)


Kati Hjerp of Juuttiputiikki introduces the visitors from India.

In an evening programme at the WALDA Youth Centre, Benjamin said that the prices they received from the Fair Trade programme was certainly "fair" and had helped the cooperative to develop itself. The small profit had been wisely invested in improving the livelihood of the families that form the cooperative.

Impressive was the Primary School which was equipped with computers and which they hope, with further improvement in profits and help from a few friends, that they can develop into a High School.


Daniel and Benjamin at the Tropical Botanical Greenhouse.

On Thursday, I took the two of them for a tour of the city of Oulu, showing them the Oulu University Central Hospital, the Medipolis area, the Technopolis area, the University of Oulu including the fascinating Botanical Gardens and the Zoological Museum, and then a trip to the Oulu Nallikari Beach including a visit to our friends at the Children's Park.


The first ground bloom flowers in Kampitie.


View of the Kampitie garden.


View of the Kampitie garden.


View of the Kampitie garden.


Annikki's new experiment this year - peat bricks as a border.

After this I took them home to meet Annikki and view the Kampitie garden, which today is a splendour bathed in much colour.

We had a delicious Indian meal at the Indian Cuisine Restaurant. Then, I dropped them off at Juuttiputiikki, where Daniel was once again going to demonstrate his artisan skills to a much larger audience than on Tuesday.

During our conversations, many serious thoughts struck me.

Firstly, with the children of the now cooperative members being educated presently in modern facilities, it is most likely that the artisan skills of Daniel and his friends will not be passed on to the next generation to follow. It is, therefore, imperative to develop their cooperative in a manner that does not drive these educated children away from their roots and homes as they are forced to seek employment in the metropolitan cities.

Secondly, I felt that as water is a scarce resource in Tirupur, when making their liquid soaps for export, it would be far wiser for them to export the liquid soapconcentrates, and market these concentrates in the Fair Trade outlets, just as Juuttiputiikki is doing of products from many other producers of liquid soaps and shampoos.

Thirdly, the cooperative should cooperate with Universities and other organisations to ensure that the water scarcity which plagues their region is solved using modern scientific methods. Otherwise the entire region, which today depends on fast depleting groundwater, will be led to total ruination!

And finally, the manufacturing facilities are truly primitive, but yet they produce a great range of products suitable for the elite of the western world. Here, I am caught in a dilemma as to what to say. If I say that the facilities should be modernised, it will take away the glamour of the humble way of life of these people. But if they do not modernise, their competivity will be lost and they could grind to a halt in the not too distant future.

The primitivity is what impresses me, YET depresses me. To think that India, with its explosion on the world economy, still has such manufacturing primitivity is extremely hard for me to accept.

Having spent many years with Annikki in villages around Karnataka - I know this is a reality. Maybe someone will help me clarify my thinking!

KTWV 08 Issue 18: 71er Rev. Valson Thambu officiates a Principal

I was greatly overjoyed to read that Reverend Valson Thampu had taken over as Officer on Special Duty as Principal of the College on yesterday. He used to serve as the Chairman NCERT Curriculum Review Committee.



Rev. Thampu is detested by the Hindu Fundamentalists as he has an aura of love about him, which irks those who wish to promote hatred between the religious factions in india.

Rev. Thampu and another Stephanian, John Dayal, have been among the greatest spokespeople of the Christians in india, bringing to light that the Christian heritage in India is not one from our Imperialistic past, but that it is an Apostolic Faith.

In a story entitled Homecoming for Thampu at St Stephen’s College, the Delhi Newsline covered this important development.

Rev. Thampu certainly echoed what our college residence was in the 1960's. I feel especially proud that I was President of the JCR at a time when we had [What I think :-)] a great atmosphere in college.

"The founders wanted it to be a residential college so that students from all sections of society could come and stay together and oneness of India could be experienced... I sincerely believe my classroom is India," he said.

This was a note about his first days in the college:

He first joined St Stephen's College in 1971 as a post-graduate student of English from Mabelikara district in Kerala. By the time he passed out, he had decided to stay on. He joined the college's English Department in 1973 as a teacher and continued for the next 30 years.

I wonder whether there is a misspelling of Mabelikara. If it is Mavelikara - it makes him a lot closer to me than I realised.

I must do a check-up to see his relationship with my roots!

And sitting here in Finland, I must put great value to his words:

"It's not important where you are but who you are. Trust me, you can grow wherever you are."

It is sure that the College will grow leaps and bounds under his stewardship. Please join me in wishing Rev. Thambu well.

KTWV 08 Issue 17: Why do I do the things I do?

(Cross-posted on all my major blogs.)

Recently there was a programme on an American internet radio station about how humans were less developed than animals. Examples cited included the fact that all the animals moved to higher ground before the tsunami struck. Several other examples were given and it reinforced my view that animals are infinitely superior in all respects to human beings as far as knowing themselves and their environment.

The programme also highlighted how much we have to learn from animals. For instance, when the super-fast train was being built in Japan, there was a sonic boom when the train emerged from a tunnel at the high speed. This was solved by watching how a kingfisher enters the water with its specially formed beak and it moves effortlessly from one medium into another! The front of the train was designed to be like the beak of a kingfisher.

I have been a strong believer in the philosophy that my body tells me exactly what I should eat or drink. As a result I have never been a pill popper AND I have not been seriously ill for many a decade. In my 23+ years in Finland I never missed a day at work.

People find it hard to believe my very simplistic theories. Usually, when I draw their attention to facts when they are published later, they forget that I had told them the reasons well before scientific evidence had proven something.

I must go back in time when I was a heavy smoker, consuming nothing less than 80 Charminars a day, drinking several bottles of beer and finishing the day with a bottle of rum. This was also a time when I drank about a dozen cups of coffee per day!

Even with this I had never been drunk. I lived and worked hard, usually a grueling 20 hour day.

I also had an unbelievable memory where I could recall facts instantly. My ability to scan a letter and pick out errors was uncanny. My secretaries were astounded by how I glanced down a sheet and faster than they came in they were out of my office with a pageful of corrections on the sheet.

Then, one day I walked into my office in Bangalore and could not find an important paper, I realised my memory was failing. My body immediately told me to lay off alcohol.

Within 24 hours I had given up not only alcohol, but also coffee and cigarettes, as the consumption of one to the other was interlinked.

People were astounded how I had such enormous will power - but it was not me doing the choosing, but my body.

It has taken close to 25 years to rebuild the small portion of my brain that was damaged. Although it was a small partr, it was quite a considerable portion.

My alma mater web sites and my blogging were part of a long term programme which helped me rebuild my damaged brain.

When I quit all the "harmful" parts of my intake, I went on to consuming water for several months. Then my body told me to take to tea.

From then onwards I have been consuming anywhere between 5 to 8 cups of tea per day. The effect on my entire body as well as my brain has been so invigorating. If I told anyone that my tea intake was being controlled by my "intuitive" need, I would be laughed out of the room.

Today, when I read this article on BBC Tea 'healthier' drink than water, I knew my body was the one which had been right all the while.

I quote a couple of passages from this article:

Drinking three or more cups of tea a day is as good for you as drinking plenty of water and may even have extra health benefits, say researchers.....

....Experts believe flavonoids are the key ingredient in tea that promote health.....

....These polyphenol antioxidants are found in many foods and plants, including tea leaves, and have been shown to help prevent cell damage....

...Other health benefits seen included protection against tooth plaque and potentially tooth decay, plus bone strengthening.....

Besides tea, I also consume about 5 to 7 litres of water per day, as my body demands that.

It is my contention that tea not only prevents cell damage, but it helps restore damaged cells, although that is a painfully slow process and needs much outside stimuli to repair the cells to its original form. Maybe this will be discovered in 10 years!

That is how my brain cells have been regenerated!

So I say, learn to listen to your body!

KTWV 08 Issue 16: Rahul's company split up

(Cross-posted on the Mumbai Cathedral and John Connon School Seventh Heaven Blog.)

There was news in the Financial Express of 18th May 2007 of Rahul Bajaj's business empire to be split in three.

Rahul is a Cathedral School 54er and a 58er Stephanian.

I am quite interested that Rahul has adopted this step rather early on in his giving up the full time responsibility of his companies, although he remains as Chairman of all three new companies.

It is obvious that Rahul intends to pre-empt what may arise if the two brothers, Rajiv and Sanjiv, should fall out, and even if the two are best of friends, this could happen.

This can be witnessed in several other family managed companies. So long as there is someone respected by all at the helm, the semblance of family unity may appear on the surface.

It is a wise father who ensures that all will remain calm once he is no longer on the active scene. The way Rahul has chosen to do this can ensure that the Bajaj Empire will continue to grow and become stronger, at least in Rahul's lifetime which, with the advances in healthy lifestyles of today, can be assumed to be at least another 25 years.

Only two weeks ago I wished my uncle, Mr. K. M. Philip, father of Cathedralites 53er Sen Philip and 58er Dr. Peter Philip, the latter who is also a 62er Stephanian, a happy 95th birthday.

I got my 59er Cathedralite classmate, Ashok Kapur, Chairman of YES Bank, and also the immediate next door neighbour of Mr. Philip in Mumbai, to drop in to wish my uncle and report on his health and well-being to me.

Ashok informed me that 95 year old Mr. Philip is still playing a daily round of golf, plays a good game of bridge and is still raring in his mental energy to do business!

My wife, Annikki, who has observed many of my family members, told me that the secret of Mr. Philip's long and healthy life is that he is always happy and content. His life is filled with laughter.

I can vouch for that as he is always wanting to do new things showing that his mental age is as when he came to Mumbai over 7 decades ago and started his businesses.

Considering that Mr. Philip was instrumental in MRF Ltd. entering the tyre field and then he later became the World President of the Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA), presiding over a group probably larger than the population of India, and yet he lived a life where he treated all who came across him as equals, his long life is because of his youthful outlook to life around him.

Let us wish our Rahul a similar long life presiding over a group of companies which are a tribute to India and Indian business acumen.

KTWV 08 Issue 15: Comments - My Open Apology to Rahul

A couple of blog entries ago, I gave an extract from 91er Rahul Siddharthan's blog, which got me a lot of email.

Rahul decided to write in a comment on this blog.

My blogs are not really meant for comments as they usually do not help, as people stand by entrenched views.

The grave error of mine was replying to Rahul's comment, and so we had some protracted to and fro.

My most sincere apologies to Rahaul, who being some 30 years my junior, did not realise that I was playing around with him - 60s Stephanian PJ style!

Rahul took it on himself to compare our humble college with an entire University which has huge funding, and several departments with great Faculties.

We Stephanians must say no contest, as we are nowhere near that hallowed institution of Harvard, or Yale, or Oxford, or Cambridge or any other major University in the world. We are just a humble college in Delhi with pretensions, as Rahul correctly alleged, of greater institutions!

The only thing I must add, in defence, is probably that we may not have produced an Alberto Gonzales!

I was greatly impressed by the Harvard classmates of Mr. Gonzales who lambasted him in a full page ad with an Open Letter in the Washington Post! This is the ad that ran in the Washington Post.

AN OPEN LETTER TO ATTORNEY GENERAL ALBERTO GONZALES

May 15, 2007

Dear Attorney General Gonzales:

Twenty-five years ago we, like you, graduated from Harvard Law School. While we arrived via many different paths and held many different views, we were united in our deep respect for the Constitution and the rights it guaranteed. As members of the post-Watergate generation who chose careers in law, we understood the strong connection between our liberties as Americans and the adherence of public officials to the law of the land. We knew that the choice to abide by the law was even more critical when public officials were tempted to take legal shortcuts. Nowhere were we taught that the ends justified the means, or that freedoms for which Americans had fought and died should be set aside when inconvenient or challenging. To the contrary: our most precious freedoms, we learned, need defending most in times of crisis.

So it has been with dismay that we have watched your cavalier handling of our freedoms time and again. When it has been important that legal boundaries hold unbridled government power in check, you have instead used pretextual rationales and strained readings to justify an ever-expanding executive authority. Witness your White House memos sweeping aside the Geneva Conventions to justify torture, endangering our own servicemen and women; witness your advice to the President effectively reading Habeas Corpus out of our constitutional protections; witness your support of presidential statements claiming inherent power to wiretap American citizens without warrants (and the Administration's stepped-up wiretapping campaign, taking advantage of those statements, which continues on your watch to this day); and witness your dismissive explanation of the troubling firings of numerous U.S. Attorneys, and their replacement with others more "loyal" to the President's politics, as merely "an overblown personnel matter." In these and other actions, we see a pattern. As a recent editorial put it, your approach has come to symbolize "disdain for the separation of powers, civil liberties and the rule of law."

As lawyers, and as a matter of principle, we can no longer be silent about this Administration's consistent disdain for the liberties we hold dear. Your failure to stand for the rule of law, particularly when faced with a President who makes the aggrandized claim of being a unitary executive, takes this country down a dangerous path.

Your country and your President are in dire need of an attorney who will do the tough job of providing independent counsel, especially when the advice runs counter to political expediency. Now more than ever, our country needs a President, and an Attorney General, who remember the apt observation attributed to Benjamin Franklin: "Those who would give up essential Liberty to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety." We call on you and the President to relent from this reckless path, and begin to restore respect for the rule of law we all learned to love many years ago.

Yours truly,

David M. Abromowitz, Boston, MA, Jonathan B. Baker, Bethesda, MD, Valerie D. Bell, St. Louis, MO, Raymond Angelo Belliotti, Fredonia, NY, James S. Berkman, Boston, MA, McKey W. Berkman, Boston, MA, Scott Brown, Hanover, NH, Robert D. Chesler, Roseland, NJ, Armond Cohen, Cambridge, MA, David Currier, Freeport, ME, Stuart W. Davidson, Philadelphia, PA, Daniel M. Elkort, San Francisco, CA, Matthew E. Epstein, Newton, MA, Mary T. Esposito, Cape Elizabeth, ME,

Gary M. Fallon, Seattle, WA, William L. Fleming, Seattle, WA, Jonathan A. Funk, San Francisco, CA, Keith Halpern, Cambridge, MA, Matthew M. Horgan, London, UK, Elaine Johnson James, West Palm Beach, FL, Keith A. James, West Palm Beach, FL, Emily Joselson, Middlebury, VT, Cheryl D. Justice, Los Angeles, CA, Meredith J. Kane, New York, NY, Susan Kaplan, New York, NY, David Karnovsky, New York, NY, Gregory F. Keller, Great Neck, NY, David Kelston, Cambridge, MA,

Otho E. Kerr III, New York, NY, Marisa Lago, New York, NY, Kathleen Larocque, Santa Rosa, CA, Karen Levinson, New York, NY, Christine A. Littleton, Los Angeles, CA, Nancy R. London, Pacifi c Palisades, CA, Beverly R. Lopez, Dallas, TX, Julian W. Mack, San Francisco, CA, Andy Miller, San Francisco, CA, Barbara Moses, New York, NY, Beth H. Parker, San Francisco, CA, Wendy E. Parmet, Newton, MA, Brendan J. Radigan, Providence, RI, Catherine Redlich, Ridgewood, NJ,

Michael B. Reuben, New York, NY, Clifford S. Robbins, San Mateo, CA, James Rosenthal, New York, NY, Rusty Russell, Cambridge, MA, Eric Schneiderman, New York, NY, Eric Seiler, New York, NY, Jeffrey P. Smith, Evanston, IL, Lorna Soroko, Tucson, AZ, Alan M. Spiro, Boston, MA, David S. Steuer, Palo Alto, Califonia, Kelvin R. Westbrook, St. Louis, MO, Mary Whisner, Seattle, WA, Jeannette Anderson Winn, Greenville, SC, Marshall Winn, Greenville, SC

THE SIGNATORIES ARE ALL MEMBERS OF THE HARVARD LAW SCHOOL CLASS OF 1982

It is from ALL of his classmates from the Harvard Law class of 1982. It chastises Nr. Gonzales reckless disregard for the constitution for the wire tapping, suspension of habeas corpus, and the recent politically motivated firings.

I wonder if any of us had the same feeling about some Stephanians who helped Indira Gandhi introduce Emergency Rule in the 70s!

KTWV 08 Issue 14: Deep regret - Passing of a Principal

(Cross-posted on the Cathedral and John Connon School Seventh Heaven Blog.)

It is with deep regret that I must inform you of the passing of Col. Eric Simeon, former Principal of the Cathedral and John Connon School, Mumbai.

He passed away in New Delhi earlier today, just past noon. He had been ailing with cancer for the past few months.



Our condolences to his son Dileep, a Stephanian and a well known historian, and also to the larger Simeon and Lobo families.

I must especially thank the President of the Cathedral School Alumni, Rajiv Bhatia for rushing me this information.

KTWV 08 Issue 13: Provocative statement about us...

Some of you may have read a comment left on one of my blog entries giving a link to another blog, pointing to it as being interesting and provocative.

Well, I did take a look at that blog where I read this interesting statement:

.....reminded me of my own alma mater -- St Stephen's College, an institution that (I say this while donning my flame-retardant vest) offers all the pretentiousness of Harvard with none of its accomplishments.

I think I went to St. Stephen's knowing nothing about Harvard, and when I left, I still knew nothing about Harvard. Harvard was non-existent in my life until one of my juniors from school got a scholarship to it because he was a great squash player!

Impressed by Harvard, - not really.

My contact with ex-Harvardites has been from hot to very mild. My closest mentor was Prem Sadanand, who was the Staff Assistant to the Managing Director cum Chairman of MRF, the late Mr. K. M. Mammen Mappillai (whose many nephews and grandchildren are ex-Stephanians) in the seventies, till a massive heart attack took him away. I did not respect Prem because he from Harvard, but because he was a great and colourful personality.

My impressions about Harvard were to be formed much later when I subscribed to some magazine being offered which included a "free gift". The free gift never arrived, but the bill for the subscription did. It was some sort of management magazine. I wrote to the Editors telling them that if they were so inefficient not to fulfil their "promise", then they could not be very good managers, and hence cancelled the subscription. I never did get a reply!

Rahul Siddharthan who maintains the blog
E's flat, ah's flat too - Horizontal thoughts on which this comment was found was in college between 1991 and 1994.

I have a faint recollection of an email from Rahul when he was at the Indian Institute of Science. He did make a comment that he was not much emotionally driven by any thoughts concerning his alma mater!

Correct me if I am wrong, Rahul.

Take a look at Rahul's blog and do let me know what you make of it!

And many thanks to Rita for pointing me to it.

KTWV 08 Issue 12: Taste buds explode! Real MANGOES in Oulu!

(Cross-posted on my major blogs.)
I was at the Pailin Restaurant early yesterday waiting for the postman. Around midday, he arrived, bearing two packages.

I waited patiently while Unnop and Pailin opened them - and then came that delicious aroma of fresh mango.


The name of this fruit comes from the Tamil and Malayalam word, manga.

They packed 5 of them them in a plastic bag and I "literally" scooted home. :-)

Annikki was up reading the newspaper. Before she could ask me where I had been, I was in the kitchen, ripping open the plastic bag and attacking one of the delicious mangoes.

This mango, although looking like what is referred to in India as the traditional Polymango, had the taste of a good Malgova.

The Polymango is what every school child in India knows. At the gates of schools all around the countrty used to sit that old man or woman with a basket of green mangoes, unripe ones. For one anna( less than Euro 0.04), they would cut one open, sprinkle in chilli powder mixed with salt. The kids would walk home eating this delicious spicy salt sour mango!

Even thinking of this makes my mouth water.

But this is not what the mango has been come to be known for around the world. The famous varieties in the western world are "Tommy Atkins", "Kent", "Keitt", "Madame Francis", and "Champagne".

In my humble opinion, all these are quite tasteless compared to the varieties we get in India.

The king of all mangoes, for taste, is considered to be the Ratnagiri Alphonso. As a small boy I used to wait for the day they hit the market in Bombay (Mumbai) in May My mother would get baskets of them.

Not many people in India can probably afford Alphonsos today!

But there are many tens of varieties which are actually considerably tastiers than the Alphonso - Bangalora (Kilimooku), Banaganapalle or Banganapalli (also called 'Banesha' or 'Began), Dusserli or Dasheri, Imampasand, Khaderpasand, Langra, Maldah, Malgova, Neelam, Peethar, Rasalu, Rumani, Suvarnarekha, and many more. each one has his or her own favourite and their favourite way of eating their "mango".

The sweetest mango that I have ever had grew in our garden in Defence Officers Colony in a suburb of Madras (Chennai). This used to be an old mango grove before ot was acqyuired by the army to build houses for retiring army personnel. we were lucky to be able to rent a house for a couple of years in this colony.

It was an old tree and the mangoes that it produced was probably a cross between a Rumani and an Alphonso. Each mango, which was bright yellow when ripe, weighed about a kilo and there was just the right blend of juicy content with fleshy content. I used to be offered a lot of money by the professional pickers for the fruit from this tree - but we never gave them up as they were so delicious.

Our daughter, Joanna, was just a few months old when we had the first crop. This was to the horror of the older folks. They considered the mango to be too "heaty" for a small child - whatever that may mean!

Joanna was brought up on the juice of thee mangoes, and I think there were no ill effects!

I digress.

The mangoes we received from Thailand were really delicious. There were 5 and together they weighed 650 gms.

As the photographs below depict, I consumed mine, traditional style, with juice dripping down my palm, in less than a couple of minutes!



I sliced it open and to smaller pieces the way I had been taught as a child.



I cleaned the pieces to the skin, hardly leaving anything on the skin or the seed!


I cannot wait till next week when our next consignment arrives. Hopefully a nice ripe Papaya will also be there.

Yes, we can get anything we like to eat here now in this small town of Oulu!

Thank you Unnop and Pailin for this great service.

KTWV 08 Issue 11: Sharing this with you

I thought I would share this with you;

Hello Jacob,

You are getting this e-mail because last May you took the time to thank Stephen Colbert for speaking out at the White House Press Corp dinner. Thank you for that!

A dream has finally come true. After four years of hard work, the first of what will someday be thousands of the most trustworthy portals on the Web, is about to launch. It will be free of corporate/commercial bias, and FREE to the public forever!

Earth Portal (http://earthportal.org) is the result of 650 of the world's top scientists in 49 countries (so far) coming together to produce the highest quality, non-commercial, non-profit resource for information about our planet anywhere in the World.

Please go there and enjoy the vision video announcing the official launch this Friday.

Tomorrow (Thursday), we will webcast, the press conference in Washington DC at the Press Club beginning at 1 p.m. featuring Jane Goodall, Robert Corell, and Ambassador Richard Benedick among others.

And after the launch, please go back and register there to show your support for this breathtakingly ambitious effort.

Our children deserve no less. Our planet deserves no less.

Please also pass this on to everyone you know who cares about science and the environment.

The Earth Portal is a non-commercial destination on the Web for news, learning and debate about the state and future of our environment. There will never be any advertising on Digital Universe websites and it will always be free.

The Earth Portal will facilitate the emergence of a new community to emerge, directly connecting scientists, journalists, policy makers and you.

Join us and bring your children on April 27th at Earth Portal (http://earthportal.org).

More soon and thanks!

Cliff

Cliff Lyon
The Digital Universe
ManyOne Networks
Salt Lake City Office
801.274.0882

You may also view the Vision Video at:

YouTube: http://youtube.com/watch?v=zgqTTNzOY10

Google: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-2250726429896198491&hl=en