Each year we’d buy a terracotta Ganesh, place him in our Pooja room with the appropriate rituals with lots of food (he’s a hungry god).
After the stipulated number of days he’d be taken and immersed in the Kaveri river near Srirangaptnam.
We captured each other’s heart
Cycling Manjula around Mysore
Happy Birthday Manjula we love, miss and cherish you.
We wanted to hear from you on your 47th birthday and we’re not disappointed. We have a lovely message… check the video…. below
Thank you Manj.
Manjula never ever let me down and together we created a wonderful life. Thank you Manjula for making me happy.
Lucie and I, are now missing our brilliant smiling light. The memories and intensity of her giving soul of a beautiful caring, compassionate woman lives with us still.
How to keep in touch and show one’s love, on her birthday, when she’s not physically here, anymore.
I think I have a solution
I have found a famous time machine on eBay for sale by Leonard of the ‘Big Bang Theory’.
so I can travel back in time …..
That was then and this is now. What fun and a great success but I think I’m back one day early. What date is it?
The next test is whether my strong-willed, determined most positiveness wife can somehow gets a message back to me. As she said: “we’ll see.”
Nothing ever seems to go to plan in India……
to help commemorate Manjulasness on her birthday we’d invited a few friends to celebrate in the park opposite where we’ve placed three benches.
But two days before, this happened…..
There’s now the beginnings of a new path. We’ll just about manage if it doesn’t rain and create a river of mud.
In Manjula’s library on grieving…..
Events that bring people together help create our Mysore BnB community.
Manjula, special in many ways also had two different birthdates but unlike the Queen, celebrated neither of them. Once Mr English lets-get-organised differently was involved, she decided to adopt the 21st August birthdate and drop the one she shared with Jesus. After that she expected a celebration every year that was full on fun.
We might have breakfast, a visit out for the day and a meal at home or in a restaurant. It was a celebration of Manjula’s choosing: our life, and good fortune, the home we’d made, together with local friends and often with special guests like Ina from Australia.
Her 45th, in 2018, was extra special after that worrying time in Intensive Care. Ina and Willian, (he’s from Brazil) were with us for a ’rounding’ as Madam would say: a visit to Somnathpur, lunch on Srirangapatnam and a gathering of our immediate clan for dinner at the Roopa. My ‘sweetness’ was on form making the best of her every single moment.
We will always celebrate Manjula and her birthday whether she’s here or there. As we approach her 47th birthday we’ve placed the benches in the park and paid for meals at the Old people’s home. I hope for more to follow, maybe I’ll hear from herself and could the phantom smiley painter return?
…….watch this space….
Manjula wanted something a little less exposed to the wind than the open-topped machine, so I borrowed the Tardis (compliments of Dr Who?) to take her on another trip or ‘rounding’ as she used to describe our outings in our Ambassador car.
Somehow we became younger
Manjula loves this as it suits her highly developed (English?) sense of humour 😉
It’s not the first time we’ve time travelled like this. She was keen for adventures into the unknown. We also discovered parallel worlds at the WOMAD (World of Music Art and Dance Festival) in England.
I admit to being disappointed as we’ve not heard directly from her. There’s time yet and I still hope
When we dogs meet each other for the first time, with a sniff in the air (or if daring, up the bum) a wave of the tail a look in the eye we quickly decide: is the newcomer above, below or equal to me?
We signal by the tail. If they are lower in status the tail tucks in between the legs and they physically cower.
People often, psychologically and socially do the same.
After an initial look, a few questions, key words they evaluate the other.
Are they on the same level? If so, they’ll behave adult to adult,
Or are they so different in terms of age, caste, colour, race or religion? If they perceive one above the other they’ll behave like parent and child. If they’re uncertain there maybe a tussle to work out their relative positions.
People do this, often and everywhere.
It may help them feel superior or inferior uncomfortable or comfortable, accepted, rejected. It helps define who we think we are and how we relate to others. It’s common and often involves games to clarify, communicate and impose. I’ve adapted this from transactional analysis as featured in the book: “Games People Play’.
Yes, some dogs can read, but don’t tell anyone.
All societies do it, to varying degrees but ultimately in my view can often reinforce status, encourage elitism and highlight difference. It leads to unacceptable behaviours, social distance and it’s not very nice.
Well I’m not Prince Charming, far from it, but I did find my Cinderella.
She’s left me with another challenge…. as if there aren’t enough already …. it’s to find someone with small feet who might be interested in her shoes.
There’s quite a selection, so please pass on the information and let me know. The biggest challenge is they are sizes three and three and a half, so very small.
Manjula was of course a strong woman with teeny feet.
This wonderful woman had style, flexibility for different circumstances and an eye for the brands.
All the famous brands we brought from Europe.
Please message or email me if you think they might fit and you wish to try on.
Me and MYCycle 