Duty Done

December 25, 2023December 26, 2023 SFLeave a comment

Not satisfied with one, here’s number two

Kaveri and I appearing yet again.

Her alter ego altered from Christmas girl to Elfie.

This time for the 100 children at her school Kaliyuvamane.

Elfie leaped ahead, to translate the mumbles of Santa to explain the most important gift we can give is at no cost, which is to care and be kind.

A wonderful day and I’m so proud of Kaveri.

We jointly prepared 100 bags of sweets for the students.

A great opportunity to apply the times tables (bits of them anyway) working out systems to fill them, fold them, then pile and pack them.

Adam Smith would have been proud of our ingenuity and innovation.

A combo of system, specialism and adaptability. Ok it’s small and simple but helped me realise —- Doing projects is the learning way forward.

So I could explain that there are thousands of us helping share his caring message, as there’s too many daytime events for him to get round them all, all at once. I’ve never met him I just get requests to appear so I don’t know if he’s real or not.

Don’t ask me how he manages go fill so many stockings in one night.

As Kaveri doesn’t get a holiday from school our Christmas Day is postponed to New Year’s Eve, when she’ll be on Sunday holiday. Coincidentally it’s someone else’s birthday.

A new career begins

December 6, 2023December 6, 2023 SFLeave a comment

I’m helping out at Kaliyuvamane, the alternative ‘free’ school where Kaveri attends.

Our morning session with members of the teaching team

Then I was hijacked by Kaveri and some of her classmates

to cover a lesson as their teacher was on leave

Did someone set me up?🤭🤔🤪

It was an education! To put it mildly. I now promise to properly prepare for when a similar situation arises again.

I’ve facilitated workshops for adults for many years — that’s nothing compared to working with young people.

I realise what a challenging job the teachers have and how difficult it is to make a class interesting and responsive to the diverse needs of the students. ….. as a one off, let alone day-in-day-out!!!

Well done all.

Over lunch I did a jokey straw poll to discover that almost all the girls are non veg when not at the school . I’m sticking out again.

It was a fab day, helping me realise I’m right to support Kaveri and now the school itself to meet the needs of 100 children.

All in Manjula’s name

Our mini team

November 30, 2023 SFLeave a comment

Kaveri and I drew a picture to show what we’d done together since we met over a year ago

Getting addicted

November 5, 2023November 5, 2023 SFLeave a comment

There’s most definitely withdrawal

But it’s pleasurable

The evidence is …. In my Hanging out with Kaveri and her ‘sister’ Radikha.

I’d collected Kaveri from school to go to a Mysore Storytellers event but rain put a stop to that.

So we had movie night instead, with all the girls.

Chess lesson after receiving a new book to learn in ten minutes. I ask you. Ten minutes ….. I began learning chess at Kaveri’s age and still picking it up.

The wonderful people that provided the ice cream for this year’s event on Manjula’s Birthday in August, promoting creativity at Kaveri’s school

Then back to school

I only get 24 hours but it’s wonderful.

Children’s Theatre

October 9, 2023October 9, 2023 SFLeave a comment

This event arrived at exactly the right timing for me.

Just as I’m investigating ways I might get involved with Kaliyuvamane school beyond my support for Kaveri.

It easily fitted my view that we should look to support children’s learning beyond established subjects. That would be to be better communicators, critical thinkers, develop the necessary competencies to manage life, and find their own passions.

I also found and bought some really cool images for home and school.

New season begins.

October 6, 2023October 7, 2023 SFLeave a comment

One of Manjula’s favourites.

Antoinette, Ani (USA) with Jeroen and Sanne.

Out with Carol and Michael at the Lalith Mahal hotel bar.

As we enter October more guests arrive. Our next big adventure is Kaveri’s school holiday.

I see her most weeks at school but staying here plus a trip to the seaside is icing on the cake.

Gowri-Ganesh-Chaturthi

September 18, 2023September 19, 2023 SFLeave a comment

Each year MAnjula would carefully prepare puja for Ganesh and his mother Gowri

Manjula preparing for puja in 2015 a very significant year, when we got engaged.

Ganesh in 2015 the version on the left was taken to be immersed in the river Kaveri later that week.

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This year I was invited to Kaveri’s school to join the celebrations.

Afterwards we did our own thing at home

All thanks to Sowbaghya with help from her assistant.

Next we’ll work out which day we can immerse him in the river.

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Kaveri becoming a sharp English teenager.

… Whatever…

She’s always with us

Who we are and what we do

September 11, 2023September 11, 2023 SFLeave a comment

Update and clarification

Manjula’s Mysore continues to provide accommodation by sharing our home to guests visiting Mysore, together with our guided cycle tours.

We’re also experimenting with how we can support the learning of young people through reflective space events at Mysore Bed and Breakfast.

As all good businesses should, we also find ways to help the wider community, as part of our Corporate Social Responsibility.

To this end we have supported, in the name of MAnjula, the education of a young girl and boy, gifted bicycles, arranged holidays, provided meals, and more.

We continue to keep our eyes and ears tuned into future opportunities to do good in Manjula’s name.

We are not affiliated with any other organisations but have collaborated with others to find and serve our local communities. This has included Polar Bear Ice Creams, Aroma Bakery, CAVA, and community organisations.

We thank them for their invaluable help in reaching out to our communities.

A statement from the Directors

Sarvesh and Stephen.

New thing… learning.

September 7, 2023September 8, 2023 SFLeave a comment

I shared this joke as I’m currently working out how to help children think (creatively, divergently and critically) as part of my new thing. (Contemplating working with kaveri’s school, if they’ll have me) I’m looking into Kohlberg’s Stages Of Moral Development after starting to read this book ….

Postscript

I’ve also been reading Ken Robinson’s books. Great insights about how our education systems are designed for the Industrial Revolution preparing children to slot into jobs that will not exist. So we need to help them to have the competencies associated with adaptability, effective communication and developing relationships. I agree but there seems to be an added problem in achieving that. We don’t help them to think for themselves, to be innovative, we suppress it and expect them to know their place. That is an even older approach, it’s medieval and wrong.

wonderful images from Manjula’s Birthday event

August 25, 2023 SF2 Comments

on what would have been Manjula’s 50th birthday we held a creativity day for the 100 students at Kaliyuva Mane School

Why do we do it?

To remember and celebrate Manjula by continuing her good kindness.

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Please check the wonderful photographs of our latest event

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Faizan is the official photographer and film maker of Manjula’s Mysore. A great friend of both Manjula and Stephen

He often presents us with a problem. His still shots are too good — we want to see them all.

So here they are — of the day we worked with the team at Kaliyuva Mane on the 21st August, on what would have been Manjula’s 50th birthday — to help support their work with these wonderful children.

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