Gowri-Ganesh-Chaturthi

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.

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.

As per,… doing nothing.
It’s nice ….. really.

Kaveri becoming a sharp English teenager.

… Whatever…

She’s always with us

Who we are and what we do

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.

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

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

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Why do we do it?

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To remember and celebrate Manjula by continuing her good kindness.

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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More info and links below.

More information about this day can be found here:

Faizan’s videos for Manjula’s Mysore are:

Introducing Manjula on a previous birthday

Our event on Manjula’s Birthday in 2022 for visually impaired young women

Our web sites

Kaliyuva Mane School

Manjulas’s Mysore for details of what we do (our services)

MeandMycycle for more about us and who we are (the blog)

For more information about Faizan

Our thanks to our supporters: The school itself Kaliyuvamane and its great team, Polar Bear Ice Creams their fab team, Faizan and our wonderful volunteers: the artist/teachers Anjali, Rena and Shubhash with help from Australia: Ina, Ali and Miai and Mysore Bed and Breakfast: Sowbaghya.

We all had fun and it made a difference in the children’s lives

Thank you, from Manjula and Stephen

Did we get the timing wrong?

First Sunday after returning home.

When Kaveri visits we’ve started going to swimming pool Sunday morning but we’ve got timing wrong or they’ve changed the rules.

Women and children only.

How is that possible with an old man and in India?

As you can see it’s a bit empty.

But this being India, I managed to get in for half the session.

I’m not altogether sure what’s the biggest attraction. Swimming or bakery.

I think we know.

Catching up with Kaveri

I’ve missed not seeing her for almost six weeks followed by a flurry

On the drive home she spelt words after giving me a series of drawings, at least one for each week we missed seeing each other.

I’ve visited the school twice already this week. As a ‘family’ visit with scotaussie Ina and to attend the Independence Day celebrations with French Paul.

Does anything ever go smoothly, anywhere?

This weekend we’ve started with skating, she worried that she may have forgotten it, (no chance) a monsoon landing and hilarious walk home

Followed by opening the giant parcel I brought on the plane and Kaveri’s first Lego build.

I was so impressed by Kaveri quickly getting into following and implementing the Lego instructions. She clearly has never experienced anything like it before. I must also admit that I’ve cracked it, and have successfully bought clothes for a nine-year old. We all know it’ll not last.

Ina’s patient tolerance, knows no bounds.

Grandad poo

Lady at corner shop complained about Kaveri not calling me uncle. Honestly it’s ok!

If only she knew what my granddaughter Poppy called me🤔🤭🫣

I’ve found this Birthday card from two years ago.

Kaveri’s Summer camp

It’s been a gas.

A challenge.

Kaveri stayed with me, for the summer school holiday, almost two months. We were ably assisted by the wonderful Ilaria, our workawayer from Italy

The idea was to engage her with a whole series of activities to see which worked.

They all did

With her sister aka auntie

Our second time in 2023

Arty Tarty

We piloted an idea to introduce young dynamic artists to children at Kaliyuvamane who remained at school during the summer holiday.

Young people doing fab things.

In August 2023 on what would have been Manjula’s 50th birthday, the artists will return to the school with all the young people there for a full day of creativity.

Who knows where it might lead

Footnote

Kaveri is now attending Kaliyuvamane and living there most of the year.