SB was all prepared for todays big puja.
After our ‘family’ weekend, that’s Me with the girls…. Kaveri, her mum Chandrika, sister (aka auntie) Radikha together with Lucie at Chera Rocks in Kannur,
We introduced body boards to the beach, work and play. A fun weekend together.
Please say hello to Kaveri
Over two years ago I asked friends to keep an eye out for a young girl who I might support in Manjula’s name.
There’s no shortage of children experiencing challenging circumstances here in India. I wanted to find someone with a similar background to MAnjula but no one came forward.
Then one day in the park opposite our house I heard a helloooooo.
My first introduction to Kaveri
Shortly after that first meeting I was using Manjula’s ‘flash cards’ to discover how much English she knew.
This video shows how she responded by turning the tables on me
I was impressed with her confident assertiveness with a foreigner she’d only just met.
Yesterday Sowbaghya who has become indispensable at Mysore Bed and Breakfast and Radikha Kaveri’s aunty who’s more like a sister and I were reflecting with kaveri on how she’d changed over this last year or so.
I’d clearly spotted a smart cookie, confident and assertive a good communicator. She’s carried along that same track
Yesterday reading a pictorial version of the Little Prince she was confidently tackling unfamiliar words switching to phonetic pronunciation where necessary.
She’s important in my life for many reasons not least for helping me manage my grief. Growing to help me fill the space around it.
I look forward to our continuing time together and helping her continue to grow her beautiful character.
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.
One of Manjula’s favourites.
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.
Each year MAnjula would carefully prepare puja for Ganesh and his mother Gowri
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
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
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.
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.
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.
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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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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
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
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.
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.
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.
