Tearfully
I’ve just said good bye to my guys..
Category: Manjula’s Kind
Clutter has meaning
Slowly we settle into the new home where new and old memories reveal themselves through the art.
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Finding this was an adventure in itself
Our art grows
Manjula strikes again.
Yes she’s gifted more cycles
It all started in 2015 when we got engaged.
She wanted to give, rather than receive gifts.
What and why did Manjula give?
I’ve lost count now but maybe we’ve gifted around 50 cycles
Thank you MAnjula.
from us all
A new chapter
Dear friends
I’m unexpectedly out of India from late August through to the end of December. I’ll use it to travel in the UK (maybe Europe) and then an opportunity to explore further east of India.
So be afraid, there may be a knock on your door. 🫣🤭
Joking apart this is an opportunity to visit old and new friends.
Please do let me have your ideas. I’ve already thankfully received a few invites and suggestions. It’s a great opportunity leading into my big 7-0 I’ll use http://www.meandmycycle.com to explain more of this situation and share my travels and plans.
I hope to see some of you over the next few months.
Peas and Love
Stephen.
Sfindia@gmail.com
PS Sowbhagya will be here in Mysore keeping everything going. Www.manjulasmysore.in
A relief from Bangalore… ?
I expect it is a relief to escape the traffic.
Ashish came on one of his timely (they always are) visits. He’s a best example of how friends introduce us to new friends, originally brought to us by Anna, this time he kindly introduces to another new friend — Nesan
It’s one of the great benefits of sharing our home.
As usual laden with gifts and treating us all. He stocks us up with an incredible range of goodies.
Luka was overcome with excitement,
After our visit to the Nursery for garden additions.
We joke about getting away from Bangalore but we all value the change, so perhaps it’s time for a holiday once the court thing is resolved.
Fact is the traffic is getting too much in Mysore!
Maïlis has become a great friend
After staying with us in 2025 and 2026
Initially here for yoga conference she soon branched out to all sorts of activities — stone carving, chanting, Kannada and Sanskrit — she returns to France next month to continue her studies to become a doctor.
She’s a great example of why we do this. Making new friends from India and around the world and together doing good in our community.
She’s joined our ‘family’ in so many ways. Probably the most important is how she helps us with Kaveri.
Kaveri is one of the young people we support in the community. She stays with us alternate weeks and Maïlis has been her chaperone this year. Ensuring that each evening and night there’s a woman available also staying who can guide, support Kaveri and generally available to help ensure she’s happy and safe.
We’re asking our women friends if they can help us and become a chaperone, like Maïlis. That’s being here and staying overnight when Kaveri does. It doesn’t pay but there’s somewhere to stay and sometimes a meal to share, most importantly you’re making an important contribution.
You can get involved as little or as much as you can.
Want to find out more? Help us broaden Kaveri’s horizons through the diverse people she meets.
Billie too
A teeny tiny kit came to sit on my lap on a visit to the local chai shop.
I guessed — she wanted to be adopted.
I wasn’t prepared to, so I gently shooed her away.
Later that evening, the first image you can see on this video appeared on my Facebook page. It was from exactly five years before when MAnjula and I had adopted a ginger cat.
We called him Billie, only to discover he wasn’t male so we changed it to Billi reflecting the Hindi word for cat.
He disappeared one day and never returned.
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The next day after the photograph appeared I went out to find the new kitten.
It seemed like a message from MAnjula to adopt this new kitten in memory of ours, that we’d lost.
I announced this to my Facebook friends and called him ‘Billi too’ as a play on ‘two.’
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Some of them were not impressed with the name as it clearly was a message from MAnjula and this should be acknowledged in the cat’s name.
So I callled her Billet-Doux which means sweet (or love) letter in French as it was a love letter from MAnjula.
Was this a sign?
How cool!?
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The video also includes images of Billet-Doux and her kittens.
Manjula continues to be with us in many wonderful ways.
An adventure
The three musketeers went into the city to negotiate for a new piece of art we’d seen the day before
Their mission was to get a good discount on the asking price
They were a great success🙂
The winning Musketeers are Kaveri with her two new friends: Naimishambha and Pragathi, lovely, confident girls.. daughters of Deepak who works with our friend Florian.
They’re seen here with Maïlis, Sowbhagya and Stephen
It’s got pride of place in our new lounge, highlighting Manjula with her pals Lucie and Ganesh
Longer stick
I’m slowly learning mango farming. Well reaping the product at least.
We’ve had streams of friends and neighbours on PYO – pick your own and donated kilos of the beauts.
We’ve moved on from the hook on a stick, to the giant butterfly net (not) and used two types of blades to get to a tool standard that works for the reachable ones
I’ve created an extra long pole (metal curtain rod and bamboo) to help reach to the top of the tree and its outer perimeters. The ‘unreachable’ ones are a challenge. The first extension broke, the next couldn’t quite reach
We’re not complaining. Well the old woman that cleans is… as I’ve not achieved the usual standard (I’m certain that’s not true)
Next stage is for someone to climb the tree. Two requests (farmers and experienced friends) haven’t worked out but maybe the grandson might step in.
BUT
We have collected hundreds of mangoes (this is one productive tree) and I’ve ordered a professional telescopic pole.
Delicious breakfast, family from round the back came for Mangoes (but they’re getting harder to reach) and Luca tucking in.
We’re sharing caring types —- some to our human friends, others to fruit bats, squirrels and insects, some have lost patience with me and dived to smash their mango brains on the ground.
Behold beauty in so many ways.
The latest wonderful creation has arrived from Aadirika aka —Mostly beautiful Maya— (check Instagram) has now created three fab memory portraits of MAnjula
All to be found at Manjula’s Mysore.
Out third
Thank you Aadirika, for your intimate understanding of what MAnjula meant to me and representing our wonderful life here in Mysore.
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Manjula (obviously), Lucie our first dog of the family of over 15 years, Kaveri, walking Luca — our latest addition and in the tree. —- Billet-Doux my sweet (love) letter sent by Manjula, a few years ago. Plus the dragonfly and old man with his head in the clouds.
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Did you find them ?
Me and MYCycle 