Lifted from my Facebook
For those who don’t.
BK
Category: Manjula’s Kind
Kaveri
It’s May and we’ve just celebrated Kaveri’ birthday.
She’s now 11 and she is a star
The past month’s activities included: seaside holiday, skating, swimming coaching and summer camp.
KaverI is now at her mother’s and we hit the uncertainty of whether Chandrika, her mother, will change her school. Kaliyuvamane the alternative residential school she’s attended for two years has helped her grow socially, intellectually and physically.
We can make either options work but the residential school has had the continuity that her home will not provide.
I worry that it maybe beyond Chandrika’s ability if Kaveri is shifted to the day school but we’ll do our best.
Meanwhile
I’m relaxing in Manjula’s Memorial Garden and toying with the idea of revisiting our memoir.
Can I revamp and rewrite? Do
I have the energy and the ability?
Button Madness
A new summer school holiday activity — Button Masala.
Incredible creativity and innovative design from cloth, button and rubber band!
A great addition to the swimming, summer camp, reading, storytelling, crafts, skating, seaside, badminton, cycling, TV and phone that’s become a staple of Kaveri’s school holiday
A really cool event presented by the creator of Button Masala —Amuj Sharma and supported by Sri Vidya MR of the Anubhuti Trust.
Love
Marginalian
Comes up trumps again with great literary, political and philosophical connections.
I like her quote from Simone de Beauvoir
What then is love? Not much, not much; I come back to this idea. Sensitivity, imagination, fatigue, and this effort to depend on another; the taste for the mystery of the other and the need to admire… What is worthwhile, is friendship… this profound mutual confidence between [two people], and this joy of knowing that the other exists.
“The ancient Greeks, in their pioneering effort to order the chaos of the cosmos, neatly taxonomized them into filial love (the kind we feel for siblings, children, parents, and friends), eros (the love of lovers), and agape(the deepest, purest, most impersonal and spiritual love).”
I decided that we would continue Manjula’s sunshine goodness, sharing her love, through events and activities for young people.
The most obvious example is our continuing support for Kaveri.
Snow fall, not really.
Ruth is a poet from the U.K.
A guest of Mysore Bed and Breakfast who has become a good friend.
Not only that she’s actually published books of poetry and some of her poems are about India and her early years living here.
Check Ruth’s latest poem, you’ll realise why I show this image.
Lucie
Lucie departed on Sunday 26th January
That afternoon we buried her in a lovely field
Today we returned to do 11th day puja to help her spirit find its new home
Then lunch back at home
It’s very sad to lose such a wonderful friend, I miss her—-
—-being at home when I return, going on walks together and just being in my life.
Billet-Doux also misses Lucie
She’s such a famous dog with everyone asking about her.
How amazingly
fortunate am I?
A beautiful wife — of many wonders — one of my many gifts from India.
Now in addition to my MAnjula
memories living
in my heart there’s a little thing
Helping fill my life and manage my grief …
Putting it in its place. …
Thank you
MAnjula and Kaveri.
Manjula would say …
“If God is everywhere, why do we need to go to a Temple”
She wished to be reincarnated as a tree as it protected and supported people.
That’s my sunshine.
Important Rituals and fun things.
October update.
We have our fair share of things we do … at Mysore Bed and Breakfast.
Here we commemorate MAnjula and help her spirit find its new body.
Support Kaveri in Manjula’s name and share her sunshine
Go cycling with our guests
Ask the goddess to make our ‘tools’ work for the next year
“There are some people who have sun inside them.
It’s hard to explain.
Their presence just brightens, it’s not about their beautiful smiles.
They have an internal being that sheds light and feels like sun.
It’s a calm energy. Inner peace.
But most importantly; it’s not wanting anything back in return.
It’s sun.”
— Unknown 🎀
As is this …..
We even invented a sun cake.
Awards
Everyone who visits Mysore Bed and Breakfast deserves an award, partly because they’ve tolerated me and also missed MAnjula.
Some people go above and beyond such as …
Ina visited every year and became our biggest and closest friend. Here she’s sharing memories about MAnjula.
Her award is for constantly reminding me of the wonderfulness of MAnjula, visiting us each year and being a solid support after ‘losing’ MAnjula.
Tom and Amy, also became wonderful supportive friends being part of our life, through many visits and helping me in so many ways including at short notice, visiting to support me after MAnjula died.
She adapted the ‘glass half full’ saying to full full.
Florian a good friend who recently returned to Mysore from Germany for some bizarre reason has read the blog site. He’s commended for fighting his way through that jungle.
Kaveri for being my adopted granddaughter who miraculously popped into my life and with her fab character reminds me so much of MAnjula. She could have been our daughter. Here’s a video taken shortly after we met.
… and a thank you to the many people who’ve found us via the net and just said hello in the street, at a hotel, or visited us, particularly those who attend our reflective space event or come to stay in our home.
We couldn’t, of course, forget Lucie and Billet-Doux.
or Sowbaghya (aka SB) who
manages everything
Seen here with Ina
The very first reward was given fourteen years ago and still hangs in Manjula’s Library.
Me and MYCycle 