We would often say how lucky we are to have found each other and shared our home with a constant stream of new friends arriving at our door.
We had visitors yesterday.
A lovely family who first came to stay with us ten years ago with their young daughters.
What a lovely surprise.
B C Shetty and Mamatha Dhrithi and Diya
Dhrithi and Diya have now grown to be strong clever young women, a real credit to their parents and themselves. At ages 15 and 17 they’ve been home schooled.
Fantastic and a great example how the women in India are seriously getting their act together.
Wonderful positive shared memories of MAnjula and our friends
One or two we can tolerate. But a whole bunch aka tribe, trip or flock munching on Manjula’s garden is a bite too far.
I don’t know how they found the garden or got inside. Maybe they did find it on the net or the two that found it last week, passed the message on.
They were chased out of town (ok the garden) with my big stick and shrill whistle. They conveniently led me straight to the owners.
Who knows how the ‘farmer’ can stop it happening. I’ll use the same aversion therapy if it happens again but I’ll complain to the council/Corporation. Their neighbours know this and have passed it on. Any more problems and they may have to shift them.
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.
Me and the dogs sorting out the children’s section of the library.
Fact is Lucie has scarpered. Nowhere to be seen, but frankly , it’s no loss as she can’t read anyway.
Billet-Doux is present, after a fashion.
Books are slowly finding their way to the shelves.
Manjula’s Sari’s protect the books from the get-everywhere dust.
Thank you to Judith Gilliland of the USA for the donation of the books you authored which started our library years ago.
I’ve now sorted over 150 young children’s books but I don’t agree with that classification as they’re for ALL ages. There’s many others: novels, india, management, thinking, politics, history, philosophy, uncategorisable for another day.
Lucie appears at the precise moment the work is over.
Meanwhile, it’s catching, Sowbaghya doing her own thing.
Manjula’s Mysore organised a creativity day for the 100 children of Kaliyuvamane school.
Our main team was Anjali leading on painting/drawing, preparation and overall coordination, Shubhash origami and Rena, sculpture.
Thanks to Faizan for videos and still photography.
Aryaa assisted with with the preparation. Ali, Miai, Ina and Sowbaghya together with the whole school team, helped out.
At the end, I explained why we’d organised the day.
The children and staff met Manjula (I cycled her images), we thanked everyone and then we were rewarded by the wonderful ice cream donated and served by Polar Bear.
Deliciousness from Polar Bear
Footnote
Stephen’s thanks.
“Today is because being creative is fun and good for us.
Did you enjoy it?
The day was Organised by Manjulas Mysore, to remember my beautiful wife who lived to give love to everyone. Today that beautiful woman is still with us in spirit and would have been 50 today.
Our new logo
Thank you to everyone for taking part and making it good. that is … Everyone at Kaliyuvamane: children and team who run it, to the artists and helpers.
Polar Bear’s fantastic treats are the tops, thank you for the ice cream.
Well done everyone
Let’s now enjoy our ice cream and look at the art.”
Our official T Shirt. Ina from Australia.
Message from Ina —Thomasina Sng — who has visited most years since we opened Mysore Bed and Breakfast. She became a great friend to MAnjula, is here now and helped us celebrate Manjula’s Birthday.
“Manjula was and still is an inspiration, from a background that would have made most people selfish and angry, she chose to be caring and giving,her happiness was in making and seeing other people happy and this is the love that she continues to teach.” Ina
We’re out again this evening to celebrate Manjula’s birthday.
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.
Me and MYCycle 