This new sunshine has reached ten…. We fought through the storm, uprooted trees and general mayhem to get to celebrate Kaveri’s birthday.
That means a ritualistic cake sharing.
She already acts like a teenager so what age does she believe she is?
No time for photos
I tentatively opened the garage door into kat planet.
B-A-Do was lying parallel to the limen, I thought relaxing until I noticed a quivering rat by her mouth. She half done the job but seemed to be frozen. As she pulled away I found a stick and finished the task
It’s then in noticed all eyes from the kits, mesmerisingly proud of mum, watching from their raised wooden cushioned castle. I passed the dead cat on a shovel for their approval.
Later as they were all turning and jumping in seemingly choreographed mayhem in the yard, I realised one was leading the chase of a cockroach. I followed and finished it off
We were a formidable team.
We miss the kats but mum (Queen) stays with us.
missing them ..
Our fun activities since returning to Mysore include:
Skating
Kaveri has progressed to new skates and uniform, again with the Elite Roller Skating Academy
…
Swimming
classes again at our local pool.
and a local dance centre has organised their very own summer camp.
With a day out
In India nothing ever seems to go to plan.
Delivered yesterday, there’s one or two places that need attention: bodywork, internals, indicators etc. but it’s over 89% there which is good.
So …. Sowbaghya, Antoinette and I went to the Lalith Mahal for a little celebration …
Samuella whose team did the work seems quite busy renovating other ambassadors.
He’s been working in them all his life.
Sowbaghya, with the support of Vasanth and Satish was leading from our end, the problem solving project manager.
Next morning Sowbaghya had arranged for us to take the car for Ganesh puja and the nearby Temple.
Unfortunately the battery was flat. As I said, nothing quite goes to plan.
So, a day later, the deed was done.
The beauty arrives
Manjula’s Car rises again.
I bought it for her ten years ago.
Satish and I had searched Karnataka and eventually found it in Mandya District (near Srirangapatnam).
We needed it, as due to her health Manjula couldn’t safely and comfortably continue to ride pillion on my two wheelers.
We joked that not unlike the Bollywood movie — ‘Driving Miss Daisy” there was a chauffeur ( in our case a white old, not a black guy) and not an aged white woman as passenger but a brown ageless Indian beauty — my MAnjula.
It’s arrived at our house now….
Friends, Romans, Countrymen .
No it’s not another posting about Shakespeare or Caesar —- it’s about a different inspiration —-
Manjula
As we approach the anniversary of Manjula’s partial departure five years ago (she is of course very much with us) I want to remember her beautiful wonderfulness and recall the good we’ve done together, in her name.
And so it’s also about you: ‘Manjula’s Kind’ friends who have given cash or help-in-kind or moral support to help me through the grief gravy and to take action.
Amongst these are (please follow the links for more information):
– granite benches and garden in our nearby park in Siddarthanagar in partnership with the MCC
-creativity days for 40 visually impaired young women,
– five events/workshops at Kaliyuvamane, (a ‘free/alternative school) for 100 children, there’s many mentions on our sites, here’s two … 1 and 2
– sponsoring a young girl who now attends Kaliyuvamane. The famous Kaveri who’s peppered throughout our sites and dominates my life.
– donating cycles
And many more actions
Thank you so much
Stephen
With Manjula
In so many ways.
She could beat the Brit with her fast thinking humour.
This month I don’t rely just on my memory as I’m being constantly reminded by the smart phone photos of what happened five years ago when MAnjula had had enough.
This image (thanks for creating it Punith) popped up. As with everything, a story goes with it. …
Occasionally we’d have guests who’d arrive a bit fed-up. Maybe tired from the daily onslaught of travel or messed up by the consistent inconsistencies of this unpredictable land.
Manjula and I would realise (using secret signals) that we had someone who was ‘glass half full’ and then we’d turn up the jokey banter ‘smelling salts’ to help bring them round.
In due course when we were over full (when I’d lose my bedroom due to too many guests) it became known as ‘full full’. In time MAnjula used the term to reflect our happy life together.
It was ‘full full’ just too short.
The very beginning
I’m often reminded of the quote by E P Thompson about India ….
“India is perhaps the most important country for the future of the world. All the convergent influences of the world run through this society… There is not a thought that is being thought in the West or East that is not active in some Indian mind.”
In my view that speaks about its diversity of ideas, its openness and inclusivity. (Plus Nehru’s palmist but that’s for another day)
But of course it’s not straightforward or necessarily predictable.
I first fell in love with India in the 1970s through books and listening to its music.
Eventually arriving here almost thirty years ago first visiting Bangalore, I realised I’d somehow come home.
It’s never been an easy relationship.
I always look for patterns. In those first few days I was amazed by the driver’s behaviour. How were the cars not crashing into each other? Were there rules? Did anyone know or follow them?
In time I began to recognise something of the patterns. First I noticed the number plates. The first two letters K and A stand for the state- Karnataka. The next two figures, the Regional Transport Office (RTO) office where the vehicle is registered. In Mysore’s two RTO offices, that’s 09 and 55. In Bangalore a main office is number 05. So flashing before my eyes as I fought through the traffic and sought understanding was KA0S …
I jest but it helped me realise what a very different world I was now in.
I was impressed by Bangalore but it was nothing by comparison with Mysore, my next stop.
….
The adventure really begins.
Next to sort out the insides. Plain roof, something fancy or the original?
Our list of decisions and actions.
Door Mirrors. Chrome, check.
Seat belts, one not working, replace? Fix? Check
Insides, light or darker colour? Use old? No idea
New Number plates, shaped to fit car, new rear metal plate plus new legal type. Provide registration document. Check.
Insurance runs out this month. Check
Hubs Mercedes or plain
Front lights install Round indicator and LED headlamp Back lights as before. Check
Old or new windows, dither.
It was my day at school but Kaveri had tooth ache. So it became a trip to the dentist.
One tooth removed, followed by a visit to see grandmother and ‘sister’ Radhika and a special treat of ice cream.
Me and MYCycle 