The bet is on! Each year we have a lovely array of Brahma Kamla flowers.
Here’s the buds.
Manjula reckons they will not flower before I leave on Monday. I believe they will. The wager is 1000rs.
Here’s what it will look like
Tag: Manjula
Manjula
I’ve been toying with the idea of having a portrait painted of the beautiful Manjula. Fact is I’m trying to work out if I can afford it. As part of the process I’ve pulled together a few of the photos taken of Manjula over the years, they’re mainly my photos but there are some crackers taken by friends.
Occasionally someone or something else gets a look in…..
and there’s even more here
Manjula caught me doing this earlier and has no idea about the portrait. it occured to us that she’s had hundreds of photos tasken in the nine years that we’ve known each other and to her knowledge just a handful in the thrity six years beforehand.
If I decide to go ahead with the portrait, I’ll send the link to the photos to the artist (my daughter-in-laws sister) who will use them, not to copy but to help her create something that reflects the real person but also emerges from her artistic insights!
a wedding ceremony
a ceremony but where?
you already know, there was only one place to choose for our wedding and the formalities themselves were completed at the registry office 🙂
no it wasn’t in a glitzy bhavan with hall for reception (means a totally different thing out here – its the photo opportunity and gift giving session with the newlyweds seated on thrones on a stage) and another hall to feed hundreds, nor a band, althoug that would have been nice
instead, we decided on Srirangaptnam island, of course …… my favourite place. As you may have seen already we chose a tree in a field
once we decorated the tree… all sounds a bit pagan 😉
we made final personal preparations at Satish’s house…
there were around twenty guests: local friends and members of our team,
Vasanth’s family (V was ill), Satish (project manager) and his family, Rakesh (mr energy), Lokesh, Babu, Vidya ( a good friend who transcribed Manjula’s recordings) Heechang and her friend and family (husband Justin was away picking Henna), Asha, my yoga teacher, her family and Suresh, (who arrived fashionably late so aren’t n this photo) and the friends from the UK: Mike and Sue, Tom and Amy. We’re sorry to say that Tanu, Vasanth and Vinay were indisposed with a heavy bug so they just had to watch the royal wedding ceremony on the TV (I’m joking, OK) and not together!
the ceremony itself
we and the children used a traditional Mysorean Tonga (horse drawn taxi) to our next stop
where we visited one of the wonderful riverside locations on Srirangaptnam for a prayer beside the Kaveri and to float our flowers
followed by lunch
and finally …. tea and cakes at Satish’s house
here’s a link to the full set off photos of the wedding ceremony and here for the meal
Manjula’s
Its been a very difficult few months for Manjula culminating in a week in hospital and most of that in intensive care. The immediate infection has been eliminated but her chronic condition, her chest complaint is COPD and it will not go away. We have to be vigilant about possible infections and work out what implications this has for her and our life style.
She’s such a hero, deals with new and challenging things, like BnB guests 😉 her illnesses and that awkward man from Yorkshire with gentle gusto, her usual happy go lucky energy, incredible fortitude and all whilst creating an open, friendly wonderful home.
That will not change.
She’s’s supposed to be resting now and spending time on her oxygen machine but she’s hanging out the back door supervising the guys cleaning out our sump tank!
Manjula wishes me to thank you for all you kind thoughts and insisted that I bring you up to date with her current situation. She sends her radiant smile to you….
Settling in…
We’ve set up Manjula in the NQAR (not-quite-a-room) we use it for children, grand parents, Liz and Tibetan Buddhist nun from Oregon. (Get your head around that one) sorry Ani
We’re getting into a bit of a routine. Eight tabs after breakfast alone, sixteen in a full day, not to mention syrup and the tss tss. Nightmare getting the drugs today. pharmacists had no stock of a v important one. Mask and ventilator overnight , oxygen concentrator during day (hip new oxygen bar to be opened next week in Garage).
Doing her lung exercises, as demonstrated earlier in hospital. Maybe one of Manjula’s biggest challenges came next….. My cooking. 😉
Manjula says: ‘ nice veg pasta, very light not spicy, very very good’
so who was it who just trumped?
The great escape!
Ok it wasn’t on a motorcycle…
Fact is, I left mine at the hospital and had to go back for it!
SHATTERED
COMFORT ZONE
well and truly out of mine….. on the other hand its one of the many, some quite, unbelievable challenges Manjula has faced in her life. As usual, she manages this one with her usual, formidable, tenacious, but always gentle strength…..one helluva strong woman.
She jokingly calls it her honeymoon now she’s out of intensive care wolfing down her food and in a room ‘with a view.’
It wasn’t exactly unexpected as she has a serious lung condition that can’t improve. She will stay in hospital a few more days to observe and see what’s required when she gets home.
It’s a bloody relief.
Lucie says: “it’s about time we told Manjula’s and our story”
Stephen : ok, ok, more to follow.
Maid in India 5
so, to explain the job. Ok we don’t speak the same language, she’s probably a little worried and intimidated, coming to work for an unknown quantity: foreigner, male, living on his own, can be a bit loud and over-energetic… so of course, I used my well developed training skills. …… and got out the whiteboard, flapped my arms and generally danced around a bit. I seriously wonder what she thought. On many occasions she shown people the photo of my drawings. Promptly followed by sniggers and giggles.
So I wonder what she really thought of working for a Firangi!
Maid in India 4
Well it’s pretty obvious it wasn’t a deal breaker. Not only did Manjula start working for me, that was almost eight years ago, she’s now taken over in more ways than one!
So what was the problem?
There was no electric mixer!
I can assure you one was bought the very next day. It’s done sterling service ever since.
The panic was actually created by the traditional method of grinding…..
Which just wouldn’t do. Manjula, as I was to find out is a very modern miss.
So, what next?
Explaining the job.
Manjula’s meals, number one
Ragi
A staple of the diet here in south India. A form of millet grown with limited water. Traditionally made into Ragi Balls and eaten as a highly nutritious breakfast before heading out into the fields. Here’s a very simple Soup recipe.
As simple nutritious Ragi Soup
Carrot
Green Beans
Peas
Sweet corn
Maybe spring onion. Whatever veggies you would like to add!
First finely chop the veg and boil a little to leave the veg a little crunchy.
Ragi flour
Mix a small (steel glass) of Ragi flour with 2-3 cups of water to create a paste.
Add to the veg and boiling water and gently mix.
Add salt, black pepper.
Switch off gas and add lemon (maybe half) to taste, .
Some people use cornflour but I don’t use any other flour.
Manjula
Farrell Factoid on Ragi Balls
They are highly nutritious and low cost. People in the villages would have a large one in the morning before heading out in the fields which would keep them going for hours.
I asked Manjula a couple of years back why we hadn’t had Ragi Balls, so she made some, and now I know, why.
It’s a large ball similar to a dumpling. To eat it, wet the fingers with the gravy (curry) pull a piece off and roll it into a small ball. Then throw it to the back of the mouth and swallow it straight away. Why?
I now know the answer to that too.
It tastes like earth and sticks to the roof of your mouth! Simple really.
Ragi is becoming quite trendy and you can get Ragi Dosa among other inventive things. It’s a good thing for our health and the health of the environment as it uses much much less water than the other main crops, namely rice and sugar cane.
