Shared love and shining memories of Manjula, Lucie and Ina, whose love remains with us.
Thank you to Sowbhagya and Satish, for remembering and honouring our precious family.
While I’m not at home.
Footnote from the Internet.
Pitru Paksha is a 15-to-16-day Hindu observance dedicated to honouring departed ancestors through sacred rituals, prayers, and food offerings.
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.
…
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.
…
Did you find them ?
The wedding ceremony means so much.
On the surface it’s bringing two people together. But it’s the joining of two families.
It’s also an opportunity to dress up, reconnect with family and friends, realise how we’ve all grown.
The bride arrives
We’re part of the family as many of the grandsons of our house owner and extended family have lived on our roof
Is there ever not a problem? But they’re always solvable in India.
This is the corporation office of the non removable assets, meaning where they exchange contracts for land, buildings etc.
In our case, we’re the immovable objects getting married.
These photos have just been found and shared by our good friend Tanuja.
I can’t remember what this was about probably just checking details before the critical point where we sign and are officially joined in matrimony.
The whole set up was confusing and it was difficult to know at what precise moment we actually got married. Maybe this was it.
Look out for the full story next year.
A lovely novel translated from the Swedish about a man coming to terms with a difficult new situation. Five golden stars.
A man called Ove.
I worried, as I started reading the book that, he was like my father and I was getting to be like that. Oh no! It didn’t quite work that way.
It’s late at night and the page is blank so I turn to Laozi and Pooh bear.
Actually that’s not true. I turn to you…… to help me get the ball rolling, to create and share my and Manjula’s story. It’s the age old writer’s conundrum. As you see I have a pile of full notebooks but how to get the blank page filled to begin to start the actual story. Can you help?
If you know Manjula and I or even if you don’t 🙃 what’s the key ingredients of our story that might interest you or a wider audience. What are the main themes that will interest people?
Lucie let out an almighty sigh as I was writing this.. maybe she also gets bushwhacked.
Joan Didion, in her wonderful book: ‘The Year of Magical Thinking’ about her husband’s death would talk about entering the vortex. The unexpected ambush when reliving a previous moment from your life with your loved one.
I think of it as a bushwhack. Mostly unexpected, a memory resurfaces often with a visual trigger. Today it was seeing this…
Manjula’s signature on an application for a PAN (taxation) card from 2015. Shortly after her diagnosis and our engagement.
It happens all the time and often with bubbling tears.
Its also significant as it’s all she could write.Â
two years ago today, on the 1st March 2018, Manjula and I were married at the equivalent of the registry office.
we were very happy
Eight months and my love grows stronger. Bittersweet: bitter hole but sweet sharing my memories of Manjula with this week’s guests.
“This feels com-ple-tely weird
How the heck, did it happen?
Please, move over, I’m feeling claustrophobic. We are so, not the same size!
To me it feels like the two of us are crammed into a sleeping bag, just like the one we bought for you to go camping in England. If you curl a bit I’ll curl round you, like two spoons together. Yep, yep, that’s it.
Much better.
So you’re the Hindu, can you explain to me what’s happened?
Nope.
OK, I’ll hazard a guess.
I must say, as cramped as this is, I am so pleased to be with you, I know its not exactly physical, more meta-physical but I can actually feel you and its wonderful. I just don’t care about anything else. I lost you and I’ve found you again. Super!
Its also amazing how we can communicate just through thoughts. Are you thinking in Kannada or English?
A mix of both.
You clever dick. You’re the boss. 🙂
Ok so here’s my take on it.
I think it’s something to do with reincarnation. Once we die and we’re released from our body our spirit finds a new home, a new body and begins its next life. Agreed?
Well, there’s also a belief amongst some people that couples can be reunited in their new life.
Yes, I remember discussing this with friends and joking about whether we’d wish to be reincarnated with our husbands! Most didn’t seem to want to be.
I did though!
You and I have had some disagreements. I don’t think you realised how hard it was for me, at times but I loved you to the end of the earth, and beyond
Remember me saying that?
Of course
I love you too.
So how have we ended up here?
The last I remember, you had a second heart attack and you didn’t want to go back on a ventilator, you’d hated that the year before, even though it gave us another year together. So I asked the Doctors not to resuscitate and you died.
Afterwards, I was on my Enfield, squinting through the tears on my way back to Siddartha Layout, to sort things out so I could bring your body home, when ….
BANG.
A lorry knocked me off the two wheeler and next thing I know I was here with you.
Where is here? by the way.
I don’t know but I’m beginning to adjust, I’m not feeling bunched up anymore – I’m getting used to it.
I remember being in hospital and you made a joke about me not smiling so I giggled and smiled, last thing I remember I was complaining that my head hurt.
Then I was in a valley, having passed through a bright sun light. People were singing and dancing. I thought of you and whispered a message, that I loved you, to a passing dragonfly. Then as if by Magic, you appeared and I saw you through the crowd coming towards me.
Wow. So let me get this right, we’ve died within minutes of each other and somehow our souls have joined together, reincarnated into the same body. How amazing is that?
I feel that we’re gently melding together, we’re becoming as one.
Well, I didn’t read about this in the Bhagavad Gita! Did you?
Waahay, this could be fun. Maybe we could give a TED Talk.
