28-01-19
Dear Doddamma,
We are all fine here. Amma is in Hyderabad now with my elder brother. She and my sister-in-law went together on the 25th in their car. They halted that night in Bangalore in a cousin’s house and left the next morning. They reached their home in Hyderabad that evening. It was a long journey but amma enjoyed it and was not tired.
I have been writing to you about End point. Now it is very different from what it was till about ten years ago. Then it was just one road till the end of the road on the hill. Down below was river Swarna flowing towards Arabian sea. People come from across the river to work in our university and hospital. Now the road is almost the same but there are football and cricket grounds to one side and a park at the very end. It is a very nice place to go for a walk. Students enjoy playing in the grounds. When amma was with us she would sit on the bench by the first ground and watch the students playing. Now the trees on either side of the road are growing. There are fruit and flower trees.
On the 24th morning we went to the town centre to do some shopping. I also purchased cross stitch material and embroidery wool. It has been a long time since I have done embroidery and I felt I must start again. The other evening I was watching Australian Open Ladies final and doing some cross stitch 😊.
One evening we went to Manipal lake for a walk. On one side we can see the lake bed and it is now covered with purple flowers. They are beautiful and insectivorous!! My husband’s cousin is a botanist. He told us these flowers are called bladderworts and are insectivorous. ( What a name for beautiful flowers !!) They will be blooming for nearly a month and then die. We will then see them next January. It is really fascinating that they are under the ground and under the water for so many months. And they bloom when the feel the sun and light.
Doddamma, I had written you about the mango pickles and how they were a little too salty. I bought some more raw mangoes and now the pickles are not salty and it is tasty. I gave some to our neighbours. They liked it too. I have kept it in the refrigerator in case it spoils.
On the 27th night my husband went to Mysore to attend his cousin’s daughter’s wedding. Mysore is one night’s journey by bus from our place. It is a beautiful old city.
Hope you have received my letter. I will post this letter tomorrow afternoon.
With lots of love,
Lakshmi
Mysore – Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mysore
(My letters to my Doddamma, my father’s elder brother’s wife, have made letter writing a part of my life again. Both of us enjoy the letters. Doddamma literally means elder mother. She is my favourite relative. She is 88. She cannot go out and is not able to hear well. So, I started writing to her in November 2017. Earlier I used to send a mail to her daughter-in-law, she used to read it to her. My cousin’s wife told me Doddamma enjoys the feel of letters and re-reads them often. I edit the letters and post them in Slice of Life hosted by Two Teachers. I enjoy SOL. We, bloggers live in different parts of the world. Our lives are so different but there is sameness which is fascinating. The different posts and photos bring the world to my home. Thank you dear friends. 😊 )
Mukhamani 
Comments are welcome :)