My weekly Slice of Life are my letters to my Doddamma. She is my father’s elder brother’s wife. Doddamma literally means ‘elder mother’. She is 88 years old. She cannot hear properly if I telephone to talk to her. So, I have been writing letters to her since October 2017. I enjoy writing letters and she is happy to read them. They are only about the everyday moments in my life. I post my letters to her every week.
10-03-2020
On the 7th I talked with my Doddamma. She cannot hear properly. She said she was very happy to read my letters. I felt very nice when she said that. She is my favourite relative.
This week, on the 4th ,I went to the hospital. I was having an uncomfortable sensation in my right ear. Fortunately, it was a minor problem. Waiting for my turn I read The Indian Empire at War by George Morton Jack. A fascinating book. On the 6th I had to go for a dental check-up. Fortunately, minor problems. Hospital is a different world and we always hope that we never have to go there.
On the 26th morning a friend and our book club member passed away. She had been suffering from cancer and was in lot of pain. On the 18th I had gone to see her. In spite of the pain we talked about books. Earlier she wished to read some Enid Blytons. I had taken them for her. She donated her body to our Medical college. She had told us her father had done the same. On the 5th her husband and close friends had organised a wonderful evening celebrating her life. So many spoke about her. She was just 61, certainly not an age to die.
About two weeks ago bulbuls were trying their best to build their nests inside the house. I kept the windows closed for some days. Now they are not coming, hopefully they have found a better place to build their nests.
On the 7th we sold our coconuts at the shop in our town. We got Rs 35 per kilogram. This has been the best rate that we have got for a long time. We have ten coconut trees in our garden. We sold a little more than 80 kgs. It is ok for us because we do not depend on it for our living. But for all those farmers life becomes difficult when they do not get good returns for all their hard work. Tender coconut water is very tasty and the soft white fruit is tastier. We sometimes buy them on our way back home. The water and the fruit are very refreshing.
On the 8th we went to our village to spend time with my father-in-law. I don’t know whether he recognised us. My father-in-law was listening to classical music in YouTube. I was sitting near him after finishing the cooking . He has cataract and cannot see. At his age he cannot be operated. A few years ago he had been operated in one eye but it did not really help him. He was such an active person, I was feeling very sad looking at the changes that age brings. God knows what is in store for us. All around us changes are happening. Anyway, we have to face what comes our way.
Life is a series of natural and spontaneous changes. Don’t resist them – that only creates sorrow. Let reality be reality. Let things flow naturally forward in whatever way they like.
Lao Tzu
Mukhamani 
Comments are welcome :)