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 89 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. Since last week I am sending my letters by e mail to my cousin’s wife. She is reading them to my Doddamma. I write to her a little more about our grandchildren😊
1-07-2020
Half the year is over is over and what a year it has been! Wonder what will happen in the second half? We have to hope for the best.
Today has been a sunny day after three days of heavy rain. It is now 8 o’clock and is raining again. The sound of rain falling is soothing and all the troubles of the world seem far away. But troubles are increasing. Today evening we went to the Co-operative Society in our place to buy groceries. The lady in charge said she was quite fed up with the virus and wondered when it would all end. Our life has changed so much. Online classes for children have started but what will the poor people do? They do not have internet facilities.
Temples are such an inherent part of our lives. It seems strange that they had been closed for months. Lord Jaganath temple in Puri is one of the most venerated temples in our country. But this year the annual ‘rath yatra’ was conducted by a few and the town was under curfew. This has not happened for centuries.
Last week when the days were sunny, we hired a worker to clean our garden. There is a jackfruit tree in our garden. This year we got only six fruits. Last year we got more than twenty 😊. We usually distribute them to our friends. We use raw jackfruit to make dosas and other dishes. The ripe ones are good to eat. But cutting them is a big chore because of all the gum that oozes from the fruit when we cut it.
One day I was standing in our backyard talking to someone and I saw the leaves of a tree shake violently. A snake lithered down and came towards me. Suddenly it stopped, it must have sensed my presence. It went back. We call this snake ‘Pagela’ in my language. Then there are all those beautiful birds calling out to each other, the whole day long. I could take photos of the sunbird putting its long beak inside the yellow flower. The champaka flowers from our neighbours’ garden add fragrance to our lives. Much needed and they tell us we are lucky in so many ways.
It was nice to read about the Soliga tribe and how they are able to sell their producer directly to the consumers. Unfortunately the middle men make a lot of money and the growers are always in trouble, in spite of working so hard. Kamegowda, a farmer in a village hasdug so many ponds in his eighty years to help people conserve water. A good lesson to learn. Such people give us hope for the future.
I am reading a fascinating book called The Library at Night by Albert Manguel. I am still listening to Sherlock Holmes in Audible. Those stories are evergreen.
It is still raining. And I came across this beautiful quotation,
“Rain is not only drops of water. It’s the love of the sky for earth. They never meet each other but sends love this way.” — Unknown
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jagannath_Temple,_Puri
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dendrelaphis_tristis
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnolia_champaca
https://www.deccanherald.com/state/soliga-tribals-brew-a-perfect…
Karnataka Shepherd Builds 14 Ponds in 40 Years, Turns Barren …
https://www.thebetterindia.com/114464/news-karnataka-mandya-village..
