I love passion fruit

 The passion fruit vine in Hoskote has taken off with the chicken waste I have fed all the plants with. Its amazing now combined with the rains, the vine is loaded with flowers and fruit.
Popularly known as 'Krishna phal' in India, passion fruit originates from the Passiflora vine and finds its native roots in Brazil, Paraguay, and Argentina.

These are the sour passion fruit which makes a wonderful drink. The flowers are absolutely exquisite and the fruit take to about 3 weeks to grow and turn yellow and ready to harvest.

Buying passion fruit is crazy expensive and since I am so fond of it and its great for diabetics with Stevia as the sweetener, I got a small vine from Alfie of Alphatech whos been our family optometrist  for decades and an avid gardener like me.

The vine flourishes on a pendal built by Kiran our caretaker and now in the rain seems to be happily lowering and fruiting. I scoop out the pulp and bottle it in glass for the kids and me to indulge. 

I dont play games.

 Original in court

POA registered

Rose-apples after 35 years!

 Rose - apples 

   They are delicious 

Thirty five years ago when David our oldest boy was doing his French tuition with a Miss Davenport, she announced to the boys that she had a piece of farmland for sale. Promptly David told her to call me as he knew I was saving up to buy agricultural land. 

"Mrs de Nazareth!" said the voice down the phone which I immediately recognised. Oh no I thought, what had David done now to incur her wrath? 

"Now now! Davids  been a good boy Marianne! I am calling to tell you about 2 acres that we have in Hoskote and David so sweetly said, "My mum is looking for a farm."

"Oh Yes! Miss Davenport if its in my price range, I'll buy it," I said, my voice sounding hopeful.

The price was definitely in my budget and so impulsive me said - "I'll buy it,"without even seeing it.

And then, the rest is 35 year old history.

The first trees to go down were from the Hayes Road garden. Dad was a great one sprouting seeds in any old bucket and one of them was the seed of the Rose-apple which grew in the next door house. At the time it was loaned to the army and I had a friend  -- Monica Mehra living there. I jumped the wall into her house and we sat on her Rose-apple tree and ate our fill of ripe rose-apples.

Steve picking rose-apples off the tree.

Dad planted one of the seeds in an old tin bucket which germinated and grew. That was one of the first trees we put down on  the land. We did get to eat a few fruit the first year it fruited and the care-taker was not familiar with the fruit. Seeds from those fruit I germinated and made four more trees. However we never got to eat a single rose-apple after that for 20 years. The caretaker we had realised he could sell our fruit to all the surrounding homes and apartments and so we were told the birds had eaten them up.. 

Bonny picks them too

Then we had to eject him from the land as he decided to build himself a big house around the room we gave him. Happened in Goa to my ancestors, I was not having it happen here. To our luck he said he would leave in a week if we did not double his wages. That was our chance to evict him. Anyway we had educated his boys so they were earning well and there was no need of our largesse.

It's a year since he left and we cannot fathmon the quantum of fruit the land is giving us. Bags and bags of chickoos, star fruit, gooseberries, amlas, ramphal, custard apples, and now is the mango season! The 30 trees are loaded with Raspuris and mallikas! 

Kgs of Rose-apples!

Instead of selling them I am giving 1/2 kg away to each old Bangalorean who knows what a rose-apple is and who has never tasted one for decades. There's joy all around and its a good feeling to be able to let the fruit bring back old memories of our days as kids where we shared fruit off our trees and never had to buy a single one as there was so much!

Goa is a part of my heart

                             The power line had snapped

Mums St Anthonys blooms in Pilerne

We are always quite happy to be back in Goa. Its hot but its oh so worth it. This is the time when the ghats are literally scented and blooming as we drive through them. The Laburnum drips gold, which remind me of my Grandpa Mick who had a gorgeous specimen in his garden along the side of the house. The Gulmohur or Mayflower were also in bloom, making scarlet patches against the blue sky as we drove through Anmod. But the St Anthonys flowers blooming profusely in the garden as I fed it a lot of prawn waste last visit reminded me of Mum with their pristine white flowers. I dont have anything to remind me of her in Hayes rd so this is a lovely welcome to drive into!

The white gardenia gifted by Lillia Pinto of Pintovaddo Candolim

Then I was thrilled to see the single white gardenia blooming for the first time in the garden, given by my friend Lillia. I had carried graft chickoos for her from Lalbagh so she kept a whole live plant for me. The plants flourish in Goa cause the caretaker loves them as much as I do.

Flooring done in the kitchen

On our last visit we tiles the whole kitchen- dining area as I hated the crumbling floor while I cooked and cleaned fish. I hated the crumbling floor where the roots of Edgar's Mango crept into the house and lifted the floor. I hated the mess even though I had seen the floor of cow-dung before that. I like the kitchen and the dining areas anywhere spotless and finally though expensive we got it done. I'm sure Mum will be pleased as she hated the red oxide floors.

Then I sat outside and enjoyed the village and  the birds in the trees which we don't have in Bangalore anymore like we did as kids. We were there for Holy Week and what an experience to enjoy the beauty of the Maundy Thursday and Good Friday  and finally the Easter Vigil service. No one can do it like the Portuguese who taught us well and we carry on to this day.

I need to go back as often as I can as I age. Its wonderful to live in a house in which my ancestors walked and lived too. Maybe its age that does this to us but Goa has become  important for me and Greg and anyway what holds us here in Bangalore? 

 in Baroda. So it  

A quick in and out of the hospital

                     A quick in and out of the hospital

Prepped and ready for the OT

Its been a long time coming and finally Greg decided to go in for a quick procedure. 

Earlier we had gone to St Philomena's when my brother Mark was ill. But this time -- a friend is a doctor in St Martha's and he suggested doing the procedure there. I have never regretted the decision and the Doctor- Sunil Gowda was a star. WE went in one morning with a packed suitcase for 4 days and after explaining the procedure to me, even down to drawing it on a page, I was sent off to admit him. I strategically mentioned that Greg was Dr Silgardo -- an older admin of St Martha's godson and that smoothed the way forward.

That took a little time with all the paper work, but I was warned by a friend to take a shared room and we did. "People keep coming and going in a shared room, not in a single so its better that way."

The next morning on the dot of 8 am Greg was prepped and wheeled away. Just matter-of-fact, put onto a gurney and rolled away by a posse of nurses. "Wait till you are called to the OT,"said Sister Vinayaka with a smile and so Steve and I just waited patiently till he was wheeled out.

Dr Gowda came out smiling in his scrubs and said -- "All went well, he will be in the ICU for a day." ICU I thought really scared by the words -- thinking of my brother Mark being in the ICU for almost a month in St Philomena's where it was touch and go. "No Mum, they probably cannot irrigate him in the room, so here there is constant care fr the first 24 hours,"said Andy my doc son on the phone.

The doc came out with this ghastly botlle with pieces floating and smiling ly raised it saying -- "All done," I felt sick looking at it and realised the procedure was over and Greg would feel much more comfortable going forward especially when we traveled. It was a non-invasive procedure and instead of running to the loo all the time, he was back to being a normal person.

One thing about Greg is he never loses his appetite, no matter how sick he is and never gives trouble to eat any kind of food. Such a big relief, cause I ordered hospital food right away for him. There was no moaning and groaning and no trouble at all, while in the other bed I could hear a dreadful man harass his wife and daughter, complaining about everything, till they amputated his leg and he was silent after that.  The catheter was put in, the drip fixed and for four days he remained in the hospital with Steve spending the night with him and me getting in my exercise by jogging to and from the hospital.

The Jacaranda in the hospital premises was in its full glory. I remember the Jacaranda in California when I used to go there to Edit Tom Bates books. 

And the perfumed carpets of Honge flowers as I jogged on Nrupathunga rd,  before the sweepers came and swept them up . It was so much easier running to the hospital and back on a straight road, rather than get an Uber and miss all the beauty of a Bangalore at dawn.

Coffee grows in Bangalore too!

 Coffee grows in Bangalore too!

The coffee bush is flowering in Hoskote

When I was a little girl and we came down to Bangalore on holiday from New Delhi, the garden was my haven to unearth lots of Natures treasures. And to manure the garden, Grandpa had a pit on the side of the garden which was hidden from plain sight by four coffee bushes. We have always imagined that coffee grew only in the cold climates of Ooty and the Nilgiri hills. Grandpa proved them wrong! As I grew and came to Hayes road to visit my grandparents, the coffee bushes flowered and fruited and Nanna put the picked berries out in the sun till they dried bone dry. Then she sent the help to the Shoolay grinding mills and they brought home aromatic coffee powder -- organic and home made.

Coffee bush loaded with coffee berries

So when my Grandfathers bungalow was demolished to make way for apartments, as the land was to be shared by us siblings, I was asked to take whatever plants I could to save and plant in my farm in Hoskote. All the bushes in the garden were going and I was foolish to ask for just one coffee bush and ofcourse the crotons which grew in the driveway which I watched Dad air layer and gift his friends.

 Flowering in Hoskote today!

I did not really check on where the bush was planted in Hoskote, and through sheer luck it was put in the shade of large Jamun and Jackfruit trees. It was also planted slap bang in the run off of rain  and so the area was always naturally manured with the tree leaves mulching with the soil around. I did not pay too much attention till we began to teach sustainable living classes in the farm. Then we happened to be around the bush when it was flowering.

The berries were made into coffee for himself by the caretaker

After 20 years we threw the greedy caretaker out as to our great shock he was building himself a two story house over the room we had built for him! Humans can never be satisfied with what they have, there is always the greed for more. Over the years he would harvest the coffee and get his 6 months supply off the tree, not giving us any and saying the birds ate up the berries.

The perfume of the flowers pervades the whole area

Its not yet a year since we threw him and his family out and the quantum of fruit we are harvesting from the farm is mind boggling! Huge quantities of chickoos and Jackfruit, Starfruit and Mangoes. We have never see so much fruit in our lives. Then I saw the coffee bush which had burst into blooms after one solid shower. The flowers were everywhere and they smelt divine. We stood entranced thinking of Grandpa whose tree it originally was, Dad who nurtured it during his life time and finally now ONE tree which we hope to enjoy the coffee from. The tree is such a strong connection between the generations and I'm so glad to have a live, breathing relic from Hayes in Hoskote connecting the generations through nature.

 

Fixing the water pipes in Pilerne, Goa

 

We just decided to drive down to Goa. I like being in the old house cause its an all embracing house, with the feel of our ancestors all around. Plus when we are in Goa, we are on the spot handling repairs. This time was no different. We had driven down and after a quick hot meal at Sawant Cafe in Pilerne, Marra we went to bed earlier than normal. Next morning I was woken by the Golden Orioles calling in the teak trees outside my window. 

Making a hot cup of coffee with supplies that I carry from Bangalore, I sat on the old bench which I dragged into the verandah, to watch the birds and sip my coffee. Thankfully the screaming Bihari servants in the next house do not wake early and I was able to enjoy a quiet hour watching the huge teak leaves plop in the open plot next to me and see the Oriental Magpie and Flower peckers set up a chorus in the trees.

While opening out the windows to let in the fresh air in the hall I noticed a tall plume of water -- taller than the house flying up into the air. It shocked me to my core and quickly waking Greg asked what to do? Too early for the plumber -- go shut off the inlet tap he said most logically. The sight had stopped my brain from working and I went to the meter and immediately shut off the inlet tap.

Finding my trusty phone I called Praveen the plumber who said he'd come before he went to work. No one pushes anyone urgently in Goa. Each one is susegaad and works at his own pace! As I was getting breakfast organised, Praveen arrived and went out to check what had to be done. Luckily the pressure was still high and he immediately explained what he would do. 

"In my lunch break I'll buy the pipes and solution and after work this is an hours job,"he said. Praveen also does our electrical work and its such a pleasure working with an honest and skilled man unlike the gougers we have in Bangalore. 

Praveen working quietly in the shade of Grandpas Adao tree.

"These are really very old pipes," he said, "probably from your grandfathers time."

"Rubbish," I said, "these were new put in by my Dad when he renovated the house."

"No Madam!" he said, "Look at the thickness of the metal pipe. By your Dads time plastic was being used."

"Ok so how much are you going to open up? I asked"my heart plummeting to my toes thinking of a fat bill.  "Do it properly so there are no later problems I said."

The pipe had burst in one section

"I'll open the soil and lets check how much I have to replace," he said. Again my heart sank  as the pipe ran under the concrete path leading to the house. In the monsoons we cannot enter the house without that path we had laid down.

Digging began and no signs of the hole for quite a distance. Finally he found it and carried on digging. The pipe had corroded as everything in Goa does and he said he had to cut it, before he could add the new plastic pipes. Neatly and efficiently with the minimum of tools he cut the pipe and replaced it with joints and a new length of pipe. 

The joint was from the mains to the pipe below

"Leave  the mains off let it dry well ,"said Praveen and we did. Letting it literally cook dry in the boiling mid-day sun.

I think God is not only an all seeing God he also is wise and had this happen when I was in the house. By the time the caretaker comes its noonish and the pressure would definitely have gone down.

Give me the strength to carry on looking after the house which Dad entrusted me with I ask God as yet another issue has been solved on our visit..

Alaina has been blessed.

 

 Dad Andrew sang his natural seconds towards the end.

Sometimes when you least expect it our babies bring us unexpected joy. Alaina has always sung right from her baby years. Infact its such a joy to sit in the car with the kids and go on any trip as the whole journey is filled with their song. No la la and humming for them.   Their Mum has taught them to listen and learn the words as well. No baby stuff, -- sing full throated with the singer and sing knowing the words.

Therefore it really wasn't that surprising for me to hear that she had been asked just before her state swim meet -- yes shes a state swimmer too like her Dad! So! she was asked by her coaches to sing their National Anthem. What an honour but not so for Alaina who takes lead roles in her private school musicals.

  

Mum Annika was told to take the video from the other side of the pool

 So just before her State swim meet, she stood up infront and sang along with her little 6 year old brother. Alaina is an alto and not a soprano and there is a note at the end which she cannot really do justice to. So, in typical big sister manner, she called in little brother who has a pure soprano voice still to take that top note!

It was adorable! And the whole stadium as you can see erupted with applause at the end.  Needless to say her parents were proud and over joyed. For me my heart is full as I went to look after her for 6 months when she was born a 7 month old premie  in freezing cold Omaha, Nebraska. Whatever she does brings so much joy to me.

I just feel so sad Dad and Mum and Uncle Si  are not here to see the Furtado singing gene is being carried on. God bless her and may she always bring all of us continued joy in all she does.

Adopted trees hold my curse!

 

Sadly damaged by a miscreant who now holds my curse

We decided to adopt around 24 trees on the road planted by the BBMP with school kids. They were young but the forest department had waited, nurturing them to a decent age before planting them on the road during the rains. Every tree had a name and the school the child attended. A praiseworthy scheme which the BBMP had pursued to try and bring tree cover back to Bangalore.

 The mature flowering tree on Richmond Road 

Its been two years since we began looking after it because we know how beautiful the road with turn once the tree matures. But knowing that we do have people who are jealous and nasty I placed a curse on the tree that whoever touched or damaged either of them will languish with a string of bad luck. 

Planting in the farm

The trees we have put down in the farm are safe and are growing well. Infact the 10 year old ones are full of flowers and bring a lot of joy to the whole village. Knowing that its just a little effort on our parts to encourage these trees to grow it is sad that one tree has been so brutally damamged.

But I do know my curse goes to the person who has damaged it. does not take much to plant, but it also takes minutes to destroy. May my curse damage profoundly the person who committed this senseless act. And may the curse follow him where ever he goes.

Church of Our Lady de Penha de Franca

 

We were going for a family wedding and it was my first visit to Church of Our Lady de Penha de Franca in Britonia, Goa. Goa's churches are outstandingly beautiful, with some to rival any in Europe and this is one of them.

The Church of Our lady of Penha de França is one of the most extraordinarily sited churches in Goa. It is visible from far away and hence one of the most noted by all visitors to the territory. Located along the bank of Mandovi river, the church was first constructed in the 1626 and reconstructed in 1655 after the church suffered damage; it is now a national monument.

 Popularly used for conducting marriage ceremonies and other religious events the historic church also offers an impressive view from the riverside. I did not realise its position till we walked out of the service to the wide expanse of the sea to one side.

A yacht slid by as we stood watching the waves gently slap against the walls surrounding the church.  A gentle breeze lifted my hair and the light teal blue dress I wore as my eyes looked out to sea. All around guests to the wedding were snapping selfies as they stood on the steep laterite steps.

The inside of the church has been maintained and thankfully not modernised. We sat next to a beautiful side altar with St Francis Xaviers statue prominently in it. Carved in wood it showcased the skills of the artisans who built these churches.

I remember the pulpit in St Patrick's Church in Bangalore as a child. It was similarly carved like the picture above and sadly don't know what the authorities have done with it. By the time I attended church as a child,  the priest stood at the altar and preached and not in the pulpit.

Just look at that breathtaking side of the building where probably all the priests live. The water body is filled with pink water lillies and we all just stood gaping at the calm scene. So many guests had arrived from Bangalore and stood taking in the beauty of the entire church.

 

But the most beautiful part of the entire church is the altar. Its outstanding with its gold patina and elegant finish, it kept us riveted through the service.

Go visit the church if you are holidaying in Goa. Spend a few quiet hours there and I'm sure you will come back refreshed and happy just being in the presence of God.

 

12k walk about the churches of the cantonment

 

We all assembled and started from Garuda mall. Sunil Pichamuthu who had been our son Davids classmate and who lives off Hayes rd was the curator of the walk. "We will walk around the cantonment area and I will share whatever history I have of the churches."Said Sunil. Around 12 years ago when I was with the Deccan Herald, I ran a column called “Back & Forth” in which I wrote covering most the heritage buildings in the Central Business District (CBD) of Bangalore, which dated to the colonial era

The first heritage church we walked down to was the Tamil Wesley Church in Ashok Nagar. When I wrote about it it was still the old heritage structure, but now the old church has been replaced with a swanky new building, reflecting the new status of its congregation. In the old days according to history, it was a poorer church, where the drivers and servants of the British sahibs who attended an Anglican service in St Mark's Cathedral, were sent to.

The second church was the Mar Thoma Syrian Church on Primrose road. In AD52, It is traditionally believed that St. Thomas, the disciple of Jesus Christ visited India and established seven churches on the Malabar Coast.

The third church was the ​Holy Trinity Church which is a Protestant church, located at Trinity circle. This is at the east end of the MG Road and was once visited by distinguished personalities like Lord Cornwallis and Winston Churchill. It was established in 1852 and has a great military history attached to it.

Walking down to Ulsoor we reached the fourth church– The Wesleyan Centenary Kannada Devalaya built in 1913 on Bazaar street, Ulsoor. The stone building was painted a beautiful blue grey with white and brick red embellishments and seemed to be newly renovated.

  We walked down to our fifth church which was the beautiful Saint Andrews Church built in the famed Gothic architectural style. According to the church website, it was completed and opened for service on 18 November 1866. The cost of construction (including the land) was Sterling Pounds 4,500 (INR 45,000), the cost covered by private subscriptions and government grant.

St Paul's Church was the sixth church we visited and is located in Shivaji Nagar. It is located in the corner of Old Poor House Road, and Bowring Hospital Road, next to the Bowring and Lady Curzon Hospital, Bangalore Cantonment. St. Paul's has the distinction of being the very first Tamil Anglican Church in the erstwhile Mysore State.

St. Mary's Basilica, a Roman Catholic church, was the seventh and last church that we visited on  M F Noronha Road, Shivaji Nagar It is among the oldest churches at Bangalore and the first church in the state that has been elevated to the status of a minor basilica.The design of the majestic Gothic-style church is credited to Rev L E Kleiner. It was consecrated on 8 September 1882.

I remember my Dad calling it the 1 anna church built during the terrible plague in Bangalore, where thousands died. The church was built with 1 annas collected he said. The total amount spent on the construction of the new church. including the pulpit and the statues, was Rs. 29,659, a laughable amount in today's expensive world.

At the end of the walk which really was 12k we decided to take an auto home as trudging home from Shivajinagar was not an option!