by Gauri Trivedi
“Mom, it’s a miracle! Just a month back, this plant looked like it wouldn’t see the light of another day and look at it now! It has grown so beautifully.” It made her happy to hear this from the kids.
“And I must admit, it does add to the beauty of our home. It is just the perfect addition which was missing all these years!” coming from their father and a certified plant-hater, it was an even bigger compliment.
“But how did it happen?” they were curious. “Did you get some special manure or soil or some kind of a ‘grow your plant in 30 days kit’?! It must have been the change in place; this spot must have the right amount of sunlight and air for it to grow.”
“That might be true to an extent, but so did all the places I put the pot earlier at. The wonder that worked came from inside of the house!” Anu smiled as she went on to explain.
“Anu, what is this in our bedroom?” His tone sounded more like a command and less like a question. It could have very well been “Why is this in our bedroom?”
“Oh, this! It’s just a plant I picked up at the store today” she feigned ignorance.
“I can see that, but what is it doing here, near our bedroom window?”
“That spot is just perfect with lots of fresh air and sunshine, don’t you think?” she gave a determined response.
“You know I hate plants inside the house, they are meant to be outside, in the garden. We never wanted any of them inside all these years, what is it with you now, suddenly?”
“Well, YOU never wanted them inside, but I always thought they added to the homely feeling and gave a unique touch of warmth to any room. Besides, this is just a single pot, it’s not like I am growing a garden in the room.”
“Whatever it is, it can’t stay here.”
“It’s my house too.” The war had suddenly assumed territorial proportions!
“Fine, put it somewhere else, not in the bedroom.” He turned his head away in such disgust as if he had spotted a snake.
“Don’t make such a face, plants can sense hostility.” She shot back, half hoping he would rescind.
“Anu, Anu… Anu… the bathroom is a part of a bedroom, in case you didn’t know.” Out came the flower pot before the door slammed shut.
In the days that followed, the pot with its tiny green resident toured the whole house, searching in vain for a welcome corner, not growing even by an inch.
After being ousted from the bedroom, it was given refuge in the kids’ room. Anu made a small speech about how plants gave life and were nature’s biggest gift to mankind before placing the little sapling near the desk. The kids weren’t too excited about the preposition, but at least they let it be there.
However, it wasn’t the pet they desperately wanted, neither was it their favourite toy, to be treasured and handled with care. After it was toppled over a couple of times and its meagre leaves plucked out and strewn around, Anu decided the pot was probably better off somewhere else.
The only other room in the house was the bonus room, which was kind of an extra and occupant-less, most of the time.
In the meantime, the green sprout stubbornly refused to grow up. It was as if it had taken the rejection to heart and had no desire to live in this house.
Anu browsed through gardening books like a doctor consults encyclopaedias in matters concerning a very sick patient. She changed the soil twice, measured the water to precision before sprinkling and went as far as changing its position twice or thrice a day so that the pot fell in the path of sunlight as it moved. Nothing worked.
When the first move happened within a few days of its arrival in the house, the plant showed promise. The tiny leaves held potential to blossom and spread their pleasing presence covering a larger radius.
The transfer to the kids’ room was rough. An infant itself, it was totally unprepared for the bumpy treatment meted out. But it was the shift to the empty room that kind of nearly killed the plant.
“What is it that I am not doing right?” she asked herself again and again as the only plant she fought to get inside their home in years, showed no signs of life and continued to wither.
“Of course!” she beamed as if she had stumbled upon the magic potion for the plant. It needed to be cared for, tenderly and lovingly. Food and drink are physiological nutrients that are needed to survive but it is the feeling of being loved and wanted that all living beings require in order to thrive.
The little plant had battled rejection and rough weather from room to room but when it came to flourishing in difficult surroundings, it could not handle abandonment and indifference.
“I was the one who brought it home, to nourish and watch it grow, so why leave it to the approval of those who didn’t care much for that kind of pleasures?
“The place where it will be met with a loving gaze every once in a while, the heart of our house where happy voices collide with each other in a hurry to report the occurrences of the day, a corner that stands witness to the most memorable events of our lives, has to be the most appropriate abode for the vessel carrying this plant.”
Confidently, she carried the pot downstairs and placed it in the centre of her kitchen, right across the dining table, behind the sink, near the window.
Gauri Trivedi is a former business law professional who makes the law at home these days. A Mom to two lovely daughters, her days are filled with constant learning and non- stop fun. All of her “mommy time” goes into writing and finds itself on her blog pages http://messyhomelovelykids.blogspot.com/ and http://pastaandparatha.blogspot.com/ and if she is not writing she is definitely reading something!
