Monsoon is here again.
Although it’s raining sporadically here and the rain is not as incessant as it
used to be in our childhood, but still it’s a happy respite from the heat and humidity.
With the arrivals of the rain, the farmers will get busy tilling and
cultivating their land. The whole process of preparing the field, sowing seeds
/ planting crops, weeding out, applying fertilizers, harvesting, post harvest
processing will take around 4-5 months for paddy. When you see the whole
process and realize the amount of hard work and dedication it requires growing
and harvesting a crop, then only you will appreciate the food we eat and will
hesitate to waste it. Having spent my childhood in a rural surrounding, I
always loved the whole process of paddy cultivation. A paddy field was in front
of my house. Before planting the crop the field is just a patch of mud. Few
days after the plantation it will turn light green and within a month the hue
will change to dark green. In early Autumn, you will find kashatandi (a grass with white flowers)
on the edges of the field which will give you illusion of white clouds on the
ground. After 3-4 months the color of the paddy field will change to light brown during the time
of cultivation. Monsoons not only bring rains but also signify the start of
life all around. On any random walk, you may find a tree newly sprouting leaves
or a seed starting to germinate. The earliest memory of monsoons for me was
looking at a corn seed germinating from the ground near my home.
The sight of
sprouts coming out of a seed, and then developing into leaves and gradually to
a self sufficient tree always fascinated me since childhood. After I moved to a
ground floor five years ago, the same passion for trees resurfaced. I planted 3
mango trees, one litchi, and one guava in my back yard apart from other
seasonal vegetables. In the front lawn, two bakul trees were planted (in the
hope that it will provide shed for car parking during lunch break...for someone
else and some other day). Few guava, mangoes and gulmohar trees have been planted
in office. On Rathyatra day last week, we had planted around 70 nos. of neem
and mango trees in a nearby temple. Last time I was travelling to Bhubaneswar,
I bought some jamun. I had saved some seeds for trying to germinate seeds.
After about 15 days of planting the seeds, sprouts have started coming out. They
will need a little bit more nurturing before they can be planted independently somewhere.
Of course, I will not be around here to enjoy the fruits, someone else will. But are we not enjoying fruits, planted by someone else in some other place.
Moreover, the joy of watching a seed turning into a tree and supporting life on its own is itself very rewarding. Happy monsoon and go out to plant and adopt a tree.
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| Corn sapling (image source: Google) |
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| The jamun seeds sprouting in my back yard. |
Of course, I will not be around here to enjoy the fruits, someone else will. But are we not enjoying fruits, planted by someone else in some other place.
Moreover, the joy of watching a seed turning into a tree and supporting life on its own is itself very rewarding. Happy monsoon and go out to plant and adopt a tree.
(I will keep updating
status of the jamun sapling from time to time)
Update on 02-Sep-2018:
the saplings were planted in individual polythene bags . Each bag had a mix of soil, manure and a little sand to help water drainage. total of 20 saplings. 14 in black bag and 6 in plastic ones.
Update on 9th January 2019
Growing up healthily... Planning to move to a sunny area
Update on 9th January 2019
Growing up healthily... Planning to move to a sunny area
Update on 04th July 2019
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