BONSAI CULTURE
K. Sandhya
A catchy write-up in a magazine – “Grow fruits on
terrace”. Though such a concept of
roof-garden has been in existence since quite long, it caught my eye which
swept through the following summary. A
Mr. Mehta, an affluent business magnate in a metropolis, has metamorphosed
around fifty pots of fruits exclusively, while his front yard can easily make
room for another thirty flowering plants.
I was not taken up by the ‘flowery’ part of it and concentrated on the
‘fruitful top’.
Mr. Mehta has in his orchard a wide range of fruits--from the
smallest gooseberry to the biggest jack fruit; water-melon; lemon, orange,
papaya, custard apple, a few varieties of banana, to mention a few more. He has the hobby of collecting such plants,
trees, true to calls from different parts of the country and sometimes takes
pains to import them from other countries too.
All the plants in their confinement in small pots fulfill the duties of
a tree. Science terms it “Bonsai Culture”
– a hybridised dwarf form of a plant producing enormous yield, as bountiful and
faithful as a tree in natural surroundings.
Isn’t it a spectacular invention one should be proud of? Certainly.
No need to repent over the lack of land. If you can afford, you can have all the species of flora and
fruits in the limited space you have.
Wonderful Bonsai Culture. I
revelled about it for a short while.
Slowly, my sympathies turned towards the plants. The plants which ought to take root in the
Mother Earth enjoying her love and warmth, spreading their joy around are
confirmed to a single pot made according to the required measurements. These plants are commanded to grow as per
the set conditions and norms. A
conditioned life indeed!
Some how the children of the socalled cyber age remind me of
Bonsai plants. They rattle off rhymes
and dance to the rhythm set by their parents right from the age of three. They are packed off to school when they are
three and half after the tense tests and interviews faced by their
parents. At the time when they ought to
be enjoying themselves in the midst of nature, without any cares, they sit in
the class room repeating their teacher’s words like trained parrots. As Pavlov, a psychologist, says their minds
and thoughts are conditioned. Parents
are highly ambitious, more competitive than their wards, and make their
children race against time. They expect
their children to achieve the maximum and the best in a limited time within a
fixed frame work; often against the child’s aptitudes and will. A child is not allowed to grow leisurely and
peacefully but is crammed with so many things that over-weigh its mind.
A considerably good number of parents can afford to send
their children to reputed schools. They
can provide them with a comfortable life as the slogan is “one or two
kids.” Most of the parents are educated
and enlightened enough to see what is good for their off spring. They dote on them and give them everything
even without their asking. A good home
with all amenities – a separate study room, a TV set with multiple channels, a
music system, a computer, a car and what not.
A child of lower kindergarten of a city can operate a laptop with ease. A six year old can drive a ‘Maruti car’
safely upto the Seven Hills in Tirumala.
A lot of applause. A number of
shows arranged to prove to the public the mettle of the prodigy; photos, press
conferences and publicity.
How wonderful! But,
it makes me sad because the child loses his natural inherent abilities and
acquires a Hi-fi style. One may
outright deny my opinion arguing that it is what is required of a twenty first
century child. Can anyone deny that a
child’s natural self should not be overridden by an artificial shell wound
around him. Many children do not even
know how a seed germinates except from their text books. They do not experience playing in the open
breathing fresh air, but know fully well how to play various video games. We need not be conservative stick-in-the-mud
types. We can certainly move on along
with the rapidly changing times.
“Old
order changeth yielding place to the new”.
But let us maintain the old order also and not victimise the little ones
with our “Bonsai culture”.