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Journalism of Courage
Our correspondent tries his hand at being a gardener and realises that it is no walk in the park
I was all set to be a gardener at The Empress Botanical Gardens located on the somewhat busy Solapur Road and next to the green turf of the Poona Race Course. I was there bright and early on a Monday morning to intern under the head gardener Sahebrao Sarwade. I had carefully chosen my attire 8212; a white T-shirt and shorts. Cool, even if not exactly close to a gardener uniform. Sarwade was unimpressed. 8220;You should have worn something covering your arms and legs,8221; he frowned. On seeing my puzzled face, he added, 8220;The insects and mosquitoes here will tell you why.8221;
I walked behind him to the first of the many sections of the garden8217;s huge nursery. We walked through the twisted cypress and banyan trees that have been around forever. A wizened old couple taking a stroll in the park looked in amusement as I half walked and half ran trying to keep up to my mentor8217;s pace. We reached a plot of land that was being weeded. The process seemed simple 8212; just pull and destroy anything and everything on the patch of land that is not hidden in black plastic bags. 8220;This is where you begin working,8221; smiled Sarwade.
Sweat streamed down my forehead; I stopped every now and then to mop my brow, while the ladies continued to rip apart the weeds at a frantic pace. I battled crawling insects and stinging mosquitoes in my quest to un-weed the plot while the ladies worked unmindful of my fumbling presence.
Meanwhile, Sarwade who was watching my work keenly, said, 8220;This is the most important part of any garden8212;the weeding process. If these weeds grow, they suffocate the plants and deprive them of nutrients and stunt their growth.8221; I nodded and thought of a bygone era8212;my Class IV science teacher had taught us the same fact. Back then it was theory, now it was practical; and definitely not an easy task.
Most of my morning was spent weeding a patch of the garden, not caring for the damp soil that had inched it way up my shoes steadily. Somewhere in between my labourious task, nbsp;Sahebrao announced that I had done enough and that I needed to move to the next section8212;planting the saplings into the already filled black bags of soil and fertilisers.
8220;These bags help the plant take root. After it has taken root we transfer the entire bag directly to the ground,8221; said Sahebrao. I was shown my way around the bags by the friendly sapling planter, Balu. He showed me the method to remove the sapling carefully and press it firmly into the soft fertilizer rich soil. After prodding the plants carelessly and getting some stern looks from both Sarwade and Balu, I realised what this signified. The plants were like little children to them. Watching them grow is like watching a child grow up into an adult. I then tried to work delicately, yet firmly and I finally succeeded8212; not only in winning an approving nod from Balu but also from my mentor too!
After spending another gruelling hour planting saplings with precision that altered between that of a jackhammer operator and a Swiss watchmaker, I left the arena to go to my next section-watering the already planted saplings. En route I was informed that the saplings I helped plant would be lined up for sale. 8220;On an average we sell 3,000-20,000 plants a day,8221; said Sahebrao as a fly whizzed past my gaping mouth.
My next simple task of watering the plants, had a twist! The watering can had to be held at a particular angle before spraying the water on the plants, moreover the plant leaves had to be ruffled a little to ensure that the water fell onto the leaves as well as on the soil surrounding the plant. Every time I ruffled through the leaves scores of mosquitoes darted out and bit my bare arms and legs promptly. I couldn8217;t complain, I was warned about this.
After a day of weeding, packing, cleaning, watering and planting little saplings, I said my goodbyes to Sarwade and his gang of merry gardeners. I do wish their jobs were not so tough.
