Total Recall - Nature

My fascination for gardening has always been there. I guess it’s in the blood. As a child, I would go and bury seeds after eating fruits and wait for it to germinate. No camera’s No mobile!!. The excitement of seeing its progress every morning was very very different. We had no idea about the technology of composting or anything called NPK. Every peel from the kitchen and dried flowers from God’s idol would go the soil. Leftover food would either go to the regular Amma….Thai ….wala Beggar (a traditional call beggars give to the women  while seeking alms in Bangalore) or it would be mixed in the water and fed to the cow (Lakshmi).

Every morning Laksmi and her owner would come  inside the building to deliver milk – fresh and straight from under the belly!. We as kids would fight over tying her to our gate. While the man would milk her, she would be busy shitting. My mom would leave no opportunity  to collect the dung – a natural fertilizer and toss it in one corner of the soil in our garden. Effortlessly fruits, flowers and veggies were produced in the garden. Each one of us would take turns to pluck the flower for my dad’s daily prayers.

The most beautiful part was that not only we survived on these produce, but also the did birds , squirrels and innumerable creatures in the garden. They happily nested and reproduced. Those days we didn't find any of them greedy. Whether it was guava or papaya (with loads of seeds in it), pomegranate or Plantains, everybody got their share fairly. Our garden was loaded with colorful butterflies and honey bees without any effort. I don’t even remember if we ever bothered to add any extra nutrients to the plants.

Today, while my mom who is in her late 60’s, is happy gardening not just inside the building but also in the neighborhood, I am struggling with  few pots ,mealy bugs ,maggots and constant menace of high flying pigeons in my apartment……..

I guess my mom’s secret still lies in the kitchen !!!