Flowers of Lucky Manzil!

Growing up with Ma was eventful in so many ways. 

Drama was a high point most days. Put-on argumentativeness to get one's way, heightened emotions to ensure that sought-after item was brought to the house by her, silly tantrums to get an upper hand; it seemed I was always in overdrive.

Then there was her Garden, where she spent most of her waking hours. Soonest as she would ready me for school, she would walk into her garden for some early morning work. 

Her mid-mornings were devoted to the Garden before she would step into the kitchen to prepare lunch.

Once I would return from school, we would have lunch and some chinwag together before I went to my books and homework and she to her garden work. Her Gardener would have arrived by then and she would be busy guiding, planning, developing, reorganizing.

To whatever cities and cantonments we went on Dad's postings, she lent her magic and wonder of her green fingers to the House. 

Ma's gardens were always amongst the best if not the very best. Most times than not, she won competitions locally and regionally.

Friends were always asking her for tips, begging her for cuttings and marvelling at the ease with which she grew both flowers and vegetables. The GOC's Wife would send across her Orderly, requesting Ma to give him a bunch of flowers to decorate at an official gathering. She knew Mrs. Dhir's bungalow would always have flowers and that the Batman would never return empty-handed.

When I was very young, I could have easily developed sibling rivalry with plants, for all the time Ma spent with them. But that was never to be the case. For, I began to fall in love with nature and its bounty as well.

It became a fun game to try and learn names of as many flowers as one could. And there were always so many - Dahlia, Chrysanthemums, Asters, Hollyhocks, Zinnia, Gerbera, Phlox, Verbena, Pansy, Petunia, Antirrhinum, Sweet Peas, Lillies, Marigold, Gladioli, the Cornflower.............the list was varied and long and changed with the seasons.

Forever the show-off, it gave me a chance for one-upmanship over friends to be able to identify and name such a wide range of flora.

I also became the custodian of her gigantic Seed Box. At the end of the season, Ma would dust the dry petals off and take out the seeds. And I would put them in neat envelopes and label them for use in the next planting season. The Box is still there in the Store somewhere.

When we finally moved back to Lucky Manzil, as our permanent place to stay, Ma went to work to design and lay out her front and back and side gardens.

Stone benches were placed, Trellises were erected, flower beds were created, round river stones were brought in to circle the flower beds in a section of the garden, new bricks were bought to frame the beds, a bird house was installed in the Front Garden and a Garden Swing in the back.

On the right side of her giant Front Lawn Ma created a huge space to house her Rose Garden. There were roses of all sizes and shades - black, blood red, baby pink, deep red, scarlet red, Auburn red, yellow, orange, white, small China roses, roses in twin hues.

Ma has moved on to tend His garden beyond the pearly gates, but her Rose Garden still thrives at Lucky Manzil, as do some of her other plants.

She has left behind her blessings via the plants she nurtured. Her legacy lives on in them!  

Picture courtesy - Karuna Dayal