With the heat of the summer touching 45 degrees, Bhaskar’s heart drowned in distress due to deep love. He would stand on his balcony in the evenings despite the hot winds and he would wake up early in the morning despite working late at night. He would look outside the window of his office at the light of the Sun, worrying if he had done enough to protect this love.
Bhaskar was married but this love seemed beyond even that, it was love for his plants. It was a habit he picked up after his paternal grandfather who had a hobby of keeping plants and then his father, who had planted Ashoka trees in front of the house which had grown tall, shading the house and also offering some form of privacy.
Bhaskar’s father, Mr Adiyodi worked hard to maintain the plants outside in what turned into a garden. That section wasn’t part of their plot but previously it was left neglected with wild plants growing. Mr Adiyodi got it cleaned up and converted it into a garden and no one has a problem with plants being grown. They emit not only oxygen but also positivity.
When Mr Adiyodi became less active due to neurological problems, a gardener was hired to look after the garden. But Bhaskar wasn’t satisfied by the work of the gardener, he always felt there was something lacking and hence the gardener was changed, and the same issue remained with the next gardener and the next, until an old experienced gardener was hired at cheap monthly payment and a deal was made.
“I will water the plants, you take care of the rest,” Bhaskar told the old gardener who wiped off a drop of sweat from his forehead with his handkerchief and said in a shaking voice, “understood.”
But watering the plants turned out to be a particularly challenging feat at the peak of summer where the ground was drying up at a very fast rate, and the plants would try and close their leaves in an attempt to prevent the loss of water which further added to Bhaskar’s distress.
“The summers are becoming worse,” said the old gardener in a shaking voice one day, and then he wiped off a drop of sweat from his forehead which was becoming too fragile to be left unattended.
“So, what should I do?” asked Bhaskar, “I just watered yesterday morning and today it’s like it has been dry for days.”
The old gardener bent down to touch the ground and noticed a drop of sweat fall on the ground and then he got up and looked at Bhaskar, “keep the ground hydrated”
Bhaskar wasn’t sure what he understood but during each summer now he gets worked up about watering the plants, two times a day, 1 hour each. I won’t lie, the garden is always green and fresh, but I wonder if Bhaskar will ever be able to go out on a vacation during the summer season.
Written by Anuran Chatterji
Early Morning Memories 