BIRDS OF PARADISE

 BIRDS OF PARADISE

 

LT COL NOEL ELLIS

 

04/VI/2022

 

There is one flower which has fascinated me all my life, which is called the ‘Birds of Paradise’ (BOP). As a kid one would have seen them in a magazine but as life went on. It kind of disappeared somewhere. It resurfaced when I joined the corporate world in Bombay.

 

A ‘good’ bouquet would not be complete without BOP. These could last for weeks without wilting or getting spoilt. The ferns and greens would age and wilt, but these BOP lasted really long. Sad part was that they were thrown away after the function.

 

Florists in Bombay were just a phone call away. Because one dealt with administration, flowers were part of the VIPs' welcome. It was part of my job to have flower arrangements and bouquets organised.

 

One fine day, I was around ‘Dadar’ flower market with my team. Having seen so many flower decorations and events in the corporate, today one was standing at the source of supply of those flowers. I could not hold myself but to have a Dekho. Lo and behold the variety & quality of flowers was amazing. Had we not had a long field day, I would have picked up a bunch for my wife, which I still regret. One flower that I seriously wanted to take home was BOP that too in multiple colours.

 

As curiosity kills the cat, one couldn’t resist asking the price of one stalk. My eyes popped out. That market had flowers from all over the world. BOP flowers had been flown in from Thailand. Given a choice one would have sat there to absorb the happiness they spread.

 

I almost ticked off a flower seller for mistreating his flowers. They were so dainty and this guy was a brute. Chopping away stems, pulling away leaves, even dumping flowers in the dust bin, which I thought were perfectly fine. He gave me a dirty look and said ‘Kaye re’, I shut my mouth as he said ‘Pude Sarka’ (move ahead), khali peeli dimag ka dahi banata hai.

 

I changed my company. From Dadar I went to work in Vikhroli at the other end of Mumbai. The MD was a nice fellow and liked my style of work. It was Christmas and I was on leave. The doorbell rang, and there was a Christmas cake and a huge bouquet which was sent by the boss. The bouquet had only BOP stalks, which I can never forget.

 

Blue and orange were the colours. The whole thing was so sober, decent and classy that words cannot express. Our Christmas was made. I immediately called the boss to wish him a Merry Christmas and thanked him for the lovely gesture. He told me that I had mentioned about the BOP to him, which one wanted to plant at every site to enhance the aesthetics of various site offices. I really felt touched that the owner of the company could remember such things.

 

Be that as it may, we moved to Alibaug. Our journey of gardening got revived again.

 

We picked up one yellow and red BOP sapling. It is a tuber like ginger. It rose up to five feet. Flowers bloomed soon. One fine day, when BOP flowers stopped blooming, leaves of the plant started to wilt. We thought it was dying. With fingers crossed, we saw it go leafless. After the rains it sprung to life again. It had split the plastic pot for a leaf to jut out.

 

The pods inside must have multiplied and burst through due to lack of space for expansion. It was time to plant them in the ground. Did they flourish there? You bet. From one shoot, we had twenty odd shoots flowering. A corner of the garden was reserved for them. Soon Hummingbirds and other birds started hanging around for nectar. Every morning, these darlings were there to greet you.

 

One had a desire to grow that ‘blue and orange’ one. We ordered it online. There wasn’t much time for the sapling to mature before we left Alibaug permanently but brought it along. It is doing fine. Maybe this season it should delight us with a flower.

 

Be that as it may. This morning as I walked out to water the plants my happiness knew no bounds. A stalk was jutting out prominently in the old BOP pot. One was dead sure that they have now adjusted well to the hot and arid environment and ready to bring happiness like they did before.

 

Knowing that their roots expand, we shall shift them to the little space in the ground before it bursts out of the pot again. Waiting for my favourite BOP flower to bloom. How many more will sprout? I wonder!!!!!!!!!!

 

JAI HIND

© NOEL ELLIS