MUFAT KA
CHANDAN
LT COL NOEL ELLIS
29/IX/2022
One feels so
proud when the little garden space infront of the house flourishes. Plants saw
an extreme change of weather. They bore the cold winter followed by a hot
summer and survived. Losses were there but nevertheless.
With
the plants arrived the Birds and the Bees. Even Butterflies, Chameleons, Grasshoppers,
Snails and Slugs emerged. If all the above came, could ‘humans’ stay far
behind.
From a casual
introduction on the road, to exchange of pleasantries, followed by regular time
wishes in the following days. A gardening tip here and there became normal conversation.
With
‘developed familiarity’ begot ‘contempt’. ‘Colonel Saab’ thore ‘paan ke patte’
dena, ek do ‘Tezpatta’ hi de do, Paneer faarna hai, Nimbu de do. Lemon grass ki
chai peeni hai. Do-chaar phool hi de do, pooja ke liye. Hadd ho gayi yaar. Bhai,
phool tum khud uga lo itna hi shauk hai to, I would say.
Growing paan &
pepper has been a painstakingly effort. We almost lost them. With a few sprouting
leaves left, if one starts dishing them out the plant won’t survive. We used
fresh Bay leaves regularly but now hesitate as leaves are not growing at that
rate they used to. Had the plant been thriving we would have distributed them
with pleasure. Do people understand or even care? I doubt.
Aap ne bahut
maintain kiya hai garden, a lady appreciated passing by. Colonel saab got
flattered. Aap sham ko free ho? She asked. I thought, kyon, date par chalna hai
kya. Main shaam ko ati hum, aap mujhe is ki cutting aur is ke bulbs de dena,
she said pointing to the pots. What the…There are nurseries around madam and
things are available online.
One lady had
the audacity to tell me to grow cuttings of plants which she liked and should let
her know when she should come to collect them. As if I was at Her Majesties
service. Hello….!!!!!!!
This morning
someone rang the doorbell. A total stranger from the colony was standing
outside. We exchanged namastes and before one could ask his name he requested
me to lend bulbs of tuberoses as they would grow unhealthy in the pots. They
should be planted in the ground instead, He suggested. Their flower stalks are
about to shoot and this man had no hesitation is asking me to dig the bulbs out.
The icing on
the cake was that he suggested that I should ‘space the bulbs’ properly and even
use the neighbour’s garden, which is lying vacant. I really got cheesed off.
Even if I could spare a few bulbs, now I won’t. Thanks for the suggestion I said
and he understood my tone and never returned.
I admired a
child who was staring at a Hibiscus flower one day. From my drawing room window
I could make out that this child wants it. The question was, would he pluck it.
He didn’t. Instead he walked up and rang the doorbell. When I opened the door,
he requested permission to pluck the flower, which I obviously refused. The
child did not mind, but I liked his honesty. When I explained to him, why flowers
should remain on its bush, he understood. Come again, I said.
On the
flipside, the other day while I was pruning some plants and was hidden from the
road. A lady entered the cluster of pots and fanatically moved branches of
hibiscus bushes, as if searching for something. I thought that her pet had
entered. I stood still and waited to see what she did.
It was a ‘Birds
of paradise’ pot which she was interested in. As she shuffled through the leaves,
I wished her good morning. How may I help you? I asked. I scared the daylights
out of her? For a moment she went pale but then asked me what plant it was? She
was looking for its ‘baby’. In case there would have been one, she would have taken
it, as she had never seen that kind of plant. Give me a break yaar!
Hello Madam!
There are certain basic courtesies, which you ought to know. I wanted to tell
her. Let us exchange plants. You get me something exotic and I shall share
something with you. But the Marwari mentality of ‘ Mufat ka Chandan, ghis mere
nandan’ cannot be removed from the mind.
I call these
people ‘Mangtas’. As they say “ Gaon basa nahi, “mangton” ka jamghat pahle ikhatta
ho gaya”. Have you guys come across such people? I wonder!!!!!!!!!!
JAI HIND
© NOEL ELLIS
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