HAPPINESS IN A TUB
LT COL NOEL ELLIS
22/IV/2024
Many-many moons back when our little girl could barely crawl but was so fond of playing with water. Seeing her enthusiasm, we thought of bringing home baby bath tubs for her to splish-splash and sit in it. My-my, the way she took to water. We could see happiness and joy in that tub.
To take her out from the tub was no easy task. She could splatter and pour mug loads from one tub to another tub and vice-versa, till she could empty a whole swimming pool. That reminds me to thank ‘Sapna Masi’ who initiated her into a plunge pool and made her paddle around.
Our girl has outgrown those tubs. But somehow the tubs followed us around from Nabha to Delhi to Bombay to Alibaug and then finally to Jodhpur.
Imagine, twenty-two years have gone by and those tubs are still with us. Their utilization has changed though. They are being used to keep clothes for washing or drying. Sometimes we use them to soak our feet in warm water for a pedicure.
One of her tubs cracked due to age. We reused it as a pot for our portulaca collection. The other two tubs started fading and deteriorating over time. It was time to discard them.
That is when the Ellis’ decided to expand our garden and introduce ‘Water Lilies’. These tubs were ideal containers. Water lilies needed slushy mud which these tubs could hold. We decided to put them to use and planted our first set of water lilies in them.
We had no idea how to grow them or care for the water lilies. A little research and after watching a few videos we gathered a fair idea. We received the plants and shoved them in the tub for a few days. A little topping of water was done everyday. Plants responded positively. Within days of their arrival, one of them flowered. Can you imagine our happiness?
The second lily threw up lots of leaves initially but then started to die. Winters came and the leaves started to disappear. A few leaves of the size of a coin remained. We were disappointed and a little worked up as we could not look after it. We pledged to save it at any cost.
More research and more videos later we understood that these plants needed full sunlight. Out of fear of the scorching sun and very high temperatures in the Sun City, we had kept them in the shade of trees or under the green garden cover. Novices were learning the ropes.
To keep our fish safe in our big bath tub, we were using heating rods to regulate the temperature of that tub. Just as a trial, we introduced this tub at its bottom. Lo and behold as winters rolled over, new leaves sprouted because this tub was in full sunlight now. The plant appeared healthy and growing well again. The unique feature of this lily was it had dark maroon leaves, unlike green leaves or variegated leaves on the other variety of lilies we had planted.
Winters were followed by spring. Studies indicated that the lilies had to be manured, their roots thinned out and plants had to be exposed to full sun for good results. It took me a full afternoon to do the needful. Uprooting a plant from mud without harming it or breaking its leaves was such a delicate task.
Which root to cut and which to save was another dilemma. Its tuber had spread inside the tub and covered the whole space. Except the surface there was no mud left in the tub. Roots had consumed everything. Carefully and with study hands and a prayer on the lips the task of thinning the roots was undertaken. The post replanting trauma was always on the back of my mind. Losing it was not an option. Making it bloom was the aim now and had to be achieved.
‘Spring’ , which is also the meaning of the first name of my daughter Anika, brought back to life that plant in the same tub Anika used to splatter around. The leaves of this lily plant grew and so did my child who is about to graduate from college in a couple of months.
After almost a two year wait, our excitement knew no bounds when we saw a bud emerging from the base of the plant. Our struggle with this plant was about to bear a beautiful flower.
Today, that tub burst into a bloom. The deep maroon colour is simply mind blowing. Whatever be its original name, we will call it “Anika”. Our little girl brought happiness in that tub to the Ellis’. Now our new baby brings the same happiness to the Ellis’ Garden. What says you? I wonder!!!!!!!
JAI HIND
© ® NOEL ELLIS
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