OP CHRYSANTHEMUM

 OP CHRYSANTHEMUM

 

LT COL NOEL ELLIS

 

07/X/2024

 

While in the Army, one had heard of various operations named after flowers like OPERATION-CACTUS LILY, 1971, Indo-Pak War. 2003, OP-Desert Rose, Iraq, by US. 1944, OP-Daffodil, allied forces in France. OP-Tulip, a German operation in the Netherlands, etc.

 

To carry out any operation, one has to do meticulous planning. As the saying goes, if you plan well, you can execute it well.

 

My story is not a military operation, but being a military man, even small things are planned in a military manner by nature. Thus, the methodology is quite akin.

 

Operations start with fixing the ‘AIM’. ‘Terms of reference’ (TOR) are considered next. That is the various hurdles, stipulations of time, resources, finances, logistics, reserves and what have you. Then comes the execution and planning of that plan in detail. Finally, you reach a ‘course of action’ for execution of your plan, including contingencies. To achieve that aim, this is how we did it in fauj.

 

That is how “OP-CHRYSANTHAMUM” came into existence. ‘OP-MUM’ for short.

 

AIM - To have ‘Mums’ flowering in the Ellis’ Garden by Christmas. The only TOR was space in the garden, which could be worked on and sorted.

 

Pots were not a constraint, nor was manure. One could muster about sixty odd pots of various shapes and sizes. So, that was not a restricting factor either. One had time at hand to complete the ‘op’ successfully.

 

The most crucial factor was from where to get quality saplings and how soon. One had choices. First, to wait for the winter flowering plants to arrive in local nurseries and pick them up. The nursery walas tend to fleece you though.

 

Second, a friend offered to share saplings which had sprouted in his flower beds recently. I am grateful for his gesture, but their survival after transplantation needed deft hands and expertise. Choice of colours was limited.

 

Third, was to find some good online nurseries. This appeared to be a workable idea. Getting plants online is quite dicey though. The plants they show in photos are sometimes not the same when the plants arrive.

 

Reputed nurseries charge a fortune and even ask for ‘air charges’ to transport plants. Sometimes, the cost of courier is more than the plant itself. If you want a good quality product you have to pay for it. Like one of our Mess Havildars who later retired as Hony Capt Kehar Singh Saab, used to say, “Saab agar roz-roz chicken khana hai to ‘X-Ra messing’ (extra) to dena parega. God bless his soul.

 

‘Social media’ helped. With the success of ‘OP-Water Lily’, by now one can identify genuine sellers. This is after having suffered losses. Some honest chaps give a fair exchange/replacement policy, which gives an assurance of their authenticity. We found two nurseries which met the requirement.

 

Mind you, now is the best season to sow ‘mum’ saplings. If planting is delayed, flowering would be delayed too.

 

We connected on WhatsApp and asked for the catalogue. Photographs of the flowers were mind boggling. The ‘giant mum’ variety came in more than hundred shapes, colours & sizes. Flowers were bigger than both your hands cupped together.

 

Without wasting any time, orders for ‘Fire for effect’ were given. Fire in terms of sending the payment. These days, they do not agree for cash on delivery, as some clients play nasty. Plants, if returned, die. As it is, they take much battering and bear the vagaries of weather, mishandling and delays done by even ‘reputed’ courier companies.

 

Now the wait for their arrival began. In the meantime, preparation for their reception was a must. Empty pots were lined up. Garden soil could have fallen short. Then an idea struck me, that this year one had planted various tree seeds for distribution in empty milk packets. Many did not germinate, so manure rich soil was readily available which was ideal for the new arrivals. The leaf compost was shifted from the rooftop to the workplace.

 

The small packets arrived but contained big ‘dhamakas’. One by one each sapling was extracted out of the newspaper packing. They were grown in one inch ‘mud pots’ which looked so cute and dainty. Saplings were shifted to a shallow tub. A little water was poured in for the plants to soak, rest and rehydrate for planting the next day.

 

To sift, sort, shift, fill, plant, water, and place correctly 120 saplings was a tough ask. It took about four hours of labour to get them all in. Some of them looked pale and may perish but nevertheless. Most saplings were healthy and should give fantastic results. You all shall see the ‘success signal’ being fired in photos once they bloom.

 

What will be the success signal of ‘OP-MUM’. I wonder!!!!!!

 

JAI HIND 

©® NOEL ELLIS