DANCING DOLLS

 

LT COL NOEL ELLIS

 

02/XII/2024

 

It was the year 1991, I got posted to a beautiful hill station called ‘Chakrata’. The woods there were actually ‘lovely, dark, and deep’. Deodar and Pines were the mainstay of the jungle which was teeming with wildlife. The picturesque landscape is still fresh in our minds.

 

There was no traffic those days, just a few vehicles, that too restricted to ‘gate’ timings. The narrow ‘one way’ road with its “Chakkar-Ata Hai” type hairpin bends were the lifeline for everyone.

 

That place was a paradise for flowers and fruits. Gladiolus and Dahlias grew wild. ‘Rhododendron’ in the forest gave a semblance of ‘fire in the jungle’. The scenery was breathtaking.

 

Fruit trees like apricots, plums, pears, peaches & walnuts grew aplenty, only to be massacred by Langurs, if not plucked in time.

 

‘Terrace farming’ would give a look of ‘natural steps’ leading to heaven to our small sleepy town. The bright orangish ‘ginger’ flowers stood out prominently in the fields. Meadows would get carpeted with small white flowers like daffodils and could be seen for miles and miles.

 

‘Jungle fowl’ would cross our path at regular intervals. ‘Flying foxes’, a kind of ‘squirrel’ would fly past overhead across our old British Captain’s house which was in the midst of nowhere. Leopards could be heard roaring in the far distance. They visited our camp, sometimes chasing 'game'. Jackals were heard howling all night. A rustic place where we were the Kings.

 

In all this milieu, it was an ideal time to rekindle our hobby of gardening in the ‘Basha’ (temporary house) we had shifted to. Anything one shoved in the soil sprouted. From one pot we went to a hundred pots, in no time. Our garden became the talk of the town.

 

We collected every plant species from gardens in and around the cantonment, including the “Commandant’s Flag Staff House” and various officers’ messes. Mind you, we would request to take one cutting but take two additional without permission. No one minded it.

 

One flowering shrub fascinated both my wife and I to no end. We were told it was called the ‘Chinese Lantern’ and it looked like one. My goodness, did it have varieties! There was a plethora of colours and combinations of that flower. Every time we visited any garden, we found them in diverse shades and contrasts.

 

The process was simple, take one branch with permission of the Gardner of one type and two branches of other colours on the quiet. Then rush home and plant them without any rooting hormone or manure. Our efforts worked miracles.

 

In three months, those cuttings would start flowering. The climate was such that they were perennial flowering plants, except during snow. Our garden started to take shape but then it was time to move down hill to the Sun City on posting. Very soon, those plants which we nurtured with such enthusiasm perished in the harsh and sunny environment. It was a jolt to the heart but understandable.

 

Come 2024, we visited another hill station called Kasauli. The first bush that caught our attention was the same plant. Now we know it was called ‘Fuchsia’ or ‘Dancing Dolls’. It was growing in the club there. First instinct was to pluck a branch but then we resisted the temptation for obvious reasons.

 

The next day we had a train to catch from Chandigarh. Our destination was Suncity again. With winters having set in, we decided to take a chance with the dancing dolls. Where to get them, was the question?

 

We calculated the ‘cushion time’ for finding these plants. I requested the cab driver if he could take us to a good nursery before we boarded the train. He agreed. A little diversion and we were in Mani-Majra which had a row of nurseries.

 

We drew a blank at the first two and by now we were running short of time. One last try, I told myself and max five minutes in the next nursery, or else we would have to bid goodbye to our train. I walked in and didn’t see Fuchsia plants. A little disheartened, I asked the lady working there if they had them. She pointed towards the owner.

 

“Samne rakhe hain sir”, he said. My eyes filled with glee. I wanted to take all of them. Issue was that we already had too much luggage in tow. I picked up four, paid the bill quickly, got them packed and got inside the cab in a jiffy. Today, they have started to flower, which was the trigger to this article.

 

A new project and a risky one at that has been undertaken due to our attachment with the plant. Will the “Dancing Dolls” stay with us? I wonder!!!!!!!

 

 JAI HIND 

©® NOEL ELLIS