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LESSONS LEARNT

 


 

LT COL NOEL ELLIS

 

25/X/2025

 

We were expecting our second set of Asiatic lily bulbs through a courier by 18th Oct. The seller sent the tracking details. Give or take a day, it should have been delivered by 19th. 20th was Diwali, so in case there was a delay, it would be delivered on 22nd.

 

21st being “Rama-Shama” which is a day of wishing each other a Happy Diwali by visiting friends and relatives here in the Sun City. The whole town is shut down. Even your milkman tells you to take extra. The newspaper wala disappears. Car cleaners take a long break. One is quite used to it.

 

The package arrived on 18th but then it was Diwali break. The issue was the storage of bulbs in the warehouse. Last time, they got wet due to the rain and sprouted. This time, I was expecting them to be fine, if they could tolerate the heat inside the cramped storage facility.

 

As luck would have it, Diwali holidays extend for a week. When the car cleaners reappeared on the scene, I messaged the “operations manger” of the courier company, who on a personal net gave an assurance that the item would be delivered. He kept his promise, my thanks to him. Had I not messaged him, it would have been further delayed.

 

Bulbs had grown 6 to 9 inches inside the packet. A few of them had their tops sheared due to the cramped space and the “roll, pitch and yaw” they undergo while travelling.

 

Had there been a choice, I would have rung the CEO of the courier company up for this inordinate delay. First lesson learnt was that close to a holiday one should never order anything by a courier, especially a live plant or a bulb.

 

Whatever was left of the bulbs had to be planted in soil at the earliest. Any delay could have killed them. My ever ready “gardening armoury” is always handy with all tools, manure and pots lined up for the task. Bulbs were sown with a small prayer.

 

It was time to water them. The ‘watering can’ is generally kept half full for emergencies. These days as the weather has cooled considerably, watering the plants is done on alternate days. In case, some plants need water, they are taken care of with this 5 litre can.

 

Somehow, water was not flowing out freely from its spout. I kept tilting it, thinking something was stuck. When I peeped in, there was a big leaf-like thing floating in the can.

 

I thrust my hand in and tried to pull it out. Moment it came to view, a current creeped up my spine. I dropped it back into the can. Phew! It was a narrow escape. It could have been a snake, which are common in our area.

 

Last couple of days this ‘can’ was not been use. Thanks to one ‘Bai ji’. Sitting in the drawing room I saw a lady in her traditional “Ghagara” which ladies wear in this part of the country. She was trying to lift pots. I called my wife to take a look. Confronting her could have been something different.

 

Poor lady got scared as she was only watering our pots. Who told you to do so? Asked my wife, She fumbled and couldn’t speak due to fear. Another maid had told her to water the pots of a house nearby. This poor “dokri” (old Lady) could neither read nor write. Finding so many pots she thought this must be the house. So the watering can remained half filled. Poor lady walked away.

 

For two days, Brownie the kitten, now a full grown cat, has been plonking during the day under the neighbours car in their garage and on top of its roof at night. Many times I had to shoo it away as these girls damage plants while crossing over, as there is no wall between the row houses.

 

One had been hearing some kind of dragging and scratching sounds for two days but never did one realise that a ‘Chuchundar’ (Indian House Shrew) was the target of these cats. It must have toppled over while running for its life. The poor fellow drowned. Though cats generally don’t eat chuchundars, they might, if extremely hungry.

 

What I thought was a leaf was a drowned and bloated Chuchundar. I took it to the common garden and gave it a burial. Had I known that the poor fellow had jumped in the watering can, we would have definitely saved him.

 

Next time. I would be ‘careful’ before ordering plants close to a holiday and putting my hand into any container. Hope the lily bulbs bloom well even after being battered due to the delay. Will they? I wonder!!!!!!!

 

JAI HIND

©® NOEL ELLIS





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