MY FAVOURITE BEAD

I distinctly remember, it was September of 2022 when an idea of growing a unique woody vine came to my mind. I have written about it earlier but this time I am so happy to write about it again.

I drifted into childhood when we used its vine as a ‘swing’. We had no TV or mobiles those days. Parents didn’t mind us playing in mud or hanging on trees, getting cut or bruised, till the time we stayed outdoors and came home exhausted.

This vine was discovered by accident during one of our escapades of our summer vacations when children of the teachers used to frolic in the school campus like it was their ‘Baap ki Jaageer’.

We found “red and black” beads spread on the ground. One of our friends spread a rumour and we believed him that snakes protected the fallen beads and bit all those who came to pick them. The serpent was capable of flying in the air and struck the forehead. Its venom was so strong that within minutes you ‘kicked the bucket’. We didn’t know Bhaiya was bluffing, just to collect the beads for himself.

Even with that fear lurking we would venture cautiously, leaving our bicycles on the road and go deep into the thick vegetation where the vine grew. It was a treasure trove as the beads were currency. The more the number of beads, the richer we were. We could barter ten marbles for one bead.

We were told it is called ‘Rati’. Gold merchants used them to weigh gold and precious stones. Jewellers kept it in their ‘gallas’ for good luck. 8 Ratti= 1 Masha; 12 Masha= 1 Tola was the calculation. We restricted our calculations to marbles.

All those stories passed like a flash when I found one Rati or “Abrus Precatorius” seed lying on the road. Why not grow it, was a passing thought? The seed never sprouted but the thought still lingered.

There was no harm in finding out whether this plant was available online. My first search listed so many nurseries selling this plant. It was a matter of taking a chance as many times these online portals send the wrong plant.

The “buy now” button was pressed. I kept my fingers crossed till the plant arrived. One could not recall how the leaves or the plant looked but nevertheless. The plant arrived as a six inch stem battered due to transit fatigue sans its leaves.

The fruit of this vine is of the ‘pea’ variety. On ripening, the pods burst open exposing the red and black seeds which are called ‘Chirmi’ in Rajasthan. Flowers bloom in bunches and transform into seed pods. As usual, my imagination started running wild remembering the good old days spent ‘playing around this bush’ in our school campus.

September was a good season to sow. The hot summers and most of the rainy season had passed. Chances of its survivability were few due to its condition but being my new project, I had decided to give it all the attention.

Soon new leaf nodes started to emerge. I heaved a sigh of relief seeing them. One would spend some time exclusively on this plant everyday and monitor its progress. Small leaves grow alternatively just like tamarind leaves. Well begun is half done.

This plant, true to its nature, caught hold of the Champa tree and started to climb up steadily. There were certain impediments like it passed close to the bird feeder hung for the birds. Birds would peck on it to remove the foliage out of their way to reach the feeder. Some would sit and swing on it like we kids did.

Cats were a menace. They would lay an ambush and jump to catch a bird. In the bargain they would get entangled in the vine and damage it. Still, the plant fought its way up.

I was expecting the vine to grow like a rope as I recalled from my childhood memory. However, it did not grow thicker than a pencil. The creeper was growing but showed no signs of flowering which made me doubt whether the plant was genuine. I brushed that thought aside.

In September 2025 we saw a few clusters of flowers. They appeared to be like ‘Sweet Pea’ flowers but were in small bunches. Not all transformed into seed pods. They looked exactly like peas. Today those pea pods have ripened and we could see my favourite bead.

Patience paid when it revealed its red and black fruit. The hard work and perseverance paid. I promise to look after it even better this year.

Should I transfer this vine to the ground from the pot? I wonder!!!!!