The front wall of his house has beautiful Lilies and Adeniums and the terrace has Starfruits and Blackberries. If that was not enough, Gopinath Sarkar has also adopted the empty plot next door and keeps it clean and green. In just a couple of years, this plot now grows the works, from Bananas to Mangoes, and their fruits are for all to enjoy.
Growing up in Arambagh, I was surrounded by farmers cultivating the land, which sparked my interest in gardening. Later I pursued biology and my fascination with botany deepened.
In 1992, we moved to BL Block, and I started gardening. But the empty plot next door was a nuisance. People littered it, and it became a breeding ground for snakes and mosquitoes. So I sought permission from mayor Krishna Chakraborty, who had the space cleared and allowed me to look after it. Now I find no difference between the plants in my terrace and those growing next door.
The plot grows Papayas, Jackfruit, Lyangra and Amrapali Mangoes. I’ve grafted a Lemon tree such that it bears both Gandharaj and Kagji lebus. There used to be 30 Banana trees too, each bearing 150 fruits, but neighbours complained of the leaves falling on their plot so I removed most of them.
There are vegetables like Sheem and Gourd, and flowers. There’s a lovely Land Lotus which opens white in the morning, turns pink as it receives sunlight, and closes at night.
The garden attracts birds, grasshoppers, and butterflies. The nectar of the yellow Tecoma flower is particularly sweet, drawing bees, and my grandson Shreyan insists on accompanying me as bodyguard whenever I tend to this plant. He’s only eight years old, but he comes to water the plants whenever he sees me with a hose, too.
There’s also the Sojne, a tree we’ve been consuming for centuries but which has of late become fashionable afresh as Moringa. Decades ago, my sister-in-law, suffering from gastric issues, had consulted the legendary Dr B.C. Roy, who prescribed her Sojne leaves. Little did I know that I would one day be growing the same plant in a township built by him!
