Flowering roof tops

The sand beneath her bare feet was warm, as Rani returned home with her friends, after a refreshing bath in the river, Thennar. They still bathed in the shade of the old banyan tree at the river’s edge. Here, her grandfather Yakov had taught her and Ravi her brother, to swim in the low currents.

The children of Nelloor, for many generations, had loved swinging wildly on the long ariel roots of the banyan to splash into the flowing river. There was always the sound of joyful laughter in this part of the river side, especially on weekends and holidays.

Thenaar was a source of clean, free flowing water and perennial joy to the citizens of Nelloor, a small but fast expanding town, in Tamil Nadu.

This town was one of the most environmentaly friendly towns imaginable. The Nelloorians guarded their town’s vicinity, streets, by lanes and river with an almost religious fervour, from any toxic wastes irresponsibly disposed, which might contaminate the environment.

Yakov was one of the town elders, greatly respected and appreciated by the people of Nelloor. He had died very serenely last monsoon, while sleeping peacefully in his easy chair on the verandah. He was eighty eight when he died, and Nelloor mourned and missed the old man , for he had been very much a part of the Nelloor life.

He had been one of the foremost, in pioneering the garbage disposal and rejuvinating of Nelloor’s environment, thus saving the town and the river Thenaar from the hazards of toxic wastes. The people revered and honored his memory by planting rows of fruit trees in vacant land, for this was something Yakov loved the most.

Holidays had begun and Rani remembered her previous holiday when she had made a trip to Madurai where her aunts and cousins lived. They had taken her sightseeing and shopping. She had been fascinated by the big malls and crowded shopping areas where nothing seemed unavailable.

She had loved the taste of the famous ice cream drink known as jigrithanda, an unique Madurai drink, and had bought linen shirts for her father Inban and her brother Ravi. She had also bought a beautiful cotton sungudi*saree in green and yellow for Meena with her pocket money. Her aunt had bought her a beautiful sungudi salwar in purple and pink.

One evening Rani and her cousin Jaya had walked up the stairs in Jaya’s house to the terrace. This was the first time she was seeing the terrace and Rani stood shocked at the sight, which awaited her. The terrace was filled with greenery. The light green shade made by the shade nets made the air cool, in spite of the descending summer sun.

“How beautiful, Jaya!” exclaimed Rani, looking around at the lush green sight. “You have a garden on the terrace!”

“Yes,” said Jaya, smiling at the look of delight, and pleasant surprise on Rani’s face.

The large terrace had rows and rows of pots, plastic buckets, wooden crate boxes and rolled- in plastic sacks filled with rich soil. And each of these containers contained numerous varieties of vegetable plants and greens. They were all protected from the hot sun, by sheets of green net, mounted on iron poles tacked to the low terrace walls.

Rani had instantly decided to have a terrace garden of her own, once she was back in Nelloor.

Now that her holidays had begun again after the year’s end, Rani could not stop thinking of starting a terrace garden. Her elder brother Ravi, was in the city college doing B.Sc. Agriculture, majoring in soil science and soil conservation. She made phone calls to him regarding the types of soil needed for the plants.

Ravi proved to be a store house of knowledge and emailed her the right proportions of the different soils to be used.
Rani had collected numerous pots, plastic sacks, and had bought large plastic paint buckets at the old plastic disposal shop and had set about cleaning them with the help of their new gardener, Deva.

“First get Deva to make holes at the bottom of the containers to let the excess water seep off, Rani” said Ravi over the phone, when Rani was ready with the containers for planting.

“Alright anna*, and after that?”

“Fill the containers with four inches of jalli* stones or broken coconut shells” said Ravi.

“By the way, how many containers do you have?” asked Ravi.

“Well, I have almost twenty to twenty five, anna,” said Rani.

“That’s a large number, Rani! Good! You have been really busy, I see!” said Ravi, and then continued,

“Well, just fill all the containers. I will be coming home for the weekend tomorrow. Meanwhile, fill the jalli in all the containers and when I come home I will tell you what to do.”

Rani was thrilled that her brother would be here to start her on the garden, so she and Deva quickly pierced holes with a large nail, in all the containers and filled the jalli. Then they stood the pots in neat rows. So too the plastic sacks and paint buckets.

They turned the plastic sacks half way inside before filling it with the four inches of jalli stones.

When Ravi arrived the next day, Rani was really excited seeing him, for she was always happy when her brother came home. But this time her excitement doubled at the thought of starting her new terrace garden.

The smell of hot sweet panyarams* and vadas* wafted in the morning air. Meena and Inban were glad to see their son home again. They all had a wonderful breakfast as they chatted and soon Inban was off to his farms. This time, Ravi who usually accompanied him stayed back. He had promised Rani to help with the garden on the terrace.

Soon Ravi and Rani were in their garden, where they had Deva measure the quantities of soil required.

“Get me the sand and heap it up here, Deva,” said Ravi. Deva was a strong man and easily brought in sackfuls of sand from the river side. Soon a heap of golden sand stood beneath the neem tree in the garden.

“I have seen red soil along the road side, by the landfills. I need some red soil as well. Get me some sackfuls of red soil as well. I think I will help you, though,” said Ravi and removing his shirt, hung it on a low branch on the neem tree. He found it quite hot, already. Then he tucked a few sacks under his arms and with a shovel, went to gather the red soil.

With two strong men steadly at the job, Rani found a heap of red soil, heaped next to the sand pile.

“It’s like a pile of chillie powder, Ravi!”said she, happy to see the work completed.

” Now all we need is the compost which we can find at the landfills,” said Ravi and gave instructions to Deva.

During the course of their work at the garden,Meena often appeared with a clay pot filled with butter milk. Green curry leaves floated on it. She served Ravi, Rani and Deva, in large glasses, which they drank thirstily.

In the evenings she brought them tumblers of strong, steaming, filter coffee and murukus* for snacks.

The large areas of bio degradeable wastes disposed off by the Nelloorians were the best organic manure they could find. Devoid of all plastic wastes, the Nelloorians had some of the most fertile manure at the very outskirts of their own town for the taking.

Farmers often filled their bullock carts or tractors with the decomposed wastes to manure their farms.

They paused, of course for a hot lunch which Meena had prepared. And in the evening some hot bajjis* and chutney was brought to the hungry men, by Rani along with hot cups of coffee. By the evening the compost pile joined the red soil and the sand heaps.

“Now we mix the sand and red soil in equal parts. This soil should make up thirty percent of the mixture. The remaining seventy percent is the rich compost.”

“But we are done for the day, Rani. We will continue again tomorrow with mixing the soil and filling the containers. But taking the mixed soil to the terrace is a job in itself!”

“Stay and have some dinner before you go, Deva,” said Ravi.

Soon Deva at on the verandah floor hungrily enjoying the hot rice, curry, pappads and vegetables which Meena and Rani served him. Then he went home to his family.

Before Rani awoke the next morning, Ravi was already in the garden, shovel in hand, busily mixing the soils and compost. Soon the three heaps were mixed into one large mound. As they sat to breakfast Rani said,
“You were up early, anna! And already working! You should have woken me too!”

“That’s okay, Rani, anyway this is something only Deva or me can do. I thought I’d finish the work before he came so we could start filling the containers.”

“Ah! At last I will have something to do as well!” said Rani gleefully.

And sure enough, Rani helped Ravi fill the sacks with the mixed soil. When Deva arrived the sacks of mixed soil sat waiting to be carried up to the terrace.

Once the men had the soil sacks in the terrace, the task of filling each container began. Ravi carefully checked each container to see if the holes were large enough and if the jalli stones were properly spread at the bottom.

Soon Deva filled the containers with shovelfuls of the compost, red soil and sand mixture. The soil gleamed rich and fertile, as Rani scooped it in her hands and felt it trickle through her fingers. Deva had removed all the big stones from the soil.

“So what are the plants you want to grow here, Rani?” asked Ravi as he and Deva washed their hand in the tap at the side of the terrace wall. A tap had been fixed here for the washing of clothes. But it was rarely used because Meena had a washing machine now.

“The heat here is not good for the plants, Ravi,” said Deva. ” It needs a green net covering first, to shade them from the heat.”

“Yes, Deva, I was going to buy some green net at the shop where appa* gets his farm equipments.”

“We will erect the green net first, then,” said Deva.

“We need poles or pipes to fix the net” said Ravi.

Rani listened to the flow of conversation keenly and was happy she had her brother to guide her.

It took one more day for the poles and green net to be erected. By sunset, the terrace was covered by a canopy of green, and the terrace looked cool as the air filled with a soft green light. Ravi had availed himself of a spare hose pipe which had lain in his father’s farm shed.

Deva fixed the garden hose to the tap and watered the soil in the containers, with the gushing water. Thus they left the soil to cool with moisture, for the night.

Rani woke up along with Ravi, for she was really excited about the visit to the nursery to buy plants and seeds.
At the nursery a horticulturist took them around the nursery.

” I’m planning on a vegetable garden, sir,” said Rani. “And maybe some fruit trees as well. My cousin Jaya had a miniature
papaya and chickoo tree on her house top!”

“Ah yes,” said the horticulturist. ” Most fruit varieties will grow with constant care even in pots and other containers.”

“We will start with the vegetables, though. Could you show us some of the seeds? We would like to see some fruit saplings as well, sir!” said Ravi.

By the end of the afternoon, Rani and Ravi came home with packets of seeds and a papaya, guava and chickoo and lime sapling. The horticulturist gave them a drumstick sapling too, for

“Murungai, is one of the healthiest vegetable trees!” said he.
Once home, Deva said,

“Let us wait for the sunset, before we begin planting, Rani. Then the atmosphere and the soil will be cooler, and ideal for planting.” He had already sprinkled some water in the containers.

They first planted the five tree saplings. Deva packed the soil tightly around each sapling. They were planted in the big folded plastic sacks and Rani gently poured water into each sack with a perforated paint can. They were forbidden to use the garden hose, by Deva, since the water would gush too forcefully.

“Since they are baby trees, they need a gentle drizzle each day,” said Deva.

Rani and Ravi opened the vegetable seed packets carefully after reading the instructions in each. Some seeds had to be planted and then transplanted after they had grown four or five inches. Some of them would take root to become young plants straight away.

That night Rani dreamt her garden was filled with grown trees and plants, filled with fruits and vegetables which she plucked for her mother to cook!

The next day Ravi left early for college, having spent a very interesting weekend with his sister. Once in college he often phoned her and asked her about the plants. Deva also kept a keen eye on the plants.

After almost two weeks, the seeds had sprung into tiny baby plants. Rani excitedly told Ravi over the phone.

“Ask Deva if it’s ready for transplanting, Rani, and if he says it is, then carry on with the transplanting. Space them well. Ask Deva, he knows everything about gardening. I wish I could be there with you! Anyway, once my exams are over I’m home!”

The seeds of the chillies, brinjals, tomatoes,ladies fingers and the gourds were carefully sprinkled on the soil of different shallow containers. Deva sprinkled the soil lightly over the soil . Then he covered them very lightly with bits of thin green net. They were watered very lightly in tender sprinkles, by Rani.

It took almost ten to fourteen days before they all sprouted in the warmth of the sun filtering through the green net canopy and the moistened soil.

Rani spent almost all her time at the terrace garden. Deva and she transplanted the seedlings and soon most of the containers were filled with tomato, brinjal, country beans, ladies finger, gourd, bitter gourd, snake gourd, coriander, mint and a few varieties of leafy greens saplings.

It was a wonder watching them grow steadily each day. Rani’s mother Meena gave her the stalks of coriander and mint after the tiny leaves had been stripped for cooking.

“Plant these in a container, Rani. I used to plant them in our garden downstairs.”

And Rani planted them in small paint buckets, ready with soil for planting.Within a week they began growing new leaves from the stems.

Selvi, one of her mother’s friend and elders, climbed up the stairs to view Rani’s garden.

“What a wonderful garden you have made, Rani! Do teach your friends and young girls to spend their time productively like you, doing something so worthwhile!”

Then Selvi added,

“Do you have ginger, Rani? Buy two or three rupees of ginger at the market and plant them in one of your pots. You will notice they have growth buds. Plant them with the developed buds facing upward. Every garden must have ginger, since we all use so much ginger, dont we!”

The next day Meena bought some extra ginger at the market.

“What we call ginger is really the rhizomes from which thin roots grow” explained Ravi over the phone to Rani.

“Really! I always thought the ginger itself was the root of the plant, Ravi! Ah, so its called rhizomes is it?” said Rani quite surprised at the new name ginger had. Like Ravi had adviced, Rani planted the rhimozones five to ten centimetres deep in the soil.

Rani dutifully watered the plants in the mornings and evenings each day, until the plants were all filled with blooms of various colours.

“It will not be too long before the tiny vegetables appear!” said her father Inban one day, when he had come to visit the roof garden. He was very proud of Rani and observed how much effort had gone into the garden, to bring it to full bloom.
Deva had erected sticks firmly around the gourd creepers. He added more sticks across the top and secured them well with jute strings. The creepers had spread over the trellis and there were blooms appearing in the gourds, as well as the rest of the plants.

When Ravi returned from college the next semester, he ran up to the roof garden. He found Rani there, gently watering the plants and removing weeds which had sprung up.

Ravi had a new watering can in his hand. It was a gift for Rani, since she still used the perforated paint tin to water the plants. The spout of the watering can had tiny holes on the disc which was attatched to the end of the spout.

“Thank you, anna!” exclaimed Rani and gave him a big hug. This is just what I wanted! It will be much easier watering the plants now!”

It was the chillies which appeared first and then the leafy greens along with the mint and coriander stalks. Rani waited for the chillies to grow bigger. They hung in small green bunches, and shone beautifully. Rani plucked the biggest chillies, and moved over to the sacks in which the tomato plants grew. The tomatoes were red, ripe and full. She plucked the red tomatoes and then it was the coriander and mint, in two small bunches.

How happy her parents and Ravi were when Rani first showed them the harvest from her roof garden! Her father said the lunch tasted very delicious, because the vegetables were from Rani’s garden! Rani blushed with happiness!

“I wonder how long it will take for the trees to bear fruit, anna?” asked Rani as she stood watching the slowly growing lime, papaya, guava, drumstick and chickoo trees, which Deva had planted in the large plastic sacks. All the bags stood on rows of bricks for easy drainage.

“Well, trees will take time, Rani. Perhaps two or three years. But with your constant, patient nurturing and care we might not have that long to wait!”

__END__

By J.Jayashree

*sungudi – a type of tie and dye saree made in Madurai.
*jalli – small grey stones.
*panyaram – a sweet made with banana, flour and jaggery.
*vada – a spicy deep fried snack
*bajji – a spicy fritter eaten with chutney.
*muruku – a crisp, deep fried snack made with rice flour.
*anna – big brother.

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