THANK YOU.. FLOWER THIEVES!

                   

My Grandma always said," If you want to find God, seek Him in the garden". 

An enthusiastic gardener herself, she took pride in growing the largest Dahlias in her garden. My Father too was a keen gardener. Any twig or cutting, revived by his green fingers, under his loving care.

My husband has a similar passion and blessings - with green fingers, he loves plants and maintains a cute garden one can be proud of. He nurtures plants so lovingly that when they require cutting or pruning, the cut parts are NEVER discarded. They are either given to other plant-lovers, or pushed into another pot. Just for your information, we have a huge population of Clones at our place.

With almost one and a half hours of daily tending, we can boast of having a pretty Lung-space around our house and we love every part of it. We know where a new bud has arrived, when an inflorescence is going to bloom, and which plant has been neglected.

Our Puja room becomes radiant every morning with Hibiscus, Jasmines, Gardenia, Marigolds and Lotus, none bought from the market of course.

We have a beautiful assortment of roses too but somehow I feel we should pluck those flowers, which bloom only for a day. Everytime a rose blooms, it is offered mentally to the Lord remaining attached to the mother plant. This way, even He can admire and enjoy the beauty of His creation for a longer time - you see, a rose remains fresh for about 5-7 days on the plant.

And with so much of pain and labour, when we bring up our plants and wait for them to bloom in full glory, definitely we would not want them to be plucked mercilessly, right? But unfortunately, this is what happens. Some morning walkers have no qualms about inflicting such pain to these beautiful creatures and to us. I have coughed from my window to dissuade them, started the alarm of my clock to warn them, and flashed the light of my mobile to scare them of being clicked. But all in vain..

It works just  for a day or two.. Again the courageous fellow returns with no remorse, or if I may use the word, 'shame', and repeats the act. 

My peace of mind used to get shattered every time I watched helplessly, the ruining of my hibiscus plant by that 'religious person' - as my husband pacifies me saying, "He too is taking it for puja." I will definitely call such people thieves and strongly object to their behaviour, taking advantage of the goodness of people. 

Unable to contain my disgust against such people, it started telling on my nerves until . . . God made better sense prevail on my husband. Now he gets up early, plucks the flowers with full reverence and affection, keeps them in the basket, and goes back to sleep. I happily do my puja thereafter.

I now have another desire to be fulfilled. Maybe one of these days, another divine intervention would make him put on his walking shoes and go for morning walks - he is getting up as it is. Then I'll definitely say a prayer for that 'thief' and thank him from my heart!