Like most Bangalore city dwellers, I live in an apartment; which means that my little patch of green is confined to a 2x3 ft space which is packed with ‘precious’ plants – aloe, golden pothos and tulsi...
Today dawned bright and sunny – I decided to roll up my sleeves and get down and dirty in squishy mud – the SOS from my potted pretties set my alarm bells ringing. They were besieged by a tangled web of weeds and cried out for immediate attention and respite from the marauders….
Weeding is a Herculean task, any gardener of repute will testify. Weeds are survivors and stiffly resist being uprooted. Oftentimes, they do manage to withstand complete annihilation and live to sprout another day. Seemingly innocuous when they start out, the insidious roots drill deep, choking out their more genteel and refined neighbours, that are ill-equipped to deal with guerilla warfare….
I sweated, hemmed, hawed, tugged and toiled the morning away – all the while, the conflict between gardener and guerilla took its toll on the rest of the plant population…
It got me wondering – my healthy, fertile mind that imagines ‘green pastures of calm’ would also probably breed ‘weeds of conflict’ – anger, irrationality, indecisiveness, - the list could run into reams.
While conflict does take its toll, it also paves the way for the ‘turn of soil’ which the prudent gardener does, so as to stop weeds in their tracks, stem the rot within and allow for fresh ‘germination’.
How many of us are prudent gardeners who stop in our tracks, take stock and indulge in ‘weeding out the unwanted’ so that the ‘good grows stronger’.
I would most certainly want to be one such, but like all good things in life – this attitude involves a lot of learning, a lot of patience and a lot of practice, to ultimately master.
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