CHENNAI: T his Pongal, we binged on sugarcane, and the best part was that we cultivated it ourselves here,” says Balaji K, as he strolls through his garden in his khaki shirt and pants. The smell of wet earth hits you like a gentle breeze and is a welcome distraction from the strong malodour of diesel. Nope, this isn’t a greenhouse but a bus terminus in Mogappair.
A huge MTC bus is getting parked on the other side of the garden fence. A conductor steps off the bus and waves at Balaji and greets him fondly, “Vaanga thotakarare (Welcome Mr Gardener)!” Balaji, an MTC bus driver, brought his interest in gardening to work and the result: three gardens, inside JJ Nagar Bus Terminus.
“My parents were farmers and I loved farming. But I moved to the city after finishing my education. In 2005, I joined as a driver for 7H. I saw this empty space in the corner and planted a coconut tree,” says Balaji.
A garden that bloomed with a single tree, now has guava, papaya, pomegranate and banana. Between the trees shrubs and creepers of different kinds of jasmine, chrysanthemum and even bittergourd have fully bloomed. The garden is also filled with different herbs that have medicinal value.
Balaji points to a weak sapling and says, “This is keezhanelli. They use it to treat Jaundice. This one here is karpooravalli. It helps with cold and chest congestion. That plant with the thick leaf is a type of bryophyllum. They give that leaf to people who have diabetes. Did you know that if you bend the leaf of a bryophyllum into the soil and bury it, it will grow into another plant?”
Balaji proudly points at each plant and shares how they could be beneficial. “When a worker has a function at home, the plantains will somehow always bear bananas. They take an entire bunch back home. Next time they come back from their village, they bring me fertilizers or new plants,” he smiles.
Even managers and senior officers at the terminus encourage and support Balaji’s garden. “Apart from watering the garden, we pool in money for almost everything,” he says. He points to the newly painted gate to the garden and says, “They painted the bus and had a little bit left. They said I could paint my garden gate with it.” The driver is a local hero and is also a gardening consultant now for the local residents of the area.