GADAG : Welcome to Sunanda Chigari’s home in Hesarur, on the banks of the Tungabhadra. Here, the 63-year-old retired government teacher has given shape to a world beyond belief---her garden is home to an array of fruit trees, ranging from exotic to mundane, as curiosity sprouted as a hobby and eventually blossomed into a life-long passion.
The garden has more than 100 trees-- star fruit, water apple, hill amla, cocoa, various varieties of mango, pineapple, wood apple, Malaya apple, and others. She loves fruits and offers the produce from her garden to guests who step in to look around.
Sunanda’s father, Dhanjay Chigari, used to work with the Public Works Department but he did not forget his farming roots. He used to store different varieties of seeds and grow them in the 1970s. As a child Sunanda started storing seeds of vegetables that were getting discarded in her kitchen. She tried growing them—ants will devour some, others will decay inside the soil. And a few would grow.
But she was persistent in this lonesome pursuit. As a teenager, she tried her hand in growing apples and mango in her garden. She finally succeeded, especially after treating the soil with neem and organic manure. She also used to collect wet waste from her kitchen and mix them in soil.
Sunanda was in Dambal during her school days and tried planting jujube seeds in her garden. It was all by trial-and-error. When working as a teacher in a government school, she continued her research and learnt about seed treatment, germination process, ideal environment, soil types and natural fertilisers.
Coming from a farmer’s family, Sunanda had plenty of patience and a natural inclination for tending trees. She learnt a lot by observing her father in the field, and then she added a touch of innovation to the process of cultivation.
Sunanda says: “I wanted to find out if one can grow a rare variety of fruits on our soil. I have grown many fruit trees but never tried to sell them. Many people are interested in buying but I clearly say these are not for sale. I give the fruits to my relatives, guests and others who come to my house and I eat all types of fruits.” “Not many knew about the variety of fruits here. I am happy that Hesarur government school students visited my garden and spent hours together.
They asked many questions about fruits and medicinal plants and they noted down everything. I am thankful to Ravi Devaraddi, the science teacher who has interest in all these and he called my garden a natural laboratory,” she said.
Devaraddi says: “It is a laboratory of biodiversity. We wanted to visit a biodiversity destination for my Class 8 standard students. Sunanda teacher also has Hallikar and Gir breeds of cow. She also brews special tea with leaves from Assam. We had a nice experience and my students had a good biodiversity tour.” Huligemma Jutlannavar and Shreya Narasanayakar, two students who visited Sunanda’s garden say, “It was new to us. Though it looks like a small house garden from outside, it has many fruit trees and medicinal plants. Sunanda teacher explained tous the specialties of each tree.”