NEW DELHI: People often fix their eyes upon gardeners and ponder whether they could ever get around to sprinkle water or level the ground for seeds themselves, but more often than not are unable to do so.
Prof. Srikanth Kondapalli, a professor in Chinese studies at Jawaharlal Nehru University was among such people till his gardener went on leave as the nationwide lockdown began.
Not only has he gotten an opportunity to do some gardening but is also making use of vegetable seeds available at his home in his small garden inside the JNU campus. “The great thing about staying indoors due to the lockdown is that I discovered gardening. As a child, I would do some gardening back in my hometown, but as I grew up and began studying and started focusing on my career, I didn’t have much time to do anything in between, forget gardening,” Kondapalli told this newspaper.
Kondapalli said that he has a gardener for his lawn but since he is not coming, he began maintaining it himself. Starting with a sprinkling of water, levelling the ground, pruning the plants and finally sowing seeds, Kondapalli now does it all himself. “It is an amazing experience. Luckily, this lockdown happened in April which is the season to grow plants. Initially, one mali (gardener) would sometimes pass by so I asked him for help. He had some supplies but since nurseries are closed, they were limited,” he added and emphasised that he is learning new methods of gardening online.
“I am using YouTube to learn new methods of gardening. It is a back-breaking hobby but once you get used to it, it’s good.”Besides, flower seeds, he has sown coriander, ginger, ladies finger, spinach and fenugreek as a small kitchen garden. Even after the lockdown is over, the professor is in no mood to let go of his newfound hobby and plans to make some use of his spare time even in his busy work schedule for gardening from here on.