KARIMNAGAR: A housewife here finds solace in raising a terrace gardening after the tragic death of her parents during the Covid-19 pandemic. Vechha Pranita, a resident of Santhoshnagar here has been cultivating fruits and vegetables on her terrace with active support from her husband Murali.
The death of both her father and mother in a span of six months due to Covid-19 had pushed Pranitha into a state of depression and her friends and well-wishers advised her to take up rooftop gardening so that she could divert her attention from the tragedy.
It was her son Pratham who had sown seeds of the garden by gifting his mother five plants. Now, Pranitha’s garden has 300 plants that yield flowers, fruits and vegetables. “We are cultivating about 40 varieties of fruit and vegetable plants, including some exotic ones such as passion fruit, sweet lime, start fruit, anjeer and dragon fruit,” explains Pranita.
Pranita gets a bountiful supply of vegetables like tomato, carrot, cabbage, beetroot, etc., apart from leafy vegetables to meet her daily family needs as well as those of her neighbours. The housewife proudly says that she has not been buying vegetables for the last one year.
She spends two-three hours to tend to the plants everyday and leads a stress-free and healthy life apart from ensuring her family eats chemical-free vegetables. To the delight of the couple and their son, their house reverberates with sweet songs of birds that throng the rooftop garden every morning. “I find immense peace in the morning every day,” Murali gushes.
They make compost using cow dung and urine and fruit and vegetable waste for the healthy growth of the plants, Pranitha said.To help others who are interested in raising rooftop garden in Karimnagar city, the couple has started a WhatsApp group to share their experiences and offer tips on cultivating plants on their terrace.