RAIPUR: A gardener in Chhattisgarh set an example in expressing love and concern for the environment by gifting a potted plant to each guest who attended his only daughter’s wedding.
For Bholaram Sinha of Rajnandgaon district about 100 km west of Raipur, seeing his daughter, Kusum, as a bride was one of the happiest and heartbreaking occasions. He celebrated the wedding, a “new beginning” for her, by offering the guests the plants that he always cherished in life. A total 1,051 plants were gifted.
He said the plants were no less than daughters who bring happiness in a family. The plants often acted as an emotional pillar during challenging times. “Just as plants bring beauty to nature, a daughter adds grace to any family. This led me to take the decision to distribute plants to our guests.”
“Gardening is a wonderful profession. Every plant I grow is close to my heart, just like a daughter is a princess for a loving father. On a day of the marriage, I made peace with my emotions and gave one plant to every guest,” he said.
Sinha presented only those plants he grew in his garden and nursery. They included mango, malabar plum (jamun) guava, blackberry, papaya, banyan, peepal, neem, rose and many fruit-bearing varieties.
His gesture has won the applause of environmentalists. “Sinha’s act reminds us of a popular saying that a tree is known by its fruit and a man by his deeds. His action was enough to reflect how plants can be seen a magnificent element of nature,” said Nitin Singhvi, an environmentalist.