Her house faces a building under construction and so one would expect dust and sand everywhere. But Debarati Basak’s home is shielded from pollution by a natural green screen of sorts. Tall woody creepers like Madhumalati, fragrant flowers like Hasnuhana as well as Hibiscus and Bleeding Hearts lead the way into her home, wherein lies a treasury of even more plants. This professor may be busy, but her hobby always makes time for itself in her schedule.
When I moved into this house after marriage, my mother-in-law would maintain a terrace garden. What a sight it was to see flocks of parrots descend and eat our Sunflowers seeds! Once she passed away, I found renewed vigour to keep up her legacy and spread greenery. Of course, it only helped that I was a botany student.
Now I grow all kinds of plants. Among flowers there are Chrysanthemums, Petunias, Salvias and Bougainvillea in rare shades of yellow and red. Peace Lilies and especially Ball Lilies mushroom all over the ground in the rainy season.
There are fruits like Jamrul, Gondhoraj and Kagji Lebu and an Amrapali Mango tree that’s got so huge I can stretch an arm out from the terrace and pluck its fruits. My husband is a doctor and his patients had gifted him an Orange plant and an Apple Kul plant, that incidentally smells like Pineapple! Both grow very well.
I absolutely love ferns. Their leaves have such varied looks, shapes and textures. The Moss fern is so soft, Foxtail fern looks just like its name suggests, Maidenhair fern is feather-like and Boston ferns spill out of their pot dramatically. I can’t get enough of them!
Passion Flower. Brinda Sarkar
I also love the blue and purple-flowered Morning Glory, butterfly-shaped Pansy and Crossandra, that bears pretty orange flowers. In Maharashtra, women tuck these flowers in their hair but I don’t have the heart to pluck them.
Another favourite is the Poinsettia, for their green leaves change colour to red and white in winter. There is a potted Neem, whose leaves we use to cook Neem Begun. As for Tulsi, ever since I learnt it’s a mosquito-repellent, I keep them in as many corners as possible around the house. I also love growing Cherry Tomatoes. They look so cute and taste so delicious that I can pop them into my mouth without cooking or even thinking!
While others buy artificial Christmas trees in December, we have a 30-year-old real tree growing right outside the house. But we’ll have to get second, smaller tree before next Christmas as the existing one is too big to decorate!