A MORNING'S GLORY IN NATURE

"A Nature Lover is a true romantic!...Let's preserve Nature in all it's glory and blossom like do blooming buds!" - Swasti

I didn't know that today morning's walk would land me in such a beautiful paradise of flora and fauna! ...that’s what a surprise visit to Mrs. Lata Bajoria's 'personal eco-park cum zoological garden' did to me. Located near the docks in Khidderpore, it’s difficult to imagine that such a nature-lover's haven exists right here in the heart of a city marked by hustle bustle, exhaust fumes and a growing concrete jungle.

I entered the lush green garden excitedly to see the sun peeping through the branches of a tree, walking barefoot on moist grass, sprinkling cool water on the above of my toes and feet as I walked.

The butterfly corner in the garden seemed to be inhabited more by dragonflies at the moment but I didn’t mind gaping at their silvery mesh of wings. We then proceeded to smelling camphor and clove leaves which were planted nearby.

We were introduced to Brahmi & Tulsi saplings...never imagined so many varieties of the Tulsi plant existed and could be grown and nurtured with so much love!

We then saw a lotus pool inside which little black fishes seemed to be enjoying their morning swim and warm-ups. Though lotus flowers were not in full bloom, some pretty fully blossomed pink lilies inside the pool presented a delightful sight to the nature-lover's eye.

Then walked in a household staff, serving us a very refreshing morning mocktail! A lemonade-like natural concoction made of ‘hazaari santra,’ a peculiar type of small orange grown in the garden punched with mint and honey. And then we seemed to digest the drink by going round and round a real 'mulberry bush'!

We also tasted sweet basil leaves and this awesome fruit, a sort of hybrid cross between grape and guava, which I decided to call a 'Gruava' :) We saw the cute star tager flowers and a host of plants having medicinal/ cooking ingredient value including the Sarva Sugandha…which smelled totally like ‘garam masala’ ! Nature doesn't fail to provide the 'spice' in life, specially to an enthusiast like me....wish the human kind could also take some time out to enjoy and preserve nature in all its grandeur.


And then came the 'high' point of today's adventure...a real-life ‘bhaang’ tree..!! Woww!! Watching Marijuana leaves atleast made me feel high in spirit if not on! Lata Aunty said that the gardeners often savour the leaves as it works like an anti-depressant for them. I wish that their tireless hard work and profound knowledge of botany could have earned the simpleton gardeners more than natural mood elevators!

Anyways the moment my eyes caught sight of an ostrich, I was too distracted to continue exploring the flora bit any more....OMG !!! 2 real life ostriches fluttering their feathery brown wings...prancing around inside a small piece of caged natural habitat...and I having the good fortune of feeding them bread and oranges right from my own hands...wow, it couldn’t get better for me !..Loved the way they would stare at the food in my hand and suddenly have a go, taking a quick bite, making a snapping sound with the beak, which luckily, for my hands, was not too sharp!

We also saw some ducks walking aimlessly in the garden wiggling their bum as they moved forward. 

And then the glorious sight of a golden pheasant...just too enticing! 

Seeing the hunky male, for the first time I felt that God had been partial to the masculine gender in terms of beauty...and it was exactly the same experience to see the gorgeous male counterpart of the female Amherst pheasant. However the above observation of nature’s partiality was reiterated and re-membered when I saw the peacock and peahens this morning.

I also self-invited myself into the abode of a sparkling white Cockatoo. He seemed to be staring into my eyes and sort of acknowledged my presence by opening up his chrome yellow feather crown. 

But he got back to his cocky self when our attention shifted to other beings, cause he was literally heard screeching at the top of his lungs! 

From the aviary, we moved on to the reptile home which seemed the laziest of all in terms of activity. A terrapin refused to give us darshan and was supposedly submerged under the sand! We did manage a sneak peek of some tortoise and turtles from the surface of the water beneath which they were hibernating in the lazy winter sun.

Then we came to what looked like the divine corner of the garden. For the plants grown there were supposed to be having certain religious value and/or spiritual significance. Like I got to sit and meditate briefly on a rock under a Rudraksh tree, which as Lata aunty pointed out, is considered sacred in Hindu mythology. The temple-loving plants included bel-patra, aakh, dhattura, daarim etc. Tulsi was anyways flooded all over the garden in its several varieties.

I also got to taste the fruit called Bixa which, upon being crushed, yields a natural, edible, blood-like colour pigment. We didn’t miss out on the Cocoa Pods. Luckily I knew, from previous experience, that they don’t taste all that chocolaty in the raw natural form...else I would have surely had a go at them!

After that I did some monkeying around, climbing up and down a tree house, plonked myself on the swings and did some circles on the merry go round...all alone with my boring companions simply staring at me in possible disbelief!

Karela, Kalmegh, Peppermint, Cheekoo, Bijora, Ajwain...I have lost count of the variety of plants and herbs we saw in a short span of time this morning. Botany at its best!

 Lata aunty didn’t seem to leave out any segment of zoology in her prized nature reserve. The pisceans were next...we got a dekko of the rare Amazonians...the South American fish called Pirhanas.

Last but not the least, I had a blast with the loyal mammals...the dogs of all sizes and shapes..who came rushing at me licking my hands and feet...as if we were old friends! 

Don’t remember the names of the breeds...but who cares, as long as I could be one with them!

Finally it was time to leave with a little heavy but contented heart and a satiated nature thirst. But I resolved to come back and visit the garden sometime soon, armed with a camera better than my blackberry's!!

Really grateful to Lata aunty, who, in my very first meeting with her, which happened just by fluke, was generous enough to invite me to this beautiful and natural eco friendly world that she has created so passionately over several years. Not only has she nurtured with utmost love and care, a variety of herbs, plants, shrubs, trees, birds and beasts, she is also kind enough to expose it to people around her, giving her personal quality time in showing people around and sharing her valuable knowledge with them. She also runs a free pet library and her garden includes a rescue centre for endangered species of birds and animals.

Great work I must say. Keep going and growing with nature in all its glory! :)...

People like Lata Aunty are a great inspiration for nature lovers like me..

The world would be a better place if we cared for Nature like her and preserved the environment like her.

Waiting to go back to this beautiful Nature's Haven created by her..this time around with Amit!