The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Reaping the rewards of his dedication

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Jun 10, 2007
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Reaping the rewards of his dedication

P.A. Mathew. — Photo: M. Vedhan

He was nicknamed `Suggestions' Mathew at office and bagged cash awards for providing suggestions that saved his company money and time. When he retired, he continued to work to find ways to make life pleasant. P.A. Mathew tells R. Sujatha how he productively spends his retirement years, growing rare, exotic medicinal plants and reaping a rich harvest from them.

Purple vines with tender, new, green leaves adorn the entrance to his house in Anna Nagar. He chanced upon the plant on a trip to Tiruvallur. "I found these plants growing by the roadside there. When I began growing them I was told that villagers grew this plant for its edible tubers," he recalls.

The few steps leading to his home do not give visitors enough time to stop and admire his potted cacti, vines, herbs and flowering shrubs. "You have come at the wrong time of the year;" disappointment laces his voice as he wanders around his lush, green garden. It is clean, the earth freshly swept and the plants neatly pruned. "You should come in March when my garden is in bloom."

Dry leaves and coconut husks are spread as mulch. While the front yard has Malaysian lemon grass and a couple of rare banana plants that he bought from a remote village in Kerala, the backyard sports betel vines from Kolkata and Kumbakonam. "I am trying to successfully grow the variety that is used to make meetha paan. It grows only in Bengal," he says. In a pit, he composts garbage to provide nutritious manure for his garden.

Bitter gourd and snake gourd vines, polinjikkai (a gooseberry variety traditionally used a blood thinner), jackfruit, lemon, Banganapalli and Mulgova variety mango trees and coconut palms form the well-laid out garden. "We don't buy vegetables," he says.

Since his retirement from Dunlop 15 years ago, he has devoted himself to his garden. His dedication has paid rich dividends.

Mr. Mathew began his career as a crafts teacher at St. Mary's School in Niranam, Kerala. He then moved to Chennai to take up a job at Dunlop. "My father was an agriculturist and I learnt a little from him. I am not a rich man but we are living happily." His wife fashions new recipes with fruits and vegetables from their garden.

His harvest is huge because of the excellent manure he provides his plants. He says he has provided grafts to friends but not for money. He would like to transfer his knowledge to schoolchildren in the area. "I don't know how long I will live. I have learnt layering, budding, grafting and cutting. I would like to teach them to students who take Botany in Standard XII."

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