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Photo: H. Vibhu

A matter of perspective Some of the bonsais that will be on display

Back to bonsai. There is going to be a feast of bonsai plants, say the organisers. The mini editions of huge trees like the banyan with spreading branches and foliage will be there occupying little space, miniature beauties. Two bonsai growers, Antony Chittattukara and Narayanan are bringing in their prized collections for Kochi folks to ogle at. Narayanan lives in Puthiyakavu where he tends his 150-strong collection. “Keep them not so much in the direct sunlight,” he advises. He also grows ‘dying breeds’ of bonsai, he says. The type that grows best are the ficus varieties, under which the different kinds of banyan trees come, as also cashew, and flower bearing trees that line the roads. “Yes, the bonsais also flower and fruit,” says Narayanan.

For bonsais to take shape, a little human prodding is necessary, showing the plant what direction to take. Sometimes, people maim it slightly ‘for that original look’.

Antony, a retired physics professor who lives near Thrissur, is a hardcore collector of bonsai plants, since 1963. “Long before I heard the term bonsai or knew what it was, I started collecting them. It was during my degree days. I used to play badminton in the church compound. Every year, while whitewashing the church, they would leave a banyan plant that was lodged on one side of the wall untouched. It had been there for as long as the oldest member in the place could remember. It was starved of water and manure and was very tiny, though hardy. One year, they decided to pull out the plant and threw it off. I loved plants and took it home, planted it in a pot. That is my oldest bonsai. It could be 150 years old.” He does sell some of his plants but the price tag of his prize banyan is Rs 5 lakh, not a paisa less.

Today, Antony has a 500-pot collection of bonsais. He collects ‘natural bonsai plants, those that are found under bridges, in buildings and in areas where they grow without much soil. “I do not like to maim plants. Also, I use only organic manure. All that I have learnt about bonsais are from books, but I do not always follow what these books say. For instance, I don’t repot every year. I do so only once in six years. What you need is only common sense,” laughs the die-hard bonsai enthusiast. All that one can do without harming the plants is to push down the branches so that they spread horizontally instead of going up. For that you just need to hang a weight from a string tied to that branch and keep it there for about three months. After that they don’t go up,” says the professor confidently.

Bonsais don’t need much space and flat wallahs who nurse ambitions of a garden may realise their dreams that way!

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