Against the Odds!

One can find anything and everything in the city of Mumbai — except space. And so, a small balcony of the apartment becomes a mini-garden. But during the April of 2016 we suddenly had to lock our house and go away for more than 15 – 20 days. The months of April, May and June are the hottest months in the tropical country and it is not possible for any plant to survive long without water. However, there was no other way out.

We had a fair idea of what to expect and just as we had dreaded, on our return, we found the green patch in our balcony all dried and dead. One of the prominent among these plants was a Hibiscus or Shoe flower plant, which had given us many such ruby red, jewel toned flowers. During its blossoming season, everyday the plant would be adorned with at least 8-10 such flowers. So naturally we were sad to loose this particular plant.

Somehow, we just didn’t feel like throwing away the dried brown stem and thought of giving it a chance. We cut off the dead branches and only the stump remained. My husband had read it somewhere that moisture can be trapped if the cut off stem is covered with polythene. We did that and continued watering the pot through the heat of May.

          

The moisture was indeed getting trapped as we could see on the insides of the polythene. But there was no other sign of survival. We had lost all hopes but still continued watering it.

By June, it was two months since the plant had dried up, so no chance of any revival. Then by mid June, the monsoon arrived in a full force. And we heaved a sigh of relief – as we detected a slight speck of green on one of the lower dried up branch.

Slowly, very very slowly the green dots started taking the shape of tiny leaves. The entire process, from its dried up state to the appearance of the green specks, was painfully gradual. But the resilient plant did return from dead!

I do am aware that here the picture quality is not perfect for a Photo Challenge. (At the time, the pictures were clicked only to record the process and progress). However, these pictures tell a story of ……….. A Survival — Against the Odds!

 

Linking this post to the Weekly Photo Challenge : Against the Odds!