Nature and Nurturing

Nurturing and Nature

Fleeting thoughts 2

Whenever I go to Insurance Regulator’s office in Hyderabad, during my car travel between Shamshabad  Airport to Hyderabad city, I used to see number of flower trees lined on both sides.  The ones that  used to attract me are the Yellow or red coloured flowers – known as : Kondrai malar – this is considered very special for Lord Shiva.

பொன் ஆர் மேனியனே! புலித்தோலை அரைக்கு அசைத்து,
மின் ஆர் செஞ்சடை மேல் மிளிர் கொன்றை அணிந்தவனே!
மன்னே! மாமணியே! மழபாடியுள் மாணிக்கமே!
அன்னே! உன்னை அல்லால் இனி யாரையும் நினைக்கேனே!

Many times I attempted to bring the seeds of this flower tree to grow it in my house.   On more than one occasion I failed to succeed as the sprouts used to wither away once we transfer them to the pots. This time when I went to Trivandrum for a Conference, I happened to see the same trees outside the Hotel and I picked up some seeds.  We once again tried to get the sprouts and transferred them to Flower Pots. 

Many withered away due to heat wave, but  three of them survived.  As I was observing these three sprouts every day, suddenly I noticed a significant feature of Nature.  It really astonished me. 

Closely observe the three photographs shown below

The first stage is a sprout from the seeds with two leaves and a stem in between.

At the second stage  you can see the two leaves at the bottom left while many leaves have come out of the stem.

In the third stage, you can see the third one where the plant has grown further – but the two  original leaves are not there.  If you look closely at the picture, you can see all the three sprouts – first one on the right, the second one on the left and third one in the centre of the picture. While the two leaves  protect the stem in the first stage and provide some support in the second stage, at the  third stage the two leaves had fallen away.

So what is the learning that this natural phenomenon is giving us?  The moment you identfy the two leaves as Parents and the plant as the off-spring, every thing  falls in perspective..  When the Children grow they need your protection at the initial stages and support at growing stages.  When they are grown, the Parents should leave the children to lead their own lives.

If we observe nature closely, we will get many more such lessons to make our lives simple and happy.

Lasting Memories - 2

Talking of observing a seed grow into a plant / tree, I had an interesting experience in one of the training programmes I attended in the 1990s.  I was a Scale IV officer in GIC of India at that time.  The programme was relating to Human Relations Development.  On the first day  of training i.e Monday  at National Insurance Academy, Pune  when all the participants including myself entered the room, we were introduced to a Professor from National Institute of Bank Management, Pune.  I do not remember his name now.  He handed over a  pot with a small plant inside.  He stated that we should take the plant to our room and keep it outside in the Balcony.  He said that we should ensure that the plant got enough sun light and water.  He also asked us to water the plant  and observe its growth for the whole week.  He asked us to keep a note / diary of what we did everyday with the plant, our observations and feelings.  The caveat was that the plant should not die of excessive sunlight or want of it, or excessive water or lack of it. It should have grown more .

Each one of us meticulously followed  the instructions.  On the last day of the training, he asked us to bring the plant into the Class room.  He asked each one of us to explain the emotions and feelings that each one of us went through during the week while nurturing the plant.

What a nice way to explain the foundation of upbringing and nurturing of our children/ students / junior colleagues  - constant care, support, guidance and protection as needed, but leaving them to grow on their own.

Sekar