Puma Garden

 

Hailing from a greenland has it own set of merits. One gets the green glasses permanently fixed before the eyes. Incase the view is not green, the green glass owner makes the world green to suit their glasses.

This is the typical case of a Pune Malayalee (Puma), born and brought up in the greenland of Kerala, but migrated to Pune for means of survival.

Any Malayalee who resides outside his home planet definitely possesses a small bush of curry leaves in a corner of his garden, and a Puma is not an exception to this trait.

A prosperous puma owning some land surely sports a coconut canopy around his house. In fact, it is easier to mark a region as Puma territory by this lush outspread of palmy awning. The typical trees that stand tall in a Puma garden are Papaya, Mango (for sure), Guava, and Chikoo. Some regular Pumas take an unexplainable pride in their slobby Jack fruit tree (we have one in our backyard). A banana plantain stands next in honour. A lemon tree is a necessity, and if you are lucky, you can even get to see the Citron tree too in a puma's garden!
Nevertheless, you are no doubt in a puma territory if you are standing under the shade of a Drumstick. Extremity of a puma is when he goes for the Amla tree, Tamarind tree, or worse, for the Cashew tree.

My father-in-law, another puma, is currently growing a betel nut tree. This is mind-boggling since none of us ever intend to chew a betel, but having some betel nut trees in the vicinity generates a unique nostalgia for any puma from God's own country. There were also sporadic attempts to plant the fish tamarind (Kodampuli) tree, which was never a success. Still, a Puma fiercely nurses a thought of growing the teak tree (Thekku), this one for his future generations. It is some relief that the rubber trees are spared from the puma cultivation section, adhering to the climatic conditions of this district.


A puma's love for flowers, however, requires no explanation. It is but natural for a Puma to go all dotty over flowers. The "born and brought up in Kerala and surviving in Pune" types display a classic blend of floral choices. Hibiscus (Chembarathi), then the star cluster Ixora (Chethi). Puma's chethi fascination is unfathomable. Next in line of favorites is the Mogra, Crepe Jasmine (Nandiarvattam), Lilly, Jasmine, and last but not least, our very own Roses. A Puma will quickly brief you on the latest rose hybrids.

It is also very unlikely for a puma not to own the Khonna poovinde Maram, despite the fact that this tree ditches the poor puma on every Vishu and flowers only when the Vishu is through. Some pumas go a long way for floral garden endeavours; you will even find the Champaka flower in their set of aromatic blossoms.
When it comes to fragrance, how can one forget the alluring Bethlehem Lilly flower that has smitten every green-thumbed Puma? My uncle, an ardent gardener, had a jungle of Bethlehem lily flowers with a complicated paraphernalia of stems. He must have been Pune's first proud puma green thumpy to see his Bethlehem beauty displayed in the local newspaper.

A Puma hones the most multidimensional backyard. His vegetable patch (pachakari thottam) is as green and lush as his state kerala. There will be bitter gourd(Pavakya), kovakka,  or mathangya ropes running all over the fence. In some distinctive puma residences, you will even get to see the kaachil, also known as the Kaavath,  and not to mention the Kappa. When it comes to puma's favourite garden assets, Kappa or the Tapioca stands just next to the Coconut tree in hierarchy. Then you have the cheyna, chembu, Nattilae payar, Vedakka, Vellarika, Thakali, all lined up haphazardly at some or the other edges or corners of the minuscule plot of land that is meant to be the vegetable garden. A Tulsi plant is placed alternatively in the front yard or the backyard, depending on the purpose it is serving, religious or medicinal. Ofcourse a Pannikoorka bush will survive a stampede here, but a puma can never discard one. It is always handy when the baby gets the cold, and then standing gloriously with its head held high amidst all this confusion, you will see the universal mark of a keralite the Kariveppella.

These kinds of puma gardens are getting extinct in Pune nowadays as garden area gets confined majorly to balconies and terraces. But then u never know the Malu green thump may work out solutions to cover up space constraints.