Sup after soups
The Hindu : ; is used as a misnomer for any type of plant grown in a shallow container. The science of Bonsai, actually, has to do only with trees and shrubs. Any other plants grown in the same way is termed ‘miniature gardening,’ clarifies Sujatha Prakash Devatha, one of the Bonsai experts in Bangalore who has at least 500 varieties in her sprawling garden in Jayanagar.
That the green science has now assumed contemporary perspectives and is being presented in different format is what gives the whole effort a further dimension to the creativity.
What Sujatha has attempted for the new age is Mural Bonsai that is displayed at the entrance of her house. A patch of shrubbery nestled in rocky surrounding is all that you notice from the gate.
As the green impels you to get closer to the wall, all you can do is take a deep breath and wonder how the leaf-and-stem marvel is seen hanging as a mural, live and growing! Green, earthy and aesthetic is the literal description that can be attributed to the piece that can arrest one’s attention. “It took me more than a month to have the piece together,” says Sujatha.
— PHOTOS: BHAGYA PRAKASH K.
Fourteen kinds of shrubs in different shades of green had to be selected to bring them together for a green mural. Aligning them along with mud-embedded roots for the bottom were tasks that required all the experience and skill. Placing the pebbles to give the whole piece a nature-friendly appearance is yet another dexterity, highlighting her expertise. The rough stone wall on which the mural is displayed provides a perfect backdrop to an ethnic work that demands loads of patience.
The mini wonder
“Not just patience, you have to have the persistence to wait for it to grow. Because some of the varieties take months to show up the first shoot…More
