Nature lovers throng Jaipur bonsai show

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Nature lovers throng Jaipur bonsai showAsian News InternationalJaipur, March 14, 2005|19:09 IST

Dozens of nature lovers in the "Pink City" of Jaipur thronged the ongoing bonsai

show for a rare treat of dwarfed, ornamentally shaped trees in small shallow

pots.

With booming population and urbanisation environment lovers have been forced to

look for alternate means to be close to nature.

Bonsai, the art of growing dwarfed, ornamentally shaped trees or shrubs in small

shallow pots or trays, is gaining popularity, as it needs only a little space.

"The way the population has boomed and we are doing away with concrete jungles

in urban life, we are running away from nature but still man has a tendency to

come back to it. We want to keep big trees in our drawing rooms and so this is

a good away to keep plants in your house for we know that space is shrinking

day by day," said Anjana Tandon, organiser of the show.

Bonsai lovers flocked the show to observe the minute details of growing the

plants inside their living rooms.

Sushma Gupta, a bonsai lover, said that caring for miniature trees satisfied her

creative urge like other art forms.

"Bonsai is like a baby. We plant it and see it growing every day. It's nice to

admire it every day. Moreover, we can give it any shape as per our liking. It

is a creative thing and it's nice to do it," said Gupta.

Experts say a good quality bonsai can be developed within five years and could

last for more than 100 years if properly cared for. According to their

climatic conditions, miniatures of banyan, fig, guava, pomegranate, mango,

lemon, jasmine etc. are mostly grown in India.

Potted plants culture in India traces it's root to ancient times where it was

used for the treatment of sick people. In India, bonsai art began in the early

1960s but gained popularity only in1970s.

But the credit for being the pioneer in the art goes to China, where it was

known as "pun-chung" or "penjing". The art gained it's foothold in Japan in the

14th century, where it got more refined and came to be known as "bonsai".

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