Hyderabad readers’ corner

My terrace is now a vegetable garden
By Anubha Lavania
We moved into our new house just before this pandemic started. By the time we could settle in with all the essential things and make sure that we were ready to fly with our dreams, the deadly coronavirus hit us. With no scope for socialising or travelling left, I decided to pick up gardening – something I had dreamt of indulging in, many times over, in the past.
Since I come from Agra where, unfortunately, monkeys dominate and terrace is mostly inaccessible, the only vegetable I could ever grow the till last year was coriander! (If one can consider that a vegetable, that is).
So, here I had to start from scratch. With all the information that I could access online, I started making notes about vegetables that could be grown -- their soil conditions, month in which they grow well, sunlight requirements etc . Finally, I took the plunge and started by ordering my first set of online seeds. The rest, as they say, is history.
I am now able to feed my family tomatoes, brinjals, cluster beans, long beans, spinach, malabar spinach, amaranthus, mint, coriander, chillies, lettuce, beet root, gourd, basil, and even decorate my home with large varieties of flowers. My terrace is dedicated to this wide range of vegetables while the balconies have herbs and flowers blossoming.
My day under the sun came when my sisters and friends – impressed with what I had managed to do -- picked up this hobby too. Now they call me for guidance. My latest achievement has been to have successfully harvested gourd-creepers, which I had been struggling with until lately.
(The writer is a chartered account with an MNC)
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Time with family is most precious
By Abhinesh Bhat
The virus has taken away a lot. But it has also given me something that is very valuable – precious time to spend with family and discover myself. During the first wave, as classes went online, much of our syllabus was reduced. That left a science buff like me with a lot of time to read. It also allowed me to indulge in my hobbies like reading, writing stories and poems, playing the piano and drawing. With the help of my mother, I browsed through the internet to find websites that could help me develop my hobbies and sharpen my skills. I listened to stories for hours and discovered my creative side as I drew characters from cartoons and games. I developed my coding skill on my own; continued playing the piano and started learning songs of my choice by referring to various apps. But just as I thought the Covid-19 wave was ending and I started playing with my friends, with all precautions, the second wave hit us. Again, we went indoors. This time, I have started playing indoor games with my family. Whenever my father is free, we either watch a movie together or make some project from scrap available at home. I also exercise with him every day and attend yoga classes to keep my body fit and flexible.
Since both my parents are always busy – dad with office work and mom with household chores – I have also started helping them at home and often make tea for the two of them.
As a family, we have started growing vegetables and flowers in our balcony as well. It is wonderful to watch the plants grow. Finally, since I cannot visit my cousins, uncles, aunts and grandparents, because of the pandemic, I keep calling them and chatting with them to strengthen family bonds.
Come to think of it, this pandemic has taught me to discover many things and realise that a lot can be learnt even outside the school.
(The writer is a class 7 student of Johnson Grammar School)