Gardening and Mahatma Gandhi

[Prof. Dr. Yogendra Yadav]

Prof. Dr. Yogendra Yadav

Gandhian Scholar

Gandhi Research Foundation, Jalgaon, Maharashtra, India

Contact No.- 09404955338

E-mail- [e-mail]

 

Gardening and Mahatma Gandhi

 

Gardening is the practice of growing and cultivating plants as part of horticulture. In gardens, plants are often grown for their flower, foliage. useful plants, such as vegetables, leaf vegetable, fruits and herbs. Gardener is someone who practices gardening. Gardening is related to fruit orchards, shrubs, tree and herbaceous plants. We planted in lawns and foundation plantings, to plants in large or small containers grown inside or outside. Gardening may be very specialized, with only one type of plant grown, or involve a large number of different plants in mixed plantings. It involves an active participation in the growing of plants, and tends to be labor intensive, which differentiates it from farming. Any person can involve in gardening. It is the oldest occupation related to hobby. Mahatma Gandhi was very fond of Gardening so he suggested; “After becoming free, they either take to gardening or hawking vegetables and earn from 2 to 3 pounds 1 This was brought out as a pamphlet which later became known as the Green Pamphlet on account of the colour of its cover. Sterling per month. I return the cutting on gardening you have sent me. You should keep it and let others read it. You should read other books also on gardening.”1

Mahatma Gandhi was very fond of Gardening so he suggested; “Do give ample work to gardening, actual digging, hoeing, etc. We have to live upon it in future. And you should be the expert gardener of the family. Keep your tools in their respective places and absolutely clean.”2 Mahatma Gandhi was very fond of Gardening so he suggested; “We are planting banana plants. Sam was superintending. His holes were not in a line. He asked me if it would matter. I said ‘no’ so far as I was concerned but that if you were here, you would certainly insist on the holes being in a line. The next row of holes was straight. I mention the incident to tell you how near you is to me in all I am doing. I think of you continually during all the gardening operations and often wish you were near to advice me. My suggestion is, come down here for a brief visit. See things for yourself. We would compare notes. And then you may tentatively decide. You could usefully occupy yourself doing gardening in the morning. My suggestion is, come down here for a brief visit. See things for yourself. We would compare notes. And then you may tentatively decide. You could usefully occupy yourself doing gardening in the morning.”3

Mahatma Gandhi was very fond of Gardening so he suggested; “I surrender my judgement to yours in gardening, architectural and several other matters. But it would be false in either case to consider me as hypnotized either by Mr.Gokhale or by you.”4 Mahatma Gandhi was very fond of Gardening so he suggested; “Here there is no extensive piece of ground for cultivation hardly one acre. There are two roomy houses with little plots of ground attached. We are doing only a little vegetable gardening. Water is drawn from two wells. These are rustic wells, with primitive contrivances for drawing water. The dispute was paltry, out of cussedness. The man felt polluted because the boys fetched water from his side of the well.”5 Mahatma Gandhi was very fond of Gardening so he suggested; “Two hours he had set apart for his hobby which was gardening and it was this gardening that lent zest and savour to his life.”6

Mahatma Gandhi was very fond of Gardening so he suggested; “Mr. Kallenbach was very fond of fruit trees and therefore he reserved gardening as his own portfolio. Every morning he would engage children as well as grown-up people in tending the fruit trees. He would make them work hard, but he had such a cheerful temper and smiling face, that everyone loved to work with him. Whenever a party of tourists left the Farm for Johannesburg at 2 a.m., Mr. Kallenbach would always be one of them.”7 Mahatma Gandhi was very fond of Gardening so he suggested; “I am glad you are doing gardening and cooking your own meals. When you get a little bit of leisure do give me an idea of the school there. The attendance, capacity of the boys, subjects being taught, etc., and tells me what we should adopt from that school.”8

Mahatma Gandhi was very fond of Gardening so he suggested; “There were many fruit trees to be looked after, and enough gardening to be done as well. Mr. Kallencbach was fond of gardening and had gained some experience of this work in one of the governmental model gardens.

It was obligatory on all, young and old, who were not engaged in the kitchen, to give some time to gardening. The children had the lion’s share of this work, which included digging pits, felling timber and lifting loads. This gave them ample exercise. They took delight in the work, and so they did not generally need any other exercise or games.”9 Mahatma Gandhi was very fond of Gardening so he suggested; “Let us not, therefore, destroy the tree for its bad or poisonous branches. If you know anything whatsoever of gardening, you know that a gardener who finds diseased branches prunes them. He deals with the whole tree if he finds the tree rotten at the root. He will be considered a foolish gardener deserving summary dismissal who, because he sees some diseased branches, lays the axe at the root. In our society let us act as wise gardeners. Let us understand the disease that is corroding Hinduism. Let us get rid of untouchability or, in other words, of the evil of superiority and inferiority. Let us first get rid of this evil and purify our hearts. And when we shall have successfully done so, we shall be able to pronounce opinion on the working of the law of Varna as I have explained it. Today we know it chiefly as a species of untouchability. Lastly, it is my conviction, and I want you to be infected with that conviction, that untouchability as I have described it to you is fast going. And if you are fired by that conviction, I want you to put forth your best effort to exorcize that devil.”10

Mahatma Gandhi was very fond of Gardening so he suggested; “Expenses incurred on construction works and repairs, and also on gardening and the income from garden produce.”11 Mahatma Gandhi was very fond of Gardening so he suggested; “Beds in which flowers have been successfully grown are usually suitable but portions of lawns may also be dug up and used for vegetable gardening.”12 Mahatma Gandhi was very fond of Gardening so he suggested; “If you were here I could certainly profit by your knowledge of gardening. I am discussing with the press people as to the gardening and the proposal is that all but Kababhai should give 41/2 hours to gardening every day. If we can but carry out the programme, what a glorious thing it would be! We propose to do joint cultivation on Cordes’ ground as it is fenced and put in there fruit trees which would give a return enough to support at least a few. There are two Kaffir boys working at the press. I am suggesting that we should use them mostly for field work.”13 So we can say that Mahatma Gandhi wanted that every citizen of world take part in the gardening. By this way he wanted to fight the problems of environment.

 

Reference:

 

1. VOL.1: 1884 - 30 NOVEMBER, 1896 359
2. VOL. 9 : 23 JULY, 1908 - 4 AUGUST, 1909; Page- 321
3. LETTER TO HERMANN KALLENBACH; January 31, 1913
4. VOL. 12: 15 JULY, 1911 - 8 MARCH, 1913; Page-  417
5. LETTER TO HERMANN KALLENBACH; October 16 1915
6. VOL. 30: 27 DECEMBER, 1924 - 21 MARCH, 1925; Page-  81
7. VOL. 34: 11 FEBRUARY, 1926 - 1 APRIL, 1926; Page-  206
8. LETTER TO RICHARD B. GREGG; April 11, 1926
9. VOL. 44: 16 JANUARY, 1929 - 3 FEBRUARY, 1929; Page-  340
10. Harijan, 9-2-1934
11. VOL. 89: 7 DECEMBER, 1945 - 24 FEBRUARY, 1946; Page-  436
12. VOL. 90: 25 FEBRUARY, 1946 - 19 MAY, 1946; Page-  17
13. VOL. 98: 6 DECEMBER, 1947 - 30 JANUARY, 1948; Page-  440