TIRUCHY: Bonsai - the Japanese art of growing and training miniature trees in containers - which bloomed into a profitable venture across the world, has taken root in India too. Of the many involved in airlifting the Japanese tradition into Indian contexts, G Lakshmanasamy of Tiruchy catches the eye.
A software engineer by profession, Lakshmanasamy says he had no idea what Bonsai even meant until he paid a visit to an agri expo in Bengaluru. He went on to study Bonsai for the next 20 years. "I learned all the techniques associated with turning a normal plant into a Bonsai variety," Lakshmanasamy says.
Primarily intended to be an aesthetic, self-reflective pursuit - akin to other Japanese cultural practices, including Chanoyu (tea ceremony) and Ikebana (flower arrangement) - Bonsai, translated as 'Tray Planting,' is the Japanese practice of growing miniature trees in containers.
Tiruchy, which has around 70 per cent of its population engaged in agriculture and allied activities - a competitive situation where not everyone involved lucks out in terms of profit -Lakshmanasamy's 'Bonsai Farming' is shaping up to be a ray of hope. Cities are the primary marketplace for such plants, Lakshmanasamy says, as urban residents have increasingly been wanting to decorate their households with these tree-like miniatures.
"By learning the basics of Bonsai, conventional farmers could venture into growing these exotic varieties, which can be sold in the growing urban market for good money. Darmers from Karnataka and West Bengal have already taken up the practice and are maintaining a profitable ecosystem," he says.
Lakshmanasamy has inspired many people into undertaking this 'Bonsai Farming' through the numerous college lectures he delivered on the subject. R Nagaraj, a farmer from Karnataka involved in Bonsai cultivation for nearly 20 years, says he was initially hesitant to get into the business since it was a novel practice to him.