'Making Bonsais Like Giving Life'
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| Bhise particularly cherishes |
Jyoti Bhise is a bonsai enthusiast who makes it clear right at the outset that the bonsais she has created are her pets, living creatures that are not up for sale.
The 59-year-old resident of Sushan building, Ghantali Marg, says that she has been practising the art of making bonsais for 25 years now.
“I first read about bonsai in a horticulture magazine. I was very fascinated about this traditional Japanese art form. Since then learning the art of making bonsai was always at the back of my mind until one day I finally found somebody in Kolkata who could teach me the art in the late 70s,” says Jyoti, who makes the conversation lighter by giving us interesting bonsai trivia.
“In Japan, it’s a ritual to hand over bonsais to daughters at the time of marriage,” she says.
The 59-year-old resident of Sushan building, Ghantali Marg, says that she has been practising the art of making bonsais for 25 years now.
“I first read about bonsai in a horticulture magazine. I was very fascinated about this traditional Japanese art form. Since then learning the art of making bonsai was always at the back of my mind until one day I finally found somebody in Kolkata who could teach me the art in the late 70s,” says Jyoti, who makes the conversation lighter by giving us interesting bonsai trivia.
“In Japan, it’s a ritual to hand over bonsais to daughters at the time of marriage,” she says.
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| Another bonsai speciality — a flowering bonsai |
Jyoti believes that bonsai is an art that should be practised only by those blessed with patience.
“A bonsai practitioner should have a lot of patience. One has to wait patiently for the plant to grow and once the plant grows it has to be trimmed again. Making bonsais is a matter of giving life,” she says.
Jyoti shatters another myth when she says that making bonsais is not an expensive hobby.
“The only major expenditure involved in making a bonsai is the pot. If you buy a simple clay pot, you will save money. Similarly, if you buy an expensive pot, the cost of the bonsai will shoot up,” she says, adding, “When you buy readymade bonsais from nurseries you are charged a huge sum because the bonsais are very old and, therefore, expensive.”
“A bonsai practitioner should have a lot of patience. One has to wait patiently for the plant to grow and once the plant grows it has to be trimmed again. Making bonsais is a matter of giving life,” she says.
Jyoti shatters another myth when she says that making bonsais is not an expensive hobby.
“The only major expenditure involved in making a bonsai is the pot. If you buy a simple clay pot, you will save money. Similarly, if you buy an expensive pot, the cost of the bonsai will shoot up,” she says, adding, “When you buy readymade bonsais from nurseries you are charged a huge sum because the bonsais are very old and, therefore, expensive.”
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| This slanting bonsai is another of Bhise’s favourites |
For a person who has made more than 30 bonsais, Bhise is in no mood to sell them.
“I know my bonsais will fetch good money but I have never tried to sell them because I can’t part with my plants. Bonsais are like pets. They need all the love, care and attention. I have trained a servant who takes care of them in my absence but I have to do the finer things myself,” she says.
“I know my bonsais will fetch good money but I have never tried to sell them because I can’t part with my plants. Bonsais are like pets. They need all the love, care and attention. I have trained a servant who takes care of them in my absence but I have to do the finer things myself,” she says.
posted by Davor Novakovic @ Thursday, March 10, 2005
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