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| The beautiful rose plant that my husband gifted me this year! |
This is not necessarily a natural transition. Sometimes Roses
lead to ‘Teddies’. Sometimes they lead to tears. Personal disclaimer: So, when I was gifted a rose plant this Valentine's day, I knew we had shifted from the stage of Roses to a Rose plant stage!
Roses signify passionate love-one which depicts ‘a’ half
open bud with mysteries embedded, twists and turns on the way. And often artificially
stripped off thorns. Now, we all know that is not what life is about. But,
surely that is what ‘dating’ is. You put your best ‘foot forward’, not
necessarily showing off your thorns. Often in my experience, these ‘grafted’
beautiful roses are stripped off their original fragrance too. They are
gorgeous to look at, but with a tendency to have no fragrance and often
withering in a few days. But, it doesn’t matter where you keep them, they add
beauty to every place and do not even need sunlight. It is almost like ‘fake
happiness’.
On the other hand, a rose plant is more real. It is grounded
(in reality); roses but thorns as well. You have to nurture the plant with
sunlight and water (and of course love!). It may wither at times but also has a
rejuvenating tendency. A hope for new beginnings. It is more work but much more
sustainable.
Gift of a rose plant also signifies more than love. It means
the person giving the gift knows your skills to keep things (and relationships)
alive. Do not be fooled. I am not bragging about my skills. I have killed my
share of plants. Or they have been killed by someone I handed them over for
care as a stop-gap arrangement. But most often than not, I am capable of
sustaining, nurturing and growing them with love. And I am proud of this fact.
For both plants and relationships.
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| Gorgeous pics shared by our friends who nurtured this rose plant! |
Now, coming to the sustainability part. My husband and I have
started this social experiment to gift plants to friends; who we know are
capable of keeping them alive. The rose plant that he gifted his friend in
India, has rewarded us with beautiful pictures of red roses along with their
shining faces. This is almost like a cultural shift in India where gifting of
bouquets or garlands is very common. It almost seems like growing/ cultivating
humanity and love in another human being.
