Sagar’s family comprises of his mother, father, elder brother, younger brother and a sweet younger sister. He resides with his family in Nagpur city. Nagpur is an upcoming city of Maharashtra state in India. Sagar studies at Vidya Vikas School in Nagpur city in 8th standard.
After attending the last lecture, as usual Sagar is on the way to his home. Today his eye stops on a small rose plant which is not completely dead, maybe just few hours ago this rose plant is thrown on the corner of the street near a garbage bin; Rose plant was not completely dried, there were some green leaves. It’s very hard to recover life in that Rose plant. Sagar forgets everything and thinks of taking this Rose plant to his house and take care of it. Then maybe in future this Rose plant will have beautiful flowers, keep the surrounding atmosphere pollution free and the flowers will be useful to mankind. Sagar was staring at the Rose plant and thinking how he can take care of it.
Within a few minutes a municipality garbage truck arrives to collect all the garbage on the street. Sweeper lifts the Rose plant and he was about to throw the Rose plant into the garbage truck.
Sagar was carefully watching all the activities, after thinking for a while, Sagar stops the sweeper and requests him “Sir I request you not to take this Rose plant, I feel still there is hope of a life in it, I will take care of this Rose plant and maybe one day it will produce beautiful flower, help mankind with her productivity”
Sweeper replies “What will you do with this Rose plant, this Rose plant has no life this maybe the reason, it has been thrown in the garbage; my duty is to keep the streets clean. I have to pick up all the garbage in my jurisdiction or else my senior officer will fire me from my job. You can buy a new Rose plant from the shop. Why you want to waste time for this dried plant?”
Sagar persists and convinces the sweeper to handover the Rose plant to him. Sweeper gives the Rose plant to Sagar thinking he is a child, maybe did not have any experience of plantation, after few days when plant will die completely he will understand my words.
Sweeper handovers the dried Rose plant to Sagar and says “I hope you can give a new life to this Rose plant, if it is not able to survive, you will learn dried and dead plants cannot recover the life”.
Sagar is happy to receive the Rose plant. While walking towards home, Sagar thinks what the sweeper told. He said this plant may not survive, if I take this plant at home and take care of it. I will give my level best to revive life in this plant, suppose if unfortunately this plant is unable to survive many of my friends and people may think i have gone mad, and make fun of me.
In the way of Sagar’s house Nag river flows, name of this city is influenced by the river. And city was named Nagpur.
After a deep thought Sagar decides to plant this Rose plant near the banks of the river. Suppose if sometime he misses the care of the plant, Mother Nature can take care of this Rose plant, nobody at home will come to know about it. Sagar finds a nice place for plantation, at this place there are not many visitors, and where Rose plant will get enough protection from weather, animals, etc. Place is surrounded by Saraca asoca (Ashoka) trees, some long bushes and wild plants, Sagar finds a dried stem for the support. He plants the Rose plant and ties it with the dry stem, with the help of stem the Rose plant will stay straight till it recovers life in it.
Sagar now starts to take care of the Rose plant, every day when he returns from school without fail he fills his water bottle from river and waters the plant in a hope of new life. Sagar thought if this dried Rose plant will get a new life the efforts done by him will not fail. Now Sagar starts sharing positive thoughts with Rose plant and spare some time with it. This continued for some days….
One day as usual Sagar came to water the Rose plant, he cannot hide his joy and started dancing, he was feeling himself on seventh heaven, his joy is natural and justified because today he has seen few new green petals on the Rose plants. After lots of effort today Rose plant has started showing positivity for a new hope towards life. He came forward lovingly caresses and kissed the Rose plant. Sagar had no word to express his happiness, today he spent some extra time with it, he enjoyed the success of new life in Rose plant.
Rose plant is also happy, it watches Sagar; today the dried Rose plant has got a new life. Rose plant is also grateful towards Sagar and expresses his thankfulness to Sagar. Rose plant says “I am highly obliged to you gave me a new life, if you would have not helped me I would have died and would had been part of some garbage and never seen life. This is just because of you; I have got a new life”
Sagar replied “I am not a god. I just saw you on the street on that hot sunny day, I could not see your situation and felt you still have a chance to recover life, this was the reason I brought you here. I had a gut feeling if I can unconditionally and without self-interest take care, you will have beautiful flowers and the surrounding plants and tree will praise you, some will be jealous of you.”
Sagar and Rose plant developed a strange relationship between them, without fail Sagar daily visits Rose plant, waters, cleans the area around it, remove dust and other unwanted things from Rose plant, spend some time, share good and positive things. Rose plant also eagerly waits for Sagar, it shows pleasure of joy when Sagar arrives, and shares talks with him.
This continued for a long time. Now Rose plant was also looking beautiful, it never forgets to thank Sagar and called him its saviour.
Once surprisingly Sagar was sad after hearing words of Rose plant. Those words were very harsh for Sagar.
Rose plant said “Today a young couple had come to visit this place, clicked my photographs and spent some time with me, I enjoyed a lot till the time they were with me, I realised I am alone of my kind between this huge trees, bushes, and other leafy plants. When they left I felt loneliness at this silent place, you also visit once in a day after your school, how long will you take care of me, how long will you come and water me, now I have also grownup like other plants, I also look beautiful like any other plant, I don’t have right to stay like other flower plants, I would also like to be a part of a big garden and wish people should look at me and appreciate my beauty of me, a gardener should take care of me, in short time I will have beautiful flowers, there is no one to see my beauty and my beautiful flowers on this dead road.”
After listening to Rose plant, Sagar’s eyes were filled tears, Sagar was sadly watching at Rose plant, and was trying to control himself from this uncertain situation. Sagar went home, whole night he was thinking about the words of the Rose plant. Rose plant was telling the truth, rarely anybody visit that place, nobody except me comes near the Rose plant, this Rose plant should also be a part of a big garden, Rose plant should be kept with other flower plants, at a big garden where a gardener will take care of it very nicely. I will be happier if this Rose plant is kept with other flowers and billow with the wind and spread a sweet fragrance of its flowers. If Rose plant is happy then it would be the greatest reward for my effort.
Now Sagar has decided to find a good garden and a dedicated gardener who can take care of the Rose plant. From very next day Sagar starts his journey, every day after school he visits gardens in city and also meets their gardener, in search of new place for Rose plant everyday he gets late to take care of Rose plant, his behaviour towards it is unchanged.
When Rose plant noticed Sagar is coming late and looks tired every day, Rose plant asks him “Nowadays why are you coming so late, and look so tired, is there any problem”
Sagar replies “Nothing I have to attend extra classes and few time is left for exams”
One day Sagar’s search comes to an end and he finds a good garden named Gandhi baug. Gandhi baug has beautiful landscape, more than thousand varieties of flower, every area was arrange in such manner it made a some beautiful different design, separate area is allocated for each design, a pond, children’s play area. Sagar meets gardener of Gandhi baug garden, Sagar explained all about the Rose plant to gardener, Gardener agrees to keep the Rose plant in garden along with other flowers where people can notice the beauty of it.
Sagar takes gardener at river bank near Rose plant, when gardener saw the Rose plant he said “Such a beautiful Rose plant, you have taken good care of it”
Sagar replied “I have done nothing it’s all because of the grace of god and willpower of Rose plant,” He was watching the Rose plant with moist eyes and said to it as you desired this gardener will take you with him, he is a gardener of big garden, now onwards he will take care of you” gardener carefully started removing surrounding soil of Rose plant.
Rose plant is also feeling happy with locomotion going around and thinks today is the luckiest day of her life, gardener will take me with him, gardener will plant me in a big garden where I will find new friends, I will be a part of plants like me, gardener will enrich me with good fertilizer, with the help of fertilizer I will improve my health and have fine quality petals, flowers, my roots would become more strong, I will live a better and long life. People will click selfies with me, click photographs of my flowers; I will be away from this silent place, today it’s like a dream come true, long awaited wish is going to be fulfilled.
On the other side Sagar was tensed, he was crying from the bottom of his heart, he cannot express his sorrow on his face, if Rose plant would notice Sagar is sad and not happy because of the shifting of Rose plant to new garden, Rose plant may change her decision and this would be harsh towards Rose plant. Sagar would not like to break dreams of the Rose plant that he took so much of care, tried and gave a new hope of life, protected against all weather. Today Sagar has to see this day where till now he was the caretaker of this Rose plant, from now onwards this Rose plant will belong to someone else. He was praying to his god to protect this Rose plant from all weathers, keep away from all troubles, and give him all the happiness. This Rose plant should look beautiful, people should admire it, and fragrance of its flower shall spread love and happiness in the world.
A strange kind of atmosphere is seen here, Rose plant is happy to be part of a big garden, forgetting all efforts and friendship of Sagar. Rose plant has made an imaginary world of big garden, gardener, fertilizer, thousands of same kind of flowers, people visiting garden, appreciating beauty of Rose plant. Rose plant forgot he got the new life because of Sagar and today also he is leaving this silent place only because of the efforts initiated from by his saviour. Sagar is broken from inside, his eyes are full of tears with remembrance of old days spent with Rose plant, Sagar could not stop crying.
Till now gardener has removed the Rose plant carefully form soil and shifted into flower pot, he will transfer it from the flower pot and place into the soil. Gardener respectfully asked Sagar to give him permission for the shifting of Rose plant to Gandhi baug. Sagar half-heartedly nods his head indicating his confirmation.
Sagar came forward and took the Rose plant in his hands and hugged the Rose plant, he was in such a grief he forgot this beautiful looking Rose plant has produced thorns along with attractive green petals, those thorns on the Rose plant were piercing his chest, and today Sagar liked this pain given by the plant. Sagar lost his conscious in sorrow of separation with the plant. With depressed soul Sagar handovers the Rose plant to the gardener.
Gardener receives the Rose plant, and says to Sagar “I am thankful to you gave me opportunity to take care of such a beautiful Rose plant, enough care will be take of this Rose plant like other plants in the garden, this Rose plant will be a part of good design in the garden. I take your leave now”.
Sagar was standing motionless, with love and agony in his eyes watching the Rose plant taken by the gardener, his eye followed the Rose plant, and here the wound on his chest due to piercing of thorn was bleeding, he was reckless about the wound, he was in very miserable condition because of separation with Rose plant. Wound of piercing will be healed one day but the wound of separation may not heal in life.
At the Gandhi Baug gardener transferred the Rose plant from flower pot and planted in garden, now Rose plant is a part of beautiful design where different kind of Roses were planted, these roses had different colours. Rose plant has got new friends and neighbours, when people come to visit the place; they do admire the designs with different colour of flowers, everyone who comes to visit the garden compliments the whole design but don’t give appreciation to any individual flower or flower plant. No one will know what the story is behind an individual plant.
After separation Sagar continued to visit the bank of Nag River and remembered his days with the Rose plant. After completion of exam Sagar realised now Rose plant is no more part of his life and engaged himself into his daily routine activities.
The End
