It started innocently enough with social media reels. Videos of urban dwellers growing everything from coriander to tomatoes in tiny pots sparked a curious thought: Could a complete novice manage it too?
That very day, an onion—neatly sliced in half—went into the ground. A grand harvest wasn’t the goal; the modest hope was simply a few crunchy green shoots that could eventually find their way into the morning parantha. Whether this venture yields a proper harvest or merely leaves behind a collection of pots and misplaced optimism remains to be seen. A few healthy plants offering tomatoes and chillies straight from a chemical-free patch of soil are reward enough. At the end of every road stand two doors: Success and failure. Success doesn’t automatically bring fulfilment, nor does failure have to break the spirit. Whichever door opens, the best path forward is to walk through with optimism, stay grateful for the outcome, learn from the rest, and keep moving.
But these few weeks of novice “plant parenting” have clarified the real goal: Abundance isn’t necessary.
