The Corona pandemic is driving our life crazy - especially, things are quite out of control in India. Every day, the number of positive cases is increasing and the time has come, where we hear sad news from our close relatives. Yesterday, I lost one of my close friend - he was a person, whom I always considered to be very fit. He used to play badminton in indoors every day - without fail . He was no less than any professional player, and we always used to try to defend against him. We knew that we would loose, but his presence was accepted to bring some positivity in us - to fight and stand strong. Unfortunately, he gave up mentally - he was admitted for Corona, but he died of heart attack. That makes me think, that, it's very important, to stay calm, strong and pursue habits, that would make you feel stronger.
And what could be a better way than to engage with some natural activities ! When there is abundance of oxygen in the nature , we are dying because of lack artificial oxygen. Because, we have made our life artificial. If we engage in activities, that would help us get enough sweating, in natural environment, it will definitely improve our capability to fight against the virus. Doing regular exercise in outdoors is also getting restricted, because of lack of place and isolation. So I think, gardening is the best option, in current time , to bring positivity in us. And I bet, once you start, it will just grow bigger and bigger. And like 
I am a great fan of these natural oxygen factories and have been busy converting my garden to use pots because, my apartment society wanted me to stop spilling any water on the roof top. I have taken a phased approach, to plant on new pots with a plate so that, there will be no complain.
When I work with these oxygen factories, I feel like having conversation with them - they will never cheat you - they will always give you back more than what you invest. And during these Lock down times, they even feed me. I have planted just one Malabar spinach this time, with some new learning. Last time, I planted them on a poly container, but when the plant grew, the poly container did not have any space, for water. Because the weight of the plant fell on the container. So this time, I have planted in a hard container. You always learn from your practice. This time, I have peace of mind in watering them. And I had a dream to grow Marigold in summer and seems its going to be a reality this time. This variety is different than the seasonal one - it will grow through out the year in suitable conditions. Thought the roof top is not ideal because of heat, I am still not giving up. And some regular curry leaves and mint for daily use.
If you do not know, how to prepare Malabar Spinach, then a simple search on our blockchain itself will fetch you so many posts that you will probably not able to prepare them all during this lock down. I myself did couple of posts some times back - a vegetable curry deligt and a fry that I bet, everyone will like. Give it to your kid if he/she hesitates to eat vegetable and let me know, if he does not ask you back to give more. And if you see the health benefits, I am sure, you will just be behind it. You can start with just one pot in your balcony - it will feed you few times in a week. At my home, its a competition on the number - who gets how many fries😃
I am planning to plant few more Malabar Spinach because the demand from the kids is more. And I hope this difficult time will pass soon - we just need to stay strong and fight with a positive mentality. And while doing so, make sure, you also take care of all social distancing norms and make friendship with nature.
