The lotus pond has been part of our landscape for as long as I can remember. It did not take us much to build it. A huge hole was dug and the workers created a flower shape at the top and cemented it. It was very beautiful to look at and I wish we had the present tech so that we could have taken pictures and videos.
After that, mud and water were put in the pond and for two days, it was left except for the occasional mixing. Then came the difficult part. Acquiring a lotus sapling.
We had gone to our sister in law's house in the neighbouring city and while returning, we saw a village pond with lots of lotus plants. I guess we were lucky to have spotted it. The car was stopped and the locals offered to give us a few saplings provided we pay them for it. Come to think of it, it was not such a bad deal because we would have to go in otherwise and try to pluck it ourselves and not only get wet but there could also be water snakes. So, it was a win-win situation.
The lotus saplings were planted carefully and we waited for days. Days turned into weeks and at last, a bud arose.
The buds rise a lot and stand tall above the muddy water. The water attracted a lot of frogs and we got to see a variety of them. After the frogs, we got snakes and birds as visitors. After a while, it was not surprising to see a snake inside the pond to catch the snoozing frog. Sometimes, birds nosedived into the pond and caught frogs. It was sad to hear the cries of the frogs, though. None of these animals hurt the lotus plant.
Slowly, a beautiful ecosystem was built. My nephews tried to put fish into the pond and the fish did turn out to be big but unfortunately, some were eaten by the birds and one of the fish that we planned to give our helper just floated one day. After that, we never tried to grow fish.
The years have passed and there seems to be a hole because the water drains out quickly but we keep filling it and I hope we get more colours of lotus flower plants. As of now, we have only the pink variety.
The flowers are given to temples and if we are unable to go, it just stands there, adding more beauty to the place.
(An old photo from my album)
photo - own
