How Green is My Office?

- Shoma Choudhury

I am a little Spider plant. That’s my pet name. My ‘good name’ is Chlorophytum comosum. Actually I am Chlorophytum comosum IV, since this is the fourth time my mentor is trying to make me grow. I live or try to live in a small black and white pot on a desk on the 3rd floor of the YMCA Building on the famous Jai Singh Road of New Delhi. And I die very often.

Every time I take a bit of root, some disaster happens to me and I dry out. Like this one time a kind gentleman thought I was dead and kidnapped my pot and took me away and tucked the pot into a dark corner of the pantry. My mentor searched and searched for me for three whole days and by the time I was rescued, I was dead. Or rather that was Spidey II. Spidey I was our true blue ancestor. She was the one who did us proud. Oh, the tales we could sing of her glories!! She was a lush green one. She had long green leaves and was very healthy, but we moved offices and she left the sunshine and daylight and fresh air of Tolstoy House behind and came here. We don’t get much fresh air or day light here you see. I am taken for some walks by my mentor, but all the blinds are drawn and there aren’t many windows that can be opened. Me, along with my other green friends, are set out along a window sill (sealed) for some sunlight during the morning hours), but you see, I need fresh air to grow. I simply must have fresh air to be healthy.

Spidey I died soon after we moved here. I think she missed her friends the pigeons too much, and the blue sky that she could see from her window sill. Spidey II’s sad tale I told you about. Spidey III, my predecessor had just managed to take root and was doing quite well when our mentor went for a holiday. And somehow people forgot to water her. And she withered away. She wasn’t too strong, the poor thing. Now me. I too, was doing quite well, when M went off again on a tour… (she does seem to travel quite a bit.. hmm, maybe that needs to be fixed) and despite plenty of filtered sunlight and water, I just can’t seem to settle down. Can any of you help me please? Tell me what is wrong, how can I drop roots and make this my home?