�K�Even though not a green activist, I am very much fond of starting my day looking out from the window of our living room which opens in a mini leafy garden full of creeping vine of money plants. This delightful corner of our home really gives me a sense to save the plant from harm. Every morning when I drag a chair with a cup of black tea and newspaper, my eyes are caught by the amazing scene of money plants that have occupied a part of our small lawn spread across the wall. The scenic beauty is so catchy that sometimes I put aside the newspaper and sit there aimlessly watching the green. No one can easily understand how fresh and happy I feel in the very start of my day. This monsoon after the August rains, I noticed that the mesh net slider of the window has been damaged due to rust caused by the rainwater. The space caused by the damage was inviting a repair and a crowd of mosquitoes. In the evenings while watching TV, many times I thought of calling a carpenter to fix the damage but forgot next day for one reason or other. Months have been passed away but I hardly could manage enough time to call a carpenter and almost end of every day regretted for not being able to mend the net. Life moves on without a change but I have grown a habit of sitting there alongside the window watching the green. ‘Come on Shazia, let us start the day with a happy beat,’ I gave a self-call in the advent of a November morning as per my routine and dragged the chair with my cup of tea and newspaper to sit near the window. In an uncaring moment I looked at the tattered net and something detained my attention and my eyes remained glued in sheer disbelieve. There was a fresh tiny stem of money plant peeping into the room through the broken net. Suddenly, the world around me changed and I felt the sunup was very beautiful and meaningful. The sky over the walls was wider than I can see in my mind’s eyes; the day was very brilliant and shinier than ever.Interestingly, during all these reactions happening inside me, I observed that I was no more worried about the net’s repair. In fact I felt relaxed and relieved of the responsibility of calling a carpenter, spending time on its supervision and not to mention the bill that I had to pay to him. Within few days a young stem topped by a lovely mini leaf crept into the room to greet me with a shiny hello and I happily welcomed the visitor. Within a week of time that chick vine became an aggressive company who found its way towards lights. It grew fast and soon started waving everybody. Soon it started arresting the attention of guests solely because of its leaves —bright, big, little curvy and colourful. It attracted the guests visiting the family equally with its pleasing presence. Soon, the inherent tolerance of this easy growing and hardy plant presented an excellent variation to the interior of the room. Reaching at a length of around 12 inches another stem joined it and entered the room. Recently, third branch has joined this team of green and perhaps more are on the way. Now we have a company of trio blowing in the air of a bracket fan set right on the window to exhaust the warm air outside from the room.Within a short span of nearly 20 days I found my sensitivities finely tuned up with this intruder vines that I was actually defending their indoor stay in our living room. When my eldest brother said, ‘we are having invaders in the shape of this vine. It will bring insects and mosquitoes along, therefore it is better to throw them out and get the net work done as early as possible,’ I looked at the ‘trio green’ moving slowly in the fan air as if they were agitating against our repair move. So far I have heard a lot about human rights and animal rights but the issue of plants right remained blurred due to its categorical division from life to object. However, plants are understood to have mechanisms by which they recognize environmental changes and surroundings they can depend upon. Out of the ordinary, it was furnishing the beauty of the room without a pot inside the room and without the hassle of watering as it was rooted outside in the courtyard. They must have found this room as a favourable abode and seemingly was not ready to withdraw. Something dramatic was going on inside me and I started wondering that money plant branches were not actually moving in the air, they were raising hands in protest instead and chanting slogans, ‘no repair no, ‘no repair no’. I was amused by the thought of this imaginary protest animated the prospect of a potential seize committed by the plants. Enthralled with the idea of a green agitation I took the chair and busied myself in a fancy that if someday a carpenter is called upon to do the repair work, these green natural objects will stage a demonstration along with their family of greens growing outside will intone together ‘Go carpenter go’ go carpenter go’ and will demand their right to stay green in indoors and to enhance the adornment of our family sitting area. This money plant is an easy growing plant that makes excellent indoor variety, used largely for interiorscape in homes, offices, and public places, with cut foliage used in floral arrangement. It is also one of the most effective plants that improve the indoor air quality by removing certain gaseous toxins like formaldehyde from the air. I don’t mind this natural magnificence sharing our room as only thing I need to do is to spray a little amount of water or mild insecticide to maintain their freshness. Therefore, I have taken their side and have decided to avert a possible unrest of the greens by going against repair and in favour of their right to be green. I am defending the rights of the green by doing so, why don’t you?
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