Love for colours is one passion my whole family shares. It is so ingrained in our very being that we don’t let it be limited to Holi alone. Splashing colours in everything we do, all we wear and in the food we eat. However, these are just the tip of the iceberg our craze for colours is.

This love, found a creative, refreshing vent when some 30 years ago my parents decided to lay the first seeds in our garden. There was no looking back ever since. What started with a handful of Crotons, Bougainvillea, Roses, Jasmine, Marigold and Money-plant flourished to a collection of over 4000 pots and many flower beds as years flew past. From winning flower shows to luring visitors from everywhere, our garden not only kept our family happily occupied but was a great source of inspiration to everyone around.

Springs, summers, autumns and winters flew past marking their presence flowering and fruiting our beloved plants. Years ticked past letting our bonsai collection grow strong and stout. Then came the autumn that decided to play havoc with our lives and steal all colour. It started with the onset of troubles in my married life and my pregnancy. My family was blown by the tsunami of troubles that ensued. Not just us the family members wilted but our beloved garden suffered miserably.

Many plants died, no seasonal flower seeds were sown, many fruit trees started having worms in their fruits and our gardener’s negligence killed many plants in ways least known to us. The summation being, the gloom that had hit us, grew exponentially. My parents found it very difficult to cope with the loss of their beloved plants and our garden shrunk to a handful of 120 pots and zero flower beds.

My family has suffered severe blows emotionally and on the health front, but at the back of our minds, we missed the solace we felt amidst the lush green dew-laden lawn, smelling the roses, picking the dead leaves and savouring the fresh fruits. Nothing is permanent in life, neither the spring nor the autumn. Life moved on, we slowly emerged from the sea of grief, fought back ill-health and looked up to life with renewed optimism.

One fine morning, my mother woke up to remember an early morning dream where she saw the events of the day when our garden was planted many years ago. She talked about it to my father and the very next moment, they knew what they wanted to do.

Like autumn is inevitable, similarly one can’t prevent spring from blooming. After a gap of almost 5 years, this year we again planted the seasonal flowers, had the roses bloom, and have a garden that’s showering our life with colours and joy like the good olden times.

Spring is God’s way of saying, ‘One more time!’ – Robert Orben

Catch a glimpse of a few of the many flowers that are the reason for our smiles this spring. These are the colours with which we are celebrating Holi this year. Which one is your favourite?

* All photographs have been taken by me and are copyright protected. Please click on individual pictures to enlarge them.