Look who's active these days - it's the Department of Horticulture in the limelight all of a sudden! After being in the shade all these days (no pun intended), they've decided to show the world the advantages of being green. And this time, they're trying to say that size has got nothing to do with it.
We're going to do our bit, too, so here's some fundas. Bonsai (pronounced bone-sigh) is an ancient oriental horticultural art form. The word Bonsai literally means, in both Chinese and in Japanese, tree-in-a-pot. Originally developed in the Orient almost 2,000 years ago, this sublime art is today practiced throughout the world. Shape, harmony, proportion and scale are all weighed carefully like it were an art form, and the human hand combines them in a common cause with nature.
A tree planted in a small pot is not a bonsai until it has been pruned, shaped and trained into the desired shape. Bonsai are kept small by careful control of the plant's growing conditions. Only branches important to the bonsai's overall design are allowed to remain, and unwanted growth is trimmed away. Roots are confined to a pot and are periodically clipped.
Bonsai may have a stylized or an exaggerated form... but as found in nature. The appearance of old age in a plant is quite prized, and bonsai may live to be hundreds of years old. The living bonsai will change from season to season and from year to year, requiring pruning and training throughout its lifetime... and as time goes on, it will become more and more beautiful.
The basic care of Bonsai - watering, fertilizing, repotting, treating for insects and diseases, trimming, pruning - and techniques for indoor and outdoor Bonsai will be taught in this 4-day course. The fee is Rs. 300. Please contact the Agri-Horticulture Department at 329-9779 for further details.
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