Sunday, May 30, 2010

Article in the Hindu Newspaper about Bodhi Bonsai Association



Click this link to see this article in full: On maintaining Bonsai in The Hindu, April 7th, 2010

Here is an excerpt:

When a handful of bonsai growers accidentally got together at a workshop in the city a couple of years ago, they realised the need to start an association to help grow each others' foliage. Bodhi, a Chennai-based Bonsai association, was born some months after the workshop.

“There aren't a good number of materials available to assist Bonsai growers. We decided to start an association, which will popularise the art of dwarfing trees and help us grow trees in the right way,” explains K. Sivaji, president of the association.

Suseela Vergis has nearly 200 potted trees bordering her house. From extravagant ceramic vases to plain-looking terracotta ones, the stout-rooted woods are placed in a variety of containers. “Maintaining a bonsai needs a lot of patience, particularly if you want to buy a sapling and nurture it into a tree. Mature ones are sold in the market but they are very expensive,” says Ms.Vergis, who is also the vice-president of Bodhi.

The association, with 20 members, organises periodical workshops and exhibitions to popularise the art of growing Bonsais.

When P.B. Yogesh took up the hobby, little did he know that these small trees would take up a major chunk of the space in his house. His terrace is lush with greenery, with an astounding line up of petite pots holding triangle-shaped trees. “Fruits will be of the same size, despite the miniature form of trees. Bonsai is all about such incredible facts of nature,” says the dental surgeon.