A spicy savior

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Had planted chilli seeds a long while ago. The plant had grown big and thick but there weren't any chillies. Papa, my cook, and some friends jokes that it was possibly not a chilly plant. I knew what I had planted though. And my cleaning lady believed me. I have to say that I loved this plant irrespective of whether there were chillies or not. I greeted it every morning and in between rough calls at work, I almost took refuge in this stoic little being looking out at a growling, busy world - minding its own business, growing roots doing its thing. My cleaning lady was really upbeat about this. She would water it and every time she did, she would tell me a story about her village in Alibaug. And today, she woke me up with the joy of announcing the arrival of a messiah, "Chillies have come." And we both stood there, stroking this fine specimen. I don't have very many plants and frankly I like building a connection with one or two. You see a plant but after the sun goes down, they become books...humming with stories they found under the soil or amidst the birds that flew above them. Plants are such wonderful things.


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