India Region
No exact records can conclusively establish as to when pot culture got started
in India. Potted plants were, however, popular in Egypt and India in ancient
times for use in medical remedies for treating the sick. Ayurvedic physicians
utilized plants by using their seeds, flowers, leaves, fruit or bark, but
the plants were primarily grown in our temples or shrines.
But China, the host country for the 4th Asia Pacific Bonsai & Suiseki Convention, can really be proud to have pioneered the artistic potted plant known as pun-chung or penjing some 800 years ago. By the 14th century, this art gained a foothold in Japan, where the creations got more refined and came to be known as bonsai.
In India, this art got started in the early 1960s and has become more popular since the end of 1970s. Bonsai growing as a hobby got a major breakthrough in the year 1979, with the establishment of the Bonsai Study Group of the indo-Japanese Association.
With a tropical climate in peninsular India and a sub-tropical climate in the north, we in India tried to concentrate on locally available Ficus trees. They included Ficus benghalensis, Ficus ramphii, Ficus religiosa and Ficus virens. Our trees, due to meagre rainfall, develop very strong, deeply penetrating tap roots in just 60 to 90 days. From 1970 to the early 199Os, most bonsai were small, young nursery grown plants. However, a few amongst the Indians did venture to dig out trees growing in the wild, for future training, but with only partial success.
For the past 17 to 18 years, the authentic techniques of bonsai growing and shaping have started spreading across the length and breadth of India. A wide variety of flora and climates pose a great challenge to miniature-tree growing. Participation in international bonsai conventions, development and experimentation with local trees, regular conducting of teaching sessions by national and international bonsai teachers, regular write-ups on bonsai in periodicals and magazines, publication of books on Indian materials, and TV programmes in the past two decades have resulted in spreading this art. As of today, more than 25,000 people have at one time or another tried their hands at bonsai cultivation in some way or other. Another 1,000 people have tried to improve the standards of the Bonsai Study Group of The Indo-Japanese Association with our headquarters at Mumbai (formerly known as Bombay). With 18 affiliated chapters all over India, we have therefore become the torchbearer of this venerable art known as penjing or bonsai.
Personally, myself and my wife Jyoti have been fortunate in having a large number of students, colleagues and bonsai friends, who have continuously contributed towards sharing this joyful art, in South Asia. We have a fairly well-developed bonsai container making industry and there is increasing awareness amongst the green plant nurseries on the importance of bonsai, which is a part of ornamental horticulture. Most of the delegates present from India travelled a long distance to be in China in 1997 to foster friendship with. the hope that they could gain further insight into the intricacies and philosophy behind this art. I am sure this gain has to be shared amongst those of our countrymen who were not able to come.
I was thankful to the organizers of the 4th Asia-Pacific Bonsai & Suiseki Convention in Shanghai, China, for this great event and giving me an opportunity to present some slides of tropical and sub-tropical bonsai. Most of these were been either grown from cuttings or seeds, with a very few collected from nature. The age of the trees is not relevant to me as the history of bonsai in India is hardly thirty years old. For this 23.reason, the period of training is going to be mentioned. The climate in most parts of our country can be described in three simple words, namely, HOT, HOTTER, HOTTEST. There is not much of a dormant season except in the north and there is growth all the year. This poses a great challenge to growing trees into miniatures. Another peculiar feature is the bonsai hobbyists ratio in India. For every 85 women, there are only 15 men doing bonsai. It is indeed a tribute to our ladies that after tending their family, they all have delicately nurtured the bonsai hobby. With improved economic scene, this is bound to change. Also, to my mind, collecting big bonsai material from nature will afford a challenge to Indian menfolk to drastically change the female-male ratio in the years to come. Living in the cramped cities makes it difficult to have a garden. And shoe-box apartments do not allow us enough space for too much greenery. One solution, therefore, lies in having small to medium bonsai in this modern hectic life. This gives us relaxation, mental peace and minute observation power combined with meticulous working capabilities.
by Nikunj S. Parekh
WBFF Director India Region
Founder-President of Bonsai Friendship Federation of India
Co-founder, Bonsai Study Group of the Indo-Japanese Association