Flowers and Vegetable Seeds- Nostalgic Memory!

KC PRADHAN
Hurrah, Pocha Seeds are back!
The Pocha Seeds Company of Pune (established 1884), Suttons Seeds in Calcutta (1806 in UK), L.R. Brothers at Saharanpur (1900) and the Chandra Nursery at Rhenock (1910), were household names in the days of the Raj for all home-gardener needs. I was desperately looking for some small packets of French breakfast radish, Celery, Parsley etc. but to no avail. Since someone was going to Siliguri, I asked her to look for these at Bidhan (rather, ‘Hong Kong’) Market.
Lo behold! The seeds arrived - well packed and moderately priced as compared to that supplies cornered by the multinationals and marketed by merchants, of doubtful viability, based in Kolkata, Aurangabad and Bangalore. Their products are priced beyond the reach of the small home gardeners and marketed in bulk mostly to government departments who dole them out to villagers as part of poverty alleviation programmes under various Mission modes conceived by the pundits in Delhi.

I immediately shot off an e-mail to the Pochas in Pune congratulating them and reminding them of the hundred years of our family relations - the present owner must be fifth or six generation if the establishment has not changed hands.
This is exactly what the home gardeners need in the country with its ever burgeoning economy and a middle class aspiring to have a small backyard, or even roof-top, kitchen garden - all organically grown round the year.
These organizations from the yesteryears did not only sell their produce but also brought out very useful literature and books with tips on how and where to grow the flowers, vegetables, fruits and various ornamental plants in the varied Indian climate. They went to the extent of experimenting with various organic composts for different plants and dealing with pests and disease - all organically.
I sincerely hope the others who have gone into hibernation will also follow suit as Pocha as they have the goodwill, technology and resources to sustain their establishments without having to fall back on the Government for doles.
The Indian economy is growing by leaps and bounds and there will surely be room for all to meet the demand of a billion-plus people of this vast country - a superpower in the making. With internet, mobiles and courier services to serve all cities and towns in India, marketing is not at all a hindrance any more. What is required in the seeds and plants business is honesty and consistency. There is no short-cut and those who attempt it will be short-circuited!
[The writer is a respected plantsman and forester from Sikkim who has also served the Govt of Sikkim as Chief Secretary. He has also authored his memoir, “The Life and Times of a Plants man in the Sikkim Himalayas”, available in all leading book stores]