“I feel young even at the age of 72. I have no problem climbing up and down the stairs. I do gardening myself. Bringing pots, bringing soil, taking care of plants, I do all these work myself. I believe that the more you stay connected with nature, the more active you will be and the better your health will be,” says Rajinder Singh of Punjab.
Rajinder Singh, a resident of Ludhiana, today is an inspiration not only for senior citizens but also for the youth. He not only helps his kids in the business but is also doing regular gardening and composting.
First in the army, then in the bank
Outside Rajinder Singh’s house, from the courtyard to his terrace, there are trees and plants everywhere. Also, to take care of these trees and plants, he himself prepares different types of manure. The Better India He told, “I studied till 10th standard, then started working in a factory. After some time, I joined the Indian Army. While in the army, I also studied till graduation. But I was not promoted, so after 15 years of service, I retired. After retirement, I got a job as a clerk in State Bank of India.
In 2007, Rajinder retired from the bank and started helping his son in a chemist shop. He told, “Earlier he used to stay in the shop from eight in the morning to ten in the night. But now for some time now, I give half a day to the shop and do gardening the rest of the time. I make manure for plants and at the same time, sometimes I do plantation along with some of my colleagues. Now even the municipal corporations call me to make people aware.
Started gardening four years ago
He told that there is a little empty space outside his house, in which he had planted some fruit trees. But once this garden of his got spoiled. Many of their trees were also damaged. He told that till then he was not much interested in horticulture or composting. But at that time, their children contacted an expert to fix the garden. When the expert asked for a very high fee, Rajinder Singh decided that he would fix this garden himself.
He says, “Then I started reading about different plants. He used to go to different nurseries and keep asking other people. My interest in plants started growing. After this, I prepared my garden again. Today it has orange, lemon, potato bukhara, apple trees. We are also eating fruits from many trees. After this, I planted some flower plants in pots on my terrace as well. “
Today he has 500 pots on his terrace, in which along with flowers he is also growing seasonal vegetables like okra, bitter gourd, bottle gourd, tomato, brinjal. This time he had so many gourds and bitter gourds in his garden that he had to distribute it among the people.
Makes many types of fertilizers
Rajinder Singh says that now due to gardening, no wet and organic waste goes out from his house. Rather, sometimes he brings the leaves lying on the roadside to make manure. He told, “I started making compost at home along with gardening. As I started getting success, I kept on moving forward. Now I prepare 10 types of compost. No waste from the kitchen and garden of my house goes outside the house.”
how to make compost:
- He prepares two types of manure from banana peels. In one way, the skins are dried and powdered and in the other way liquid manure is made.
- After making liquid manure from onion peels, the remaining waste is dumped in the home composting bin. It also makes good dry manure.
- He also prepares compost from used tea leaves.
- Eggshells are crushed and stored into a powder, so that it can be added to the plants for calcium.
- Bioenzymes are prepared from the peels of lemons, oranges and tangerines. After this, the remaining waste is used to make dry manure.
- Leaf compost is prepared by drying all the fallen leaves in the garden.
- By collecting the peels of all the fruits and vegetables coming out of the kitchen, they prepare dry manure.
- Collect all dried flowers and prepare both liquid compost and dry powder nutrition. It is very effective for flowering plants.
- Neem leaves are dried and made neemkhali. In addition, insect repellants are also prepared from nimboli and leaves.
- In addition, the sour lassi that is left in the house makes insect repellent. Moreover, after making cheese, he also uses all the remaining waste to nourish the plants.
neighbors inspired
Rajinder says, “If you put the cheese waste in the gourd plants, then you get very good production. That’s why I don’t allow anything to go west from my house. Due to this the waste in our house has reduced considerably. Because even in dry waste I try to get as little plastic inside as possible. If polythene or wrapper is found in it, then I make eco bricks from them. Till now I have made 40-50 eco bricks.”
Seeing them, now their neighbors have also started managing the waste. He told that his colony is now called Model Colony in terms of waste management. Along with the employees of the municipal corporation, Rajinder teaches other people how to make manure. Apart from this, he also plants saplings in different vacant places as soon as he gets a chance. They say that if you want, you can make not only your home but also the places around you beautiful and clean. Just a try if needed.
To get in touch with Rajinder Singh, you can visit his Facebook page.
Editing – G N Jha
Also read: By adopting these 10 small changes, you can live a sustainable life
If you’ve been inspired by this story, or want to share any of your experiences with us, write to us at hindi@thebetterindia.com, or Facebook & Twitter Twitter Contact on
