Bonsai in bloom

What do you do with a hobby considered ‘slow’ by most standards, an innate interest in teaching and a terrace flat? You fulfil your life’s calling and also strengthen the ties between two great nations. The hobby we’re referring to is the art of bonsai and the person who made it his mission to strengthen the ties between India and Japan is Grant Road resident Nikunj Parekh, the President of the Indo-Japanese Association in Mumbai. 

Sowing the seeds of art
What started as a hobby 30 years ago has culminated into Parekh co-founding the Bonsai Study Group of the Indo-Japanese Association in 1979. When asked what triggered an interest in this art form, Parekh takes us back to his first visit to Japan. He says, “During my first visit to Japan as a member of the delegation of the plastics industry, on a weekend, I visited the famous EXPO 1970 at Tenri Hills near Osaka. There, I saw bonsai of the highest order for the first time. On my return to India, I asked my wife Jyoti if she would like to pursue and learn this art. She not only learnt the art but also experimented on suitable Indian trees, keeping in mind our flora and climate. She, thus, became my ‘Adi Guru’—my first teacher.” 
In the last three decades, Parekh has actively conducted courses on bonsai and gardening by way of workshops and demonstrations across India. He also underwent training under the renowned Bonsai Masters Saburo Katoh, Susumu Nakamura, Toshio Kawamoto of Japan and John Naka of the US. As of now, Parekh tends to more than 1,000 bonsai trees, tray landscapes at his terraced apartment in Mumbai and at his farm, located 75 km from Mumbai.

An antidote for stress
Bonsai is an ever-changing art form, as Parekh elaborates. “It is not a static art like a painting that is framed once it’s completed. Bonsai teaches virtues of patience; through pruning and shaping one can create a miniature tree,” he says, “Younger people in today’s competitive world have to learn how to handle stress—bonsai can help them de-stress and meditate. One needs to create spaces for the sun and wind energies to pass through the branches, which results in a longer life for a miniature tree placed in a container. In Japan, there are bonsai trees that are almost 1,100 years old and hence considered a national treasure,” he exclaims.
Little wonder then that Parekh was recently conferred with the ‘The Order of The Rising Sun, Gold and Silver Rays’ by Yoshiaki Ito, Consul General of Japan. The title is awarded to those who have made remarkable contributions in the fields of international relations, promotion of Japanese culture and development in welfare or preservation of environment. “I feel honoured to have received this award because I appreciate the Land of the Rising Sun—its work culture and the disciplined lifestyle,” says Parekh.