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Vashi2Panvel.Com: Navi Mumbai: August 23: Just 5 km from Panvel towards Khopoli, nestled right behind a busy highway is a Bonsai Village, touted by its makers as the world’s second of its kind next only to Thailand. Sujay Shah is the man behind this magnificent creation that seems like a replica of God’s own world! “The primary difference between this place and the other gardens is that this one looks natural. Everything looks tamed yet it has a wilderness that takes you closer to God. You can see for yourself…Right from the landscape design to the flower arrangement the entire set up looks natural," he says.

Sujay Shah has been successful in giving his Bonsai Village a ‘real’ look. But the modest man that he is Shah gives the whole credit to his Indonesian Guru, Rudy Nayaon who has been responsible for the landscape design. “My guru comes once in six months and I make sure that I reap full benefits of his company. He’s a master of masters. I’ve learned a lot about Bonsai and designing from him.”

A landscape designer by profession Shah’s love for plants attracted him towards Bonsai Art and now he prefers to call himself a Bonsai Artist. He has acquired Masters degree in Bonsai and Agriculture from abroad. Question him about Bonsai and he recites incessantly, “In cities like Mumbai where you suffer from space constraint, it’s not feasible to plant huge trees. So, bonsai is the best practical solution. They do not even need the timely maintenance bout but that does not mean they can be ignored. These are living beings so they need the right amount of water, soil, sunlight and nutrition. If you ensure this bit then the plants survive happily.”

Shah’s garden boasts of thousands of plant species from the entire tropical region. An avid traveler, Shah makes it a point to learn from the cultures of the different worlds and put it to use through his art! “I’ve planted species that represent the entire South-Asian World. My collection is huge, rare and unique,” he exclaims proudly. More than thousand plants and still counting… that’s Shah’s Bonsai collection for you! Amidst this, there is a 100-years old Peepal tree from Bodh Gaya. Thanks to Shah’s art, the tree is well preserved. Similarly, he has a 70-year-old tamarind tree. Shah has also hybridized plants of the same family to give startling results.

Apart from these rare varieties of the green beings, Shah has little ponds across this entire three-and-a-half acre land which is rich in aquatic life with lotus, frogs and fishes playing hide and seek round the year! “The fishes inside the ponds are all tamed. I’m very strict about the maintenance of this place. You won’t find one wild being erupting from nowhere here,” he retorts.

Shah’s love for the nature is astounding. He is completely ecological in his approach and that explains the need for a windmill. So, doesn’t he have the MSEB connection? “Yes, I have but that is for emergency purposes. I try to use the windmill energy as far as possible. Furthermore, I’ve an advanced rain-water harvesting system wherein the entire rain water is circulated through the farm and not a single drop goes wasted!” That sounds incredulous but astonishingly it’s true. Shah has also constructed a dam to preserve water at the backyard of his farm. “This dam has enabled to increase the water-table level in the area and consequently it has benefited the surrounding places too,” he claims further adding, “There is a water shortage in this area. The river here is not perennial. As a result, we have to hire at least 3 tankers of water everyday in the month of February. But the dam helped us a lot. This year we had water crunch for just two months instead of the grueling four.”

Sujay, a true Mumbaikar by heart is an Andheri resident but ever since he bought this farm he had been juggling between Mumbai and Panvel. “My family still stays there but we visit each other quite often. I prefer to spend my weekend here, as it’s serene and away from the hectic and fast city life. Plants are my first love and my wife’s too so it’s quite convenient for both of us to develop this place together,” he beams.

Sujay, a happy man frets for two reasons: when somebody tramples his plants and second, when he’s posing for a picture! “A friend advised me to take things lightly. Since then I’ve been working towards staying calmer by adhering to some relaxation techniques. I’m listening to some good soothing music. To add to it, the company of these plants! That’s enough to soothe, right?”

Text: Swati Pandey
Pix: Jagatdeep Singh