Once upon time there was a farmer who decided to grow bamboo on his land. He was always fascinated with the bamboo and its many many uses and that it was the tallest grass in the world. His neighbours tried to dissuade him but his mind was made up.
With great enthusiasm he began the process of tilling and planting the seeds. With all this done he sat back and waited for the seeds to sprout and emerge from the soil.
After months, when the first shoots were no where to be seen, his neighbours who first got worried for him, and held his hand and shed some tears with him, were now laughing at him. After all, their yield was also giving them money.
But he held on with great faith. It was an investment of his money and hard work and he knew it wouldn’t be wasted.
During this period, a philosopher, who was walking past all the farms stopped by and asked why this patch of land was still barren while the others were lush and green; but only till he realised that it had bamboo sown in there.
To which he said, ‘In everything you do, be it for your family, with friends or your work, always keep in mind the bamboo tree. After the seed for this amazing tree is sown you see nothing for almost four years except for the tiny shoot coming out of the bulb. It is during these initial years that all the growth happens underground in a massive fibrous root structure that spreads deep and wide in the soil. And then in the fifth year it suddenly grows upto 8 feet high!!
Investing your time and effort to nurture something might take weeks and months or even years. But patient and consistent work will bring in that “fifth year” and you will be astonished at the success you’ve achieved.’
This pleased the farmer no end and in a year, to his joy and relief his bamboo farm grew tall and green.
Presenting to you a set of four paintings. While the background is in the colours of the tall and strong bamboo, the leaves are lush and green. Do you also see them dancing in the breeze?
Suna_brushwork 