The rooftop is shady and green. A huge mango tree stands there, and by the end of winter it will start to bloom. For nutrition there are lemon, okra, bitter gourd, papaya, yardlong bean and other plants, along with colourful flowers.

This greenery was seen on Friday morning at the rooftop garden of Dhupchhaya Apartment on Lake Circus Road in the Kalabagan area of the capital. The garden's creator is Shekhar Mondal, eldest son of Murari Mohan Mondal and Anita Rani Mondal. He has been drawn to plants and nature since childhood.

Shekhar Mondal said: "I live with my family in the rented rooftop room here. Because we live on the roof, sunlight peeps into the room through the door during the day. At first I arranged a shade near the door, but strong winds often blew it off. So I wondered whether I could do something permanent. Then I planted a mango seed. That seed is today's huge mango tree."

An interesting feature of the garden is that discarded tyres take the place of pots. The tyres have been skilfully cut into pot shapes, and coconut husk is used instead of soil. He said: "Discarded tyres have many advantages. First, they are far more durable than ordinary pots, and you can grow various crops year after year. With drainage, there is no chance for mosquitoes to breed. The coconut husk has rotted down into something like soil, and it also acts as organic fertiliser."

The plants are neatly arranged across one part of the roof. The garden also has giant taro, pomelo, brahmi greens, chui jhal, green chillies and much more. Shekhar Mondal's hobby garden meets 80 per cent of his nutritional needs. Medicinal plants include aloe vera and neem.

Asked how he looks after the garden, Shekhar Mondal said: "Apart from watering, not much needs to be done. I scatter the family's discarded biodegradable waste over the pots. No extra fertiliser is needed."

Speaking to Jagonews about his love of plants and rooftop gardening, he said: "The joy of growing vegetables, flowers and fruit with your own hands is something else. I am charmed by the sight of rain dripping from the leaves on rainy days. Moonlight through the leaves creates light and shade in the room, and I get a touch of the village. There is no alternative to rooftop farming to reduce global warming. It is good for the environment and for people too."

Source: Jagonews24. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.