Battle For The Lotus Pond

Great Fun!

- Dr Navya Narendra

Now, there are some rituals that should never be changed, come rain or shine. One such ritual of us cousins every summer was the annual cleaning of the lotus pond, situated in the front yard of the house. This was the event that we looked forward to the most each summer holiday. You ask me why? Well, the five of us considered this pond filled with muddy water and lotus plants and fish as not only a waste of our play area as we were forbidden from playing there but we also wanted to turn it into our own version of a swimming pool (though it was just four feet deep) which provided us all with something to brag about to our friends once school reopened.

Are you thinking as to what's the big deal in just cleaning a pond? Let me tell you guys that this was a mini-adventure of sorts because every year cleaning the lotus pond involved three stages. Getting permission, cleaning and self conscience. Confused? No worries, let me take you guys through the journey of cleaning the lotus pond.

Getting permission: This was the most crucial stage and also the most time-consuming one. Usually about a few weeks into the holidays, me and Sukruth, no longer able to tolerate seeing the pond being enjoyed just by the lotus plants and by the fish, used to have a discussion between ourselves to finally kick-start the annual ritual. Sigh, if only getting permission was that easy. Because there were three important people who's permission was crucial...