“I don’t have a refrigerator or an air-conditioner at my house,” says Imavathi Ganesan, a resident of Anna Nagar West, while explaining her unique philosophy to a gathering of bibliophiles at the British Council Library in Chennai.
There are people who adopt eco-friendly practices. But Imvathi’s methods are refreshingly fresh and they have more than piqued my curiosity. When I ask her if I can visit her “green castle”, she agrees.
“Honey-bees are essential for a healthy eco-system and it is believed they help increase green cover up to a five-kilometer radius,” explains Imavathi, as she shows me the beehive on her terrace.
Then, she walks me around the house, and I am treated to views of 10 varieties of flowers and 20 types vegetables.
In addition to these, there are a staggering variety of tree saplings. Bitter gourds creep on to plastic nets in the balcony and bright yellow flowers of mustard peep out between rows of other vegetables.
“All our plants are young. We’re just waiting for the season to begin. In one year, hopefully, the landscape around my house will change significantly,” she says with palpable enthusiasm.
She is all geared up for the sowing season, to grow more varieties of vegetables, and possibly even a mini vineyard.
“We just moved in and planned all the spaces meticulously so that they would meet our requirements optimally,” she says.
Now, we move on to discussing the aspect of her life that has fascinated me the most. As she had said, the house is devoid of contraptions that we take for granted. Yes, the refrigerator and air-conditioner are conspicuously absent.
There’s flashback to this green story.
Imavathi, who moved to Chennai 14 years ago, found herself falling sick often. For no known reason, she would suffer stomach cramps and would often be out of breath.
“The doctors kept prescribing medicines but nobody was able to put a finger on the problem. That’s when I decided to make lifestyle changes,” she says.
Imavathi chose an organic route to staying healthy and all her methods are self-experimented, she says.
(Continued on page 6)