Himachal Pradesh: Physics teacher grows over 400 plants in his kitchen garden

Meet Balraj Jaswal, a physics teacher at Hiranagar in Himachal Pradesh's Hamirpur district. He made a garden of more than 400 plants at his home. In this garden, you will see such plants whose names you might not have ever heard.

Hamirpur (Himachal Pradesh): Balraj Jaswal, a physics teacher hailing from Himachal Pradesh's Hamirpur has become the talk of the town for his garden, where he has planted more than 400 useful trees.

In the courtyard of Jaswal’s house, every season's fruits such as apples, mango, guava and lemon are being cultivated. Not only this! Even cardamom and camphor seedlings, which are otherwise grown in moist areas, have been cultivated by Jaswal in his kitchen garden.

The bay leaf plant is also adorning the herbal garden. Throughout the year, there are some kinds of fruits in this garden.

Balraj has been cultivating ‘chiku’ fruit in his kitchen garden for almost a decade. Along with this, many varieties of apples, strawberries and mangoes are in his garden. Balraj Jaswal says that the sweetness of the ‘chiku’ tree in his courtyard is no match. Talking about vegetables, he said that vegetables are also grown in the kitchen garden for 12 months.

For birds also Balraj has created bamboo nests in his house.

He says that many birds also come to his herbal garden, which are usually spotted easily. These include the ‘Gowreya’ bird, which is rarely seen now.

Speaking to ETV Bharat, "Balraj said when the environment is pure, birds will also be able to breathe easily. In raw houses, the place for nesting was for the birds but in pucca houses, no space was left for the nesting of birds. Then I built bamboo nests for them. In these nests, ‘Goureyas’ laid eggs and now these guests take care of them."

Balraj has inherited this rare quality in legacy from his mother, Maya Jaswal. Late Maya Jaswal was also a teacher of horticulture and farming and was recognized at the national level for her contributions to the field of horticulture and agriculture. She has received honours from the then Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh Prem Kumar Dhumal and the then Chief Minister of Gujarat Narendra Modi. She was awarded the Best Farmer Award in Gujarat. Apart from this, in the year 2008, Maya Jaswal was also awarded the Outstanding Farmer Award by the Department of Agriculture.

Balraj has become a source of inspiration for the co-teachers and other people in his area. Horticulture experts also take their opinion from him. Balraj friend Rajendra Sharma, who works at a children's school in Hamirpur, says that he gets inspiration from fellow Balraj. He is preparing one herbal garden in the land adjoining his house in the village. He has got this inspiration from Balraj only. Balraj is also helping him with his new task.

Everyone in the area is aware of the scent of his garden. Even during day time, one can rejoice in the fragrance which comes out from his garden, which leaves a soothing impact on passersby.