Hundreds of NRI sons/daughters who sent flowers to India on Mother’s
Day, May 11, could have been persuaded to say it with saplings as
well, if green-minded greetings card makers and florists market the
idea. A Bangalore florist who received online an order from our son in
San Francisco could have sold him (my son) the idea of including a
sapling to go with the bouquet.
So that, along with the bouquet
the florist could have delivered ‘a tree-gift’ card that we can
trade for a sapling of our choice at a local nursery in Mysore.
Tree-gift cards, to go with all occasions, can be sold at
Archies outlets. The
company joint-MD Pramod Arora saya in a
Bangalore Mirror
interview that they have a 50-member creative team. Maybe, they can
have a stab at some green ideas.
According to Mr Arora, there
are a number of greeting-card dealers in the unorganized sector. They
account for an annual turnover of Rs.75 crores. Mysore’s
Sapgreen, a tree-plant start-up which is into
promoting tree-gifts, can think of a marketing tie-up with
greeting-cards makers and online florists.
If every other NRI
were to add a touch a green with her/his order of bouquets, Mysore
would get greener with every special Day – Mother’s, Father’s,
Valentine, and Daughter's Day (an Archie invention). Saplings,
delivered as tee-gift cards and exchanged for plants at neighbourhood
nursery, could be planted in people’s backyard, roadsides and
parks.
Now, a word about the Maa Day bouquet that was delivered
at our place in Mysore. Shortly after 1 p m, Sunday, a lady phoned to
get, what she termed, ‘the landmark’ to our Dewan’s Rd.
residence. She said she was speaking from Vontikoppal and that they
had a bouquet for delivery. It took them another hour and a half to
deliver.
2.30 p m (snooze time for senior citizens) isn’t the
ideal time to receive a bouquet, even from one’s dearest ones. Any
online service provider ought to ensure that his ‘last-mile’ link
is client-sensitive, taking care of conducive delivery time,
bouquet’s shelf-life and other nitty-gritty.
