plantito or plantita

Amma called herself a "plantita" with quiet pride, tending her jasmine and tulsi on our Toronto balcony. Between her accounting shifts, she taught me Bharatanatyam, our feet echoing family stories across hardwood floors. "We carry roots wherever we go," she whispered, adjusting my mudra. Years later, I earned enough freelancing to visit Tamil Nadu. There, among her childhood village gardens, everything clicked. The dance movements mirrored plant growth. Heritage wasn't just inherited; it was actively cultivated, nurtured across generations and continents. Now I teach dance online, my apartment jungle-like with plants. Amma smiles.