Announcer and anchor Nirina Zubir has never thought that garden and trees in her yard are one of the legacies of her late mother, Cut Indria Marzuki. Some years later, Nirina felt the benefit of her mother’s hobby, gardening. Let alone, during the Covid-19 pandemic. She at least does not have to go to supermarket to afford fruit and vegetables.
“Mama loves vegetation a lot. Mama formerly put them on the corner, but later every corner has plant,” said Nirina to EcoNusa.
Cut Indria inherited her favourite tree as the ‘legacy’. Not only at Nirina’s house, each of her children has durian tree. Long before, Nirina was arguing with Cut Indria due to their different preference of plant. Nirina loves beauty of flower plant and her mother only liked vegetables and fruit trees.
“Now I can pick chili from the garden. It is so pleased. I am Minang so I like hot, right,” said Nirina, the best actress on the 2006 Indonesian Film Festival, laughing.
Upon the departure of Cut Indria, Nirina was called to carry on her mother’s legacy. She felt the responsibility to become “the new administrator” of the garden with various plants such as aloe vera, papaya, starfruit, banana and betel.
Her inherited gardening knowledge is then inherited to her children, Zivara Ruciragati Sharief and Elzo Jaydo Anvaya. They have their own favourite plant. Zivara likes cactus and Elzo prefers Nepenthes. Every morning they water their plants.
In some occasions, Nirina will tell the major role of their grandmother for succeeding garden and gardening hobby to them. Nirina hopes that Zivara and Elzo will continue the legacy of Cut Indria in the future.
Nirina said to her children that all is living creatures. “Now mama looks after them. One day you should do your turn. You can eat fruit from there, don’t you enjoy it,” he said. Now Nirina’s children still say ‘My mom loves plants’. But she hopes one day they will say ‘I love plant’. “I keep giving examples to them,” said Nirina.
In addition to gardening, Nirina wants to inherit a new habit to the couple. Since 2021, Nirina has ridden bicycle as an eco-friendly transportation mode. With her husband, Ernest Fardiyan Sjarif, Nirina has social media account with #suami_istri_ride hashtag. Air pollution in Jakarta has kept their spirit to ride bicycle and take other people to take part.
With the mounting pollution, Nirina and her husband are enthusiastically riding bike. “Every day there is always one using that hashtag. I am happy that bicycle riding becomes positive movement,” said Nirina.
Editor: Leo Wahyudi & V. Arnila Wulandani
