While sitting in my study, smoking a cigar and listening to the humming of the raindrops, thoughts meander through the deepest recesses of my soul about the journey of life: the ups and downs, the highs and lows, the happy moments and the sad ones. So many thoughts, all blasting through, trying to capture some fleeting iota of my being.

And then I looked at the palm tree, standing erect in its prime, with an aura of pride and a silent surety that it can weather any storm Mother Nature sends to test it. But was this always the case? Did it not face life-and-death situations? What adversities must it have faced before tearing through the grave of mud it was buried in?

Let’s start from the beginning. A small seed. A specialised, compact package designed for reproduction and survival, composed of three main parts: an embryo (baby plant), stored food (endosperm or cotyledons), and a protective seed coat (testa). These structures allow it to remain dormant until conditions are right for germination.

It is a marvel. Just imagine that this seed is geotropic (responds to gravity) and phototropic (responds to light) at the same time. While being buried in its sepulchre, life sputters.

Imbibition, the rapid absorption of water, commences. This process causes the seed to swell, breaking its protective outer shell to allow growth to begin. The water activates internal enzymes, which start to break down stored nutrients to feed the embryo. Then, the first visible sign of growth, the........

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