Life took an unexpected turn for 34-year-old Shibulal when he had to spend 30 days in prison for possession of ganja, but he returned with two things he did not have before: a government job and a newfound passion for growing flowers.

Shibulal, a native of Idukki, was arrested on November 19, 2025, and subsequently sent to the Idukki District Jail after cops found ganja on his residential property. This sent the man, who had just taken a shot at the PSC exams, into a downward spiral of despair.

While he made the cut to the rank list, securing the 18th rank, his spirits were dampened by the circumstances. "It was while I was in prison that I got the news," he said. Just a few years ago, he was a polytechnic student at the college right next door. “I remember how, when I was studying there, the prison was still under construction,” he said.

As days passed, Shibulal began talking to his prison-mate, who happened to be a skilled agriculturalist and offered expert advice on how to turn fallow land into productive fields. "When he found that I had 1.5 acres of land, he suggested that I begin cultivation. Although I wasn't really intrigued by it then, he kept insisting," Shibulal said.

Things turned around when the jail superintendent assigned him a simple task – caring for a potted flower. "He asked if I undertook outdoor work and I said yes. Then he assigned me to water it daily and take care of it," he said.

For Shibulal, who had been mourning his lost freedom, this became a gratifying ritual that swayed him towards farming. After the 30-day-long incarceration, Shibulal managed to secure bail from the High Court and returned to his home, where he lived with his wife, Athira Krishnan, and their son, Rudraksh. His PSC stint put him on an easy path to rehabilitation, placing him at the Idukki Government Engineering College.

With everything back in place the way he wanted, Shibulal let one thing stay from his time in jail –plant-keeping. He took the wise words of the prison-mate to heart and planted pepper on his land.

During the wait, it occurred to him that with 10 metres of space between each sapling and two years needed for them to grow, he could cultivate something else as well. He soon filled the gaps with beautiful marigold flowers, which bloomed right in time for the Onam festivities.

“They were orange, yellow and white, the colours of the African variety of marigolds. We don’t see a lot of white here that often,” he said, taking pride in his produce.

The flowers were cut and packaged into kits, with each kit containing one set of each colour on Uthradam day, the eve of the Onam festival. However, it did not end there. “Even after that, the flowers began blooming again,” Shibulal said. The same ritual was repeated, but this time, as Onam had passed, Shibulal struggled to find interested buyers. So when the third batch bloomed, it became even more difficult. “At first, we were able to sell the flowers for ₹250 a set. Now they move at ₹50,” he said.

As demand in Kerala fizzled out after the festive season, they packed off to Cumbum in Tamil Nadu. “The demand there is higher. In Kerala, the flowers are used in very limited quantities, even while offering prayers at temples. Hence, it becomes hard to sell the bulk volume I produce over here,” he said.

The venture has turned out to be successful, but Shibulal has no idea where the man whose advice brought it this far is or what he is up to. He recalls how the lessons learnt in his cell have shaped his venture now. "It’s specific and niche agricultural advice handed down by my prison-mate that helped me take this project forward,” he said, adding that his wife helps him with the commercial aspects of the business.