As I walked through our garden apparently restrained by the lockdown I came across a beautiful orange spectacle of flowers that instantly captured my imagination.
The fluorescence was bunched together tightly as a sea of orange and crimson.
I am not surprised that these flowers adorn the quiver of the arrows of Kamdev, the Hindu Cupid, arrows which can seduce any mortal or divine to tangle in the shackles of love. So beautiful is the foliage that when in Lanka, Sita sought to rest herself under its brilliance till Shri Ram would rescue her.
In fact, Sita had an entire garden to make her feel at home in the enemy’s land. The flowers they say are worshiped in the Indian season of bloom and blossom, the Chaitra.
The flower-inspired many a sculptures and yakshinis. It’s essence though somewhat mild, witnessed the birth of Buddha and led to enlightenment of Mahaveer. The flowers which bore witness to many royal families were considered befitting for none other than royals and Gods.
Even art is incomplete without mentioning the beauty of these flowers and Kalidasa in his first play “Malavika Agnimitra” narrates a scene where the beautiful princess Malavika forced to be a maid, dances around the tree and her touch appeals the tree to bloom in full glory taking away all her sorrows.
Agnimitra the king is all but blown away by Malavika in the romantic setting of the crimson red stigma that adorns the flowers. I can imagine why these flowers have such ac romantic vibe.
Shiva resides close to these flowers, and its company is said to drive away sorrows. So heavenly is the presence of these flowers in my garden that I can spend hours merely staring at them.
And since the flowers are blooming in Belagavi our sorrows are going to be over soon. Let’s be hopeful and let’s wait for these black clouds to recede and make our city be Ashoka the one without Shoka or sorrows. We will be free, we will tide this crisis too.
Pretty cool, didnt know about the history of the flower.
Nice one sir, as expected!