The first Gulmohar tree I ever saw stood near a bridge………….There was also a Manchadi and for so many years I thought both flowers and seeds came from the same tree.

As kids we would wait for someone to take us there………….We would make big yellow nails with the flowers and play with the manchadi seeds!

The beauty of this flower is unexplainable.

……… By the time school reopens all those trees on the road side would be in full bloom and it would look like a long red carpet rolled out.

There was a Gulmohar tree at our school also. I can only laugh remembering how we were caught running in the rain collecting those flowers.

The Gulmohar flowers gives me the feeling of coming back home after the long holidays, to embrace everything I had left behind.

Those flame-bright flowers always bring with them the sweet smell of soil after the monsoon rain, the smell of new books,school bag and uniform.

………………..For me Gulmohar has been a symbol of all the resolutions I made for the new year .

The resolutions were however soon forgotten, long before the flowers wilted.

The Gulmohar or the May Flower (Delonix regia) dominates most of Bengaluru’s residential areas and important roads.  During the last few weeks of April and the beginning of May, the bare tree bursts into hues of vermilion and crimson. The change is hard to miss and is nothing less than breathtaking. The 17th Cross bridge in Malleshwaram becomes such a pleasure to travel on – with the trees lining both sides of the bridge creating a canopy of red flowers. A view like this makes the summer easily bearable!  I counted 120 (yes, One Hundred and twenty) Gulmohars on 17th Cross, Malleshwaram alone! Right from where the road starts on Sampige Road – until where it ends at Dr. Rajkumar Road – one hundred and twenty graceful beauties adorned in red! It makes for a beautiful walk in the mornings. When the trees grow un-pruned, the thinner branches spread and start falling downward, forming a curtain of red flowers – which i tried to capture in the first sketch. I envy those who have a Gulmohar blooming outside their window – like this lucky house in Nandini Layout – with a beautiful view like that I’d never keep my window shut!

Here’s another sketch of the Gulmohar flowers – a bunch that I found fallen on the road after a spell of rain.

]]> http://ritzpix.wordpress.com/2009/04/20/coorg/ Mon, 20 Apr 2009 11:55:33 +0000 ritzpix http://ritzpix.wordpress.com/2009/04/20/coorg/

Slumdog, not millionaire!

An Indian Summer

What did you think? ROTFL

Thought I’d share something I really love about an Indian Summer- apart from chilled mango shakes, chilled water melons, stinking, tasteless papaya, refreshing Rooh Afzah in milk, panna, nimboo pani, long afternoons spent reading with a jugful of chilled rooh afzah mixed with fresh lime and ice cubes, ….long siestas and longer evenings ….

Will not talk about the load shedding at the time of elections

At my grand parents house, we used to sleep on water sprinkled terrace, I loved those cool white sheets …And we used to try to scare each other by pretending to be ghosts by throwing those sheets over us and then we’d get extremely scared ourselves. Back then we were only interested in peepal trees for the ghosts that we believed lived there. Mango, mulberry, jamun, guavas were of some interest too, but I don’t think we cared for any of the trees I love today.

These gorgeous Bougainvillea flowers seem to require no care, they drape beautifully over any trees, walls, fences and survive, actually thrive in the scorching unbearable heat.

Chandeliers of Amaltas or Laburnum will continue to decorate our roadsides, drains, abandoned, dusty uncared for gardens and wilderness till end of May.

This beautiful tree with purple/violet flowers is called Jacaranda. I know one that is home to many birds, and I have seen and photographed a hummingbird, bulbul, sparrows, Munias, a crow’s nest, noisy Warblers, gorgeous Green Bee Eaters, Greater Coucal etc on one tree!

And the most flamboyant is the Gulmohar. It’s also called Flame of the forest , because the orange-red flowers spread all over the trees do look like fire.

Makes one see how much sense Sher Shah Suri had when he got shady trees planted on the sides of the roads, all those years ago!

In nature there is no death or destruction at all. What occurs is the reshuffling of atoms. If there is a need or necessity to maintain the balance of ‘energy’ in this universe, death occurs.

As the sun falls, the streets of Bandra come alive with devout Muslims breaking their fast and all you need to do is follow your nose and you’ll find mouth watering food. For all of you’ll late night foodies in need of good food but cant find any place that’s open so late at night,  here are some places that are open late at night but only during the month of Ramadan.

RAJASTAN: This place is the rave for good food and is always packed with people. The sheekh/shami kebabs and mutton biryani here is to die for. This place is open through the night till 5am. Where: Ward No. 752, Opp. Traffic Police Chowky, S.V. Road, Khar (W), Contact: 26497006, 26043908.

YADGAR FAMILY RESTAURANT: This place is famous around the locality for it’s chicken dishes and for Ramadan they have added a few specials to their menu. Try their Chicken Kandi and Firni. They are open 24hrs (so they say). Where: Opp Bandra station bus depot, Contact: 65051332.

MUMBAI TIMES CAFE : These guys even have a special Ramadan menu for its customers. The kebabs, fruit salads and faloodas are simply delicious. It’s open from 3pm to 10:30 pm (not as late as we hoped). Where:Ground Floor, Crystal Shopping Paradise, KFC Lane, Off Linking Road, Contact: 66711587 .

GULMOHAR: A nice restaurant to stop in and have a quick bite. Try their brian bhurji and brain masala fry. Their Malpua is simply outstanding and their open the whole night but after 3am the shutter is half down but you can still go in and eat.
Where: Bakar kasai, diagnally opp Lucky Hotel, M.S. road, Contact: 32072595/26402267.

- Rommel Albuquerque

RANJANA RAO writes from New York City: I am Gulmohar—that’s my pen-name. Does it make you wonder what sort of a person I am? Female or male? Does it denote the tree or its beautiful flowers?

Why the hell would a person name herself after a tree anyways?

Gulmohar to me is a tag that denotes a “state of mind”. A state that I reminisce in the month of May; a state that I would love to go back to if possible; a state that I relive over and over again.

“May” holds a very special place in my heart. On a very superficial level, it is my birth-month; but I’d like to credit myself with a little more depth than that. In the past, May has ushered in some of the best days of my childhood. With the annual exams completed in March results out on April 10, May was usually the peak of summer vacations—one thing I miss dearly from my childhood.

I would give an arm and a leg to re-live the wonderful moments I enjoyed with my friends and cousins in those long summers.

In May, the resplendent Gulmohar trees would burst into bloom and cover my dear town—Mysore—in a floral canopy of crimson red. A gust of wind sprinkled these sashaying May-flowers to adorn the roads below, fill the air with a light fragrance, and usher a festive look.

My cousins and I spent many a summer days playing under these Gulmohar trees in a park close to my home. These magnificent trees staved off the harsh rays of the summer sun and created a gentle, translucent awning.

Innocence bloomed in this ornate canopy with intermittent sunlight.

We exchanged dolls, stories and glass bangle pieces. We drew a quick block of squares on the ground and were jumping all over it with “Am I right?” in kunte-bille (7 squares). While we stuck the long yellow calyx of the Gulmohars on our nails and pretended to be princesses with long nails, the boys would prance around imagining these as tiger claws and scaring the girls!

Every once in a while, we would tune our ears to the morning ragas we would otherwise miss during school time. The ragas were not just from Aakashvani.

“Soppu; dantu, palak, menthya, pudina; soppu” a predictable vegetable vendor would chime the names of his greens.

Mango, ‘the fruit’ of Indian summers, would make its entry into the street and people would flock to make a good buy. Kids rushed in for the ever-popular totapuri raw mango with salt and chilli powder. From rag collectors to dasayyas with conches, a stream of humanity made their entries.

If we were lucky, we would run into the “Kole Basava”—an adorned bull with his multi-coloured embellishments accompanying his master with the volaga. The only bigger attractions than the Kole Basava were the snake charmers and the monkey handlers.

Lunch was quick—we did not want to lose out on the fun.

Once back, the afternoons were spent climbing the low branches of the Gulmohar, relishing tamarind rolls (with salt, chilli powder and jeera), poppins or the gaadi ice-candy. Half-hearted calls from moms to get in and take a nap expectedly fell on deaf ears. This was a time with not many rules.

Freedom!

It was the time of freedom, and everything seemed to be at a standstill. We caught what we thought were fishes (but were actually tadpoles) in a nearby pond, played hide and seek, buried our feet in the warm sand from a construction site next door, or searched for small conches and did craftwork. As the evening drew closer, we exchanged horror stories and waited for our dads to arrive home.

We said our goodbyes amid “bande ma, ondu nimisha” (coming mom) as our moms called out to us.

Each day brought with it, abundant stories of the day to narrate to our parents, irritating them while they tried hard to keep up with Nagabharana’s or Ravi Kiran’s TV serials.

The day would end with a simple dinner. If we had our cousins over, it was always “Kayyi Tuthu“—an elder sitting the kids in a circle and handing morsels of food to each by turns. Curd rice with nimbekayi uppinakayi (lime pickle) on a moonlit terrace with a faint, scented breeze.

Heavenly.

If mangoes were for dessert, a tussle would ensue for the vaate (pit) while it was split up amongst the kids. Good times.

As we went to bed reminiscing the day, a cool breeze from the Gulmohars would flow in thru’ the open windows. Luckier teenage guys would take their roll-up beds to the terrace and sleep in the open beneath a star-lit sky.

As the day ended, a sense of contentment would wrap us like a blanket and a promise of another beautiful summer day tomorrow would fill our dreams.

Now, as I look back as an adult, the Gulmohar on our street and the park in front of us was our common denominator; a silent pillar of that beautiful summer scape that was my happiest. It was a state filled with no worries, abundant innocence, the sheer joy, gay abandon and lot of simple fond memories.

Memories, as much nurtured by the Gulmohars as by my loved ones.

Not really interested …. what the heck .. I have been inducted into the .NET University and what, I have already been buried with loads and loads of work. 16 hrs of lectures to be taken next week on topics I had just heard of .. Oh Lord, please pull me outta this. And guess what my seniors here have to say .. Jawad, u need to be one “Dal”, one “pist” in the topics that ur gonna handle. Someone explain to me the meaning of these words … why don’t they understand I’m just  a nerd wannabe and not an accomplished one ..

Had one hell of a time reading MOCs … for the less enlightened readers, MOC is Microsoft Official Curriculum … hehe … I’m getting insane or am i already???

Boss, to hell with all this … am better off doing what I have always been. Though, I have always wanted to learn but this seems to be an overdose and to top it the very thought of 16 hrs of lecture in 3 days is killing me. I wouldn’t have minded it, if I had to attend those lectures but me taking them … naaahhhh. But, wait .. do I have an option?? What am I driving at … Lemme take a break here and digress, like I always do ..

Sitting in my cubicle working on some crap proof of concept, I open the tinted windows and what do I see … Lovely Gulmohar … dressed in red and shining bright with birds chirping … Boy, its spring time here in Bangalore … what have I been doing all this while, thought urs truly. I just sat there looking … all my confusions and worries and iniquities drowned and I felt like I was flying …. I was in peace with nature and nature with me. Boy, what a feeling .. and suddenly my phone rings and there goes “Jawad, come down soon!! we have an issue” …. I keep the phone and run down and all that had drowned, surged up again …. this is life and I have to take it the way it comes.

Hail Nature … for those two minutes of joy. Wooow, what an awesome experience ….

Its a beautiful like folks, worries can come another day ….

Am off for a hot cup of tea ….

Jawad

Thanks to Nizhal …. a NGO to re-introduce Trees and their lives to us, did take part in a Treewalk on Nov1st. some of the trees seen during the walk and learning from them ….

With the help of Ms Chitra & Ms Yamini (the resource persons who helped us in learning them) (Thanks to Ms Yamini for going over my pictures and correcting the facts)

The Palmayra, is the State Tree for Tamil Nadu.

Poomarudhu / Queens Crepe Myrtle / பூமருது … is an Indian species (most of the indian species have the name “indica” in their botanical names) and have some lovely flowers.

Gulmohar tree, not an native indian tree. Might have come from Madagascar.

More to come ………

The gulmohar in full bloom, welcoming the monsoon with it’s flaming red!

Amaltas-Cassia fistula in full bloom in Jaipur

It is May and it is hot.All life is wilting in the heat.Except for the trees- they are lush green. And Amaltas and Gulmohar are blooming with abandon. In this day and age if you still want a reason to plant a tree you should  take a drive in Jaipur  in the afternoon. You will remember the yellow and the greens and the orange for a long time.You will notice bougainvillea is not shy in displaying its charms either.

You are all inspired to plant a sapling- but where in this concerte jungle.The best place would be to plant a sapling right outside your home- next to the road.Right under your eyes. You will be able water it and watch its growth on a day to day basis.If there is no possiblility of planting a tree outside your home then you can plant one in the colony garden. Remember the trees are not only for you but  for the future  generations yet  to come.They will also provide shade, invite rains and produce Oxygen.The plants should  be sown during the rainy season.The choice of sapling is up to you.You should  choose a variety which require less water and looks after it self in this arid climate of Rajasthan.Trees  like Ashok-Polyalthia longifolia, Khejari, Babool,  Neem-Azadirachta indica,Amaltas-Cassia fistula,  Gulmohar-Delonix regia etc.