moulshree, kachnar, chameli.....

Nature surely has its own way of providing balancing forces. I was at Karjat recently, conducting a training program at Prakruti Farms. Had it not been for the amazing array of flowering trees in full bloom, I would have found it difficult to stay focussed in the sweltering heat. I am not going to write much in this post, the pictures speak for themselves, I hope......

This is Queen's Flower tree, also known as Queens' Crape Flower or Pride of India. Scientific name is (I think) Lagerstroemia speciosa

And here's the well known Ixora coccinea....

And the even more well-known bougainvillea. I feel that we stop appreciating things that are very common. This is one flower that we see every now and then, and don't pay too much attention to. But a magenta bougainvillea in full glory is quite a majestic site.....

I think this is Canna, but I am not sure. Can someone help me identify this one?

This is another well known lovely flower. The dwarf gulmohar, called Shankasur in Marathi. Botanists call it Caesalpinia pulcherrima

A little bit about the title। In my school, the choir used to sing this song in the morning assembly during the onset of spring. The winter was still not fully out, a chill still hung in the air, all of us stood obediently in rows as the choir sang -

मस्त हवा है गगन रुपहला कितने रंग लिए है

कली कली मादक नयनो में क्यों रस रंग पिए है

हौले हौले प्राण प्राण में कोई वेणु बजाये

नील गगन में धानी आँचल लहर लहर लहराये

In spite of racking my memory, I just cannot remember the opening line of this song. But the line that stands out in my mind is - मौलश्री कचनार चमेली सब पर रंग नया है. There was one particular tree on the edge of the ground that I always fancied to be that of kachnar. Someday I would love to go back to school and check if I was right. Much later I learnt to identify the kachnar. And now nearly 30 years later, THIS kachnar that I encountered brought back memories of the song. Scientists can give it complicated names like Bauhinia variegata but for me it is just 'kachnar'. Anyone from Sardar Patel Vidyalaya in Delhi remembers the first line of this song? Looking forward to hearing from someone...

While on this topic, I must mention that I stumbled upon this superb website about flowers. Do visit it at http://www.flowersofindia.net/