The Gulmohar tree, "Flame tree," is a common sight. In summer the landscape is decorated by these bright flowers blossoming, adding color and beauty to the surroundings. They look awesome with an umbrella like canopy. A tree that has inspired me a lot lately, for its survival instincts. The blossoms are gorgeous and make the tree look exuberant. They can tolerate heat and humid conditions of the seasons. Its bright red flowers have a faint fragrance and the leaves very small, delicate and supporting the cluster of flowers. The flowers are unique, they have four red petals and just one streaked and spotted with either white or yellow. A tree of ornamental that provides shade and beauty.
I have been watching this tree in awe this year. It was fully covered with clusters of flowers. The stamen is beautiful and have a lot of nostalgic memories of it. They make a beautiful carpet in its bower and regarded also as one of the most beautiful trees. Though it is an evergreen deciduous tree and remains green, whenever it gets enough water, but when there is a water scarcity it sheds the leaves. I saw this tree or to be precise I observed that it has become bare to survive. It sheds its leaves only wherever it does not have access to water, while some have a foliage of a mix of yellow and green. A tree survives even in the toughest of situations. It has always been a metaphor of life for me. I thought of cancer and it is for the survival against cancer that a part is removed and it really doesn't make a difference because it is a question of survival against the odds.
The Flamboyant display of its orange red flowers, like a fire is so intense, form a beautiful canopy. It can withstand any conditions of seasonal changes. During rains, it serenades with the music of the monsoon, and the moist leaves with rain falling in gentle rhythm, the raindrops nestle on the leaves and hang on the tip of every tiny fern like leaf. Nature bestows such splendid picturesque surrounding with beautiful trees and it's blossoms. Nothing is more uplifting than the sight of a tree in full bloom. Even when the sky is overcast, winds blowing, the Gulmohar tree petals unfold and then fall bravely on the ground. It is a harbinger of hope, a respite from the heat, the bright colors promising vibrancy, a faith to live on and thrive in all circumstances. They are not only lively, but also bring life and positivity to everything around it.
A Gulmohar tree brings back the sea-tide of memories for many, the childhood, youth, lost love. It floods me with childhood memories of decorating my nails with the its buds, the lock-fighting with its stamens and a deluge of endless memories. For some reasons it spreads cheerfulness in me. The upright spotted petals remind of love and shows a connection to the most inner self, the stamens imparting a sense of belonging to the petals that hug them in a tight bud. They bring out streaks of purity and serenity in a relationship, for those who lived with so much selfless love in them.
The flame tree continually inspires poets, flaming their poems, holding and beholding many untold stories. You can discover the hidden secrets of nature only with patience and love...... finally to understand every little thing in life is part of nature. A tree with medicinal value and gazing at the tree in full bloom, I realize that earth, indeed, does smile through flowers expressing its flamboyance.
4 comments:
A tree that attracts the birds and butterflies too. It was a visual treat ...these trees in full bloom on either side of the road somewhere in Delhi.
Thank you Asha.
I was infact wondering how so much has been written about Gulmohars and what attracts people afflicted by doses of muse to this tree! Guess, no other tree must have evoked the same kind of poetical grace and may not have been written about so much.
Your write up is a beautiful reminder of what it is all about..:)
Thank you Arun.
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