The ever giving Portia tree.

Trees have been silent companions of a man. They are an endless source and resource that teach us and also nurture us. They are good teachers of patience, endurance, strength, healing, the value of standing tall,  rest to rejuvenate, to reveal oneself with honesty, freedom and to be deep rooted with a firm foundation.

The Portia tree also known as Indian Tulip has kept me in awe from the time my eyes fell on it. As I watched it, I was taken aback seeing the striking resemblance of the transition of life in a woman and the flower of that tree. It is a quick growing ever green tree with glossy dark green heart shaped leaves, showing that it is an ever giving tree. The flowers appear singly off and on throughout the year. The petals are so tightly compressed in the bud condition that even when the flower is fully open, all the five petals look crumpled. The petals are yellow, with a bright red spot at the base, each wrapping the other along one margin and itself overlapped by the petals adjacent to it on the other side. As the flowers grow old, they take on a pinkish hue before they fall off. Some of the flowers hang on to the fruits, till they really shrivel up and fall down.

This flower has captivated my soul to such an extent. I always compare a woman to a flower. The bud as it starts opening up reminds me of a girl maturing into an adult. The flower when it open up fully, it displays its actual beauty like a woman who attains complete womanhood and opens up to the one who is her life partner. Later on the flower starts closing, taking a pinkish hue portraying its beauty and glow, showing the graceful aging of a woman. It bears fruit and the flower hangs on till the fruit matures and then gradually falls off in full splendor.

Trees have always been my silent companion from childhood, playing with them; climbing up and sitting on its branches. Today they heal me like nothing else can. The first thing in the morning I make my coffee and sit in the balcony listening to the rustle of its leaves, the flower slowly opening up and the heart shaped leaves that smile at me.