Auspicious Evenings......

Blogger and FB friend, dentist, photographer, and travel raconteur, Dr Kavita Saharia, often posts photographs of things native to the state of Assam, in NorthEast india, where she lives. She recently posted this wonderful photograph of a flower, that is called "Godhuli Gopal" in Assam.

While the flower looked familiar, the naming of this flower in Assamese was a delight. "Godhuli" refers to the evenings when the cattle return home kicking up the dust ("dhuli"), or as they say , "when the cows come home". This flower, it turns out,  blooms in the late afternoons ....:-))

It is interesting to know that this flower is widely grown across India,China, Peru,and Mexico, and is called Mirabilis jalapa (The four o'clock flower or marvel of Peru)!

A curious aspect of this plant is that flowers of different colors can be found simultaneously on the same plant. Another interesting point is a color-changing phenomenon. For example, in the yellow variety, as the plant matures, it can display flowers that gradually change to a dark pink color. Similarly white flowers can change to light violet.

We call this plant Gulbaxi in my language, Marathi, and I have childhood memories, of plucking these, in several colors,  and twisting them into wreathes to decorate the hair, something all little girls did in my " simple, non-e childhood"....:-))

(photo by Kavita Saharia)

Tired
and pale,
but with a tinge of pink,
she's been at it
since the morning,
sweat shining
on her brows.

Green experienced mamis
crowding around,
encouraging
and helping her along,
themselves refreshed
with
a cool sprinkle.

The Sun
prepares to depart,
wistful
at having missed the event,
when
amidst a rustle of the green
there emerges,
a young one,
pale and pink
and eyes tightly shut.

She breathes easy now,
the glow returns.
And she waits,
agog,
with the  accompanying greens,
to see,
what color
the new arrival's eyes
are to be.....