Wednesday, January 04, 2012

a handful of bokul phool for you Ma!

Having seen this intricately carved structure on the way to The House of MG, Ahmedabad, we decided to explore it later in the evening.
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This is in the Hatheesing Jain Temple compound, a temple built in the 19th century dedicated to Dharamnath, the 15th Jain Tirthankara.

We got there as dusk set in bringing with it the ochre glow of ghee lamps in the temple.
Marveling at the ornate marble architecture, the peaceful atmosphere in the courtyard we sat on the warm stone corridor just to be in the moment. What a serene moment it was...

As we stepped out, my daughter came running to me with tiny pale white flowers that she had collected from under the tree in the courtyard.

Oh that mild fragrance! It is the bokul phool!

My mother's bokul phool. The flower that is so dear to my Ma.

She had told me stories of her growing years in Kolkata where trees of bokul phool that lined the streets would spread a carpet of these delicate flowers on the black tar roads. How she would run to gather them in the pallu of her half saree. String them together and adorn her long black plait with it.

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With the fragrance came the memories of the stories that I had heard and vividly visualized. I passed on the story to my daughter, saw that twinkle in her eyes as she ran to collect some more...

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So here is a handful of bokul phool for you Ma!

A very small gift for you on your special day. Happy Birthday Ma.

15 comments:

Corners and Moments said...

I used to love these flowers !! I had almost forgotten about these...*sigh*

Anonymous said...

So lovely!

Sudha said...

these flowers remind me of the loitering walks to the bus stop, play time with my cousins and friends and most importantly those silent evenings i spent reading a book in our backyard :)

lovely post arch

Sudha said...

And a special bday wish to your mom :)

Kaberi said...

Bokul phool..... brings back so many memories down the memory lane..... I can still smell the fragrance of the flowers in my head!! During my last visit, I went looking for the one tree I knew while growing up and found out sadly that it was gone.... chopped down to make space for concrete jungle!! Happy Birthday to your Ma!

Anonymous said...

My neighbor has this tree :) and sometimes wind brings these to my compound..:) Very fragrant they are!

Sharanya

vijisuresh said...

I always remember the lovely fragrance of these flowers! we used to get the strings of these flowers in Ranganathan St.,T.Nagar!

pRiyA said...

I've never seen these flowers before. They are beautiful.

Siri said...

Lovely post Arch! beautiful flowers,beautiful memories, life so simple, still rich in every way!!! a very Happy birthday to ur Ma..

Archana Srinivas Pottery said...

Thank you everyone for sharing your memories of the bokul phool:-)

...and for the lovely wishes:-)

Sound Horn Please said...

These flowers are called Parijatha in Kannada. We had a tree at home and my sister and I had the task of picking them every morning and making a garland for puja. They were a favorite, as they were the easiest to fashion into a garland :)

Jyotsna Wase said...

I guess I'm not the only one then :) Every Indian mother-daughter perhaps has a flower story. Ours is Mogra, which I grew up collecting every summer at my grandma's place and making garlands out of them for my mum :)

Anonymous said...

Reminds me of the book - Gently falls the Bakula.. :)

FewMinute Wonders said...

This is the first time I got to see your blog. You have such an amazing space. I have been reading your posts and enjoying it. Love the Phool photos and the memories attached to it. Thank you for sharing the photos and pictures of parts of India I have yet to travel to.

theartandcraftgallery said...

wow So nice to see the bokul phool after long time... miss it badly in Aus.. wonder wat's it biological name and if i can get it downunder....