This fragrance-filled-delicate October night bloom marks "The Tropical Fall"

    

  

I have been very excited, waiting for the bloom as this is the first blossom in our small rooftop tree. So, I have to display their fall on the tree leaves and wait for the carpet of flowers until next fall. The pictures were taken in the early morning sun which this year has been strong, so the dewdrops have dried out. Even then, the fragrance around the tree simply lifted the atmosphere and their delicate touch was simply  soft and fresh, as the morning dew. 

  

 




This is a very special bloom which occurs after nightfall bearing both intoxicating and nostalgic fragrance and colours of this region, white petals with orange-red center and stalks all of which are responsible for their name coral jasmines or night-flowering jasmines. The bloom welcomes the cooler fall before mild winter in this region. Many of us remember this blossom with a special nostalgia such as mine. My childhood memories lead me on to this tree in my parents' garden, rising in the early hours, to carefully collect the delicate flowers, from the orange-white carpet under its tree, mingled with the fragrance they spread. This flower carpet on the ground below the tree (truly a shrub) is a result of its special attribute, blooming after nightfall and dropping off with the early morning dew. Many a poets have been charmed by them, and written about "momentary strangers meeting in the flower pathway created by their fall, or being enchanted by the fragrance in the night air spread by this delicate night bloom. In addition, besides being  worn as youthful flower garlands, loose fragrance-filled flower bowls for home decors, they have specially served for the temple rituals held at this time of the year.  

Burst of colours

It rained heavily, all on a sudden, the other day.  After a spell of scorching heat, unusual for this time of the year, it was a sigh of relief. Since, the increase in frequent tremors in this region, one always worries when it gets very hot in seasons when it should be cooler, whether the inside of the earth is just releasing its extra heat or will it angrily shake us up with another tremor soon. Atleast, the sudden downpours are welcoming and even the very next days burst of colours in the small garden spoke the same language. The tiniest flowers also showed off in bright colours and each area seemed to have a paintbrush effect from a clean and fresh, nature's spectacular palette.

  

A walk through the wilderness

To me, to be able to have nature resemble its natural environment

is the best thing that can be made to happen. So I have always tried to get the creepers with wild flowers like the "threadleaf", found in the walks through the woods, to add some colours to the green. Although, you don't hear the rustle of leaves from the tall forest trees or the sound of crickets, simply looking at this collection, may bring about the pensive mood of solitude and allow one to hear the resonance of the wilderness, creating a moment to speak to your inner soul. 

Hope the grass-plants, tiny creepers with daisy like flowers, and the mosses arouse  similar reflections in the reader's mind !!

Bright Sunshine Yellow

The spirit of summer yellow is represented by these bright flowers shining in the sun. They withstood the scorching heat throughout this summer and the long rainy monsoon season too. I still find them blooming bright and steady. Here are some of them. And ofcourse as many of us know, the Allamandas (the last three pictures) beat them all. They are easy to grow, they simply beat any bad weather, be it heat or rain, they simply overcome the worst and just bloom and bloom. All of them make a small effort look big and brighten up the surrounding. 

The Beauty of Plumerias/Frangipanis under the October sun

As you follow through each of the pictures you see the reflection of the bright October sunshine, each of them bursting into smiles of happiness and joy. They appear like a bunch of happy friends or family members relaxing in the sun. Also, here comes another bunch of plumeria like, on the right, I am not sure if its a true plumeria but behaves the same, except  the bunches are more fragile and beautiful, a treat to the eyes. They blossom at similar times in the year. All of these love the sun and rain and have blossomed several times during the summer-monsoon season that just finished. The plumeria like ones on the right are in full bloom now and the the woody tree is simply filled with pink and magenta shades amidst it's green leaves under the after-rain sun.  

"The Monsoon Sky" clears away

Before I open the post-monsoon chapters, I would like to share some of the memorable moments from the tropical monsoon season. As this rainy season approaches, the clouds start to build up, one on top of the other, collect all the raindrops to bring in their continuous downpour throughout the monsoons. It is a season when nature thrives and so do we. It touches the hearts of many a writer, poet, artist and at some point each normal soul has been bathed by the spirit of monsoon. It is a season that cleanses the soul. Each year, it comes with a different look, a new beginning as with many other seasons when they change their cloaks. The images displayed below show the enigma and the vastness of the monsoon clouds as they came and left from June through September, 2011. They depicted their magical spirit  continuously and poured in messages from far and near as we shared our joys and sorrows with them and learnt from their experiences. 


 As we move on to the month of October 2011, the last raindrops say goodbye to the monsoons. During the monsoons the white fragrances blossomed, some were remnants from the summer whites. Late monsoons were filled with pure downpour from the heavy monsoon clouds and I didnt get much chance to talk to my smaller plants except draining their water. This evening as the rains slowly disappeared after the first few dry days, I found the last few gardenias still blossoming strong along with the frangipani plumeria bunches in yellow and magenta that were probably searching for some sunlight during the day. I was there late in the evening and the sky was calm and clear with a fresh breeze around. Yes, I am closer to the sky too as my small rooftop garden has this vast expanse at its backdrop. Soon, I will be posting pictures and sharing nature's ways from this small pot plant collection which I love to call our garden under the tropical sun and rain.

Hope you enjoyed as much as I have always been touched by the spirit of the monsoon clouds!