Delicate monsoon blossoms appear fresh and white...

As monsoon rains take the summer heat away, not only do they bring down rain, but cleanse and wash away the summer fatigue and heat. As we watch nature, it is fresh and more so depicted by the fresh white delicate blossoms. Leading among them, hanging like dainty ear hangings, are clusters of delicate, "Rangoon Creepers" along with all kinds fresh 'monsoon whites'. The green in nature is special too, all sorts of clean green are seen, as all kinds of  'rain creepers' along with shrubs and bushes grow fast, they give nature its ornamental touch. I couldn't at the moment display the 'night jasmines' or the sweet scented orange jasmines as they too bloom heavily during this season with bursts of evening fragrances in between the downpours. An evening or a fresh early morning walk is so special at this time of the year, that one shouldn't miss it. Not only to watch the 'mystical monsoon sky' but also to watch the night sky with it's fascinating clouds, collecting and floating past.  In the evenings, as the moisture laden breeze brushes by you, followed by the light touch of a fragrance, filled with sweet scents from the night monsoon blooms that enchant you, as if bringing secret messages from far and near.

Washed by the "Monsoon Rains"......

Yes, this is the season when the entire nature and man-made cities are first bathed and washed, then inundated fearlessly. So, I shall only display the beauty of the monsoons and spare the disasters to be reported on the news for the readers. To begin with, is the enchanting monsoon sky by the night. Then, as the clouds gather, and build up slowly, they cover the entire sky, moving and collecting moisture, by the day, they travel further on.  Moving on then, the clouds turn gray and dark to darker, then ofcourse slowly the entire sky is a wet canvas, and then comes the downpour..... then later on more rain and rain, then the deluge comes when the rains are fierce and incessant. I keep to the spirit of the monsoons as they began a month and a half ago and as romantic as many a writers' have written about and leading amongst them is Tagore, whose longing for nature takes us through the rural riverine Bengal and the seasons and most of all the monsoons, through its melodies, the sound of rains, the longings of the floating clouds, their travels to a timeless zone, or the dance of the winds and clouds, beauty depicted through the rythm of dancers, in so many ways that one can sit in awe travelling through memory lanes and watching the rains.....  

Summer green is made more special by 'Green on green"

Mangoe trees--Watch the trees bear spring blossoms to summer fruits below

The dense blooming greens happen to be the summer habitat for the visiting birds.....

"Green on green"

Green is very special in the summer. Washed by the rains even in the full heat of peak summer, there's a whole varitety of green around. And more so 'green on green', just take a look. The big trees are in full bloom and not forgetting the most favourite tropical fruit the mangoe trees with their fruits are ready too. Compare with the mangoe blossoms in spring and now take a look at the green-fruit-filled trees. You are not visitng a mangoe orchard but these are just roof-top-snapshots. Mangoes have been native of south Asia, including Burma and the Indian subcontinent, historically dating back more than 2000 BC as the olives have been natives of the Mediterranean region, Greece, south of Italy and France. As with the olives in that region, we kind of have a 'Mangoe culture' too.  Green mangoes in cooking, drinks, salads, lentil soups, then mangoes making the summer a season for pickling. Finally, arrive the ripe mangoes in the peak of summer heat, in all sizes, shapes and shades of yellow-oranges, with fresh mangoe fragrances. We live the summer heat indulging in ripe mangoes from breakfast to desserts including sometimes even whole meals !! Mangoes, excluding the extra-sugar part are healthy fruits too, containing multiple vitamins A, C, and E, with antioxidant properties and minerals. It's not only us that are aware of that, I guess, watch the summer flocks, the beautiful summer birds watching over the mangoes, they heavily nest the mangoe and blossomed summer trees as these provide both their food and shelter. Some of them were secretly caught in the camera.

The Flamboyant Colours of the tropical Summer Blossoms

Summer is in full bloom, undoubtedly! Today, I bring to you the fiery colours of the tropical Summer Blossoms. Now, I must move out of my tiny roof top to show you both the fierce and soft summer colours. I will get mixed up with their names, they are so many, flame tree, peacock flower, golden shower, gold dropouts, Krishnachura, Radhachura according to Radha and Krishna, orange to flame red, deep red to scarlet, yellow to burning yellow, then the purple jarul and the soft pink blossoms, they are simply breathtaking beauty. I have the city in frame to proudly display the colours, just take a quick tour, they remain a treasure to the eyes. We have moved in history from Hindu-Buddhists rulers to Moghul-British times to the present. Yes, once planned to be built into a garden city, Dhaka started with open garden spaces, still they remain to be the breathing spaces in today's Dhaka. Then, ofcourse with the British rule as Dacca, the parts of avenues were ornamentally decorated with these summer blossoms such as the Delonix regia or Krishnachura or Cassia fistula, the brilliant yellow, Shonajhuri, the gold droplets, brought in from Madagascar or Mexico, I guess. As Dhaka has walked through it's history so has it carried along it's beauty with pride and in majestic colours. Each year they come with memories of the past, and form newer ones. I write each year about them in different ways still I feel I haven't reached their depths, completely. Everytime they come with a new spirit, new inspiration, and I simply remain amazed by their beauty in golden flames!!

Adding in some of the culinary flavours to the pots

This year both the summer heat and norwester rains hit at the same time, even before summer really set in. Before the norwester hail and rain hit hard to kill the crops, I tried some culinary flavours and Wow, they came up real fast, just have a look. The mint creeper has grown into a thick, dark, fresh green carpet. Mint is one of the oldest herbs and used commonly in most continents. In the Indian subcontinent and the middle east its really popular in fresh yogurt drink or salad dressing. Simply add to your yogurt, some mint paste, green chillis paste made from some freshly plucked ones along with a pinch of salt and sugar. The flavour is great in the summer heat and good for digestion too. In Europe they are added to even soups. Juices and even ice creams are great when they are mint flavoured, sweet and fresh. The green and black chilli, small plants just grew fast and became filled too. Their fragrances and flavours are great appetizers too. The people in our subcontinent use chillis as the most native item on their menu, forgetting historically, how they have travelled a long way from the Americas, where I guess Christopher Columbus, first came across them and later they travelled all around from chilli pepper-to-chilli-to-paprika, with their wide variety from hot-hotter-hottest habanero chilli peppers to the mild vegetable like paprikas. In Goa, it was first introduced and later added to the Indian cuisine where it's popularly known as chilli and used practically in every dish but not as hot as the vindaloo cooked by the initial Portuguese settlers in Goa. Later, I noticed how quickly the curry leave shrub soon became filled with leaves. Freshly plucked ones are great for lentil soups or even as appetizers in the form of paste made with garlic cloves stirred in olive oil. Then, I tired  growing one of the many varieties of spinach and they grew real fast. They can be simply stirred in onion and garlic and served with warm rice. And finally I threw in some fenugreek seeds in the soil that I had at home and I had ended up having both a culinary herb for flavour and a vegetable. They are popular in the Indian subcontinent, also known as methi and Kasuri in Punjab region, which is dried methi leaves, I guess as a friend of mine would say. We have already plucked and relished the first round of fenugreek leaves and we now continue to sow them, grow them and use them fresh again and again throughout the summer. Lest you forget, all of these I mentioned above have great flavouring and medicinal qualities!!