Caesalpinea

my fav song "oru rajamalli vidarunne pole.."

It was uthradam day, and I was coming home after a long gap of 8 months. The freshness and joy of Onam was in the air .But I was unpleasantly surprised not to see a Caesalpinea(Rajamalli in Malayalam) shrub which I planted 7 years back in our courtyard (muttam). I was told that the shrub was cut to make way for an earth mover -JCB as part of the renovation work. It was inevitable, they said. To make up the loss of 1 shrub, they have got 3 new saplings and is planning to plant two of them on the two sides of our gate. I said ok no problem. 3 for 1, better! I was in no mood to argue with my beloved parents. Instead I would thank them and my ancestors for planting a wide variety of trees/plants and maintaining our place ultra green.

So what's the big deal with that caesalpinea?

I spent one year of my life at Thrissur in a hostel.It was a virtual prison in fact.No TV, no entertainment, no sleep more than 6 hrs.. the wardens used to wake me up . I used to sit in the balcony of our hostel while studying. There was a ceasalpinea shrub at the courtyard of the hostel. Often I daydreamt, gazed at the sky and the beautiful flowers which the shrub bore. The effect of mother nature was so tranquilizing. After doing this for almost 10 months I felt some sort of attachment with that shrub. When I came back from Thrissur, I took a dozen seeds and planted it at my home. But only one of them survived. A few months later it started flowering. I felt as if I ve become a dad. :-) I seeked amma's help to water and nurture it till it become stout and strong. It grew along, attained almost 3 m height and was undoubtedly the eye catcher in our garden. I loved it!

Now hoping that the saplings grow soon and start flowering!

one of the saplings, ready to be planted.