Flowers

As the Indian winter draws to an end, the right season to be in Delhi, some of the best flower shows one can visit are held at Garden of Five Senses that I wrote about revisiting again, and all over NCR region. Lalbaugh at Bangalore is another must visit flower exhibition destination.

The sheer variety of colorful fresh flowers, plants and the designs created by the imaginative gardeners is something that blissfully draws nature admirers year after year. 

Sharing a few of the flower images one can admire for those who are missing these flower exhibitions this time.

Dear Winter, come back soon.

Welcome summer, be kind, time to look for Indian Summer Drinks

Chhabeela Chhattisgarh VI: Economy of Mahua

I had often heard of Mahua flower in stories, in songs and in folklore, but never had a chance to see the flower itself. And then I find myself in Chhattisgarh, right in the middle of the Mahua season, with every morning waking up to Mahua flowers scattered around with people, specially women and little girls picking them up in their baskets, with courtyards of houses full of Mahua flowers laid out in sun for drying and hearing the nuggets about the flower. 

Mahua season lasts for 2-3 months, when the tall tress shed them during the wee hours. The pale yellow flowers lie face down on the ground making a yellow sheet on the ground, and in a jungle they lie on the dried leaves creating a nice pattern on them. Men, women and children come out of their homes and start filling their baskets with the flowers. They take a lunch break and empty their baskets and then come back for a second round of picking. You can see people walking on the road with baskets full of flowers, with small girls carrying small baskets. At night they burn the dry leaves around Mahua flowers so that next morning the flowers can be picked up easily over the dark ash and no flowers are lost amongst the leaves. At night we saw several fires lit around the trees creating a haunting scene in the pitch dark. Mahua tree is considered sacred by the tribals, as almost all parts of it are useful for the humans. The bark has medicinal value, seeds make a good fertilizer and oil can be used as fuel oil. 

In a day and adult can pick up to 5-6 kgs of flowers that get reduced to half after drying. It is then sold in the market and fetches around Rs 30-40 per kg. Mahua flower is also used in home recipes both as an ingredient and as an herb. As an ingredient it is added to the dishes for flavoring, so instead of boiled rice you may get Mahua flavored boiled rice. It is used to make pickles. It is fed to the cattle. As an herb it is given to lactating mothers both human and cattle as it is said to help the body produce more milk. 

The most important product from the flower though is of course the country liquor made out of it. After all it is the same flower that can make even the elephants go ‘Mast’. For local tribes this is a part of their culture, a celebration cannot be complete without the Mahua drink. Usually Gur is mixed with dried Mahua flowers to make the drink. Now I know the name Mahua always has a haunting intoxication associated with it.