Precious Jacaranda,
Cunning and coy!
How do you bloom
with such unabashed joy?
Whither the sweet fragrance
of thy famed name?

For the lost smell,
Is Purple Panic to be blamed?
Neither Exam tree,
nor Neeli Gulmohar,
Neelkantha suits thy frame. (11,contd.)

Purple corollas against blue sky,

Crown is sparse and cannot hide,

The glow, or is it Indigo?                     (14)

 

In a picture,or a painting,

What decides a flower’s hues?

Who shines

the light in my lens ?

Who inspires

colours in brush strokes ?

Who sprinkles

pigments in His Blessings?

Who is omnipotent

in all my musings?(24)

(Poem over. Some introduction to Jacaranda below the picture)

JACARANDA

Family –Bignoniaceae

Genus -Jacaranda

Species- J. mimosifolia

Meaning of Jacaranda -Guarani word (Paraguay)- fragrant

Other names – Black Poui, Purple Panic (blooms in exam times in South Africa and Australia), Exam Tree (if a flower falls on your head, you gonna pass), Neeli Gulmohar, Bhangeri Phool,  Neelkanth

Jacaranda blooms in Pretoria ( called Jacaranda City or Jacarandastad), Ipswich (South East Queenland) and Grafton (New South Wales) are quite famous. Jacarandas are natives of Brazil.

They are associated with the arrival of X’mas time , as well as Exams. In a famous Argentinian novel, a huge Jacaranda tree even plays tango songs on demand. In Kolkata, I have come across a few trees (not many) and their are blooms are quite understated. But it is their indigo colour against the backdrop of blue sky that takes my breath away.

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#Jacaranda

#Jacarandamimosifolia

#Kolkata

#SaltLake

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