My Sweet, Little World
Just like lotus flowers in a murky pond, Semal flowers are now in full bloom in the drab and polluted Mayapuri Industrial Area. Yesterday, I took a few minutes off from work and clicked some pics. Here, take a look. Looking at these pretty images helps in staying calm when the going gets tough. As I mentioned in Facebook too, this post is inspired from Mayank Austen Soofi’s numerous posts on this lovely tree which blooms in the brief Spring season in Delhi…
Timarpur Greens
This year also, we celebrated Durga Puja (19-23 October 2015) in Timarpur. While walking to the pandal and back to the guest house, I took some random shots of the surrounding greenery with my mobile phone. I was very happy with the results. Just take a look. They are given below.
Timarpur is the oldest government residential colony in Delhi. It was established in the pre-independence era. Unlike other government colonies, most of the area remains untouched and undeveloped since it was first established. That’s why it seems to have an old world charm. Most people who live here are either tenants or the original allotees of the government flats.
With lots of wide, open streets, rich greenery, tall trees as old as the colony itself, the place gives you the feel of a fairy tale with all the elements of good and evil. There are, of course, a few patches of slum areas and the usual traffic. But the noise and pollution level seem to be comparatively less and there seems to be a general sense of all-pervasive peace and calmness.
We lived as tenants in Timarpur for 2 years till 1994, but we keep returning to Timarpur every year during Puja. My family members were government servants and were one of the earliest residents of Timarpur who played a prominent role in helping the Puja continue year after year. Our family tradition is still continuing till date and by the grace of Ma Durga, we always manage to find accommodation somehow near the pandal during those 5 days of Puja. My 19-year-old daughter says that she cannot imagine herself enjoying Durga Puja at any other pandal. So I guess the tradition will go on in future as well.
Wild Flowers of Delhi
Delhi is world’s 10th most polluted city. This is what a recent report on World Environment Day said. But for people like me, Delhi is where home is. It is where we live, breathe, eat, pray, love, dance, sing, and do all those things that make us human. So it’s a special city and one special thing, among lots of other things, is its poetic rhythm of 4 distinct seasons, spring, summer, rainy season, and winter. Each season has a distinct color, aroma, and flavor and brings along with it its own kind of flowers. Some flowers bloom all through the year in all seasons and some stay in only certain seasons.
Recently, around March 2015, I took upon myself the task of clicking and recording photos of flowers that are commonly found all over the city. I thought it would be a good way of removing negativity from my life, of taking my mind off all those terrible things about Delhi that one finds in newspapers daily, crime, corruption, water shortage, inflation, new taxes, AAP versus BJP squabbles, etc, etc. Here are some close-up shots of flowers that I came across while going about from home to office and back. Just take a look. They look so mesmerizing beautiful!
I am still unaware of names of most of these flowers. That’s why I have mentioned only some of them. Do let me know if you do.
March 2015 (Spring)
- Hibiscus (in my balcony)
2.
3.
4.
5. Rose Flower…
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13. a.
13. b.The ubiquitous Bougainvillea…
13. c.
13. d.
13e.
13. f.
13. g.
13. h.
14. a.
14. b.
14. c.
14. d.
15.
16. a. See Aloe Vera below (very sturdy plant, see how it continues to flower even when uprooted from the pot)
16. b.
16. c.
17.
18. Palash flowers – Lajwanti Garden – Janakpuri – Delhi
April 15: Summer is here and weather is getting warmer.
19.
20. Phlox – my terrace at home – Delhi
21. a. Sunflower
21. b.
22. The pink flowers below are very commonly found at roadsides in Delhi.
23. a.
23. b.
23. c.
45.a. The flowers below are actually fungus growths growing on a block of wood that has become damp due to exposure to heavy rain.
46.
47.
48. a.
48. b.
49.
50. Orange blossoms…(Below)
51.
52.
53.
Nude Trees
When trees take off their leaves, like old, worn-out clothes, and stand nude, they seem to have a majestic beauty of their own. Here are some pics to illustrate what I mean…
Roadside Flowers
Here are some pics of flowers I came across on 22 August 2015 while walking towards the AIIMS Hospital metro station, New Delhi. They looked so pretty as they bobbed and danced with the soft, soothing monsoon breeze…
Saddi Dilli…
One special thing about Delhi is its 4 distinct seasons, spring, summer, rainy season, and winter. Each season has a distinct color, aroma, and flavor and brings along with it its own kind of flowers. Some flowers bloom all through the year in all seasons and some stay in only certain seasons. Here are some close-up shots of flowers that I came across while going about from home to office and back.
Let me start from home, from my balcony.
Hibiscus – 26 March 2015 (Spring)
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