Brahma Kamal,Nishagandi,Queen of the Night,Night blooming cereus are all names of the Lovely “Epiphyllum oxypetallum”.

It is a kind of cacti that has flattened leaves from which a bud arises directly.The Indian white Brahma Kamal is said to have originated from the Himalayan region but it survives in the plains too.If you plant a small portion of the leaf,it generates into a whole plant.

The first record of these plants was made in 1753 AD.They exhibited epiphytic habit ,meaning surviving on other trees by climbing on them for sunlight.The name ‘Epiphyllum’  was given to them referring to their leaf edges directly giving out flower buds.

The flower blooms at Night and fades by morning and emits a lovely aroma that fills the night air.It blooms in the rainy season only.From the last 10 years my Brahma Kamal plants have survived in my garden and bloomed lovely flowers.

The flowers are having spiritual significance.In many parts of the North East India,before plucking them,Arati is done.If you observe the insides of the flower,the stamens look like a hooded serpent towering over the Shiva linga shaped pistil.You can observe this in the pic below

I once came across coloured ones at www.gotepis.com and ordered some lovely varieties via USA.(Delivery to India is not present for cuttings only seeds of some varieties)

These are hybrid varieties ( crossed with related genera) and unfortunately only one survived out of 3 cuttings and this one too dosen’t seem to love the Indian climate.I hope it survives and blooms one day.

 
Queen of the Night -2 by ~startrekker on deviantART

New colours to watch on televison,the reason being ‘Balika Vadhu’ a new serial on colors Viacom 18 channel.It is dealing with the sensitive issue of child marriages in rural Rajasthan.The story is about 8 year old Anandi who gets married and comes to her in laws place.There she finds the character ‘Dadisa’ who is like a hell’s messenger to her.Dadisa plays the meany and the first thing she does is she stops Anandi’s education.Anandi is made to take up household chores.Though her kid husband and parents in law are good people,Dadisa’s tortures effects her sensitive heart especially when she is locked the whole night in a dark room without food and water for displeasing dadisa.

Finally she runs away from her in laws place into her mother’s arms but her parents bring her back again to Dadisa’s 'torture cell'..

The actors are doing full justice to their roles.It’s a serial with a difference and a must see.The social evil of child marriages is still being practiced in Rajasthan.The serial is aimed at highlighting this practice .

Interestingly my neighbours are Rajasthani’s.They have two kids studying in school.One fine day I find that the Kids have been taken to Rajasthan and there  marriages have been performed but thankfully the kids have been brought back and they are being allowed to continue their education at least till the 10^th standard.

The kids have no say in the selection of their partners and perhaps for them the marriage was just a 'big party' that they enjoyed..what a pity!

Balika Vadhu airs on Colors vitacom channel from MON-FRI at 8PM

The caption of the serial rightly goes as’Kacchi umar ke pakke rishte’

Pic-www.indiantelevision.com

My dear Meena Akka has tagged me to answer a few questions.I feel like I'm on 'Koffee with Karan'..feeling really special..Thank God there are no Rapid fire questions here..hehe...Ill call it "SOUP WITH STAR TREKKER"

I had fun answering them..Hope you will know me a lil better after you read this....so here goes..

1.THE     LAST MOVIE YOU SAW IN A THEATER ?

Haan..now I remember..the one that made my dad snore next to me and I kept thinking what on earth I was doing there in that wretched theatre..ouch!!! the mosquitoes wouldn’t leave me even there…I had to apply some good old amrutanjan when I came out of that disastrous movie ‘jalsa’..I have never stepped into a theatre after that…

2.    WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING?

Not reading any book right now..…

 The last unabridged book that I read was DRACULA…The cover itself looks chilling with that  blood red leather feel to it and golden words engraved ‘DRACULA’ on it..u can judge this book by it’s cover..hehe..BITE ...BITE

3. FAVOURITE BOARD GAME? –

Not game for any board games..

4. FAVOURITE MAGAZINE?

Love to read any travel magazine..

5. FAVORITE SMELLS?

Well..hmmm… seriously I love the smell of petrol and kerosene..haha..My nostrils just flare up when I reach the gas station..hahaha

6. FAVORITE SOUND?

The rythmic sounds of drums,conch during aarti at Durga pooja..It makes my hair stand!

7. WORST FEELING IN THE WORLD?

The feeling of being without friends

8. WHAT IS THE FIRST THING THAT YOU THINK OF WHEN YOU WAKE UP? –

Ohh..what?  where am I? what am I doing on this bed..I thought I was trekking the stars…ohhh was it just a dream? Phew!!!

9. FAVORITE FASTFOOD PLACE?

Of course,the local chat shop…love hogging on those spicy chats and pav bhajjis..yummmmmmm..

10. FUTURE CHILD'S NAME?.

Well..hmm..baby startrekker..howz that?

11. FINISH THE STATEMENT: `IF I HAD A LOT OF MONEY, I'D ..

Wow! If  had lot of money I would surely go on a world tour.

12. DO YOU DRIVE FAST?!

If the road is without traffic,I would surely like to try…but when will that day come?Im now drving at the pace of a bullock cart..sigh! sigh!

13. DO YOU SLEEP WITH A STUFFED ANIMAL?

Hey! Nice to be reminded that I once had a stuffed piggy pillow..not anymore..would love to have a stuffed crocodile now..hehe

14. STORMS: COOL OR SCARY? 

Storms are scary and fascinating as well..nature’s might!

15. WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST CAR?!

A red ALTO..

16. FAVORITE DRINK:

Love to experiment with mocktails….but I almost fell off my chair when I tried this very pathetic mocktail in a 5 star restaurant that had a mix of orange juice and coffee powder..yuccccccck!

17. FINISH THIS STATEMENT: `IF I HAD THE TIME, I WOULD…

Travel a lot

18. DO YOU EAT THE STEMS OF BROCCOLI?

I don’t eat Broccoli.I prefer eating my desi coriander

19. IF YOU COULD DYE YOUR HAIR ANY COLOR, WHAT WOULD BE YOUR CHOICE?

BLUE…wouldn’t that be lovely? star trekker ishtyle..u must try it too..

20. NAME ALL THE DIFFERENT CITIES/TOWNS YOU HAVE LIVED IN:

I have trekked many planets and stars..loved staying on Venus and Jupiter..hehe..But no place is as good as our very own Mother Earth.

22. FAVOURITE SPORTS TO WATCH? 

Love gymnastics and underwater synchronized dancing

23. WHAT'S UNDER YOUR BED?

Bed bugs..haha

24. WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE TO BE BORN AS AGAIN? 

STAR TREKKER..all over again..

25. MORNING PERSON OR NIGHT OWL? 

I’m a Night owl for sure…hoot hoot.. I watch my horror shows till late

27. FAVORITE PLACE TO RELAX? 

My garden,under the coconut tree..watching if the coconut would or would not fall on me..isnt that a  relaxing exercise?

28. FAVORITE PIE?

Apple pie

29. FAVORITE ICE CREAM FLAVOUR? 

Figs, litchi and black currant

30. WHO WOULD YOUR DREAM DATE BE?

a. WENZEL Dashington

b. Banian Khan

c. Mr. Gajani nee M.F. Hussein

Dashing Gajani khan...what a concoction!!! hehe

31. OF ALL THE PEOPLE YOU TAGGED THIS TO, WHO'S MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND FIRST?

Hmm..well..not sure…must see..all my friends are welcome..

32. ARE YOU A VEGETARIAN ?

YES

33. Your first Lip Encounter – When and Where – 1) In the Balcony 2) Behind the School Bus 3) In the movie theater  or……….

Ohhh…hmmm..blushing..blushing..hmm..let me think…

34. Do you sleep in the buff

Is it good for health? Hehe…too many mosquitoes to try that…hehe

 35. If you SEE a PERSON in the buff what would you do ? –

a)scream “There is a naked person”!!!!!!!

B)cover your eyes

C)     DROOL

Think of my Anatomy dissection class..hehe

36. MOST EMBARRASSING MOMENT

The donkey’s blessings…if you have read that post!  

Hope u enjoyed 'SOUP WITH STAR TREKKER'

Ok now..this is really serious....what is with this illegible handwriting that is going on a lot nowadays? Is it a new fashion statement? or has it always been there and being carried down the generations?

If it’s a fad ,then the people making such writings should think twice.

I just received a bill receipt for some electrical works that were done in my house and  I must say I couldn’t decipher what was written..

It read-

You are charged for the below-

1)    Farm winding ( FARM? I dont have any farm with chickens or wind mills..hehe)

2)    Bell bearing( bells???)

3)    Lluuuf cluuuuls (cudnt get that)

4)    Ll eek tuls/ ( what ???)

5)    Sew cluq ( hmmm..some alien language?)

What in the world was that? The electrician himself decoded this amazing out of the world script for me..It was supposed to be this-

1)    Fan wending

2)    Ball bearings

3)    Lights

4)    Choke

5)    Still didn’t get the last one ???

And sorry to say I can’t read medical prescriptions either..I always wondered how the pharmacist does it? Is he a genius? Does he know the mind of the doc so well? Did he do a course in how to read medical prescriptions? Hehehe… I still cant understand….

What if the pharmacist gives me a wrong tab???

I know I know..Im a doc too (for friends who know that) but my A definitely looks like an A and so does my Z..(err..i mean z looks like a Z..hehe)

Many people look at my ‘legible’ handwriting and find it impossible to believe that I’m a doc..hehehe…

( By the way this goes only to docs who have ‘illegible’prescription writing habit and not to all of my community..PARDON PARDON..HEHEHE…

But seriously,this is serious….Can YOU decipher such scripts? Hehe… good luck to you all…

Just consider the below to be a love letter from Romeo to a certain Juliet..can the lady love understand? she must take special coaching to 'decipher' his love...hehe..haha..hoho

pic courtesy-http://www.annakoren.com/images/love8.gif

http://www.cartoonstock.com/directory/b/bad_handwriting.asp

The much awaited Ganesh festival has arrived and is being celebrated grandly all over.This time around I see that people have come up with more eco friendly Ganeshas..a good change from the previous years.This shows that the awareness regarding environment has increased.

The Ganeshas that were made with plaster of paris and painted with harmful oil paints before, have now been replaced with Ganesh idols made of light paper cache material,clay,harmless water and vegetable colours.

 A wide and creative range of idols made of dry fruits,pepper,butter,sand,fruits,flowers have come to display this year…such talent India has..hatts off to the artists!

Here’s wishing that more and more people catch up with the concept of eco friendly Ganeshas!

 GANESH MAHARAJ KI JAI!!!

Rudraksh Ganesh made with 25,000 rudraksha beads,Karimnagar,A.P

Ganesh made with coconut shells,Ananthapur,A.P

43 feet ,Ganeshji of Vizag,made with eco friendly materials,painting done with water colours

courtesy of pics-www.sakshi.com

pic-http://sunkari.vamsidhar.googlepages.com/JaiGanesh.jpg/JaiGanesh-full.jpg

 pic-www.sakshi.com

I recently read a heart rending true story of Sindhu thayi in a local daily (sakshi).It looked like it was taken out of a tragedy movie but it did have a good ending.

So here goes…

Sindhu Thayi belonged to Wardha district of Maharashtra.She got married when she was just 10 years old. She went to reside in a village called Navargoan after marriage.At 19 years, with already 2 kids and one to come, Sindhu did not have the slightest idea of what was in store for her.

She saw that the village heads exploited labourers like her and sold the cow dung they collected without any profit to them. When Sindhu thayi revolted by going to the district collector, he understood the problem and made a rule that the village heads have to pay Rs 1.50/- as labour charges.The village heads could not tolerate her victory and decided to ruin her.The villainous village heads got together and brain washed Sindhu thayi’s husband that she was of bad character and her unborn child wasn’t his.This enraged her husband who thrashed her and kicked her pregnant stomach.She lost consciousness. He then dragged her into the cow shed for the cattle to trample her to death….

But fate had other plans…The cattle protected her and she delivered there itself. She cut the umbilical cord with the help of a stone near by and went for help. But no one in the village opened doors for her, not even her own parents. Not knowing what to do, she boarded a train to an unknown destination with her new born child. She started singing songs at the railway platform and started begging for food. Kind people gave her food to eat and thus began her life as a beggar.

She met other orphans, destitutes and beggars on the platform and often shared her food with them. Soon she realized that she might become a prey to lusty eyes because she was still in her youth.So,during night time she used to sleep with her baby at a grave yard where people seldom come .She often cooked the rice and pulses that were dropped there by weeping relatives after some rituals for the dead.

Soon she started wailing loudly, hoping that people would come to her aid but people thought she was a ghost and closed there doors.Soon, she had to leave the graveyard as crows started chasing her...Goddd!!!!

For the next three years Sindhu thayi begged at the Manmaad-Aurangabad railway station. She felt that now she has to do something for orphans like her. She started making lot of money due to her singing and begging and that led to opening of her first ashram for orphans in Chikaldhara village. Later she opened ashrams, two at Pune and two in Amaravati district. She took care of 1050 orphans till date, like mother Yashoda, (in her own words).Most of her children are now married and well settled. Her won daughter has done her PG in Social work and is assisting her mother.

She not only opened ashrams for orphans but also for old people shunned by grown up children, destitute women and also for cow protection.

Unbelievable, BUT TRUE…

Many noble people came forward and helped her financially in all her works. The Government of Maharashtra also honoured her with an award.

I salute the spirit of this great Mother who not only overcame her obstacles but also provided shelter for many like her. I pray that her good works continue with our support!

pic- www.sakshi.com

I had such a TERRIBLE wet wet wet weekend…after all that Yagnas to appease the Varuna God,getting frogs married for good rains by the drought stricken people,the result was……….

A week well ruined with my roof leaking,my walls spoilt and me sitting on my bed like I was on some tropical island with water all around me…hehe

It rained and rained like Hell’s wrath on mankind…flood gates of Hell opened and I remembered Noah’s arc....

I spent the whole day with a bucket in hand trying to catch the water leaking from my roof and then outside it was no better,with roads completely flooded and emergency salvage boats picking up flood victims.

The city for once looked like Venice with Gondolas,only thing that it wasn’t romantic at all…hehehe.Perhaps we should have boats during rainy season henceforth to ferry people instead of autos and taxis.

The creepy crawlies from my garden like worms and bugs were trying to crawl into my confines and I had a tough time keeping them at bay.

I regret now for writing the post Barso re megha megha..Perhaps Varuna dev read it and  showered his ‘BLESSINGS’ more than I could ever take..hahaha

Dear Varuna Deva,Plzz Barso NA  megha.megha..SUN god hear our prayers….

THOUGHT FOR THE SEASON

Forget the umbrella ,keep a boat handy

PIC-http://www.inkcinct.com.au/Web/CARTOONS/2007/2007-404-good-news-flood.jpg

               (From my dad's diary...posting with his consent)

The Hungry devotee

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