“Continuous as the stars that shine
And twinkle on the milky way,
They stretched in never ending line
Along the margin of a bay:
Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.”
I am always reminded of these lines from William Wordsworth's poem: The daffodil, as I take my early morning walks by the meandering blue hued water body that stretches through Purva Venezia, flanked by beds of beautiful flowers on both sides. Flowers are always a delight. They fascinate me, they immediately transport me to another realm, they cheer me up instantly. Whether they grow in the wild or in manicured gardens, it makes little difference to me. I love them all, every single one of them, big and small, red and blue, orange and yellow.
Purva Venezia where I live, is a little paradise on earth, on the periphery of the bustling city. An oasis of calm and peace, there are trees and flowers everywhere, birds and butterflies, and the clear blue sky. Here you can breathe easy, the trees and the empty expanse outside belonging to the agricultural university helping keep the air clean. You can hear the frog these days because of the rains. At other times, the koel, peacocks and cricket and other unidentifiable chirps gently wake you up in the morning and break the silence around.
The flowers here are predominantly white. Rain lilies are Purva’s signature flowers, they dot the whole landscape, they grow all along the perimeter of the complex, a sight to make you swoon as they fully burst into bloom after every good shower. Other white flowers are the frangipani/plumeria that grows on every raised traffic island along with other varieties of white flowering lilies.
Which is not to say that other colours are missing. A small butterfly garden of cosmos in various shades of pink and magenta, balsam in bright pink, hibiscus of all colours, ginger lilies, a pink water lily, the blue flowers that periodically come on the hedges, these flowers are all captivating. They bloom in all their glory, blissfully unaware of the effect they have on birds and bees and butterflies, …..and humans!
It is not everyday that you are fortunate enough to live in the lap of nature. Those living here are truly blessed to be able to experience the wonder called nature. And sending out a prayer, a word of gratitude to the universe and its Creator is the least that we can do.
