"Any of a genus (Bougainvillaea) of the four-o'clock family of ornamental tropical American woody vines and shrubs with brilliant purple or red floral bracts"
Thats the dictionary definition for one of India's most recognizeable and popular flower shrubs. The word, I guess, would evoke feelings and memories of things and events associated with pleasantness, calm and serenity. Those bright red, purple, fuchsia and occasional white blooms have been a favourite with horticulturists, housewives, moonlighting priests, enterprising Romeos, et al; so much so that even an ignorant bum like me, who can't tell a dahlia from a daffodil, would let out an excited yelp at the sight of one (just to let my fiancee, who by the way, loves flowers as much as anyone else I've met on earth, know she isn't marrying a 'flower blind').
In fact, bougainvillaeas have endeared themselves so much to the masses that the Delhi Development Authority came up with the bright ( pun intended) idea of planting them along both sides of the roads in Dwarka as well as on the lane dividers, and even along side the service lanes.
So one gets to see these pretty shrubs everywhere in Dwarka, and sure, it is a wonderful sight during autumn and just before the onset of winter and........SCREEEEECH! TRy telling all that to my brand new car! After successfully negotiating the 6'o clock traffic, in the process rubbing shoulders with many a Hell's Angel, just as you are about to feel the elation of coming through relatively unscathed (giving a few pats to yourself), comes the death knell in the form of a gangly Bougainvillaea branch, full of thorns, which leaves an ugly scar on the side window. Puff...all your elation disappears in a nano-second, replaced by an angry and immesely frustrating feeling. You look around for anything which remotely resembles an axe or a branch-cutter, muttering foul MCs all the while- just trying to give vent to your irritation in some way or the other. The beautiful bougainvillaeas lose all their attraction at that point, and start resembling the epitome of evil- a bougainvillaea, at that time, would look as good as Darth Vader! You get reminded of Poison, but in this case, 'rose' is replaced by 'bougainvillaea'.
Thats the dictionary definition for one of India's most recognizeable and popular flower shrubs. The word, I guess, would evoke feelings and memories of things and events associated with pleasantness, calm and serenity. Those bright red, purple, fuchsia and occasional white blooms have been a favourite with horticulturists, housewives, moonlighting priests, enterprising Romeos, et al; so much so that even an ignorant bum like me, who can't tell a dahlia from a daffodil, would let out an excited yelp at the sight of one (just to let my fiancee, who by the way, loves flowers as much as anyone else I've met on earth, know she isn't marrying a 'flower blind').
In fact, bougainvillaeas have endeared themselves so much to the masses that the Delhi Development Authority came up with the bright ( pun intended) idea of planting them along both sides of the roads in Dwarka as well as on the lane dividers, and even along side the service lanes.
So one gets to see these pretty shrubs everywhere in Dwarka, and sure, it is a wonderful sight during autumn and just before the onset of winter and........SCREEEEECH! TRy telling all that to my brand new car! After successfully negotiating the 6'o clock traffic, in the process rubbing shoulders with many a Hell's Angel, just as you are about to feel the elation of coming through relatively unscathed (giving a few pats to yourself), comes the death knell in the form of a gangly Bougainvillaea branch, full of thorns, which leaves an ugly scar on the side window. Puff...all your elation disappears in a nano-second, replaced by an angry and immesely frustrating feeling. You look around for anything which remotely resembles an axe or a branch-cutter, muttering foul MCs all the while- just trying to give vent to your irritation in some way or the other. The beautiful bougainvillaeas lose all their attraction at that point, and start resembling the epitome of evil- a bougainvillaea, at that time, would look as good as Darth Vader! You get reminded of Poison, but in this case, 'rose' is replaced by 'bougainvillaea'.
1 comment:
Hey! Too bad ur car got scratched…I hope it wasn’t on the first day you took it out. Nice one. Happy blogging!!
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