April 2021. Everyday, my country, India, is touching new heights in the number of Covid19 cases. Every day, more and more people are dying. Every day, we are hearing that someone we know has been infected. After one year, we are back in square one, that too a grimmer one. How did we reach here? …
Category: Nature
Winter Warmth
Sunshine during the day, oranges in the afternoon and a cosy fireplace in the evenings. That is how I have always known winters to be. That is how we spend winters in Assam. That is how I wish my winters to be each year. I grew up in the educational town of Assam, Jorhat (in …
Pigeons of Delhi
In the Indian capital, the common pigeon has a consistent presence across the city. The familiar grey pigeons, known as the blue rock pigeons, have a very special place in the city. It is believed that feeding them earns you brownie points to reach heaven. At many prominent traffic signals in the city, islands have …
Z for "Zephyranthes (Rain Lily)"
Common Name: Rain LilyScientific Name: ZephyranthesRain Lily is one of my favourite flowers. Most of the year, their bulbs would lie dormant. And once the rain touches them, they would spring back to life in a myriad of colours. I remember rain lilies blooming in my childhood home, in the monsoon in three colours, pink, …
Y for "Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow"
Common Name: Yesterday-today-and-tomorrow, Morning-noon-and-night, Kiss Me Quick, Brazil raintreeScientific Name: Brunfelsia paucifloraAssamese Name: Bou-PaagolYesterday-today-and-tomorrow is a flowering shrub and has pretty fragrant flowers. The flower blooms purple with a white throat, then turns lavender and then white, hence the common names. Many years ago, there was a bulky bush of this plant at my grandparents' …
X for "Xerochrysum bracteatum (Paper Daisy)"
Common Name: Paper Daisy, Strawflower Scientific Name: Xerochrysum bracteatumAssamese Name: Kaagoz phoolI saw the Paper Daisy for the first time in my grandmother's garden. As a kid, I was fascinated and I still am. The flower doesn't look like a real flower at all. The petals are crispy and papery. Nature has so many wonders, …
Continue reading X for "Xerochrysum bracteatum (Paper Daisy)"
W for "Weeping Bottlebrush"
Weeping Bottlebrush back home. Check out the pretty bird perched on it.Common Name: Weeping Bottlebrush, Drooping Bottlebrush, Red Bottlebrush, Red CascadeScientific Name:Callistemon viminalis/Melaleuca viminalisAs a kid, I found the Weeping Bottlebrush flower very interesting because of its look. Yes, it looks like a bottle-brush and hence the name.Back home, Deta planted this tree on the …
V for "Vine-Bleeding Heart"
The crimson variety in bloom several years ago at homeCommon Name: Bleeding Heart VineScientic Name: Clerodendrum The Bleeding Heart Vine is a tropical twining creeper. It is basically a summer flower. The crimson variety has been a part of our garden since many years now. The Bleeding Heart Vine is not to be confused with …
U for "Utonglei (Mexican Oleander)"
Common Name: Mexican Oleander, Lucky NutScientific Name: Cascabela thevetia/Thevetia peruvianaAssamese Name: KorobiManipuri Name: UtongleiMexican Oleander is a common short flowering tree grown in gardens and roadsides. It is an ornamental plant and colour varieties are yellow, white and peach. I think the yellow one is the most common, since it is one I see everywhere. …
T for "Tengesi"
Common Name: Purple Wood Sorrel, OxalisScientific Name: OxalisAssamese Name: TengesiTengesi is basically a herb. The leaves are a part of Assamese cuisine as well and are used to make typical Assamese tangy curries. The tangy juice is also consumed as a remedy for severe cough.The leaves are clover-like. Only recently I learned that it is …
Natasha'z Points To Ponder 