Tag: Nature’s delights

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Tedious Yet Satisfying!

An important part of Ganapati celebrations at home is preparing the offerings. Besides the usual retinue of flowers and garlands, the Pooja includes offerings of leaves of different types (generally referred to as Patri). Offerings of Patri is a topic which demands a separate post (read more in this article from The Hindu) and this post focuses on one particular type that is Durva (दुर्वा) . 

The Durva to be offered is the tender shoot of grass with only three terminal blades including the new shoot. Usually a bunch of 5,11 or 21 Durva are offered. Panicum dactylon, Imperata cylindrica, Desmostachya bipinnata and Cynodon dactylon are some grass species identified as sacred grass. 

In bygone days, possibly each and every household had a garden or at least a place where people could visit to pluck Durva. So-called development in urban Indian cities has created a concrete jungle with almost no gardens. The only source for Durva is the market where one can buy bunches of grass, which cannot really be offered to the God. Ideally the grass should be sorted out, almost akin to picking out leaves from a bunch of Fenugreek leaves! Its not a good idea to think about the origins of the grass, who or what has walked over it. One can simply wash the ready Durva before offering it to Ganesh.

It took me almost four hours to sort a bunch of grass into Durva for offering. 

Ganesh, Durva, sacred grass
Each Durva is carefully separated into a steel plate

Each twig has to be carefully examined and cut out at the
correct spot (so only the terminal three shoots are present). At this
stage the twig must be handled very carefully else a blade may break off
which means the Durva cannot be used. 

Each twig of grass is assessed.
Finally: the small pile of Durva and a big pile of blades of grass

End result, 16 bunches of 21 Durva each! A time intensive, delicate process but strangely satisfying and enjoyable!

Each bunch has 21 Durva.The string must be firm but not too tight else the delicate stems will break.

An alternative to this is to get a bunch of pure silver Durva that are available at most jewelers in Pune.

Have a happy, noise-free, eco-friendly Ganesh Ustav! 

Here is a link to an article by Devdutt Pattanaik in Times of India about the legends associated with Durva.

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Down but not out!

The Savitribai Phule Pune University (erstwhile University of Pune, popularly called only University) is home to a really really old Gorakh Chincha or Boabab (Adansonia digitata). It grows in the rear lawns and has some really massive infestation (probably white ants) that has created a huge hole in its main trunk. It was impressive despite this cavity and flowered quite freely.

Here is an image captured quite a while ago.

Pune trees, University, Gorakh chincha

As you can see the tree has bent down considerably as it is weakened on one side due to the infestation. However incessant heavy rain in the monsoon of 2014 caused it to bend down and collapse completely. Here is picture of a newspaper report about the same.

Pune trees
Report in a Pune daily about the fallen tree

I was quite saddened but really there is not much one can do at an individual level. (Does that sound like an excuse?) Anyway… I happened to visit the University recently and to my utter joy, the tree is still alive. I saw healthy shoots and sprouts at many branches though the tree is horizontal.

Pune trees, Boabab,
The Boabab has fresh new shoots!

There is always hope! 
Cheers!

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Potholed Wonders

Somehow I have noticed that when people say ‘I love travelling’ it usually means foreign exotic destinations. Ask such people about something in their own city and one is more often than not likely to get a blank look. But of course there are exceptions!!


I admit I too had not done much ‘sight seeing’ of significant places close to my city, or indeed in the city itself. Something that I have been consciously working to overcome over the last year or so. This post is about one such wonderful place that I visited recently.


Potholes usually evoke images of roads riddled with holes and pits with traffic mayhem all around. So when I read about possibly several hundred years old naturally formed potholes near Pune which are geological wonders themselves I just had to go there… 

Natural potholes, geological wonders Pune
Natural potholes seen near Pune



These are at a place called Nighoj about a couple of hours drive (approx 90kms) from Pune. The road is excellent except the last part when one has to lurch across the country roads to actually reach the river bed. We are going to see potholes remember?? Jokes apart, these are formations in the bed of the River Kukdi.  The irregular jagged ‘holes’ or craters seem like a canyon and open up suddenly as one trudges along the hot rocky river bed. Despite seeing some amazing photographs in a magazine, the sight took my breath away.

These potholes are formed in the layered basalt rock of the river bed and extend for quite some distance and were about 25 feet wide and deep where we stood. The depth may be more in other parts according to reports. Being the peak of summer, the river had hardly any water, thanks also to the dam that is built on it. This showcased the full glory of the potholes and made them easily accessible as well. 

nighoj
Dam wall visible in the distance

The holes are shaped like a pot being wider in the centre

Geological wonders

A huge plus was that the river bed was very clean. There were a couple of temples on both sides of the river and a Laman Jhoola built across it. One can see the potholes slowly end and the river bed gets the usual flat appearance downstream.
 

Pune, Geological wonders
Temples and Laxman Jhoola


The area is home to the uncommon Capparis decidua. En route one passes several pomegranate fields as well as onion fields enroute where the harvested onions are stored in makeshift huts called ‘Kandyachee chaal’ कांद्याची चाळ (depending on the season you visit).

Kandyachee chal, pune
कांद्याची चाळ


 We were very lucky to see a colony of Swifts. It was a beautiful sight to see the birds feed their young ones. A binocular is a must!! Their nests are washed away every time the river fills up and they rebuild them again the next year. Tip: Keep utter silence so as the birds are not scared off.

Colony of Swifts

If you are in Pune with half a day to spare do visit this amazing place.The famous Ranjangaon Mahaganapati Temple is located close by on the main Nagar Road and can be easily added to to the itinerary.  
🙂
Happy travelling!

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Sacred groves (Nandivli)

I have written before about Devrai or Sacred Groves. I had the opportunity to visit one more recently with none other than the Patriach of Botany in my city. He gave us some more insights about Devrai which I would like to put into my own words.


Devrai is the marathi word for sacred groves, and loosely put, they can be described as forests that are protected by a local deity usually a Goddess (देवी) but some devrai have Khandoba or Mhasoba as their deity. The forest does not have a ‘temple’ in the form that we know it but it may be a simple structure made from local materials and the idol itself may be no more than a stone. Usually the offerings are flowers that have naturally fallen off trees and the blooms must not be deliberately plucked in a devrai. In fact nothing should be plucked in this forest or even taken away including dead or dry branches, twigs, leaves all of which must be left to decay there itself. The species growing in such protected forests thus get protection and thrive. Some shrubs, trees, roots etc may have medicinal properties. It is the ‘Bhagat’ who is the only person who is allowed to pluck such tree parts to help any sick villagers after offering due prayers to the tree. No one else can do so.


Sacred groves, Mulshi
Backwaters of the Mulshi Dam near Pune, Maharashtra



The Sahyadris have about 3000 devrai and the Mulshi area has up to 30 sacred groves. The Kudawale devrai near Dapoli is said to be spread over about 100 acres. These can serve as reference ecosystems which will help chose the
correct species for any new plantation, afforestation projects in
the area. It takes a thousand years or more for a proper forest to develop and simply planting a few hundred trees is not akin to creating a forest.


Dam, water, sacred groves, forests
The Sahyadri crest line near Mulshi Dam



It is such blind faith has helped protect the forests from the relentless march of so-called progress and urbanisation that has extended cement and mortar monstrosities way outside Pune. The area of some devrai has reduced and some do not have undergrowth. The latter is an indication of regeneration of the species growing there.  Lack of undergrowth heralds a bleak future for the devrai. Construction of new roads is a good thing but it may have a detrimental effect on such protected forests.


Here is a link to a Wikipedia article about devrai.


This article lists sacred groves in Maharashtra and here is one with some general information.


We recently visited a devrai near Mulshi. A tarred road to Lonavla ran through a part of this devrai. Access is by personal vehicles or an ST bus service from Pune (Swargate). As we neared Mulshi, the blazing red Dhaitee (Woodifordia fruiticosa) provided a welcome relief to the dry brown and yellow of the countryside as was the furry soft white inflorescence of the Bhamni. The weather had just started warming up and people were just about recovering from ‘Holi’. There was extensive flowering which was a pleasure and helped identification.

Bhamni: Cholebroochia oppositifolia

 We stepped out of the bus and were greeted by the sweet fragrance of the ‘Lokhandi’ (an Ixora species). You may remember the red walking sticks in Mahableshwar. They are made from this tree! Other trees specifically found in this grove were the Toran (Zizyphus rugosa). Its fruit is double the size of the usual Karwanda and is ready around the Divali festival. We were lucky to see blooming of the Waras (Heterophragma quadriloculare) , Vatoli (Diploclisia glaucescens), Shivan (Gmelina arborea), Kakad (Garuga pinnata) and Kuda. The Palas was in fruiting stage while the red blazing leaves of Baheda (Terminalia bellerica) and Kusumb gave a flaming touch to the scenery. I saw the Khedshingi with its strange looking fruit for the first time. The poisonous Hura (Sapium insigne) and Raan ghewda (Paracalyx scariosus) was a first for me as well.

My friends tell me that they could spot many varieties of birds and had an extremely satisfying bird spotting session here.
 

Here are some images (absolutely amateur variety!!) that I have taken during my visit to the devrai. Enjoy!


(Double click to open a new tab so the photo description can be seen)

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Hibiscus

Its biggest claim to fame is Ganesha’s favourite flower.
This flower is also said to benefit hair health.

Hibiscus or Jaswanda as it is called in Marathi grows profusely in and around Pune but it blooms only for a day. The fully grown buds of Hibiscus bloom after sunrise and shut in the
evening. By the time night falls, the buds are fully closed. While one can buy many types of flowers the Hibiscus and Prajakta are two flowers that are rarely sold in the markets. This can be a challenge for the devout as the buds need not necessarily bloom on the day of their Pooja. This may not always happen. So one commonly sees people straining to pluck buds from trees growing along compound walls as they return from their morning walks!

A relative told me a method to ‘trick’ the buds to delay their blooming. This way one can collect mature buds and get them to flower later than the day they would normally. My experiment aimed for a one-day delay but maybe it will work for two days as well. I’ll try that the next time I have a bigger harvest of mature buds and let you all know!!

Here is what I did and I have a set of photographs to show you how the bud/flower behaved.


On a particular day (lets call it Day minus 1) my Hibiscus had about five mature buds that were set to open the next day (lets call it Day 1). I wanted to use the flower on the day after that (to be called Day 2). Under normal circumstances, the buds would have all bloomed on Day 1 and I would have had no blooming flowers on Day 2.

I plucked the buds and kept two of them in the fridge on the evening on Day minus 1.

On Day 1, I took them out and let them stand in some water. The buds were still tightly closed, the other buds of the same ‘age’ had bloomed fully. I used them in my Pooja.

1. Hibiscus buds were tightly closed after being kept ovenight in the fridge

The petals opened slowly and I monitored their progress through Day 1. The photographs have been taken in the afternoon, late evening and night.

Blooming, delay blooming, Hibiscus
2. About one hour outside the fridge.

Hibiscus, delay blooming
3. Afternoon of Day 1. Petals start opening

Ganesha, Flowers,
4. Evening of Day 1: Partially open buds

At end of Day 1, the other flowers had closed and these remained in the partially open state.
The buds stayed in water overnight in the room.

Ganapati, favourite flower
5. Night Day 1. Partially opened flowers. (9.29PM)

Day 2: The buds bloomed fully and stayed open for the entire day. The petals shut tightly as the end ended.

Blooming buds, Ganapati
6. Fully open flowers (5.40AM)

Hibiscus, Ganesha
7. The flower of the previous day (Day 1) had closed. These flowers stayed fresh and fully open. (9.29AM)

Ganesh, Jaswanda
8. Petals close in the evening. (6.09PM)

This seems to suggest that the flowers can be ‘tricked’ into blooming later. Their overnight stay in the dark refrigerator must have worked.
While writing this post, I came across this article that offers tips to keep Hibiscus flowers open.

I do not know if we can keep the buds in the fridge for another day
so that they can bloom on Day 3. If any of you tries this, do let us
know.
Take care!

Update (07 Oct 2013): Recently I have seen Hibiscus flowers for sale but this is very very rare. In the meantime you can try my experiment…

Bloom, ganesh, flower, offering
Hibiscus flowers are not always sold in the market.

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May is for Mangoes

May. The month that every one dreads for intense searing heat, blazing sunshine. It is also the month that mangoes are at their peak. While mangoes are available in India right from the month of March, I firmly believer that they taste their best only in May. The heat allows them to ripen naturally and their colour and flavour is best enhanced in these conditions. It is often called the King of Fruits.



Choosing mangoes, mango, fruit.
Lovely ripe mangos fill the air with their intoxicatingly sweet fragrance that is sure to tempt passerbys to buy them.

It is widely known that fruit that is available in earlier months may be artificially ripened using various techniques. That obviously prevents the real flavour from developing. Reports state that Carbide is often used to ripen mangoes. Since they are available much before their natural ripenening period, they are obviously very costly and yet do not taste like the real thing.
So how do we know?

  • First and foremost, one must inspect the fruit before buying it. Check the area of the stalk. My regular mango vendor has told me that fruit where this portion (around the stalk) is raised has been plucked early from the tree. That prevents it from developing its full flavour on the tree which is a must.
  • In additon also check the curve of the fruit. The curve must be gentle and not a deep depression. The image I have added here will better explain what I have just said.



Choosing mangoes, artificially ripened fruit
Check the curve on the mango. It must be a gentle curve and not a deep depression



  • Check the skin for any obvious marks that suggest application of any powders etc. This article mentions that mango’s ripened with carbide have a uniform yellow colour. Such fruit are not ripe on the inside and is not sweet. Here is a link that describes how to detect a carbide-ripened mango. Hold a lit match stick near the mango surface. If it gives out sparks or catches fire then its quite likely to have been ripened using calcium carbide.

There  are still few more days for the Alphonso season. Thereafter there are many other varieties each with it a unique flavour. Try them and continue to enjoy the fruit at its natural peak season.
Enjoy!

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