Gulmohar Was Always Around Me
Look around, Look Within.
experiences, philosophy
After reading the short essay from Grace's Churchbell back in lockdown, I carried a very specific image of a Gulmohar in full bloom.
"कांचनवाडीतील गुलमोहराची चित्कळा मला भडक वाटली याचे कारण गुलमोहर हा एक भडक रंगाचा वृक्ष आहे, ही जाणीवच माझ्या संवेदनांना स्पर्शून गेली नव्हती."
Ever since then, I dreamt of seeing a Gulmohar tree in full bloom. For the next five summers, I kept looking for that tree. Needless to mention, I never saw it.
This summer, I started noticing flowering trees. Mostly, I saw bougainvillea, amaltash, and some big trees with shallow leaves and orange-red flowers. They were Gulmohars.
It was outside my house. It was inside the campus of my diploma college. It was in the slums outside Bandra. It was on every other road around Fort and Colaba. It was everywhere but in my attention.
I was looking for the idea of a blood-red Gulmohar while ignoring the unpoetic one blooming right outside my house.
Maybe I'm doing this with more things than just Gulmohar.
15 June 2026, 11:31pm.