Brahma Kamal

For HIS feet : A short-lived Wonder


I have been waiting for this day for five years..I bought the plant more than five years ago as a small leaf sticking out of soil from a street vendor...at that time I did not know what I was buying... except that I was buying a flowering plant. A visitor to our home told us that it was Brahma Kamal and it would flower only during the Ganesh Chaturthi. Last year I saw one flower ...but by the time I noticed it, it closed its petals...It flowered during the night and we missed an opportunity. This year I





was looking for the flowers... I saw three buds at the edges of the leaves...I saw the buds growing fast....I was anxious that I should be at home to see the flower.......all the three were growing to full size without any blemish....I came back home from tour in time to witness the Brhama Kamal with open bright white petals and stamens exposed... whiter than the white Lotus...an exhilarating experience...and the mild scent addeded to the new experience. Where-else can be the final abode of such a wonderful creation than HIS feet ?


Of all the plants that I have in my balcony, Brahma Kamal is the one that needed the least attention....but in terms of ROI it is the best so far....I look forward to August 2008 to enjoy more and more Brahma Kamals.

(PS: There are fantastic photographs of Bramha Kamal in the internet...the pictures above are probably the worst)

Added on 14 November 2007: After I wrote this blog, the plant bore three and two flowers on two occasions over a period of about a month....i.e. my understanding that the plant bears flowers only once a year is not true...probably it bears flowers during August - November.