Gulmohar

Being a teacher and a mother of two young kids, my mornings are crazy. Packing tiffins, planning lunch, uniforms, school bags, forgotten homework all eat into my morning hours. My usual lament is, that I rarely get any time for myself in the mornings.

I wait desperately for the dull thud of the newspaper falling near the front door. Its a miracle that I manage to snatch a few minutes to read the headlines just before rushing out to work.

Those five minutes, in which I skim through the newsprint and juggle a sandwich and a cup of tea, are truly, "my own" time.

For the past few days my routine has been disturbed by the arrival of some new guests. The Gulmohar tree which is just outside my balcony has flowered. The bright red flowers have captivated my mind and heart completely. I sit at the corner of the table from where the tree is visible and stare endlessly at the bright red blooms fluttering in the morning breeze. They have completely taken over the tree, and very few leaves are visible. It is a vermilion colored delight. The delicate yellow spots dance when the tree sways in the wind.

When we were growing up, Gulmohar was a very common roadside tree. We used to play sword fights with the stamen, used to make elephants out of unopened buds and present the blooms to our moms and teachers.

But over the years the number of Gulmohar trees have decreased considerably as have bougainvillea  and Silk cotton trees. Spring time used to see the roads splattered with red and yellow blossoms. It was so common that I did not realise how much I loved them till they started disappearing from my life.

I treasure the happiness this lone Gulmohar has brought into my life. I do not know for how long the blossoms will last, but for the time being I welcome them with open arms and hold on tightly to the picture of them fluttering in the wind.