Dharwad Natak Company arpisuva- Nammoora Kempu Habba !

Yellow...!

Earth laughs in flowers.
Ralph Waldo Emerson

The Indian Laburnum (Cassia fistula) is popularly known as the Golden Shower Tree, courtesy a drooping shower of gorgeous, fragrant yellow flowers that appear around February, March and in the case of this tree, in April too. It is locally, known as 'Kakke Mara' or 'Amaltas'.

The seed pods of the tree can grow up to two feet in length. A sweetish pulp around seed pods is popular amongst squirrels. The pulp is used as a glue and is also said to have laxative properties... Featured here is the utterly stunning 'Indian Laburnum' growing beside the University Tower... There used be a huge number of these growing around this campus in the 80's and 90's. A lot of lovely wooded areas have been cleared up for new departments and we have lost a precious number of these trees that look spectacular when in full bloom...

This here, is one of the few old Laburnums that survived as it is very close to the tower, and there's hopefully no construction that could happen in this place...

Unlike the Yellow Tabebuia in the garden in front of the tower, it was difficult to get good long shots of this stunning tree, as it is caught between two Langerstorme flos reginae, a wild gooseberry closeby and some gulmohars right behind.

Looks like I didn't have enough of yellow the day before. For I cycled back there early the next morning...! After my customary ride to the Management Institute at the far end of the University campus, I rode straight up to the Casia Fistula/Indian Laburnum for more YELLOW !

The previous morning, I wasn't able to spend much time there, as the visit was an afterthought. My original destination was at another haunt of mine, the woods near the botanical garden. After a lovely adventure exploring that place, I thought of checking on this yellow beauty and managed to spend a few minutes there. As always, was happy that I could make it, satisfied with a few frames, but longed to get back and capture better frames/perspectives...

This time, I was determined and spent about an hour peering and peeping all over and around the yellow stunner in the lovely early morning sunlight...

I have tried again to capture the surfeit of yellow blossoms, the abundance of this summer stunner...! And, I also know, I have miles to go... But the super bonus of trying- every single moment spent under/around the Casia fistula was nothing short of an enchanting experience...!

And before I forget, the other long-term reward- people noticing my antics and getting curious about the tree, and me actually getting an opportunity to tell them about this one and so many other stunning and rare arboreal wonders of our Dharwad... And today, I lost count of the number of people I spoke to. I could not have asked for a better start to a day...!!

Sunday rendezvous with those honey-hued busy bodies...

I'm fed up of this boring routine of scrambling up and down...! Gosh! How do they do the same thing, day in and day out!! Hmmm... I'm thinking of branching out!
Let me try my luck. I hope this lady notices me...

 This audacious guy needs to be taught a lesson!! Posing for that lady?? eh!!!

GRRRR!!! Ok! So, are you gonna let me cross or...!!! No buddy! I won't let you leave so easily!

Noooo! Leave me! Let me go! I need to explore other opportunities!
That lady's promised me an exciting job...!
Ta Ta... World, here I come!!

Bougainvillea aglow...!

This evening while returning from Baala Balaga, it was the perfect time...! The sun was getting ready to set and a lovely golden glow had spread all around... It was the “Midas Touch- Time”

There are these two sets of Bougainvillea creepers that I've been trailing since long... And right now they both are in full bloom, looking absolutely stunning ! One is trained on a bower at the entrance of a home. I'm sure this Bougainvillea is a born rebel and must have, in it's younger days, said, “Training be damned !” and has grown wild, spilling it's fluorescent pink blossoms all over, in an utterly gorgeous riot...!!

The other, a few houses ahead, is a slightly darker shade of pink and has overgrown it's bamboo supports to tumble out, over the compound wall, catching the eye of every passerby...

This evening, as the golden rays of the setting sun fell on these Bougainvillea, they glowed... and, I had to pull out my camera ! It was a difficult task getting a good composition, as the blooms are crowded and literally packed all over the bower and compound wall... Luckily, at the bower, I found a nice big bunch having strayed from the rest, and I tried my best to frame a good enough composition... And then, I didn't want to lost those magical golden moments...!

Well, here they are, the glowing Bougainvillea...!!

I stumbled upon- Heritage Haven !

At the entrance to the Police Headquarters...

Get closer, and you notice the layers of grime, dirt and years of monsoon moss...

This relief and the next look almost the same to the passerby's glance... But get up close and have a keen look, you notice the interesting differences in the beautifully carved design...

Note the layers of grime, dirt and years of monsoon moss...!

This one below, is installed in the Residential School campus...

And lo, there you have the entrance to the Heritage Park that once was...
This is right opposite the Residential School run by the Police Department

One of the panels at the entrance...

One of the panels at the entrance...

One of the panels at the entrance...

One of the panels at the entrance...

A handsome Ganesha... Part of one of the panels at the entrance...

A pillar at the entrance to the park, now sadly just a deserted wooded area...

A pillar at the entrance to the park, now sadly just a deserted wooded area...

The first sculpture that greets you on the inside...

The defunct fountain and the derelict pond inside the park...!!

Stunning...!

A last peep...


This morning, (29 Jan-Tuesday) while on my sneak photo jaunt, I egged Shamin Bhaiyya on to go deep into the beautiful Police Headquarters grounds... At the second entrance itself, he got an opportunity to show off his “Break maarneke” skills, for I'd spotted some interesting pieces of stone sculpture studding the wall adjoining the entrance...

I was thrilled, my eyes glinted with excitement, I dashed across the road, to be greeted with an awesome yet sorry sight... What stared at me were a few intricately carved panels and figurines embedded in the wall, but in a state of utter decripitude...!! The sculptures were caked with thick layers of dust, grime and years of monsoon moss... That thick layer of neglect and apathy had formed cracks all over creating a pattern of it's own... Though deeply saddned at the almost crumbling state of these precious pieces, I managed to capture the beauty that shone through the thick layer of neglect...

Now comes, the exciting part...! If I was so taken-up by these few pieces of sculpture, I was in for a huge huge surprise, just a few minutes later. A Police Department official spied me shooting and came up to inquire. On learning about my intentions, he led me just a few feet ahead, to an entire field of utterly stunning and beautifully executed sculptures... My joy knew no bounds...!! It was as if I was in heritage haven...!! Thankfully, the ones in the wooded area were relatively well maintained and you could spot the intricate details... These priceless pieces of sculptural heritage were found somewhere in the mid sixties in around the vast Police Headquarters grounds, when the Department bought the land. The Chief of the Police Department and the DC then, took some interest, chalked out a lovely large wooded area for these pieces to be installed, fenced the area, added all the necessary equipment and converted it into a heritage park...!! A statue of Gandhiji in the park has a plaque that says it was unveiled by the honourable Chief Minister of Mysore, Veerandra Patil on 28 September- 1969...!!

Wow man, that was some interesting news...! But then, another look beyond the beautiful Sculptures brought to light the doleful condition of the heritage park that once was...! It seems, the Archeology Dept. have not shown any interest in restoring these pieces or bringing the park back to life... The official even added, “Aa Archeology Dept.auriga kottra, allonda-illonda vagada, maaya aagbidtaav.ri...! Illa iddra, onda kade ara irtaav... Kelavu piece kalu maadkonda hogyaarri...! Namma kaile yessht aagtaiti ashta kaapadkond ittev.ri. Yaarane mund band interest tagobekri...!!” No one at the Police Dept, at least now, doesn't know any details about these sculptures, nor do they have any records...!

I spent about twenty minutes capturing as much of the fading grandeur as I could and hopped into the auto... The journey back was silent on the outside but on the inside, a slide show of those crumbling pieces of our very own heritage flashed over and over and a host of questions spun around in a whirlwind...