Bloom
This year the spring came around in April/May and every plant bore flowers. My mom’s garden was filled with all kinds of flowers.
This is digital flower
She told me as I was fascinated by a flower that had spots on it. It was amazing to see how all the plants had flowers in the same season. I love the spring season for the exact reason. (and also because I don’t have pollen allergy unlike my sisters)
Despite all the greenery and flowers our surroundings felt empty as I could feel the absence of flowers on the trees across the road. I remembered that there were supposed to be yellow flowers as I had seen them last year.
I didn’t pay much heed to it and moved on with my life. Until yesterday, when I peeked outside my window. Lo and behold, the trees were loaded with yellow flowers.
This made me curious to know what type of flowers are these. And why they bloom in summer when all other plants have either died due to heat or are barely surviving (thanks to gardeners).
The tree is known by many common names; the most popular ones are Golden Shower, Pudding Pipe, and Indian Laburnum. Locally in India, it is widely known by its Hindi name ‘Amaltas.’
I will be honest I had no clue even though it’s been 8 years since we moved here. These trees are quite unique.
During the hot weather (April-May) the tree becomes most conspicuous with its pendulous inflorescence of golden yellow, mildly scented flowers. The tree remains leafless at the commencement of flowering and the end of the flowering season; the leaves start to appear.
This trees remind me of the Amal journey. When I first joined, I met a diverse group of people. They came from different backgrounds. Some were students, some were working and some were like me. People who had just graduated and wanted to learn the skills that our Universities had forgotten to teach us.
There was one thing common in all of us. We all wanted to improve ourselves. And the best part is that the competition was never among the fellows. It was with our past selves. And I can confidently say that I’ve won that competition just like other fellows at Amal.
These flowers bloom at their own pace without being affected by other plants. And I think there is a lesson in this process.
Bloom at your own pace
We should grow at our own pace without comparing ourselves to others. Instead our only competition should be our past self.
