Saga of the Shiulis

Over the last couple of weeks my morning starts with patches of white with occasional orange dapples within in front of my rented house. The colour combination of Shiuli ((Night-flowering Jasmine) is synonymous with Durga Puja and marks the onset of Sarat—a non-present entity in English calendar. The fragrance also brings back so many sweet memories of childhood.

Our erstwhile house, situated at a suburban township, had a huge Shiuli tree in its courtyard. The tree was so high that some portions of it reached the rooftop of our three-storeyed house. The bloom time was accompanied by an early rise. I had to collect as many flowers as I could before other boys and girls from the locality could jump into action. However, no one was allowed to go to the rooftop. It was only me who had the exclusive privilege of collecting flowers from there. Had I missed the morning bell by any chance, my only solace laid over there. But that somewhat was dull. Collecting flowers, with so many people ready to give you competition, used to provide me a tremendous sense of achievement.

There is no dearth of youngsters in my neighbourhood. But, none has the time to pluck flowers!