Mera Wala Red

This post was edited in Sept 13, 2014 after being pointed out of an error in the identification of a beautiful shrub which has been rectified and given it's correct name on this date today. The error was seen by Mr Rajiv Pathania who has rightly identified the beautiful tree/ shrub and hence Red Poinsettia it is and not red Mussaenda as was given by me earlier. i regret my folly and am deeply indebted to Mr Pathania for bringing it to my notice.

Any visit to a Tibetian Monastry is an altogether a different experience. My first one was at Hubli when my friend who was posted there had taken me to a monastry which was a few kilometres away from the town and it was called the Mundgod Monastry.
Both of us were eager to see the grand Thangkas, exquisite murals and frescoes, impressive statues and many more Buddhist relics and last but not the least the sight of kid monks who look so cute in their maroon robes.
And we did have our fill of all that as we roamed around with admiration and a very rare sense of calm that prevailed in us. Monastries do that to you...make you peaceful from within. i can equate it to the same sense of tranquility that i feel when i sit at the banks of a river or a lake.
Yes i was amazed at all the artwork right from the structure of the pagoda style temple with tiered towers and multiple eaves to the paintings and the well manicured lawns but it was very enriching to feel the peace. This does not happen everywhere and so i said that it is rare.
Since the pictures i took would not justify what i am trying to convey i once again fall back on a valuable resource to show a glimpse of what i mean. i feel Mr Siddeshwar has done a wonderful job on his blog so here it is http://karnatakatravel.blogspot.com/2009/08/drepung-loseling-monastery-mundgod.html

So naturally when i was doing my homework for Coorg the first spot on my must see list was the Namdroling Monastry. Also known as The Golden Temple. All that you would want to know about this really Golden temple can be indulged into at Ms Nirupama's blog at http://www.itslife.in/2009/04/namdroling-monastery.

"The Namdroling Monastery in Byalukuppe echoed with soulful acoustics, visual brilliance and a simple way of life... all of which instilled in me a sense of heart warming peace. I definitely am going back for another visit ", so says Mr Kishore Murthy at  http://www.flickr.com/photos/kishore/426177294/. 

His words actually echoed mine but there was something here that just made me see the brilliance of colours in the true sense. i actually spent a lot of time here along with my husband to indulge into even the landscapes. Soaking in the peace and very much at ease i just chanced upon something that simply took my breath away. It was a rare sight once again and just so beautiful that it still lingers in my mind's eye. It was hard for me to pull myself away and i just lingered there and thought about the creator once again.

 RED Mussaenda i had thought of them at first. Oh my God !! hardly get to see much of them. What we generally find in gardens everywhere is the white or the pink/peach but this was  glorious. i had thought of them to be so and forgotten about this post of mine even when i had identified the same plant correctly and later did a long post dedicating a whole post to this Red Poinsettia...this Flor de nochebuena  known as Euphorbia pulcherrima http://shivanidiwani64.blogspot.com/2013/04/flor-de-nochebuena.html. Had it not been for the kind perusal of the gentleman who took time out to stop by at my post and point out the error in my page asking me in his kind and gracious way to correct the error. Thank You Mr Rajiv Pathania. 

WHAT IS RED?

Red is a sunset

Blazy and bright.

Read is a feeling brave

With all your might

Red is a sunburn

Spot on your nose, sometimes red

Is a red, red, rose.

Red squiggles out

When you cut your hand.

Red is a brick and a rubber band.

Read is a hotness

You get inside

When you’re embarrassed

And want to hide.

Firecracker, fire engine

Fire-flicker red---

And when you/re angry

Red runs through your head.

Read is an Indian,

A Valentine heart,

The trimming on

A circus cart.

Red is a lipstick,

Red is a shout,

Red is a signal

That says: ”Watch out!”

Red is a great big

Rubber ball.

Red is the giant-est

Color of all.

Red is a show-off

No doubt about it----

i just wanted to add more to this poem i knew from this book by Mary O'Neill 

Hailstones and Halibut Bones

i did not know what i wanted to do more. Whether i wanted to keep muttering OMG! OMG! or wanted to be a composer of some sort who could add yet another verse to it something like...

Red is the colour of this Mussaenda Tree 

That took my breath away 

And made my heart dance with glee.

SO while my husband took digs on me for the design on my travelling bag matching the tree i just remained unaffected to all his pranks while he took a picture of me (stealthily) as i was lost in my thoughts about the marvellous creation. Also thinking about the diligence of the monks who apart from their strict disciplined routine found time and the inclination to nurture the shrub to such perfection that it resembled a mini tree with the gorgeous RED. 

As if this was not enough there was yet another place where i got stuck and this when i glanced upon the campus walls of the Monastry. Covered with brilliance yet again with what i thought was Orange Honeysuckle (Lonicera ciliosa) .  Initially i got annoyed at looking at this picture because i feel i have spoilt the beauty of that picture by my barrel like presence there and it would have been more appropriate if just the wall flowers with their contrasting colours of orange and green leaves were only captured by the camera but once again can't afford the annoyance anymore. For when i see myself against that the entire wall covered with this cheerful orange i forget that nagging thoughts of losing some weight and just feel so jolly. Oh ! and i remember the blossoms were agog with tiny black insects and thank God i was fascinated and dazed but not too carried away in my curiosity to try to smell them lest those tiny insects were inhaled . i thought of the Hummingbirds and tried to picturise the tiny beauties suspended next to this brilliance adding more colours to this amazing sight.

Once again it was OMG OMG  and rhymes like...

Orange is a carrot

And the orange i eat

Orange are the bright new socks

That i wear upon my feet

       and

Orange is an orange.

Orange is a carrot.
Orange is the colour
of the beak of a parrot.

       and

The pumpkins in my garden are orange, orange, orange,

O-R-A-N-G-E.
The oranges on my tree are orange, orange, orange,
O-R-A-N-G-E. 

It was racing inside me all these i knew and now i was wanting to add 

Orange is the colour of the Flaming vine

Makes me hungry and wanting to dine

 and after looking at my picture next to it something like

Orange is the colour of this Flaming Trumpet

Next to it i look like a fat muppet

Now what i thought to be the Honeysuckle was identified correctly by my blogdost, a naturalist and now whom i consider as a dear friend Karthik of  http://www.wildwanderer.com/journal/ as Flaming vine or the Flaming trumpet (Pyrostegia venusta). Another way of getting acquainted with people who are passionate about nature and it's marvels is through blogs i say. Or else i would still be searching for a dost, a friend who could help me identify a plant or a tree by it's correct name. So the wall creeper in the picture is the Flaming vine/ Flaming trumpet and not honeysuckle.
Red can be frightful

even delightful
but always surprisingly red.

There's glows
bows
wine and
roses
hawks
buttons
chili
noses
red sky mornings
red sky nights
Chinese red
and port side lights
red hot mama
little red hen
ruby red slippers to get home in
cherries
garnets
kidney beans
Mars
demons
two red queens.

Add some to yellow, heart o' mine,
orange is what you'll get every time.

Orange at least is a veritable feast
ever so edibly orange.

There's orange marmalade
and mangoes
pumpkin pies
tomatoes
papaya
paprika
nectarines
mandarins and
tangerines
carrots and
those little kumquats
cantaloupes
and apricots
turmeric
cheddar cheese
all of this
and pekoe tea.

But the beauty of orange is only skin deep
when you bite into a yellow peach.

© 1999 Karen Schirmer all rights reserved

http://www.muggsmulcher.com/kstuff/bkhome/poems/text.htm

Awed at nature at it's best and still wondering about all things bright and beautiful the ride to the home-stay kept me glued in my thoughts on the colours. How i chanced upon Mera Wala Red and that STIMULATING Orange.
Colours are associated with feelings, tastes, sounds and smells to which i feel like adding that that they are also associated with thoughts. Thoughts of experience.
It is said that Red is a healing colour and burns out disease whereas Orange is an emotional stimulant. And i remembered how both are so closely related because red says, "...add a little yellow to this heart of mine and orange is what you'll get everytime."
Both these colours are supposed to be aggressive colours getting you hyper and noisy but strangely when i saw them in this form i was feeling not only energised but also calm enough to remain silent with a warm smile lingering on me. Perhaps it was the smile of satisfaction and thoughtfulness. Can't say whether it was the beauty of the colours or the flowers themselves that made me think about God or was it the precincts of the monastry which in a way trickles the enormous sense of marvel and you wonder at the Master Craftsman.
i wished then i knew this song fully because i wanted to sing all the way, ''yeh kaun chitrakaar hai yeh kaun chitrakarr..." (who is this painter?... who is this painter??).



Of course my husband clicked many pictures from his cyber shot which i would love to share of this Golden Temple.

As humans we may say that Red stands for: Passion, excitement, vitality, action, confidence, satisfaction, courage, desire and also for danger and the fire within. Whereas Orange symbolises good cheer, excitement, energy, creativity, fascination and warmth. ALSO it is said that when one is lonely, sad , depressed or even just simply bored Orange is an emotional stimulant. And now science has taught us how colours are formed.

But i guess still i am wondering about the Magician who got the first primary colours and then interspersed it around the subjects in such a way so as to create harmony. Harmony of the sort that does not make our eyes jump and start but to follow a very synchronised smooth movement.

Just one more tip to help get sorted out because i tried this on myself and it really works. Actually it saves a lot of time when you are still in a fix deciding what to wear.

Not until late i discovered it myself that i would be happy to share it.

Monday is for Yellow

Tuesday for pink

Wednesday is for Green

Thursday for Orange or Yellow

Friday for blue

Saturday for Purple or Black

Sunday for Red 

i guess then,  that's it for the time being and so until my next blog let us all enjoy the healing and stimulating power of colours...and just one confession though that after the stimulating orange i also felt very hungry so my thoughts were later divided between the creator and the created and so went munching Lays as i tried to recall the words of that song...yeh kaun Chitrakaar hai...yeh kaun Chitrakaar...

Sincere Thanks to Karthik who quietly and modestly helped me correct my error in identifying the spectacular flowering vine yet once again.

For not long ago i learnt the names of the the Copper pod tree Haldi Gulmohur (Peltophorum pterocarpum) thanks to his blog on flowering trees

http://www.wildwanderer.com/journal/flowering-trees/

This and many many more that i get to know every now and then. My gratitude to this naturalist who fuels in me the desire to know more (of what i wouldn't bother to otherwise)  not only through his blogs but by his timely assistance every time i have a query relating to nature.

For more images on Mussaenda click on: http://www.google.co.in/images?hl=en&q=mussaenda&um=1&ie=UTF-8&source=univ&ei=7X-5TMPsGYKivQPJ78mwDQ&sa=X&oi=image_result_gro

and for more images on Flaming vine click on 

http://www.hear.org/starr/images/species/?q=pyrostegia+venusta&o=plants

and about it on

http://www.jaycjayc.com/pyrostegia-venusta-flamevine/