Saraca asoca

Last night, as I lay waiting for sleep, I envisioned how this blog would start a spectacular chain of events, leading to a great writing career for myself. Among the many things which came up as part of this grand plan was to have a post on Delhi, titled "The Ashoka Tree"! Such an imposing name for a tree, Ashoka. Like Ashoka the Great, surely Ashoka the Tree must also be as regal in its stature. And I was certain that this tree was all over Lutyens' Delhi, flanking its wide roads, left, right and center, with great dignity and poise. In short, it would make for an enlightening post! With such giddy thoughts, I slept.

The day went by with much success, if you choose to see the glass as not empty. Finding myself to be quite content with the response to my debut post, I sat down to revive Lutyens' Delhi. To my horror, this is how Ashoka the Tree actually looks like: Saraca asoca

All my dreams came tumbling down - the "sorrow-less" tree brought me great sorrow...

I've always known that I know very little about Delhi, but this was quite embarrassing. It is fair to assume that all this involved a lot of wishful thinking on my part: a great name becomes a great tree: rising high, reaching far and wide, provides shade and shelter to one and all, would become an icon for Delhi and Delhiites' largeheartedness. But as much as we wish for things to appear in a particular way, things are as they are. The Ashoka tree is, to quote wiki, "a very handsome, tall, erect, evergreen tree", which is fast becoming rare.

Good things come in all shapes and sizes, and sometimes, a reality check on one's ignorance and prejudices is also quite necessary. :)

p.s. It also struck me as I ventured to write about trees, as to how little I am aware of them. In fact, I had walked past the Ashoka so many times in campus without ever wanting to know/remember what it was called. My theory is that I think I lack the connection with them: to stand back and appreciate their structure, the texture of the bark, the shape of the leaves. I respect them for all that they do to make the earth livable, but their identities just never get registered in my head. It is also strange, and quite correlated too, that I often recollect the fact that the same trees which produce oxygen and absorb carbon dioxide, reverse the process at night - not the most pleasant thing to keep in mind about trees, eh?

p.p.s. Another thing that I realized is that I have a bad memory for colours, shapes and sizes. Try this for instance: close your eyes and try to gauge from memory the colours of the things around you: the wall, the suitcase in front of you, the cushion lying next to you, the frame of the spectacles you wear...

p.p.p.s. I am not exactly sure how writing a blog helps to do research, but there is always hope.