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Awe-ful by night
THERE'S MYSTERY in it. Something so secretive as to arouse awe. They call it the Bethlehem Lily because inside, it appears there's a little baby and a cradle. We call it Nishagandhi for obvious reasons. This `night bloom' is going great guns this season. "It is when the rains begin that the plant flowers without any reservations," says Sreedevi, in whose house at Elamkulam, they were pleasantly surprised to find 26 blooms on a lovely night. Before the cock crowed, they all folded their lovely white petals and faded into oblivion.
"Manure? Except for depositing the excess prasad from the temple, (as it should not be thrown away with the garbage) there is really nothing that we give the poor plant," she smiles. Every year, they find that the number of flowers increases.
A. Sankarasubramanian, on the other hand, says that the plant in their house, at Mattancherry, has been `tended like a baby' till it reached the flowering stage.
"The pleasure and delight we get when it starts to blossom cannot be expressed in words," the man gushes. It usually blooms on a Tuesday or a Friday, he has noticed.
Considered auspicious, the flower brings luck to the family, many believe. In some areas, folks make it into a happy occasion, partying with family and friends.
But it gives out a foul smell if the flower is picked after it fades way.
Of the cactus family, rocky soil persuades the plant to bring out its best.
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