My first trip to Vaishnodevi was unimpressive. Climbing was hard, and it only served to highlight how badly out of shape I was, while my in-laws managed to cope so much better. Further, I hadn’t quite realized that the cave experience wouldn’t be the same as I had imagined, since the original cave was only opened at certain times a year, and that we only entered a newly created tunnel, one far easier to access, and hence more manageable with the crowds that thronged the mountain shrine. The resulting experience at the shrine, for barely a fraction of a second, hardly compared to what I had expected / imagined / heard about. So, for me, Vaishnodevi was like any other temple, nothing to write home about, something that was reflected (though not explicitly mentioned) in the blog post I wrote then.
Looking back, collating the images from my summer trip, I realized that we had seen many flowers, and most of them were red!! Here, take a look -
I saw these two flowers in the resort in Bangalore where I attended a wedding. Is it any surprise that I clicked them instead of paying attention to the ceremonies?
These two were abundant in the compound of our hotel at Wayanad. It was impossible, not to click them!
As to this one, it stood out proudly, the only splash of colour, in an otherwise green landscape, at the Muthanga Wildlife Sanctuary Visitors Enclosure!
Beautiful, aren't they? And with such interesting names too!!!
P.S. Many thanks to Flowers of India for helping me identify them!
Red Passion Flower - can you see a bee buzzing in there? |
Red Ginger |
Lobster Claw or Hanging Heliconia |
Flamingo Flower |
Blood Lily |
Beautiful, aren't they? And with such interesting names too!!!
P.S. Many thanks to Flowers of India for helping me identify them!
Beautiful collection.
ReplyDeleteThanks Mridula!!!
DeleteNice clicks, Anu. Never seen a red passion flower and red ginger flower.
ReplyDeleteThanks Bindhu! I hadnt seen these either! had to search to get the names too :D
DeleteAwesome...
ReplyDeleteReally nice collection,
Thanks Sujit!
DeleteThese are lovely!
ReplyDeleteI like your post and everything you share with us is current and very informative,you have done a fantastic job
ReplyDeleteCar Hire Punei