In the Land of Apsaras

Cambodia for me is a country of light and darkness- both metaphorically and literally. Years back when I first read about the temples of Angkor in history books, I assumed that the history of these sites is fully known and documented. Well, it is not. There are gaps in our understanding of why these marvelous places were built and abandoned. In my imagination, the scale of these temple was also far smaller than I actually found them. World’s largest religious sites of Angkorwat temples is spectacular in its scale, design and motifs. It was enlightenment at its peak- before nature engulfed it in its roots- literally.

Earlier this month, standing in the Phnom Penh Genocide museum, I felt a chill down my spine. The audio guide in my ears was narrating one horror after the other inflicted by Khmer Rouge, and my mind was struggling to accept that the people whose ancestors in 12^th century achieved such unconceivable engineering feat at Angkorwat , can go so foolish in their attempt to turn the clock back, to carry out such inhuman atrocities on their fellow men and women. And then for two decades there was darkness. And now again, the country is raising a toast to its heritage as well as its future. A zigzag of light and darkness- very much like the Indian myths.

It is always interesting to find your childhood motifs and characters in far off lands. I was mesmerized by Bali few years back to see the sameness of culture. Now in Siem Reap, it was again the statues of Ganesh, Varun, Vishnu and Buddha that reminded me of India’s centuries old international relations. But historically, the influence came to these part not directly from India, but via Sri Lanka. But there is so many Indian tales around Angkorwat that one cannot mistake the cultural continuation. Now that the west-propagated theory of “discovery” of these temples by a lone European in the dense jungles, has been junked, one would like to believe that these monuments continued to be revered by local Khmer people always.

It is believed that the spatial dimensions of Angkor Wat Temple parallel the lengths of the four ages (Yuga) of Hindu thought. Thus the visitor to Angkor Wat who walks the causeway to the main entrance, is metaphorically travelling back to the first age of the creation of the universe. The central tower is Mount Meru, with its surrounding smaller peaks, bounded in turn by continents (the lower courtyards) and the oceans (the moat- Big Barray). The seven-headed naga (mythical serpent) becomes a symbolic rainbow bridge for humankind to reach the abode of the gods. To top it on 4 sides of the city there are bridges adorned with the statues of Devas (Gods) and Asuras (Demons) in the famous “Amrita Manthan” – Churning of sea to get the pot of nectar.

But what many people never realize till they reach Angkor is that Angkor Wat is just one of the many temples in the Angkor. Each temple is unique in its own way. I still dream of the unbelievable roots strangling the ruins of Ta Prohm and the 216 smiling, serene faces were carved onto gigantic towers at Bayon Buddhist temple. I fell in love with the smaller but uniquely built temple of Neak Pean , the entwined serpent . The entry to this temple was through A fascinating fact about all these temples is that unlike in India, existence of Buddhist statues with statues of Vishnu marks no contradiction or inconsistency in their beliefs. After all, Buddha was among the ten avataras of Vishnu.

Yes, all this was very impressive and spectacular. But even beyond temples, Siem Reap was a delightful place. Though we never managed to see the famed sunrise, the beautiful waterlilies and lotus in every pond on both sides of the road was a sight to behold. Equally charming was the Apsara (nymph) motif which was present everywhere. 

The roots of strangler fig tree were so dramatic and were adding to the romance of the place. Not to miss the unique TukTuk as our mode of transport was superb. Luckily for us, mostly during our stay it was a light drizzle or overcast. While it may have affected the dramatic pictures adversely, it was great help to me in climbing those innumerable stairs of temples and other complexes.

Garden Diaries: November (Winter is here!)

“Welcome sweet November, the season of senses and my favorite month of all.”

                                                                            ― Gregory F. Lenz
It seems bit late to welcome November. Yes, the month went by in a jiffy. It was a happy month, as I was traveling to the lands full of waterlilies and coconuts. I saw some beautiful countries and some stunning scenery. But that will be subject of a different post, hopefully soon. By the time I was back to my garden it was already mid-November and finally the arrival of winter was very apparent. If in nothing else the hundreds of Chrysanthemums made it sure that we know about the arrival of flower-season.

My Magenta Mums

A newbie gardener friend asked me the other day, how do I pick colour of flowers while planting seedlings. I had told him earlier that I grow most of my seedlings from seeds saved from last year. I had no response to his question. I do not do colour wise sorting of seeds. Very honestly, I just look at the seedlings and say – “Now come on, surprise me!”.  More often than not, they do. So this time the Mums planted from the cuttings of last year in one long flowerbed turn out to be of same colour…. surprise! The flowerbed made up of bubble-gum striped Petunias (pink and white), Asters (purple, white and pinks) and now, Mums of predominantly magenta   looks very different from what I imagined while planting these. To add some more colour, I have now put a line of Calendulas and Dahlias in it. I hope they will even out this predominance of pinks.

Salvia on the contrary, surprised me in a different way. Other than the usual classic red, this time I am lucky to have at least 6 more colours of purple, yellow and white in my garden. There is one orange colour flower with white inside. It made my heart jump with joy.

 Last year I spent some anxious days planning what to plant in two flowerbeds that are below the big mango tree and thus in shade mostly. I could only think of Cineraria. While it did flower there finally, I had to wait till almost February to see some flowers. This year, I am experimenting with Impatiens for the first time. I had planted them just before I left for my vacation and now- in almost a month, they are already showing a flower here and two there.  I have seen Impatiens in other countries many times but for my garden this is a first. So far it shows promise. It is so difficult to find shade loving plants that have flowers – so, I patently wait for my Impatiens to grow.  

Impatiens so far

Other than these, after months of fighting with earthworms, the lawn is now coming to normal. The other winter annuals- Pansies, geraniums, Cineraria, Antirrhinum (dog-flower), Nasturtiums and Marigolds are coming up nicely. After two unsuccessful attempts even pink cosmos plants are finally growing well behind a flower bed of Mums. In the seed trays – I still have ice plant, Helichrysum (Everlasting flower) and larkspurs. I want to grow a lovely bed of purple larkspurs for a friend who loves them. Though she is not in the same city, I am sure she will be delighted to see images of my garden with larkspur, if I am successful in growing them.

The real delight of coming back home after two weeks was in the vegetable garden. Our radishes are ready to be consumed- white as milk and juicy to the core . Spinach, fenugreek leaves (Methi) and tomatoes are also almost there. Cabbages and carrots are growing well and though I don’t eat them Brinjals are available in plenty. My two Amla trees are full of Amla (gooseberry) and it makes the yummiest of   chutney.

In the early days of November, soon after Diwali, Delhi and region around it faced terrible bout of air pollution and smog. It had reached hazardous level in Delhi NCR but had some effect even in Jaipur. Now that we are back of the bright sunny days and almost blue sky, we should be thankful. Every morning, when I read the news of thousands of birds dying in Sambhar Lake, it pains me. We do not realize the value of clear water, blue sky, birds and flowers, till we don’t have them anymore. I think a gardener can truly appreciate the value of these things and be grateful for them. I feel grateful for each plant that is blooming in the garden, each dose of fertilizer that is nourishing them and each bird and squirrel that comes to share my garden.