A Flower and some thoughts.

This is known scientifically as Tabernaemontana divaricata or by the common name of crepe jasmine. To us Malayalees, this is known as the Nandiarvattam. There are at least two varieties of this flower. One with only five petals which is shown here, and another with layers of many petals.


This is a common plant seen and has a very mild fragrance. The juice from the petals of this flower is supposed to be very good for the eyes and I remember during our childhood, if some dust goes in our eyes, my grandmother used to pour the juice of these flowers mixed with breast milk and the redness in the eyes will vanish quickly. But she used to warn us. The cloth used for getting the petal juice, the small pointed vessel which is used for pouring the drops in the eyes, all should be sterilized. And of course, the hands and the breast milk also should be clean. This used to be very cool for the eyes, and with the nice fragrance, it gives a magical feeling to the eyes.



When I selected this photo for posting in the blog, my childhood memories ran quite vividly and for some time, I went back to my childhood, the good old days at our vast and beautiful ancestral house, the large open central courtyard - and the Nandiarvattam plant with full of silky white flowers.