Pandanus Odoratissimus

Pandanus Odoratissimus
“Foxed you? Alright, it is hnIl (Haneela in Sanskrit). Okay! One more clue. It’s a cursed but useful flower. No help? Wait for a while, because thereby hangs a tale”, said this young eleven year old ‘lady’ member of my Ivy League.
Flowers have been part of our culture and heritage since ages. They are used in our daily life for worshipping, religious and social functions, wedding and self-adornment. Yet, Can you imagine a flower debarred forever from being offered in worship? K…….. is a forbidden flower cursed by Lord Shiva for bearing a false witness of Lord Brahma. According to a legend, Lord Vishnu was resting on the serpent couch in the sea of eternity (Ananthasayanam). Lord Brahma, while passing by felt insulted when Lord Vishnu neither rose nor greeted him. Both flew into rage over the question of supremacy. (And you thought only we had the ego problems). The argument prolonged each claiming to be the creator of the other. The heated discussion led to a fight. The Devas were horrified at the intensity of the battle. Ultimately, they rushed to Lord Shiva for aid. On the request of Devas, Lord Shiva proceeded to the battlefield. There in the midst of the battle, Lord Shiva assumed the form of a huge pillar (shaft?) of light. Both Brahma and Vishnu were awestruck by the cosmic pillar (shaft?) of light. Brahma and Vishnu set off to explore the limits of the mighty pillar of light. Vishnu was unable to touch the base; came up and admitted defeat. Whereas Brahma on his journey upwards came across K………flower wafting down slowly with its whiff of fragrance.
When enquired of the flower from where she had come from, K……… replied that she had been placed at the top of the huge pillar of light. Unable to find the uppermost limits of the pillar, Brahma decided to take the flower back to Vishnu to bear witness that he had indeed reached the top of the pillar. Brahma gloated over the defeated Vishnu. This infuriated Shiva. Brahma was punished for telling a lie and the creator was banned from being worshipped. In the same breath, K………. was also cursed that she would never again be used in the worship of Shiva. Thus, K…….. is debarred forever from being offered in worship.
K……… though punished by Lord Shiva for perjury, has long been absolved by us the human beings. The plant as a whole and the flower in particular despite being cursed and debarred for worshipping is being widely used in one form or the other—yes--- Ketaki- it’s another Sanskrit name, Ketaki is also known as "keura" in Hindi. The botanical nomenclature of this plant is "pandanus odoratissimus". In English it is known as umbrella tree or screw pine. And we call it, yes --- “Thaazham poo”. Rings a bell now?
Ketaki is a densely branched shrub generally found along our Southern coast. The tree is considered a good soil binder. Both male and female flowers are produced on different plants. Our forefathers called the male plants as "Ketaki-viphala". The female plants were known as "swarna Ketaki". Male and female plants together were called "Ketaki dvayam" (a pair of ketaki).
The male fluorescence's are valued for their fragrance. Valuable attar (scent) is obtained from them. The flowers are also used for hair decoration. Flowers are used for extraction of "kewda attar, kewra water and kewda aromatic oil”.
"Kewda attar" is one of the most popular perfumes extracted and used by us since ancient times. It blends well with almost all types of fancy perfumes and is used for scenting clothes, bouquets, lotions, cosmetics, soaps, hair oils, tobacco and agarbatti.
All the parts of the plant have tremendous medicinal values. The roots are used as anti-septic. The kewda oil considered as stimulant and antispasmodic is useful in rheumatoid arthritis.
“So much for the Thaazham poo. (jhokg+)” and the kid ran off.
So when some of my friends begin their disquisition on the terrible state of the world with the timeworn, “You know, kids today are . . .” and go on and on, sharing vague notions of the terrible state of teens and young adults, based on watching the six o’clock news rather selectively, or who just want to vent their spleen or inflict their political views on a captive audience like me I feel sad for the kids. On the other hand, on few rare occasions, when I ramble from one engagement to another, and I find myself sitting next to some kids who’re quite talkative, I find it often a pleasant experience for me because I’m an inveterate people-watcher. I learn so much by watching and listening to the people I meet and see every day, hearing stories of sadness and others of delight, fear and joy, and others that would rival those on popular TV shows.
No, I don’t despair about kids today.
If you are looking for any lessons here, the obvious one is “Perjury and lie (then or now) is fraught with serious repercussions.” But in a lighter vein, the modern version seems: “what is good for the goose need not be good for the gander” (I believe that the original phrase was, "Sauce for the goose, sauce for the gander", or some such.) or ‘What is taboo for the Gods could be quite acceptable to the mortals.”


V V R
9th Feb 007