Fragrant flowers - Sri Azhagiya Singar pushpa pallakku - Crocus sativus

பூக்கள் அழகானவை; அழகானவை; நறுமணம் தர வல்லன !  எம்பெருமானுக்கு பலர் நல்ல மணம் தரும் பூக்களை மாலையாக கோர்த்து சமர்பிக்கின்றனர்.  பெரியாழ்வார் தமது பிரபந்தத்தில் ஆநிரை மேய்க்கும் கண்ணபிரானை பூச்சூட அழைக்கிறார் - கானகமெல்லாம் திரிந்த கரிய திருமேனி வாட திரியும் தேனிலினிய பிரானுக்கு -  செண்பகப்பூ, மல்லிகைப்பூ, பச்சை தமனகம், மரு, தமனகம், செங்கழுநீர்ப்பூ, புன்னைப்பூ, குருக்கத்திப்பூ, இருவாட்சிப்பூ, கருமுகைப்பூ  - என பற்பல மலர்களை ஆயர்கோனுக்கு பட்டர்பிரான் சமர்பிக்கின்றார்.

 

Before you read further, can you identify this bright violet hued flower !! – I could not !! 

Back in 2016, an  encounter with a group of terrorists  hiding inside a government institute in Pampore, 15 km from Srinagar, stretched for well over a day. Explosions and gunshots were being heard regularly from within and around the building, used to offer vocational training to young Kashmiris. Officials said the encounter  stretched on because the building offers a "bunker-like" protection to the terrorists. .. .. perhaps the guns are not sounding as often as they did in the past decades and Kashmir is returning to normalcy and back to flourishing trade – yet far off from the days of Sharada Peeth and its knowledge base.  

Cradled by low mountains and spread across a vast expanse of small, fertile fields, a sea of purple flowers opens in Himalayan Kashmir to produce one of the world's most precious spices, saffron. At the end of autumn, families in this region  race against the clock to harvest the crocus flowers, which bloom for only two weeks a year.  Across the world, saffron is used in products ranging from food to medicine and cosmetics. A kilogram (2.2 pounds) requires the stigmas of about 150,000 flowers and can easily sell for $3,000-$4,000.

ஸ்ரீமன் நாராயணனுக்கு மணம் தரும் நன்மலர்கள் மட்டுமே சமர்பிக்கப்படுகின்றன.  ஏனைய நறுமலர்களை தவிர, குங்குமப்பூ அரைத்து சாற்றப்படுகிறது.  குங்குமப்பூ (Saffron) என்பது குரோக்கசு என்னும் இனத்தைச் சேர்ந்த சாஃப்ரன் குரோக்கசு (saffron crocus)  என்ற செடியின் பூவிலிருந்து தருவிக்கப்படும் ஒரு நறுமணப் பொருளாகும். இப்பூவின் உலர்த்தப்பட்ட சூலகமுடிகளும் சூல் தண்டுகளும் உணவுக்குச் சுவையூட்டும், வண்ணமூட்டும் பொருளாகப் பயன்படுத்தப்படுகின்றன. நீண்டகாலமாக உலகின் மிக விலையுயர்ந்த நறுமணப் பொருளாக (எடையின் அடிப்படையில்) குங்குமப்பூ இருந்து வருகிறது.  குங்குமப்பூவில் எளிதில் ஆவியாகின்ற, நறுமணம் தருகின்ற 150 க்கும் அதிகமான சேர்மங்கள் உள்ளன.

 

Flowers are considered important in our worship.  We offer flowers to our Gods. Blooming flowers are one of the most beautiful things you can see in nature. The production of  volatile chemicals in some flowers also make pleasant smell. It also attracts pollinating insects and spread a positive energy in the surrounding. Sweet fragrant smell is capable of transporting us to other places and times – some entirely unimagined. In some,  Roses are the most popular choice; in others it could be Jasmine.  Each flower has a unique smell. It is because of each flower produce a unique chemical compound.  Crocus sativus, commonly known as saffron crocus, or autumn crocus, is a species of flowering plant of the Crocus genus in the Iridaceae family. It is best known for the spice saffron, which is produced from parts of the flowers. Saffron though not used as a flower is used as a paste anointing Lord.

Pampore, known as Padampur in antiquity  is a historical town situated on the eastern side of river Jehlum on Srinagar-Jammu National Highway in the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. It is famous for its saffron, so-known as "Saffron Town of Kashmir". Pampore is one of the few places in the world where saffron, the world's most expensive spice, grows. The area is about 11 km from Srinagar city centre Lal Chowk. Areas Of Pampore are usually named as "Bal" as a prefix like localities of Namlabal, Kadlabal, Drangbal, Frestabal, Letrabal,etc. 

Saffron is a spice derived from the flower of Crocus sativus, commonly known as the "saffron crocus". The vivid crimson stigma and styles, called threads, are collected and dried for use mainly as a seasoning and colouring agent in food. Saffron has long been the world's most costly spice by weight. Saffron's taste and iodoform-like or hay-like fragrance result from the phytochemicals picrocrocin and safranal.  It also contains a carotenoid pigment, crocin, which imparts a rich golden-yellow hue to dishes and textiles. Its recorded history is attested in a 7th-century BC Assyrian botanical treatise, and has been traded and used for thousands of years. In the 21st century, Iran produces some 90% of the world total for saffron.

Crocus sativus, commonly known as saffron crocus,   have 3 stamens and 3 styles, while colchicums have 6 stamens and 1 style, and belong to a different family, Colchicaceae.  Human cultivation of saffron crocus and use of saffron have taken place for more than 3,500 years and spans different cultures, continents, and civilizations – it is widely cultivated in Kashmir more in Pampore area. For thousands of years, delicate golden-red strands of saffron were carried along the Silk Road, adorning fragrant pilafs and sweet puddings from the Persian empire to the Spanish royal court. Cleopatra was said to take saffron-infused baths. The  coronavirus pandemic has thrown this ancient trade into disarray, closing restaurants, slashing consumer spending and sending demand for the world’s most expensive spice tumbling. Farmers in Iran and India’s Kashmir region, the world’s first and second-largest growers respectively, too are struggling. Prices for the labour-intensive spice — more than 100,000 saffron crocus flowers are handpicked for every kilogramme of saffron — have plummeted this year. Prices for Iranian saffron imported into Europe, a leading market, have fallen more than a third since the start of 2020 to €35,384 per 100kg, according to commodity data group Mintec.  Kashmiri saffron, which is mostly consumed in the large Indian market, has dropped 25 per cent in price over a similar period.

After 10 days of  Brahmothsavam, it is rest called ‘Vidayarri’ for Sri Thelliya Singar - and after 3  days of rest, comes the florally bedecked ‘Pushpa Pallakku – the palanquin with flowers’.  The floral palanquin  looks beautiful and pervades goodness all around – treat to the eyes, ears and senses  of Bakthas. At Triplicane [Thiruvalikkeni divyadesam]  on the night of 27th June  2016 , Sri Azhagiya Singar  had purappadu in Pushpa pallakku and  here are couple of photos of Sri Azhagiya Singar pushpa pallakku and of Azhagiyasingar purappadu from His sannathi to vahana mantapam for pallakku.

adiyen Srinivasadhasan
Mamandur Veeravalli Srinivasan Sampathkumar
12.12.2020