National Flower of India (Lotus)
The National Flower of India
Lotus is the national flower of India. Lotus has a very important and prominent place in Indian traditional beliefs and religious sentiments. Goddess Lakshmi can be found seated on a lotus flower. The highlight of the flower lotus is that it signifies purity. We can find the growth of lotus in small ponds, rivulets, canals and small water streams.
We can even find them amidst muddy waters, unclean water barrages, small openings of water inlets that are not so clean etc. that goes to say that the flower does not demand a crystal clean and clear water body for its growth.
It is often found in regions of dirty water bodies, yet the beauty of the flower is never diminished or reduced. It stands tall amidst murky waters trying to make a point. Nature provides examples and illustrations in the form of ironies and it is for us to understand and perceive them in our lives.
The flower sends out a clear message. The flower thrives in the presence of dirt and untidy waters surrounding it. Rather, we can view the whole scenario in this way. The presence of a bad environment around it does not make the creature, the subject here being the flower to grow itself or not.
It is in no way dependent on the water body to decide its beauty and growth. The same can be applied to our lives as well. We live in a world that is beautiful and not-so-beautiful also. There are good moments as well as bad moments.
The environment we live may be filled with goodness, but may also be polluted with bad thoughts and views. Whether we let the environment take control of our views and thoughts or whether we take control of our mind is totally in our hands.
Such a beautiful message in such beautiful colors is rendered by a wonderful flower we most often find at not-so-clean places and that is the true significance of lotus.
Adaptation of the Flower
The flower was adopted as the national flower of the country in the year 1950. The reason the government gave it a prominent place and declared it a national flower was due to its cultural attachments and the ritualistic engagements.
In festival celebrations of India, the lotus flower finds a very important place as it has high decorative and ornamental value as well.
Not only for that, the flower is said to be a much priced possession of goddess Lakshmi and that gives reasons enough to attach cultural roots to the flower. It is used in many important puja and religious events.
Nature of the Plant
Let us now talk about the nature of lotus plants. They have a stem that is hollow and not so strong, making the flower to float on water and the stem or the stalk can be found dangling inside the water.
They are often found on shallow water surfaces and the leaves per stem of the lotus along with the flower gives them a beautiful picture to make note of. The lotus flower, when still a bud resembles a drop of water.
When the flower is still in a bud stage and is yet to blossom into a full-grown flower, one can find the flower to be packed closely with all its petals set closely one above the other, overlapping very tightly and tapering towards a central apex.
It is said that they blossom during sunrise and once after blossoming, they can be found to be in their full bloom for at least two or three days, till they dwindle away during sunset.
It is such a nice thing to see when the early morning dew drops come and settle down on the petals of the lotus flower, a sight nature has trapped in its beautiful lap and no other creation can re-create this picturesque wonder.
The colour of the lotus flower is a mix of maroon color in hues of pin and mild pink, giving the flower an overall shade of pink color and the flower attracts dozens of pollinating agents like insects and birds due to the captivating color of the petals.
Beauty of the Flower
The central region of the lotus flower is yellow and they are made of strands, delicate ones that actually contain ovaries inside them. A cross section of the flower, below a microscope reveals further details of the flower in precision.
Lotuses have ornamental values and they are found in many regions of south East Asia. They can also be found outside Asian countries, in regions of Europe and Australia.
They have their presence wherever water remains stagnant and they just grow upwards on the water surface from slender stems. The stems are quite long, hold the flower in a distinct way.
They have ornamental values, people also use them in many of the culinary preparations in Asian cuisines and the stem of the lotus plant in particular is home to many beneficial nutrients and store house of important and essential health factors.
They are used in many food preparation processes and many recipes on the internet one can surf to get an idea of the food benefits of lotuses.
Values Exhibited
The lotus flower though lies on water surfaces cannot be actually dampened by the water in which it is dwelling. The structure of the lotus flower is such that it rises itself gracefully above the water surface and though the water is holding and is a kind of basement upon which the lotus finds itself a place to thrive, the lotus does not allow even a drop of water to embed on any of its petals.
Nature always amazes with its beautiful wonders and the colorful flowers around us are proof enough of that. Many great personalities have referred to the flower when they made spiritual references and found connections with the flower to quote examples of purity of thoughts.
The way the lotus lays in water, yet is detached from it in a unique way offers many messages to us to think and ponder about the beautiful flower and the meaningful advice it offers to us.
