Gul-e-Abbasi Flower

Gul-e-Abbasi Flowers

How many of us have ever listened the name or seen the plant called "Gul-e-Abbasi"? I guess very few of us may be able to recall this long forgotten flowering plant despite the fact that most of us may consciously or unconsciously have seen this speaker shaped light purple flower which was very common in the village in those days. 

I myself, well remember my little romances with this otherwise neglected plant; used to grow wildly and in abundance in the meadows, especially on the defense line digged; spanning from and around my as well as the adjoining villages. 

My memories attached with this flowering plant is as old as of even before my entering into my teens; when I used to collect stems of Guk-e-Abbasi full of funnel shaped flowers during my solitary walks or along with buddies of my age. I do remember that most of its collections I used to made during my on foot marches on the pathway starting from an "Old Well" heading towards the "Old Canal" and across moving towards village "Pathanke".

Among different characteristics of this plant was that it started fading away very soon; it was poisonous in nature; its stems have a hole in it and it was easy to pluck the whole stem with the use of just one hand. My romances with it kept going for quite some years of my early age. However I still well remember that I never ever brought this flower at home. One reason may be that the flower was wild in nature therefore my affairs with Gul e Abbasi remained a little wild too.

Time went by and I entered into my teens and middle school as well. My love for flowers remained intact, however quite unconsciously Daisy and Marigold replaced Gul e Abbasi. The reason I can understand that these flowers were used to grow in the courtyard of my school and were domestic in nature so I continue hovering around these flowers for another 2 to 3 years.

By the time I entered high school, I witnessed some physical and emotional changes in my body and soul. I started looking at things and people with new perspective.  

My passion for flowers remained the same however by the time my observation was a bit enhanced. Sometimes during my wandering around I started noticing flowers of new kind in nook n corner having stunning beauty in some instances. 

I still am unable to forget two of the kind. One was shocking pink and the other was light pink. Both were Roses; so delicate; so fragrant. Both were in their early bloom totally ignorant of the dangers and poisonous creatures around; looking for their fates good or bad. 

Things started happening in continuity and I kept watching all the drama from some distance.  

As destined the shocking pink had a bad luck as one dark night the flower as feared earlier was stung by a deadly wasp in her heart. Soon after her petals started shattering and within days the flower embraced a dreadful end. Had the rose taken some precaution, the rose still may have been showering his fragrance in the courtyard of some house but was not lucky enough like the Light Pink one.

Alas! At the end the charming rose weighed even lesser than the wild *Gul-e-Abbasi*

@ JAFAR