City Nature – Pomegranate Tree, Nizamuddin Chilla
The nature’s gift.
[Text and pictures by Mayank Austen Soofi]
One evening The Delhi Walla saw a small pomegranate tree in the courtyard of the sufi retreat of Nizamuddin Chilla, behind Humayun’s Tomb in central Delhi. The tree’s thin branches were bending down under the weight of fruit. The leaves were green, but yellowed at the edges. Some of the pomegranates – in shades of green, yellow, red and brown – were ripe enough to fall at any moment. The leathery skin of each bloomed at the stem into a flower-shaped pattern.
Used to seeing fruits only on carts or in supermarket shelves, it was a rare sight. Stepping under the tree, I looked up. The pomegranates were hanging like stars; the sky was a patchwork of leaves. The heaven was just a touch away.
Rare sight
Like a flower
Leafy green
Three idiots
Two brothers
Sibling rivalry
Godly
Loner
Once plucked
Heaven
..the sky was a patchwork of leaves.. love it!
Aah, wonderful. One never gets to see these fruits were they belong.
Amazing how you find beauty in little things and the way you describe it…”The Heaven was just a touch away””…Wow..!!
Another beautiful article, Mayank. I love the ‘Anaar’ tree. It is very graceful with its slender, dark-green leaves and those beautiful blossoms – rightly eulogized as ‘Anarkali’. This tree loves sub-tropical weather and even enjoys a hot and humid climate. I have a pomegranate shrub growing in my backyard. Little birds seem to love hopping around on its branches.
Love the artwork.