Why this blog is called "Gallimaufry".

gal-uh-MAW-free\, noun.

Originally meaning "a hash of various kinds of meats," "gallimaufry" comes from French galimafrée; in Old French, from the word galer, "to rejoice, to make merry"; in old English: gala + mafrer: "to eat much," and from Medieval Dutch maffelen: "to open one's mouth wide."

It's also a dish made by hashing up odds and ends of food; a heterogeneous mixture; a hodge-podge; a ragout; a confused jumble; a ridiculous medley; a promiscuous (!) assemblage of persons.

Those of you who know me, will, I’m sure, understand how well some of these phrases (barring the "promiscuous" bit!) fit me.

More importantly, this blog is an ode to my love for Shimla. I hope to show you this little town through my eyes. If you don't see too many people in it, forgive me, because I'm a little chary of turning this into a human zoo.

Stop by for a spell, look at my pictures, ask me questions about Shimla, if you wish. I shall try and answer them as best as I can. Let's be friends for a while....

10 June 2010

Thou blushest from the painter's page, Robed in the mimic tints of art...





Still, still my eye will gaze long fixed on thee,
Till I forget that I am called a man,
And at thy side fast-rooted seem to be,
And the breeze comes my cheek with thine to fan,
Upon this craggy hill our life shall pass,
A life of summer days and summer joys,
Nodding our honey-bells mild pliant grass,
In which the bee half hid his time employs,
And here we'll drink with thirsty pores the rain,
And turn, dew-sprinkled, to the sun,
And look when in the flaming west again,
His orb across the heaven its path has run;
Here left in the darkness on the rocky steep,
My weary eyes shall close like folding flowers in sleep.
~ Jones Very ~




I spotted Columbines in the woods of Sheogh in June last year, thanks to Dr. Suresh Nair. This year, they were closer at hand in Sanjiv's lovely garden. In Sheogh, I found it growing in partial shade, whereas at Sanjiv's place, it grows in full sunlight. Its height in both places was about 15 to 20 inches. Sanjiv says the plant is partial to a well-drained soil, but is hardy enough not to require mulching or protection in the winter. She informs that she propagates it by seed.
Elegantly formed and coloured in shades of lilac, violet and white, this flower is very easy to distinguish because of its five backward projecting spurs of the inner petals. A row of inner and outer petals form the columbine, which grows at a 90-degree angle to its stem. The leaves appeared similar to ferns to my untrained eye.
The botanical name of the columbine Aquilegia comes from the Latin word aquila, an eagle, perhaps, in reference to the claw-like spurs which grow at the back of the flower. The name columbine comes from columba, a dove.

Scientific details:
Kingdom: Plantae
Division: Magnoliophyta
Class: Magnoliospida
Order: Ranunculales
Family: Ranunculaceae
Genus: Aquilegia







3 comments:

batsick said...

Ahhh, magnolias! What nice plants ,no?

Come visit my blog and follow at www.thelunaticsdiary.blogspot.com if you like.,

Geetali said...

Er, no. Columbines, as I specified in my post.

Nice blog.

D Naruka said...

Brilliant snaps. Love the last shot(the purple star :)).

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