Jun 5, 2011

IIT Madras - a treasure hunt

The legend is that Buddha got enlightened when he sat under a Bodhi tree. Whether the shade provided by the tree assisted Budha to get enlightened, or did he just happen to sit under the tree while he was on his way towards attaining Nirvana, is not known.

Following my chain of thoughts, I reasoned out that the shady tree at the bus stop near the Gajendra circle, popular landmark at IIT Madras, is what made me to think about the Buddha and the Bodhi tree.

"It is called as the golden shower tree", I recollected what my friend once said. I thought he just coined a name to that tree because its flowers look like the golden shower.


Later, when I wikied golden shower, I came to know that the name is indeed an alias to the tree whose name is Cassia Fistula

The flowers from the tree, that appears like the golden shower, is the state flower of Kerala where, the tree and its flower are being used since ages to extract herbal medicines that was known to cure a lot of diseases.

My sudden enlightenment under the golden shower tree made me to wonder how many treasures like the golden tree are hidden in IIT Madras, waiting to enlighten me with their traditional values!

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