As a city dwelling Adivasi who usually visits home in winters, it was only from from friends and relatives that I had heard of the wonders of the mahua flower – a sacred and significant item for several Adivasi communities across India. But in March, a last-minute trip to the site of a protestagainst a field firing range in Netarhat, Jharkhand, happened to be the proper time to see and smell the mahua trees flowering.
As we descended the Netarhat valley by car, I fell asleep, only to wake up as the air became thick with a sweetly intoxicating fragrance. When someone casually mentioned that the scent was of mahua flowers, I excitedly asked to stop.
Both sides of the road were carpeted with light yellow-green flowers. A few meters ahead, women were busy gathering the flowers in baskets.
In the golden late morning sunlight, I bent down and picked up a handful of them, taking the aroma in with a deep breath. It made me think of my late grandfather. I smiled.
