Epiphany In The Rain

This is a guest post by Abhay Kanwar.

There is nothing quite that can beat the Monsoons. The darkening of the skies, the cool breeze, the smell of earth – and this entire feeling of the city being washed clean of all its sins. I have fallen in love with the monsoons; all of it: the storms, the lightning and thunders, the rains and the cool fresh air that follows the rain. Don’t ask me how, why or when it happened because I don’t know. I just knew that until now I had been pretty sure that I had been an urbanite I believed myself to be a person who hated the monsoons. They say you attract what you fear and as expected I found myself in the midst of this dreaded season.

It was a beautiful Sunday and I had planned a simple movie/lunch date with the girl of my dreams. But god had other plans for us. Within minutes after I picked her up, it started to rain. Never at a loss for ideas, my girl came up with the idea to spend the day at Sukhna Lake. Well, honestly it did seem a pretty weird idea to me at that time, and before I could register my protest at leaving behind the buffet at the amazing little Italian restaurant, I found myself being forcibly driven to the road, that led to the lake.

Upon reaching the lake, we got out of the car and noticed that the hot and humid July air was gone and a delicious, rain-cooled breeze blew, accompanied with gentle life giving rainfall. I glanced at my watch – 2pm; we made our way towards a small open air café on the lake. Coffee and conversation followed and somehow I found myself reluctant to leave. Yes, I was beginning to like the weather. This might sound straight out of a romantic Bollywood movie, but both of us had this sense that the day held the promise of something more that neither of us had imagined.

The day dissolved in frenzy – and all we could do was to capture a few photos to keep the memories of this fine day alive. Dusk had begun to fall and there was still no sign from the heavens that the rain would stop. We decided to go for a long walk alongside the lake in the pouring rain. A pretty filmy idea to say the least, that’s what I thought at that time, but today it seems one of the most romantic dates, I had ever been on.

The serene and re-generative beauty of the lake in the rains, the amazing flora and fauna, along with the endless path that ran alongside the lake, proved to be much better than the movie I had planned. That day, it was as if a cloud lifted from my heart. The words Lake and monsoon now spelt magic and romance to me. Let someone complain about their watery woes, traffic snarls or water logging and I'll remind them how beautifully the rains had lent a hand in turning my wonderful dream into reality. Ironically, it took a heavy downpour on a Sunday for me to see the bright side of the rains, but it was worth it in every sense. We drove back home later in the evening, carrying memories that would last a lifetime.

Celebrate all your special occasions with FlowerAura, as 'When words are not enough..' we are there to help you out. Let your dear ones know how much you love and value them with our amazing gifting options, which we promise to deliver at their doorsteps with utmost love and care.

More about the author - Abhay Kanwar

Flowers and Women

This is a guest post.

My best friend was coming back in town and I had been eagerly waiting for this day due to all the wrong reasons. For those of you who don’t know what I mean, yes I had developed some really strong feelings for her ever since she left town. I wanted to do something special for her, which took me from the friend zone to the place where I could see a future alongside her. Finally after wracking my brains and a few silly suggestions from my best buds, I finally decided to go along with a bunch of flowers, which seemed to be the most appropriate thing for a person in my particular situation.

I was a man on a mission and decided to place an online order for a bouquet delivery to her place. Honestly I was a little worried about the time at which the flowers would get delivered, but to my surprise they were delivered right on time. I got a call from the lady of my dreams, the flowers had been delivered and I knew right away that my mission had been accomplished. She was elated to see them and that was clear to me by the tone of her voice.

Exactly a month later, I found myself at a fancy little restaurant in the company of my lady love, toasting to a wonderful future ahead for us. The flowers had worked. I considered myself a genius. I remember asking her what her reaction was when she received see the flowers and her words would always be etched in my memory.

“Although it was a bit weird to be receiving flowers, that too from you. But, I loved them. It was full of gratitude and I felt so loved. They made me feel so elated, cause no matter what; flowers always seem to be smiling. I won’t lie, but I placed them right opposite to my bed, so that their presence could brighten up the room and at the same time, remind me of that schoolboy who had turned into a real gentleman while I had been away.”

This actually came as a shock to me because I never knew that a bunch of flowers could mean so much to a women and I decided to unravel this mystery.

Generation after generation, women have always loved receiving the gift of flowers. Simply put, they are a symbol of life, beauty and thus, when received, women don't just feel vibrant and full of life, they feel beautiful and incredibly special. Showing her your love with a specially-prepared bouquet will only increase her affection for you, and make her feel like she's the most important person in your life. In turn, you will reap the benefits as it will be her pleasure to reciprocate the feelings you garnered her with.

The custom of giving flowers to a women can be traced back as far as the Victorian Era, where a romantic custom developed, behind the exchange of flowers. Everything had a meaning, right from the size and type of the flower to the way in which it was carried, depicted a man’s emotions and his innermost feelings.

Friends of mine who are of the opposite sex, often complain that the men in their lives were not romantic enough. It is a fact that men do have trouble expressing their feelings and often resort to cheesy Hallmark/Archies cards or pricey bejeweled items. But little do they know that there is a better way to a woman’s heart and it does not even involve spending a fortune or even opening your mouth. It worked for me and I can assure you, it’ll work for you too.

Reconstructing this ancient gesture will not only help you infuse your relationship with life and romance but also bring back some of the spontaneity, mystery and fun.

So instead of grabbing a bouquet down at a local flower vendor, try Floweaura, where there are flowers, gifts for every occasion and a wide-variety to choose from. At FlowerAura we don't just deliver mere flowers and gifts rather we the convey your emotions, love and feelings at the doorstep of your dear ones.

The Author is an old and loyal FlowerAura Customer who wishes to remain Anonymous.

Flowers and Indian Mythology

This is a guest post by Abhay Kanwar.

When I was a little kid, I remember every evening accompanying my grandmother for her trip to the temple, carrying a small pooja thali, decorated with a diya, various colored flowers and some sweet to serve as Prasad at the end of her pooja, the Prasad being the only reason that I accompanied her. We had a small mandir in our house, which consisted of various portraits of gods and goddesses, all of which were decorated with garlands, made out of flowers. One particular portrait that always caught my attention was that of a lady, sitting on a lotus flower, which I was able to recognize, was a lotus (as I had learned in kindergarten about India’s national flower).

“Little flower – but if I could understand what you are, root and all, and all in all, I should know what God and man is.”
-Alfred Lord Tennyson

One of the rituals that I recall that my grandmother used to carry out each evening, consisted of gathering flowers from our garden and later offering them to the idols of various gods and goddesses in the temple. As I grew up, I learned more about the ritual and realized its true significance.

Throughout history, flowers have been associated with the creator, religion, worship and with countless myths and legends across various civilizations that existed globally. Flowers have however remained an integral part of Indian culture. Lotus is the national flower of India and hence, there is a lot of mythological significance of flowers with Gods and Goddesses in our culture, than in any other in the world.

The very name of the Indian worship ritual called Pooja can be roughly translated as the Ritual of flowers. In India, flowers are considered to be made up of the 5 different elements of nature, namely, Earth, Water, Fire, Air and Ether. They play a very crucial role in celebrations, festivities and prayers, and as a result of their unique and valuable role, there are certain un-explainable, subtle and cryptic qualities of a flower. It is believed that a flower has Soul like every human being and it is because of this very reason that flowers hold an important position in our culture. Although many kinds of flower names are mentioned in our scriptures but some of the most significant ones are the Lotus flowers, Manjaree or tulsi flowers (associated with Lord Vishnu), Dhatoora flowers (associated with Lord Shiva), Red Hibiscus (associated with Lord Ganesha).

Out of all the traditions followed in India, Indians are famous for welcoming their guests, with flower garlands. This simply signifies the respect for our guests and helps in building the core of the moral value, Atithi Devo Bhava. Apart from flowers being offered to the Gods and Goddesses in our culture, in Indian marriages an exchange of flower garlands takes place between the bride and the groom, which depicts respect and affection towards each other.

Flowers hold a vital place in every culture, the Greeks, Romans, Egyptians, Buddhists etc, since ancient times have made flowers and integral part of their respective cultures.

Celebrate all your special occasions with FlowerAura, let your dear ones know how much you love and value them with our amazing gifting options. We promise to deliver to their doorsteps with utmost love and care.

Please also checkout our Special Gifting Range which we are sure will interest you.

More about the author - Abhay Kanwar