Assam: Kapou flowers that no one dares to pluck in Bokakhat district

A CORRESPONDENT

BOKAKHAT: With Rongali Bihu welcomed by nature’s rhythms, Kapou flowers—nature’s free gift—now adorn young women’s hair garlands. Daring acts to pluck them, immortalized in the beloved Bihu song ‘Pahar bogai bogai, seni mai kapou phul anilo,’ still lingers in memory. But the Kapou fields are now empty. Though in some places these orchids are even cultivated commercially, the scale is negligible. This year, lack of rain meant the Kapou did not bloom fully.

Some plants withered, while others shed their blooms into Senehi Seni Mai’s basket. Yet in Dhodang village of Numaligarh, Bokakhat district, no one dares touch the long, drooping Kapou blossoms on the roadside jari tree. As in past years, this spring the tree has again produced countless flowers.

On this ancient jari tree, flowering each spring for centuries, the Kapou blooms form a divine floral grove. A small Shiva shrine stands at the tree’s base, so people refrain from plucking its blossoms. Now the tree and its Kapou flowers has become a topic of discussion.. Passersby stop, captivated by the blooms, and many come simply to photograph them. The people of Dhodang take pride in their sacred jari tree and its Kapou. Located at the three-way junction where National Highway 37 meets a village by road towards Budhbari, the jari tree’s blooms are fewer this year due to the scant rainfall.

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