
In the Fern Hills of
Ooty, along the rain-blasted roads, down the dirt path, at the home he “bought
justbefore the real estate boom took off”, to the right of the house, Dr Tarun
Chhabra crouches near a pot. He shoves the weed grass aside and gently touches
the inflorescence. The spathe-spadix resembles the hood of a cobra. Open the
spathe—the male and female flowers are blooming.
The flower blooming
is Arisaema translucence. Commonly known as Cobra Lily, the
genus