Basanthi Flower (Reinwardtia indica)

In my Mom’s garden there is a cluster of golden flowers, known by different names(Yellow Flax, Golden Girl, Basanthi, Pyoli).The Botanical name 'Reinwardtia indica' was given to honour a Dutch Botanist Caspar Georg Carl Reinwardt. This is a flowering shrub found in the Himalayan Valleys & the Western Ghats. This plant is widely used in Ayurveda to heal wounds & to treat paralysis. The yellow flowers are used to dye clothes & to make paints.

The locals in the Uttarakhand region calls it "Pyoli" and is related to a folklore story. The story has it that a maiden living in the foothills of Himalayas encountered a wounded Prince who got lost during hunting expedition. She tended him and eventually the Prince married her and took her to his palace. Unluckily her life became miserable. She terribly missed her home and her friends.  One day she passed away and her beloved Prince buried her in the forest where he first met her. From that very place where she rested forever, these golden flowers bloomed to illuminate the woods.