Shiuli the scent of West Bengal

— Avidha Goswami

শিউলি/ Shiuli  the official flower of west bengal.
Here  everything,  the sky,the air and  the people  are almost subdued by it’s  fragrance.
Shiuli is also known as parijat, shefali in local west bengal region in India.
Nyctanches arbor-tristi  is genus of shiuli and it’s  commonly known  as Night- flowering jasmine and coral jasmine, also  in different parts of India, this flower is known by different names according to the regional language e.g.  it’s referred to as harshinagar  in Bihar’s Mithilanchal, xewālee in Assam, jhara sephali in Odisha , pavizhamalli  in Kerala,paardak in Goa. Apart from India, this flowering plant can be seen in South Asia and Southeast Asia.

Shiuli’s plant is a shrub or a small tree growing to 10 m tall , with flaky grey bark .The leaves are opposite , simple , 6–12 cm long and 2-6.5 cm broad , with an entire margin .

The flowers are fragrant , with a five-  eight – lobed white corolla with an orange – red centre ; shiuli’s are produced in clusters of two to seven together , with individual flowers opening at dusk and finishing at dawn .

The shiuli’s fruits are  flat  shaped to round capsule,with two sections each containing a single seed.

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In  our West Bengal when autumn appears i.e., when the Bengali month Bhadra-Ashwin ( sep-oct) prevails here just then  shiuli  start to shows her majesty. Most of the household gardens here have these flowering plants,and once or twice  this tree can be seen on both sides of the road.
Autumn’s cordial sky of Bengal  and aroma of shiuli  blends together and  creates a illusive environment.
moreover since these flowers fall very quickly  therefore  those flowers are scattered on the ground most of the time and creating a wonderful sheet of white and orange, which  covers the fertile lands of Bengal and giving a unique beauty.

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The tree is sometimes called the “tree of sorrow/sad tree”, because sometimes the flowers lose their brightness during daytime;but  for the people of West Bengal, shiuli is a symbol of joy,she  brings the message of arrival of ma Durga;the days of the biggest festival of Bengal Durgapuja enter here holding the hand of Shiuli.
Basically shiuli is used in the worship of ma Durga and also used in almost all auspicious festivals.This flowering plant has many qualities, the leaves have been used in ayurvedic medicine and homeopathy for sciatica,arthritis,and fevers.

Shiuli occupies a special place in the hearts of Bengalis,even many Bengali girls are  named ‘shiuli’ here, and also various famous poets, writers of Bengal have repeatedly highlighted the sweetness and mildness of this flower, in their writings.
Bengali polymath,the worldspoet Rabindranath tagore has said, in his song, with an eye to  shiuli flowers “শিউলি ফুল,শিউলি ফুল,কেমন ভুল,এমন ভুল॥
রাতের বায় কোন্‌ মায়ায় আনিল হায়   বনছায়ায়,ভোরবেলায় বারে বারেই   ফিরিবারে হলি ব্যাকুল॥
কেন রে তুই উন্মনা! নয়নে তোর হিমকণা।”

So it can be said that shiuli is one of the fascinating element of  charming Bengal.

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