Seasonal Flowers, and Bonus Flowers in the Summer 2015 By Junior Win

This summer is so hot and there wasa hardful warning to everyone from the daily weather report. It said ultraviolet rays have now high radiation. It was dangerous if we were goingoutside between 11am and 3pm. But wait! There were beautiful nature beauties await us.

 The seasonal flowers called Kankaw (Mesua Ferrea) blooming in this month. Kankaw flowers are everywhere in the market place, and women love to buy and wear on their head. I also love to buy some Kankaw flowers, and put at our household shrine.
(Kankaw flowers in the garden.)
Luckily, we met another bonus flowers blooming in this hard weather.
This summer might be a lucky month. We met rain and thunder in this hottest month. The wind blew dangerously last few days, and people were afraid of the to-be-cyclone. But luckily the rain suddenly dropping, and the weather became cool. We were happy at the moment, looking forward the Thingyan flowers called ‘Padauk’ would be seen in the market. ‘Padauk’ was truly the Thingyan flowers.
Tagu: April – The first month of the Burmese Year. We welcome our Burmese New Year beginning with water festival. The true spirit of the water festival is to have nice clean fun with dear friends sprinkling water on the one another. Padauk (Gun-kino flowers) is the flower, and also the Thingyan symbol. I could not say Padauk is a seasonal flower for Thingyan, because without the rain, it would never bloom. But Thingyan is not complete without the Padauk – as Burmese people believe, we always look forward the April showering, and seeing blooming of Padauk at Padauk tree. Yes, no Thingyan shower, we could not have a chance to see Padauk flowers.
Thingyan festival was not coming yet, we have 3 weeks before Thingyan. This month – March – is usually a hottest month of the year, and rarely see the rain in March. But there was a heavy rain last few days ago, and Padauk be coming because of the rain? Not only me, people in Rangoon city, especially for women, looked forward the Padauk flowers in the market. They went to the mark early morning hope to meet such beautiful yellow flowers. But no yellow flowers alike were seen in the market place. So yesterday rain was not enough to bloom our Padauks.
So, come…..rain……come again….. you would make our Padauk buds bloom so soon.
Rain continued in some places, it would give enough water to bloom our Padauks. If Padauk would be seen in this month, I would name it bonus flowers. Yes, now I saw the woman who was selling Padauk flowers in the market seemed very proud. She was sure her precious jewels would be sold out in a minute. 
(A woman with her Padauks in the market place.)
So, however the weather is so hot, we met not only seasonal flowers – Kankaw -, but also we had a chance to meet bonus flowers – Padauks – in this hotty month – March.