Tree Tale |  Sita Ashok | Hindi
Channel: Arvind Gupta
Date: 2015-04-20

Well this is the Sita Ashok or the Saraca indica. It is a small evergreen tree 20-30 ft tall with spreading branches and a dense crown. The young leaves are red, drooping and flaccid. You dense clusters of yellow flowers, turn red with age. The Ashoka Tree is sacred to Hindus and Buddhists alike and numerous legends and uses are attributed to this beautiful tree. The flowers look almost like the Ixora flowers. 
It is believed that Shakyamuni – founder of Buddhism was born under the Ashoka tree in 6th Century BC. For Hindus the tree is a symbol of love or Kamadeva. Sita – wife of Rama, when abducted by Ravana was kept in a garden full of Ashoka Trees. There is a quaint belief that the tree will only flower when a young woman gives it a vigorous kick. The brown pods of the Ashoka are almost 10-inches long. This work was supported by IUCAA and Tata Trust. This film was made by Ashok Rupner TATA Trust: Education is one of the key focus areas for Tata Trusts, aiming towards enabling access of quality education to the underprivileged population in India. To facilitate quality in teaching and learning of Science education through workshops, capacity building and resource creation, Tata Trusts have been supporting Muktangan Vigyan Shodhika (MVS), IUCAA's Children’s Science Centre, since inception. To know more about other initiatives of Tata Trusts, please visit www.tatatrusts.org