Flora Picture of the Year 2011: Dr Pankaj Kumar

[Pankaj Kumar]

In Buddhism and many other religion including Hinduism there are
supposed to be Four Heavenly Kings in the sky (Chinese - Sì Da
Tiānwáng), often called as the four Guardians of the world. In
Sanskrit they are called, Vaiśravaṇa (Kubera, He who hears
everything), Virūḍhaka (Patron of Growth), Dhṛtarāṣṭra (Watcher of the
Lands) and Virūpākṣa (He who sees all). They are followed by Yakṣas,
Kumbhāṇḍas, Gandharvas and Nāgas respectively. In different countries
they have been depicted differently in particular colours and with
particular thing or objects in their hand. In general world they can
be depicted as North, South, East and West respectively.

The person in the shared picture here depicts the third Guardian or
the King of Skies, Dhṛtarāṣṭra, i.e., East and followed by Gandharvas
according to Buddhist and Hindu mythology. In China he is called, Chí
Guó Tiānwáng [持國天王]. He is known to carry a musical instrument,
usually a flute or a pipa (a Chinese musical instrument).

This is the Flora picture of the Year 2011 for me. To know why, please
check the PIPA! That's an Orchid, Cymbidium sp.

The picture was taken at just over 100 years old, Po Lin Buddhist
monastery, on Ngong Ping Plateau, Lantau Island, Hong Kong.

Hope you will like it. Thank you!
Pankaj

--
**********************************************************************
"Taxonomists getting Extinct and Species Data Deficient !!"

Pankaj Kumar Ph.D. (Orchidaceae)
Conservation Officer

Office:
Orchid Conservation Section
Flora Conservation Department
Kadoorie Farm and Botanic Garden (KFBG) Corporation
Lam Kam Road, Tai Po, New Territories, Hong Kong.

Residence:
36c, Ng Tung Chai, Lam Tseun
Tai Po, New Territories, Hong Kong.

email: pku...@kbfg.org
          sahani...@gmail.com
          pankaj...@rediffmail.com
Phone: +852 2483 7128 (office - 8:30am to 5:30pm)
           +852 9436 6251 (mobile)

[Pankaj Kumar]

[Balkar Singh]

Lovely picture Pankaj Ji!!!!!!

--
Regards

Dr Balkar Singh
Head, Deptt. of Botany and Biotechnology
Arya P G College, Panipat
Haryana-132103
09416262964

[Ritesh Kumar Choudhary]

Wow...what a keen observation!

Thanks for sharing this wonderful information Pankaj. Liked it!

But did u check whether Cymbidium is uniformly depicted in all the
idols of Dhritrastra? Or the plant varies according to the imagination
of the artist?

Ritesh.

[Dr Pankaj Kumar]

Its not a compulsion. I saw illustrations of Paphiopedilums in their
sketches in the monastry, but they didnt allow me to take picture :(.
Sometimes, the Pipa is depicted without any illustration on the body.
But for sure Cymbidiums are one of the frequently used plant in the
illustrations. They are also considered medicinal I assume. If you
type, "chinese orchid illustrations" maximum of them are Cymbidiums.
Pankaj


On Jan 10, 9:56 am, Ritesh Kumar Choudhary <ritesh....@gmail.com>
wrote:

[Dr Pankaj Kumar]

I asked one of my friends here, he told me something instantly which I
also found on Wiki.
First thing he said is, rich and educated people in China praise
Cymbidiums and three more flowers, Plum, Chrysanthemum and Bamboo. But
their style of painting is not very accurate, rather romantic, so from
the painting you can make out that it is a Cymbidium but you cant make
out which species of Cymbidium.
Its interesting.
Wikipedia says, "In Chinese culture, the bamboo, plum blossom, orchid,
and chrysanthemum (often known as méi lán zhú jú 梅兰竹菊) are
collectively referred to as the Four Gentlemen. These four plants also
represent the four seasons and, in Confucian ideology, four aspects of
the junzi ("prince" or "noble one")."

Regards
Pankaj

[Ritesh Kumar Choudhary]

Oh...that's a nice information Pankaj!

Cheers!
Ritesh.

[Gurcharan Singh]

Thanks Pankaj ji for nice picture and interesting information

-- 
Dr. Gurcharan Singh
Retired  Associate Professor
SGTB Khalsa College, University of Delhi, Delhi-110007
Res: 932 Anand Kunj, Vikas Puri, New Delhi-110018.
Phone: 011-25518297  Mob: 9810359089
http://people.du.ac.in/~singhg45/ 

[Dr Pankaj Kumar]

Thanks a lot Ritesh, Balkar sir and Gurcharan sir.
Ritesh, the illustration fof Paphiopedilum was not on the Pipa.
Pankaj

On Jan 10, 10:32 am, Gurcharan Singh <singh...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Thanks Pankaj ji for nice picture and interesting information
>
> --
> Dr. Gurcharan Singh
> Retired  Associate Professor
> SGTB Khalsa College, University of Delhi, Delhi-110007
> Res: 932 Anand Kunj, Vikas Puri, New Delhi-110018.

> Phone: 011-25518297  Mob: 9810359089http://people.du.ac.in/~singhg45/

[prasad dash]

Superb observation and great picture pankaj. that's why you are so special.

Regards

prasad

--
Prasad Kumar Dash
Ecologist, Orissa, India
email: prasad....@gmail.com
ph. 09437444241

[Dinesh Valke]

Nice and interesting information Pankaj, the episode of flora pictures of the year has become very interesting.
Regards.
Dinesh

[Dr Pankaj Kumar]

Thanks a lot Prasad and Dinesh sir for the compliments.
Pankaj

On Jan 10, 12:02 pm, Dinesh Valke <dinesh.va...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Nice and interesting information Pankaj, the episode of flora pictures of
> the year has become very interesting.
> Regards.
> Dinesh
>

> On Tue, Jan 10, 2012 at 8:13 AM, prasad dash <prasad.dash2...@gmail.com>wrote:
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> > Superb observation and great picture pankaj. that's why you are so special.
>
> > Regards
>
> > prasad
>

> > On Tue, Jan 10, 2012 at 8:05 AM, Dr Pankaj Kumar <sahanipan...@gmail.com>wrote:
>
> >> Thanks a lot Ritesh, Balkar sir and Gurcharan sir.
> >> Ritesh, the illustration fof Paphiopedilum was not on the Pipa.
> >> Pankaj
>
> >> On Jan 10, 10:32 am, Gurcharan Singh <singh...@gmail.com> wrote:
> >> > Thanks Pankaj ji for nice picture and interesting information
>
> >> > --
> >> > Dr. Gurcharan Singh
> >> > Retired  Associate Professor
> >> > SGTB Khalsa College, University of Delhi, Delhi-110007
> >> > Res: 932 Anand Kunj, Vikas Puri, New Delhi-110018.
> >> > Phone: 011-25518297  Mob: 9810359089http://people.du.ac.in/~singhg45/
>
> >> > On Tue, Jan 10, 2012 at 7:59 AM, Ritesh Kumar Choudhary <
>
> >> > ritesh....@gmail.com> wrote:
> >> > > Oh...that's a nice information Pankaj!
>
> >> > > Cheers!
> >> > > Ritesh.
>
> > --
> > Prasad Kumar Dash
> > Ecologist, Orissa, India

> > email: prasad.dash2...@gmail.com
> > ph. 09437444241

[Vijayasankar]

Very interesting, Pankaj...thanks for sharing.

 

Regards 

 

Vijayasankar Raman
National Center for Natural Products Research
University of Mississippi

[Sid]

Very interesting Pankaj. The object you had photographed is a very familiar, but I have never paid attention the PIPA and the orchid picture it in. It really takes a true orchidologist to identify an orchid even in a painting. And I guess your research now spreads into Chinese philosophy and culture.

[Pankaj Kumar]

Thanks a lot Vijay and Sid. Sid this is a huge structure just inside
the entrance in the Monastry, one on each side. The other structure on
other side is of Virūḍhaka, second king (South) with a sword.
Thanks for appreciation. Mythology always interests me :)
Pankaj

--

[J.M. Garg]

Wonderful post adding a new dimention.

Thanks, Pankaj ji.

--

With regards,
J.M.Garg (jmg...@gmail.com)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Jmgarg1

'Creating awareness of Indian Flora & Fauna'
The whole world uses my Image Resource of more than a thousand species & eight thousand images of Birds, Butterflies, Plants etc. (arranged alphabetically & place-wise): http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:J.M.Garg. You can also use them for free as per Creative Commons license attached with each image.

For identification, learning, discussion & documentation of Indian Flora, please visit/ join our Efloraofindia Google e-group: http://groups.google.co.in/group/indiantreepix (more than 1760 members & 1,00,000 messages on 21/12/11) or Efloraofindia website: https://sites.google.com/site/efloraofindia/ (with a species database of more than 6000 species).

Also author of 'A Photoguide to the Birds of Kolkata & Common Birds of India'. 

[Aarti S. Khale]

Pankaj ji,
Excellent pictures and interesting information!
Aarti

On Jan 10, 10:41 am, Pankaj Kumar <sahanipan...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Thanks a lot Vijay and Sid. Sid this is a huge structure just inside
> the entrance in the Monastry, one on each side. The other structure on
> other side is of Virūḍhaka, second king (South) with a sword.
> Thanks for appreciation. Mythology always interests me :)
> Pankaj
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> On Tue, Jan 10, 2012 at 2:34 PM, Sid <sidd...@gmail.com> wrote:
> > Very interesting Pankaj. The object you had photographed is a very familiar,
> > but I have never paid attention the PIPA and the orchid picture it in. It
> > really takes a true orchidologist to identify an orchid even in a painting.
> > And I guess your research now spreads into Chinese philosophy and culture.
>

> > On Tue, Jan 10, 2012 at 9:51 AM, Vijayasankar <vijay.botan...@gmail.com>

> > wrote:
>
> >> Very interesting, Pankaj...thanks for sharing.
>
> >> Regards
>
> >> Vijayasankar Raman
> >> National Center for Natural Products Research
> >> University of Mississippi
>

> >> On Mon, Jan 9, 2012 at 10:11 PM, Dr Pankaj Kumar <sahanipan...@gmail.com>

>           sahanipan...@gmail.com
>           pankajsah...@rediffmail.com

[Dr Pankaj Kumar]

Thanks a lot for compliments Garg sir and Aarti mam.
Regards
Pankaj

[Madhuri Raut]

great piece of art. and interesting mythological aspect. Thanks for sharing

--

Regards

Dr.Bhagyashri Ranade

[Prashant Awale]

Dear Pankaj ji,
Really interesting. Very keen observation.
Regards
Prashant

[Muthu Karthick]

very nice sir and good to read 

--
Muthu Karthick, N
Care Earth Trust

#15, second main road,

Thillai ganga nagar,
Chennai - 600 061

Mob: 0091 96268 33911
www.careearthtrust.org

[Dr Pankaj Kumar]

Thanks a lot Madhuri mam, Prashant sir and Muthu for your compliments.
Pankaj

On Jan 19, 1:41 am, Muthu Karthick <nmk....@gmail.com> wrote:
> very nice sir and good to read
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> On Wed, Jan 11, 2012 at 11:01 PM, Prashant Awale <pkaw...@gmail.com> wrote:
> > Dear Pankaj ji,
> > Really interesting. Very keen observation.
> > Regards
> > Prashant
>

> > On Wed, Jan 11, 2012 at 8:45 AM, Madhuri Raut <itii...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> >> great piece of art. and interesting mythological aspect. Thanks for
> >> sharing
>

> >>> > > Phone:+852 2483 7128begin_of_the_skype_highlighting            +852 2483 7128      (office - 8:30am to 5:30pm)
> >>> > >            +852 9436 6251begin_of_the_skype_highlighting            +852 9436 6251      (mobile)

>
> >> --
> >> Regards
> >> Dr.Bhagyashri Ranade
>
> --
> Muthu Karthick, N
> Care Earth Trust
> #15, second main road,
> Thillai ganga nagar,
> Chennai - 600 061

> Mob:0091 96268 33911begin_of_the_skype_highlighting            0091 96268 33911      www.careearthtrust.orgThanks a lto Madhuri