Pumpkin flower: A matchmaker and Ayurveda hero that blooms in Margazhi
While Chennai is slowly warming up to the idea of girl-date bouquets and babys breath tied with handwritten notes, Tamil culture has long lived in an intimate and almost obsessive relationship with flowers. Here, flowers are not occasional gestures but daily companions, woven into hair, pinned behind ears, strung into garlands, and carried with love. Their colours announce mood, their fragrances linger long after they wither, and their aesthetics complete an ensemble in ways no ornament can. Yet this obsession runs deeper than the adornment. Flowers in Tamil society have also long carried meanings of class, caste , and sanctity. Some blooms are elevated, deemed worthy only of the gods, while others are considered too ordinary or too impure to be worn at all. Then there exist flowers that are neither garlanded nor used for worship. They linger instead on the margins of use and symbolism. In these margins exists the poosani poo or the pumpkin flower a large, trumpet-shaped yellow flower blossoming barely a foot or two above the ground in Margazhi the month devoted to the gods. Historian, Meenakshi Devaraj, says that the use of the pumpkin flowers in kolams during Margazhi and Thai isnt an ancient practice. It is just a local practice that came up in the pre-modern era. In many parts of Tamil Nadu, especially Coimbatore and Tiruppur, women pluck these flowers and decorate their kolams outside their homes along with cow dung cakes. Ecologically, cow dung cakes were placed atop kolams because they gradually enriched the soil with organic matter and microbes, creating a small but fertile micro-environment. At the same time, they sun-dry through the day and, once fully dried, were used as a low-cost cooking fuel in traditional Indian wood stoves. Though the flowers resting on them serve no functional purpose; their presence instead distills the act into a cultural symbol. But why were poosani flowers chosen specifically as a cultural symbol? Meenakshi says that there were many flowers that were used to decorate kolams but poosani poo seems to have stood the test of time. The reasons could be one or all of the following, she says, explaining, First, is its size. It is big and is therefore eye-catchy. Then comes its colour yellow which is associated with turmeric or gold. Whenever you describe yellow flowers, even kondrai [Cassia fistula] to a certain extent, they are compared to gold and are always seen as a symbol of prosperity. It is believed that they invite Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth. Third is, it is both seasonal and is easy to pluck since it grows close to the ground. Women also sang folk songs while going out to pluck poosani flowers and adorning their kolams with it, she notes. In many parts of Tamil Nadu, women even have the practice of collecting the sun-dried poosani flowers from their kolams throughout the month of Margazhi, and offering it to the nearest water body in Thai mainly on Maatu Pongal or Kaanum Pongal days. That is a celebration in itself, Meenakshi says. While this is primarily a ritual practice tied to honouring deities associated with rivers or offering prayers, the biodegradable flowers also helped support aquatic life by gradually releasing nutrients into the water body. A matchmaker In many villages, the poosani flower placed on doorposts or columns often acted as a subtle matchmaker. A bloom outside the home signalled that the family had a daughter of marriageable age, quietly inviting arranged marriage proposals. It is further understood in this context: in the pre-modern era, women had limited access to public spaces and were largely confined to their homes. Glimpses of young women of marriageable age were often caught during Margazhi, when they stepped out to draw kolams or to the nearby fields to pluck flowers for adornment, or when they visited temples, offering rare, fleeting opportunities for observation and matchmaking, Meenakshi illustrates. This custom even finds a playful echo in popular culture, such as the Ilaiyaraaja song Vasalile Poosani Poo sung by SPB and Janaki, where romance subtly unfolds around the act of keeping a pumpkin flower outside on a kolam. The timing of this practice can even be seen as deliberate. In Tamil Hindu culture, marriages are typically held in the auspicious month of Thai, giving prospective families just enough time to observe, inquire, and prepare for the matrimonial season. Beyond culture Beyond its roles in culture, decoration, and symbolism, the flower also finds applications in Ayurveda for its therapeutic properties. Dr Pratap Chauhan, founder of Jiva Ayurveda, says, Pumpkin flowers role in Ayurveda, is interesting to trace, since across south India, the knowledge has been passed down through families rather than texts and documentation. That lived experience usually tells you something valuable. The flower, though looks simple and fragile, carries beta carotene, Vitamin C, natural antioxidants, and a small amount of fibre that supports smooth digestion, he adds. In Ayurveda, we use it for its lightness, mild anti-inflammatory nature, and calming effect on the digestive tract. If you include it in your meals during humid months, you help your pitta (digestion and metabolism) stay steady, and your gut feels more at ease. Many people do not realise how gently it improves metabolism. Additionally, since it is light and low in calories, one can enjoy them without feeling weighed down, the Ayurveda doctor notes, adding that the key is to eat them fresh and keep the cooking method simple. Ultimately, the poosani poo, that blooms gently against the sprawl of the vine, weaves together multiple threads of life. So the next time you spot a pumpkin flower this season, pause to notice more than its colour.
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