bamboo flowers

on the way to coorg, we had stopped briefly to get an aerial view of srirangapatna.
just a couple of kilometers off the main road [bangalore - mysore] - a deviation would take us to nimishambha temple, hat is very popular.

much before that, is a spot - a small hill - called kari ghatta.
no signs or markings, one has to just know where to turn.
a small hill, with a vishnu temple, that was supposed o have been established by the sage brughu.

from the hilltop, one can get a view of srirangapatna and also the dariya daulat [gumbaz?]

seen faintly in the mist.

another spot we stopped at - near coorg - was at the neerkolli estate [kotle kaadu].

typical of that region, the vegetation was thick

among the other usual sights a rare one was the bamboo flowers, though already dried.

a closer look:

legends from many parts of the world refer to this phenomenon :

• “When bamboo flowers, famine, death and destruction follows”, says a tribal legend in Mizoram.
• When bamboo flowers it dies! Anyone familiar with bamboo has probably heard this. 
• A bamboo plant flowers once in every 48 years, brings along with a plague of rats

the reasons for this - on further enquiry seem to be that the flowers are eaten by rats, who also cause damage to other crops.

the dried bamboo can also catch fire - leading to additional damage.

of course, it takes time to grow again.

i could not confirm the 48 year theory, as i have heard that bamboos are evergreen.

speaking of rare blooms, i have heard of 'kurunji' in tamilnadu, that blooms once in 12 years.