Madhavikkutty through her novel Neermathalam poothakalam recreates the nostalgia of an old ancestral home of Nalappattu family with its obsessive ambiance. Neermathalam has enveloped each Malayalee soul with sensuous splendour!
It was a Neermathalam from a poet, who believed that we cant get born upon this earth again. Aamy’s white delicate words fall like Pavizhamalli (coral jasmine) flowers leaving wet smell and sweet obsession.
It’s all about the Neermathalam that has its roots in imagination. Coming back to earth, Neermathalam , caper tree or crateva magna belongs to the family Capparaceae.
Crateva magna
It is a medium sized much branched tree, it remains leafless in cold weather and new leaves appear by the end of February. Leaves are trifoliate, alternate and the main stalk of the leaf remains long.
Crateva magna
The flowers mostly white and some have pale yellow colour arranged in dense corrimb, Flowers are seen at the end of branches. Flowers have numerous prominent pinkish white stamens with purple filaments always longer than the petals that makes the flower a dynamic entity.
A rare colour is hard to describe. The combination of white and yellow weave a haunting melody. Extracts of crateva magna produced magnificient reduction in blood sugar level as well as body weight.
