Malayajata

 After winning Lanka, Lord Rama returned to Ayodhya with Sita amidst a huge fanfare. People showered flowers over the royal couple all along the way. It seemed as though the Gods are showering flowers from the heavens. The ears reverberated with the chants of ‘Jai Sri Ram. Sita Mata ki Jai’ The celebrations never ceased in the city of Ayodhya. It seemed that no force can touch the invincible Ram. However, he was getting tormented by endless nightmares. He often woke up mid sleep screaming ‘Sita! Lakshmana!’ The queen was very worried. She summoned the royal doctor. He was flummoxed too, as Lord Ram showed no other signs of sickness. This went on for a while

One day, one of Sita’s maidens told her about Malayajata. It’s a flower which grows in Himalayas in once in a million years. Legend has it that, Dhanvantari got impressed with the hospitality of the local Jatava tribe and gifted it to them for hosting him. The flower is a cure-it-all. Lord Ram and Sita visited Jatavas to try their luck. The tribe, known for their hospitality, offered the king a concoction made of Malayajata flower. Instantly, he got cured. 

  Cut to the modern day, the hamlet is still inhabited by the Jatavas. From high up, it looks like a misplaced green dot in a white and brown portrait. Modernity bypassed the village from its periphery. Numerous adventurers visited the village to explore the famed Malayajata flower. No one in the recorded history of humans saw the flower bloom from the tree. However, the locals worship the tree with utmost devotion. The women decorate the tree with twigs, flowers, and leaves from surroundings. It’s said that the birds endemic to the region protect the tree from being inhabited by migrant birds. No one has ever seen a bird on the top of the tree.

 

  This legend has attracted a man called Rajan. He is a renowned botanist. He stole a branch from the tree to his lab. Through the latest advancements in science, he modified the genetic sequence in the branch such that it flowers every year. He went back to the Malayajata tree and grafted the genetically modified branch, unbeknownst to the tribe. 

 

  The next year, for the first time in the recorded history, the tree bloomed. The Jatavas are ecstatic. They organised a huge feast. The chief delicacy was the concoction using the flower. The custom in these feasts is that the tribal lord begins eating, the entire tribe follows. As soon as he takes a sip of the concoction, he collapses on the floor vomiting blood. The feast is over.

  So, coming to the final question. Is the legend wrong, or the science?

PS:This story is completely my own and not derived from any other source