Though often confused and conflated with the lotus, water lilies are among the most beautiful, distinctive and mystical of the aqua-blooms. All that is needed to complete a ‘paradise for the eye’ is little silver and orange fishes flitting among the water lily pads like “mermaids murmuring among the flowers”. So charming is the spectacle of lilies flowering in a tranquil pond, that the flower turned into a muse of enduring inspiration for the great French impressionist, Claude Monet (1840-1926).
His oil paintings of water lilies numbered more than 250. Most of these lily paintings were executed by Monet after gazing for hours upon these water beauties at the sprawling flower garden in his Giverny home. Monet painted many of his water lilies when he was afflicted with cataracts and the unusual colours of his later lily works reflect his affliction rather than a deliberate choice over canvas hues.
Well, the water lilies are in bloom and can be seen in all their resplendence at the Dr PN Mehra Botanical Gardens, Panjab University (PU). The Mehra gardens are also renowned for the waves of golden rain lilies that flood its open spaces in the monsoons. A keen naturalist, Arun Bansal has tirelessly photo-documented the biodiversity of PU.
It includes bringing to public awareness the lesser known lives of obscure spiders, wasps and moths or the twirl in the hidden vine. Bansal uses his handy cellphone camera to uncanny effect though he also deploys regular camera equipment fo.