Lingada hoovu in Bangalore

For  some reason, I adore this flower! I ask myself why I  like this flower so much? Is it it's rarity? Because it's associated with Shiva ?Because of it's unusual shape... shaped like a Linga with a snake's hood spread over it? It's lovely fragrance? It's fleshy petals?  Because it grows in a huge tree...unlike other flowers which mostly are from plants? Because of the unusual and  huge cannon ball fruit which are also borne by this tree? 

 Each time I see this tree I end up taking photos. I tell myself, 'No more photos!I have many photos of this same flower taking up precious memory in the laptop'.... but I simply can't resist photographing these flowers and the tree!

I have seen this tree in 3 places in Bangalore: near Chitra Kala Parishad/Gandhi Bhavan (2) in the premises of Someshwara temple in Ulsoor (3)Forgot the 3rd!

You can look up this tree in wikipedia under Couroupita guianensis and read more about it.

Below is the Lingada hoovu/cannon ball tree in Someshwara temple of Ulsoor, Bangalore. I have never seen such a profusion of flowers in any other cannon ball tree! Below are also photos of the flowers fallen under the tree. The area around the tree had a heavenly fragrance and I simply could not get enough of it!

 Below is a Ganapathi in the Someshwara temple(outside the temple' building but/inside the temple compound) with many lingada hoovu around it. The  delicate fragrance of these flowers around this statue was  heavenly!