I didn’t know that Holi and the Palash tree were connected until recently.

While reading about spring, festivals, food, and Ayurveda, I stumbled upon a Quora answer that mentioned this tree. After some research, I found out a lot about it and wanted to share it here.

The Palash tree, also known as flame of the forest or plashu/chamata in Malayalam, is quite special. Its branches are used in rituals like Upanayanam and Agnihotras. Dried leaves from the tree are made into plates for serving prasadams. I’ve seen this tree in many priests’ houses in our community but wasn’t aware of much. When I was younger, my neighbors used to joke that staring at its flowers could give you conjunctivitis, though I never believed them.

So, how is the Palash tree linked with Holi? Its bright red flowers were used to make colors for the festival, which was new to me. Another surprise was learning that sherbet can be made from its flowers.

The leaves of the tree were used to protect against sunstroke by placing them on your head and covering them with a scarf before going out in the sun. The tree has cooling properties, and its flowers signal the arrival of spring.

Palash is the state flower of Jharkhand. Fun fact: The Battle of Plassey, which happened in a small village called Palashi in West Bengal, had many Palash trees.

If you know Rudyard Kipling’s work, you might recognize “Flame of the Forest.”

For a sherbet recipe, soak a handful of flowers in water with jaggery or rock sugar until the flowers lose their color. Stir and strain well, then chill and drink it. You can add fennel seeds, lemon juice, black salt, cumin powder, pepper powder, or fresh mint leaves before serving, if you like.

I was on a mission to find this tree nearby with my husband, and surprisingly, we found one in the empty plot next to our apartment today. He’s relieved!

Wishing you and your family a very happy Holi! 🎉