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Phoolproof: Indian flowers, their myths, traditions and usage
After being forced to take a sabbatical from work because of her chronic breathing troubles, Jhelum Biswas Bose turned to flowers for solace and healing. Her blossoming connection with flowers deepened her understanding of herself and the world around her. Over the years, she has learnt to recognize and respect the soft energies of blooms with the help of healing therapies such as Bach flower remedies and aromatherapy.
Phoolproof is a complimentary bouquet to flowers, especially Indian flowers, and brings to our plain sight their subtle power and meaning. From the book's various whorls, Jhelum teaches us how to gainfully use flowers in living spaces, foods, and beauty and healing treatments.
Phoolproof is a complimentary bouquet to flowers, especially Indian flowers, and brings to our plain sight their subtle power and meaning. From the book's various whorls, Jhelum teaches us how to gainfully use flowers in living spaces, foods, and beauty and healing treatments.
288 pages, Paperback
Published September 6, 2019
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
November 5, 2019
Indian Flowers, Their Myths, Traditions and Uses is a pretty lofty title for a book as slim as this (its main content is less than 200 pages). I bought this one on the basis of its blurb and the mere fact that it’s about flowers (which I love, even though I may not be a ‘flower witch’ as the author describes herself).
The text is divided into several sections, each of which deals with flowers (primarily flowers that are cultivated in India at present, which is why even an exotic flower like lavender is included) in a different way. For instance, one section is devoted to Bach flower remedies and other streams of alternate therapy that draw inspiration from Bach. Another section deals with perfumes, essences, essential oils and so on, including extensive recipes for creating fragrances. Yet another section deals with cooking with flowers—from savoury dishes to desserts, from cocktails to floral teas. There’s another section on adorning oneself with flowers. Interspersed are snippets about flowers in mythology, flowers in legend and history, the history of famous perfumes, and so on.
For me, what really worked was the author’s obvious knowledge and passion for flowers: you can see how much she loves experimenting with flowers, and how devoted she is to them. The detailed recipes—for remedies, fragrances and dishes—are interesting (some, at least among the dishes, I am definitely going to try), and she makes a good case for aromatherapy.
I would, however, have liked some more to this book. More in-depth information on flowers, for instance: what there is, in my opinion, is too little and often comes across as unscientific and somewhat fluffy faffing. Something more grounded in fact—like what is a flower, how flowers feature in the lifecycle of a plant, how flowers actually work in helping heal, and so on—would have been, for me, a more rounded approach to this book. More believable, more plausible.
And it could have done with better editing. Besides the occasional typo, there are too many bits left hanging or mentioned only in passing without being further clarified (what, for instance, is ‘oud’?). Plus, I personally didn’t like the poetry. Large chunks, especially in the first half of the book, are written in verse rather than as prose, and this just didn’t work for me.
The text is divided into several sections, each of which deals with flowers (primarily flowers that are cultivated in India at present, which is why even an exotic flower like lavender is included) in a different way. For instance, one section is devoted to Bach flower remedies and other streams of alternate therapy that draw inspiration from Bach. Another section deals with perfumes, essences, essential oils and so on, including extensive recipes for creating fragrances. Yet another section deals with cooking with flowers—from savoury dishes to desserts, from cocktails to floral teas. There’s another section on adorning oneself with flowers. Interspersed are snippets about flowers in mythology, flowers in legend and history, the history of famous perfumes, and so on.
For me, what really worked was the author’s obvious knowledge and passion for flowers: you can see how much she loves experimenting with flowers, and how devoted she is to them. The detailed recipes—for remedies, fragrances and dishes—are interesting (some, at least among the dishes, I am definitely going to try), and she makes a good case for aromatherapy.
I would, however, have liked some more to this book. More in-depth information on flowers, for instance: what there is, in my opinion, is too little and often comes across as unscientific and somewhat fluffy faffing. Something more grounded in fact—like what is a flower, how flowers feature in the lifecycle of a plant, how flowers actually work in helping heal, and so on—would have been, for me, a more rounded approach to this book. More believable, more plausible.
And it could have done with better editing. Besides the occasional typo, there are too many bits left hanging or mentioned only in passing without being further clarified (what, for instance, is ‘oud’?). Plus, I personally didn’t like the poetry. Large chunks, especially in the first half of the book, are written in verse rather than as prose, and this just didn’t work for me.
November 10, 2019
I picked up this book because of its lofty title, hoping it'd talk about flowers. While it does talk about flowers, but in a way you'd be utterly disappointed to read. The actual content is half-baked information, peppered generously with marketing stuff, loads of fluffy non-sense and unnecessary poetry. Besides, I generally find a book filled with 'I' tone pathetic unless it's written with some grace and tact.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews