2. ABOUT THE AUTHOR
• Born in Mysore, India.
• A poet, translator,
folklorist & philologist.
• His major
contributions:
1. The striders {1966}
2. Second sight {1986}
3. The collected poems
of AK Ramanujan
{1995}
3. SUMMARY
• Two sisters lived in a village. The younger one could
transform into a flowering tree through a ritual which
involved pouring a pitcher of water on her to convert into
a tree and another to convert back to human form.
• Both sisters made garlands from those flowers and sold
in the king’s palace. The prince curious of where the
flowers come from, follows the girls and discovers their
secret.
• The prince decides to marry the girl. The jealous sister
of the prince on discovering the truth of her sister-in-
law takes her out with her friends.
4. • She then forces her to transform herself. The girls
break all the braches leaving her sister-in-law with no
hands and legs. The girl with half body crawls and
reached a town where her husband’s eldest sister is the
Queen. The queen on recognizing feeds and bathes her.
• Meanwhile the prince becomes a beggar and wanders
around in search of his disappeared wife and reaches his
elder sister’s town. On his arrival he is brought in the
palace, fed and bathe. The couple find each other. The
girl tells him the whole story and tells him to perform
the ritual again and fix all the broken branches. The
method worked and they return to their village.
• On the discovery of the truth, the younger sister of
the prince is punished to death.
6. Eldest Sister (of prince)
• Loving, compassionate
& caring.
• Represents the typical
Indian mother.
• One was rich & the
other one was poor.
Younger sister (of prince)
• A caring sister & sister
in law
• & one villaninous sister in
law.
7. JUSTIFICATION OF TITLE
The protagonist literally becomes a tree,
producing number of flowers over and over again,
as the occasion requires. It is her special gift,
which she doesn't wish to squander or even
display. Hence the title The Flowering Tree.
8. THEME OF THE STORY
Woman's place in society :
1. Poor security of women
2. Tortures faced by them
3. Objectification of women
Ecology
1. Devotion to mother Earth
2. Emotional attachment towards nature
3. Preservation and conversation of nature
9. MORAL OF THE STORY
• An individual plays an important role in the family :-as
the younger sister thought to help her mother in
earning.
• Equality and economic efficiency:- women should be
equally treated , not only the male member can earn
for their family ,hence the women can also , as the
younger daughter did.
• Lovingness and values :- the sisters share a good bond
, have loving nature for each other . They also conduct
good values ; that is why they decided to earn some
for their mother .
