The odour of rotting flesh has never smelled so sweet as "Morticia," the Giant Corpse Flower officially started to bloom in the evening June 13 at the Moody Gardens Rainforest Pyramid. With a short blooming period of 2 to 4 days, visitors have the rare opportunity to see and smell the Amorphophallus titanum. Native only to Sumatra, Indonesia, it is not only rare in its native habitat, it is extremely rare in cultivation. Fewer than 85 Corpse Flowers have ever bloomed in the United States. Measuring in at 56 inches tall and 40 inches in circumference, this bloom is only the fourth in the state of Texas. Visitors can expect to have their breath taken away in more ways than one.
Tuli said the July showcase will bring to the national capital a chronological sequence of the country's leading screen ladies with pioneers like Sulochana, Zubeida, Gohar, Devika Rani, Fearless Nadia, Suraiya, Kamini Kaushal, Meena Kumari, Geeta Bali, Nargis, Madhubala, Nutan, Waheeda Rehman, Saira Banu, Vyjayanthimala, Asha Parekh, Hema Malini, Mumtaz, Sharmila Tagore, Helen, Jaya Bachchan, Shabana Azmi, Zeenat Aman, Dimple Kapadia, Rekha, Sridevi, Madhuri Dixit, Aishwarya Rai, Vidya Balan, Kareena Kapoor and many more.
The Polish actress Pola Negri, who had been having an affair with Valentino, fainted over his coffin. Upon reviving, she announced that she was to have been his third wife and quickly claimed the role of the dead star’s “widow.” For the funeral, she sent a massive floral display with thousands of blood-red roses surrounding white blooms that spelled out “POLA.” His body traveled back to the West Coast on a funeral train, and he was laid to rest in Hollywood.
