Udhagamandalam: In a first, the Nilgiris district administration has celebrated kurinji blooms by conducting a ‘Kurinji Festival’ on Kalhatti slopes near Ooty on Monday.
Kalhatti slopes witnessed blooming of the flower, known as Strobilanthes kunthianus, in abundance after a gap of 12 years.
Inaugurating the festival, district collector J Innocent Divya said, “Blooming of kurinji after 12 years is an added attraction to the district. The festival is to create awareness among the people and tourists about the importance of the bloom. This is the first time a festival for kurinji blooms is conducted in the district.”
The government is considering operating special buses to Kilkotagiri and Kalhatty to see the flowers, she said. Cultural programmes were conducted at the event, which also had exhibitions of traditional food items. The inauguration function was attended by Rajya Sabha member K R Arjunan, Coonoor MLA Shanthi A Ramu and other officials.
Visitors were attracted to the mass flowering of kurinji on Kalhatty slopes. Except north eastern slope, other major flowering areas reported a few blooms.
The full bloom of kurinji is very short. Though no medicinal property is recorded for the flower, its honey is used for therapeutic purposes. The flower also provides nectar for rock bees.
The Nilgiri Documentation Centre (NDC) had appealed recently to the district administration to celebrate the mass flowering of kurinji to create awareness on various eco-threats faced by the hills.
