By Dr. K. Javeed Nayeem
As you are all in the midst of celebrating a very colourful Dasara festival back in Namma Mysuru, my family and I are celebrating a different kind of equally colourful festival faraway, in Chikmagalur. This is the beautiful place I belong to and this is the place where the beautiful Kurunji flowers (Strobilanthhes kunthiana) are right now in bloom, on the slopes of the Bababudangiri Hills, that form a magnificent and now much misty backdrop, for the quaint, old-fashioned town.
For the benefit of those who may not know what I am talking about and therefore wondering what could be a better attraction for me, than our annual Dasara that has been attracting people from far and wide over many decades, I’ll do a bit of explaining. The Kurunji blossoms are a kind of purple flowers, that bloom en-masse, on the expansive slopes of the high hills of the Western and Eastern Ghats, that traverse the Southern part of our country. They are found in places like the Nilgiris, Kodaikanal, Munnar, Kodagu and Chikmagalur, between an altitude range of 1,300 to 2,400 metres (4,000-8,000 feet).
In fact, they have given the Nilgiri Hill Range its unique name! In Kodaikanal, just three kilometres away from the lake, there’s the well-known Kurunji Andavar Murugan Temple, this too named after this unique local flower. And, what is so unique about the flowering of this humble, sylvan shrub?…you may ask. Two things.
Firstly, this mass blooming is a real feast for the eyes and the soul, just because of its overwhelming and breathtaking beauty. That is why we were here last week too! The whole mountainside appears carpeted in purple. Secondly, this blooming is not an annual, seasonal flowering that we see, year after year, in most plants and trees but a phenomenon that occurs only once in twelve years. So, if you miss seeing it this year, you’ll have to wait for a full twelve years before you can set your eyes on it here!
While this flowering occurred in Munnar and Kodaikanal in the year 2018, it occurred in Kodagu and the Nilgiris last year. Yes, this cyclical blooming occurs at different times in different regions and the once unlettered tribals and locals used to estimate and tell their age by the number of Kurunji bloomings they had seen in their lifetime. A pretty easy and convenient way indeed!
Called Neelakurunji in local parlance, they are interval-blooming plants like a few other such species, although it is not clearly known why they behave that way, because their blooming is not related to any solar cycles. But the blooming of the Kurunji is the longest documented natural phenomenon of its kind, which has been on record from the year 1838 to the present day. Since it has been rightly said that one picture is worth a thousand words, I have decided to post a few pictures of the phenomenon I am talking about, instead of giving you a long, verbal description that can never do justice to its beauty.
But, a few words of caution here would not be out of place. While this flowering is already in its last phase and therefore unlikely to last very long, it merits an early visit, if you have to see it in its full glory. But visiting the place on weekends does not seem like a very sensible thing to do. This is just because of the heavy rush of tourists that will invariably be there, during all holidays.
Secondly, negotiating the very narrow and steep hill roads, especially during the monsoon season, needs very good driving ability and therefore it is certainly not the place for green-horn drivers to hone or test their newly acquired skills.
Thirdly, you should be a little prepared for the rather inclement weather you may encounter there, along with the nuisance of some very blood-thirsty leeches that will certainly be lying in wait for you! But being nothing more than a pesky nuisance, they should not deter you from visiting the place.
Lastly, with such an abundance of nectar-laden flowers all around, while the rare variety of the local and highly seasonal Kurunji flavoured honey does really exist, all that is sold as such, all along the steep roads at a much steeper price, may only be coloured sugar syrup! So, be wary of what you are buying and maybe even a little forgiving, of all those you are buying it from.
It is still worth its price, because, if you add just a small dose of your own imagination, you certainly will be able to get the faint taste on your tongue, of the beauty that your eyes would be beholding! So, go ahead and have a great time!
[This column is now seventeen years old and after a short break of one month, it will reappear in November.]
e-mail: kjnmysore@rediffmail.com
This post was published on October 2, 2022 6:10 pm