Mysuru: The fourth edition of Winter Festival is drawing a huge crowd every day and has turned out to be a big hit among visitors. The Festival began on Tuesday, Dec. 24 and will end on Thursday, Jan. 2.

The star attraction of this year’s Winter Festival is the Flower Show inside Mysore Palace premises. Around 1.10 lakh visitors have flocked the sprawling Palace from Dec. 24 to till yesterday. On an average, the Mysore Palace gets 10,000 to 15,000 tourists daily and during holidays. During December, the number increases to 25,000 – 30,000. Annually, the Palace attracts more than 30 to 35 lakh domestic and international tourists.

Tourists from all parts of the country including Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Kerala, Tamil Nadu as well as all the districts of the State are flocking the Flower Show venue in large numbers every day. 

The 70-year-old Maruti from Maharashtra said, “Bahut Accha Hai, Phul Bahut Sundar Hai,” while 75-year old Mahalakshmi from Chennai expressed her excitement by saying “Beautiful collection of flowers, really very hard work.” 

Flower Show inside Mysore Palace premises is featuring a number of life-size models created using wide variety of flowers and include a replica of Bangalore Palace made using 4 lakh flowers, ISRO’s satellite launch, Shivakumara Swamiji, Jayachamaraja Wadiyar sitting on the golden throne, Swami Vivekananda’s portrait among others. 

An array of flowers including chrysanthemum, orchids, roses, dahlia, petunia, celosia and many other such species have been used to create these replicas. As flowers in full bloom last only for few days, all these flower species will be replaced and overhauled with new set of flowers on Dec. 28 and Dec. 29 at night time, Palace sources said.

SC Judge Ashok Bhushan visits Flower Show

The Flower Show had a VIP visitor in Supreme Court Judge Ashok Bhushan and his wife Sushma Bhushan yesterday. 

They were received by Palace Board officials. Special mementos, Mysore Mallige and Mysore Betel leaf saplings were given to the couple on the occasion of their visit to the Palace.

Justice Ashok Bhushan and his wife enjoyed the ongoing Winter Flower Festival at Palace premises and expressed their happiness for replicating the rich art and cultural heritage of Mysuru through flowers. Ashok Bhushan’s note in Visitors Book says: “Visit to Mysore Palace and Flower Show is one of the most memorable moments.”

Selfie-seekers’ paradise

Many visitors were seen busy clicking selfies near the flower replicas of Bangalore Palace and other such floral models at the Flower Show. It has now become a favourite spot for enthusiastic youths to take photos and share it on social media. Picture above shows Chamaraja MLA L. Nagendra clicking a selfie with his wife M. Sheela on the inaugural day.