All roads in the Nilgiris on Saturday led to Sim’s Park, the ‘Pride of Coonoor’ where the two-day 56th annual fruit show got underway.
Thanks to the weather being ideal, the park, sprawling over about thirty acres, came alive with a large number of tourists from various parts of the country savouring its natural beauty and filing past the exhibits and stalls.
The main attraction was a huge model of India Gate made of about 3,000 kilograms of mosambi and a few other fruits like pineapple, apple and orange.
The model, displayed near the threshold of the Park was appreciated by the tourists. Some of them who were interviewed by The Hindu said that it provided a beautiful backdrop for photographs and videos.
The fruit carvings and other exhibits displayed in the stalls put up by nine districts including Dindigul, Madurai, Salem, Dharmapuri, Krishnagiri, Theni, Vellore, Kanyakumari and Tirunelveli vied with one other in attracting the tourists.
Some of the exhibits conveyed the message that wild animals, particularly tigers, should be protected.
While the stall of the Department of Horticulture highlighted the nutritional value of various fruits and vegetables, among the others who had put up stalls were the Tamil Nadu Tea Plantation Corporation, the Coonoor Press Club and the Tamil Nadu State Aids Control Society.
In the stalls for competitors, 59 varieties of temperate and tropical fruits including mangos, plums, pears and peaches were displayed.
While imported plums were also on show, a special attraction of the event was the display of the wild fruits of the Nilgiris which are of late increasingly hard to come by. Tourists showed special interest in fruits like graviola and durian which many believe possess special medicinal properties.
The Nilgiris Collector P.Sankar inaugurated the show
The band of the Madras Regimental Centre (MRC) was in attendance. Special buses were run to Coonoor from various places for the benefit of visitors.
