The monsoons arrive in Kerala first. They début in June, with a dramatic show of sound and fury. By the end of July, as they begin to taper off, days get drier and evenings receive sporadic showers. Once in 12 years, along with this cycle of rain and shine, a magical natural phenomenon occurs in the hills of Munnar.
Parts of the gentle rolling landscape of climbs, slopes and dales come alive with the blossoming of the neelakurinji , a shrub with gregarious flowering. Then hillocks turn into an expanse of purple flowers, a sight so wondrous that it harks back to the kind of joy Wordsworth felt when he saw the host of golden daffodils.
The phenomenon, which was first noticed in 1838 and has since been documented, has become a popular must-see natural wonder for tourists. The Rajamalai hills of the Eravikulam National Park, where it occurs, and which is opened to tourists, gear up receive footfalls of over eight lakh visitors for three months, beginning August.
Photographer Anil Kumar T, part of the team geo-tagging the rare phenomenon, recalls his first documentation in 1994. “The spread of purple is an unforgettable sight,” he says. Having been in the field, subsequently, for the next two inflorescences, in 2006 and this year, Kumar has a deep know-how of the life of the area.
The land is also home to the Muthuvans, an Adivasi tribe, for whom the kurinji is sacred. They believe their god, Lord Murugan, married Devi using a garland made with these flowers.
The tribals use the periodic flowering as a time scale to calculate their age and important events. Muthuvan Krishnan, one of the eldest community members, whom Kumar has photographed over the years, says he is close to 100, having seen eight kurinji blooms.
- A fleet of 30 State Transport (KSRTC) buses will ferry visitors from Old Munnar to the entry point, Fifth Mile or anjamai, of Eravikulam National Park.
- A visitor’s lounge, with basic facilities, has been constructed at Fifth Mile for sightseers to assemble before they enter the park.
- Now, 75% of the ticketing is done online. There are also two ticket counters that have been set up by the KSRTC bus stand.
- A fleet of eight buses, that will be increased to 12 during peak season, will take visitors to Tahr 1, the point where the neelakurinji blooms begin.
- Visitors can trek, take photos and spend time, from Tahr 1 to Tahr 10, a distance of one kilometre, where facilities like bio-toilets and hot and cold drinking water are provided. This one-kilometre stretch affords a breathtaking view of the blossoms.
- A trip to the tea plantations. Visit the tea museum. Spot the rare Nilgiri tahr, birds, butterflies and frogs in Eravikulam National Park. Visit Lakkom Waterfalls.
- Visitors are not allowed to carry any plastic bottles or eats inside the park. Carry an umbrella. Avoid visiting the park during weekends as it is very crowded. Plucking kurinji is punishable.
- Recording the altitude for each flowering area, the height of plants in different altitudes. Measuring the flowering area and height of the plants in each identified area. Six months growth study of the plants before budding. The flowering time after the budding. The life of the kurinji flowers after flowering in normal climatic conditions. Seeding and germination time. After germination, recording the time when the first kurinji plant will sprout.
Tts fame spread far and wide after 1994, when the phenomenon began getting media attention. Back then, there weren’t as many visitors, says Kumar. There was no ticketing and not many rules and regulations. It was only later when the Forest Department began to conserve the rare occurrence that systems were put into place.
George Netto, a writer based in Munnar, speaks eloquently about “mauve blossoms that carpet the entire expanse of the hillside”. The last time they bloomed, in 2006, he recalls seeing tourists uproot the shrub to carry them back as souvenirs. “It was a sad sight, as they must know that the plant is unique to this terrain and will not grow anywhere else.”
Nature’s carpet Along the mountains ANIL KUMAR T
Netto suggests that tourists spend time among the plants that grow up to three feet, at an altitude of over 1,200 metres. “You got to sit there and think about how this came about. It is only then that this marvel of Nature is realised,” he says.
Kumar treasures the memory of watching the blooms sway on a windy day, “like a Mexican wave”. He adds that the flowers attract bees in large numbers, and it is not uncommon to find swarms of them over the flowers. Following the year of blooms, honey collected from the area is thicker, sweeter and retailed as kurinji honey.
For R Lekshmi, Wildlife Warden, Munnar, who initiated the geo-tagging project, this is a hectic period. She is busy gearing up the park with facilities to ensure a smooth sighting for visitors likely to descend on the town. From online ticketing to a revamped fleet of buses for travel, more camera surveillance and the formation of a kurinji protection squad, she is upbeat about the coming season. This year around 5,000 visitors are expected per day, over three months, she says. In 2006, the number was around 4,000 people per day. “In 12 years, the climate has changed. There has been much rain this time. If rains don’t play spoilsport and delay the blooms, the neelakurinji should be there for all to see by the end of July.”
