You may visit Munnar now and enjoy the scene of millions of Neelakurinji flowers in bloom or wait till 2018 to see it again.  Thousands of tourists are flocking to Munnar in Kerala to have a look of this massive flowering of Neelakurinji, which happens once in 12 years.  Its a festival time for the environmentalists as well as the common people in the area.  The environmentalists and similar activists project Neelakurinji as a mascot in their efforts to preserve shola grassland ecosystem in the Western Ghats of South India.   

Unique Species

            You may ask, what this Neelakurinji is.  Its a little mauve flower.  But the individual flower is not at all attractive for an ordinary man.  You can not attribute any particular charm or fragrance to this little flower.  However, the massive flowering is really a feast to the eyes of beholders.  Neelakurinji (Strobilanthes kunthiana) is a unique species, which blooms in the altitudes between 1,600 and 2,695 meters in the Western Ghats.  This species used to grow abundantly in the shola grass land above 1,800 meters.  It is believed that the name Nilgiris (literally means Blue Mountains) itself came from the purplish blue flowers of Neelakurinji.  This Neelakurinji belongs to the family of Acanthaceae.  This genus has around 300 species.  There are other Kurinji plants also.  Its flowering cycles ranges from one to 16 years.   

            As the mass flowering of Neelakurinji started in the month of August, the shola grasslands of Nilgiris, Palani and Munnar resemble a carpet across the valley. The plants are of 30 to 60 Cms height.  Some of them are growing upto 180 Cm also.  The first flowering of Neelakurinji of this season was reported early this year from Kodaikanal area of Tamil Nadu.  Then the blooming was reported from Tamil Nadu-Kerala border, Eravikulam National park of Munnar, Kerala.  The blossoms are more scattered this year than the same in 1994.  In the beginning, intensive rain caused some problems for the visitors in Eravikulam area.   Neelakurinji is found this time at Klavarai area in Tamil Nadu and Koviloor in Kerala also.

German Research

               The 12-year cycle of Neelakurinji flowering was first recorded in the year 1838.  There after many scientist groups had done studies on this rare species. The reason for this 12-year flowering cycle is yet to be scientifically established.  The scientific name of Neelakurinji was changed several occasions and the name Strobilanthes kunthiana was finalized after the study of a German Scientists Team. The name Kunthiana came from the name of Kunth, a scientist in the German team.  It has relation with the name of river Kunthi also.

             Even though, Neelakurinji is found in many areas in and around Munnar, Eravikulam National Park area is most famous for its flowering.   This National Park is a sanctuary for the endangered Nilgiri tahr.  Around 4000 tourists are coming to this park every day in this season to have a feast for their eyes.  (The figures show that the number of tourists visited this 97 Sq. Km park in entire September 2005 was only 22,222.) It is expected that the number of visitors in this season will exceed five lakhs.   The flowering will end in the month of November and its seeds will mature 10 months after flowering.  And at that point the plant will die.  Irrespective of the time of germination, the seeds flower only after 12 years from now.

Myths & Legends

             This plant with 12-year flowering cycle has its own myths and legends.    Some of the tribes in the Western Ghats area are not enthused by the blooming of Neelakurinji.  At the same time some others consider it as god’s flower.  Even some other tribes feel that the flowering will follow the supply of excess amount of honey from the area.  It is also interesting to know that the Muduvar tribe in the area calculates their age in connection with the blossoming of Neelakurinji.

Protecting Endangered Plant

            As Neelakurinji is an endangered plant, all the efforts are being made to protect its habitats. The process of converting Kurinji habitats into plantations in the past  decades was the major threat for this plant.  The Kerala Government has decided to set up a Kurinji Sanctuary in the Eravikulam area of Munnar.  The Postal Department has released a special stamp on Kurinji this year to promote the efforts to save kurinji.  All the people who love nature say that Neelakurinji is the blessing by the nature gifted to Munnar  mountain  range. (PIB Features)