BENGALURU: The city’s upcoming bi-annual Lalbagh botanical garden flower show, its 209th one, has something special lined up, to mark of Mahatma Gandhi’s 150th birth anniversary on October 2, 2019.
“We have held discussions with Mysore Horticultural Society (MHS) and zeroed-in on paying a floral tribute to Mahatma Gandhi, for the Republic day flower show next year.
There will be floral installations dedicated to him, though they are yet to be discussed. We will finalise the same with the floral artists within the next 10 days,” said M Jagadeesh, joint director of Horticulture department (parks and gardens).
Preparations involve coordinating with those knowledgeable about Gandhi and his role in the pre-Independence period. “Experts from Gandhi Bhavan and Khadi Board have been consulted so far, so we do not miss out on any historical facts,” said YS Patil, director of the horticulture department.
Organisers plan to retrace Gandhi’s steps in Karnataka, for example, the session of the Indian National Congress he held in Belgaum in 1924, in order to showcase the same through floral installations. “Our budget generally is between `1.75 to `2.25 crore for the flower show,” Patil said, adding that in about a week, MHS will shortlist installations from the ideas presented. Work orders and budgeting will be done after that.
The department is yet to discuss where the flowers will be imported from. Apart from bringing in flowers from the city, Ooty, other parts of Tamil Nadu, Sikkim and Darjeeling, the horticulture department also sourced Dutch flowers from Holland in the 2018 Independence day flower show, costing `20 lakh.