BENGALURU: The Horticulture Department is all set to host its 215th flower show at Lalbagh Botanical Gardens. This time, the theme will revolve around Maharshi Valmiki and Ramayana.
The 11-day flower show for Republic Day spanning from January 16 to 26, will feature the replica based on the life of Maharshi Valmiki and important events from the Ramayana epic.
As the alleged scam in Maharshi Valmiki Scheduled Tribes Development Corporation landed the state Congress government in trouble, the flower show themed around Valmiki and his epic work is seen as a move to please the people belonging to the Valmiki community, who were upset by the scam.
According to Joint Director of Parks and Gardens, Department of Horticulture, M Jagadeesh, the theme is dedicated to Maharshi Valmiki, his works and inspiration to write Ramayana. A gist of a few important episodes of Ramayana will be put up and matching flower pots will be arranged to make it more attractive.
“We have taken suggestions and help from literary experts from Karnataka Sahitya Academy, referred to 40 books on Ramayana and works of Valmiki, Ramayana in various languages and Kuvempu’s Sri Ramayana Darshanam’s gist and its message to create the theme,” said Jagadeesh.
According to the official, around 10 lakh cut flowers, including dutch roses and chrysanthemums will be used for main theme inside glass houses. To retain the freshness, after six days, 5-lakh flowers will be replaced with a new set.
From planted pots and cut flowers, the total count of flowers used for show could be around 25 lakh flowers, the official added.