KOTTAYAM: Having lost the previous blooming season to Covid, the sea of pink in Malarikkal is coming alive with visitors again. The soothing country boat ride enjoying the rustic beauty of Upper Kuttanad through the tranquil paddy polders blanketed by water lilies was reopened to the public on Saturday. With the government opening tourist centres across the state as part of initiatives to revive the economy, Malarikkal — a sleepy village in Thiruvarpp panchayat bordering Kottayam municipality — is all set to tap into the opportunity through the Malarikkal Aambal Fest (water lily fest), the trump card of this emerging tourism hotspot.
The stunning sight of pink blooms over a vast expanse is expected to last till October. The fest is an annual event conducted between August and October, the peak flowering season of water lilies that grow on paddy polders during the interval of the ‘puncha’ and ‘virippu’ seasons of paddy cultivation in Upper Kuttanad. It had to be suspended last year because of the coronavirus outbreak.
A lesser-known floral phenomenon, but comparable in expanse to the famous ‘neelakurinji’ blooming in Munnar, the water lily flowering season in Malarikkal has the potential to attract thousands of tourists. It is estimated that over one lakh people flocked to the village during the 2019 season, to catch the breathtaking view of the sun setting over a sea of water lily blooms.“The fest is organised as part of the Meenachil-Meenanthara-Kodoor river relinking programme, an initiative to revive these rivers and their tributaries,” said K Anilkumar, convener, river relinking programme.
“The J-Block and Thiruvaykkary paddy polders, sprawling over 1,000 acres in Thiruvarpp panchayat, is the main location of the fest. As many as 120 country boats have been arranged to take the visitors to the polders. Visitors can watch the flowers up close and also collect them, between 6am and 10pm every day.”
Organised by the Malarikkal Tourism Society in association with paddy committees and the district administration, the fest has an entry fee of `30 per head. Of that, `20 will go to paddy committees. According to Anilkumar, such a system would ensure revenue for the farmers and encourage them to join the fest in the future as well. “Usually, water lilies are destroyed by farmers to prepare the land for paddy cultivation. With an innovative programme ensuring income for farmers from what is essentially a weed, farmers are encouraged to protect water lilies during the interval in cultivation,” he said.