Every year, Udhagamandalam in the Nilgiris comes to a standstill as lakhs of tourists ascend the mountain range from different parts of Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and Karnataka to visit the Government Botanical Garden (GBG) and to take part at the marquee event of the summer festival: the annual flower show.
Though the flower show has officially been held 126 times since its inception in 1896, its roots probably predate the first confirmed event by at least a few decades: it could be one of India’s oldest flower shows, if not the oldest. The show was not held for two years on account of the COVID-19 pandemic.
At marketplace too
“The history of the event can be traced to 1869, the year in which The Agricultural and Horticultural Society of the Neilgherries came into being under the auspices of the first Commissioner of the Nilgiris, James Wilkinson Breeks,” says P.J. Vasanthan, a local history enthusiast. The working of this society remains unknown, but it has been recorded that it had held an annual exhibition of flowers, fruits, and vegetables in the Government Gardens and elsewhere, even at the marketplace on occasions, he adds.
The very first event was “against all expectations held [in October of 1869] at Stonehouse and not in the Gardens. It is reported as a well-attended event, presided over by Governor of the Madras Presidency Francis Napier, 10th Lord Napier and 1st Baron Ettrick. The society continued to hold such events annually, but these were minor affairs, and the last show to be held was on October 6, 1882. Thereafter, it disappeared from the scene, presumably due to lack of funds,” Mr. Vasanthan says.
Professor Paul Hockings, an anthropologist and editor of the Encyclopedia of the Nilgiri Hills, writes that The Agri-Horticultural Society, as it later came to be known, “is the name of a very old local society. Doubtless inspired by the Agricultural and Horticultural Society of India that had been set up in Calcutta in 1820. It was a natural outgrowth of the local botanical gardens that until 1855 was invariably known as the horticultural gardens”, he says. “Between 1869 and 1882, the Society held a number of annual shows of flowers, fruits and vegetables, not only at the Botanical Gardens, but in various other places around Ootacamund, including the marketplace.”
Third entity
The society seems to have witnessed a downturn in its fortunes between the 1880s and the late 1890s, till a third society was formed, known as the Nilgiri Agri-Horticulture Society in 1896, which continued into the 20th Century, organising the flower show each year. It remains unclear if the first official flower show was conducted in 1896, but it has been established that they were conducted regularly following the founding of the society.
The early shows were meant for showcasing the produce of the hills, sharing experience, and raising funds for research, Mr. Vasanthan says, adding that the exact year when such shows became part of a “flower show” are unclear.
Cars on parade
“But, by perusal of magazines and other publications, it can be safely assumed that it did so by 1910, a couple of years after Sir Francis had completed his Gazetteer and Sir Frederick Price had finished writing down the history of Ootacamund,” he says.
“The 22 June, 1910 supplement of the Illustrated Weekly is known to have covered this event, in which florally decorated cars were put on parade, and over which Her Excellency Lady Lawley, the wife of the then Governor, is known to have presided,” he adds.
The Nilgiri Agri-Horticultural Society continued to host the flower show well into the 1980s after which it became a government-run festival. Such has been the success of the flower show in drawing tourists to the Nilgiris that the government organises other shows as part of its annual ‘summer festival’ across the Nilgiris to draw more tourists.
The Horticulture Department now organises an annual Vegetable Show at Kotagiri, a Rose Show at the Government Rose Garden in Udhagamandalam, the Fruit Show at the Sims Park at Coonoor, and the Spices Show at Gudalur. Yet, the annual flower show continues to draw in the most number of tourists each year to the district.
‘Jewel in the crown’
According to Shibila Mary, Joint Director of Horticulture, the Nilgiris, while there are other gardens and parks in the district, the Government Botanical Garden and the Flower Show remain the “jewel in the crown of the Nilgiris”.
The garden has more than 176 years of history and is a repository of thousands of species of native and exotic flora, which provide visitors with a unique opportunity to learn the history of the Nilgiris and its horticulture.
