The colourful
and often intricate floral patterns called pookkalam, which
are made at the entrances to homes in Kerala during the
harvest festival of Onam, are a bit smaller this year due
to a huge hike in the price of flowers.
Flower vendors attracted hundreds of customers yesterday
but they bought only small quantities of flowers as prices
have almost doubled since last year.
Rose was being sold for Rs160 per kg, while marigold and
bachelor’s button cost Rs50 and Rs100 per kg respectively.
“The prices have skyrocketed this year. I have asked
my children to make the pookkalam a little smaller,”
a man said as he bought flowers from a shop here.
“When we were young there was no question of buying
flowers from the market. We used to forage the neighbourhood
for flowers. Now people have no time to go around and pick
flowers, which are hard to come by anyway,” he said.
The flowers for Onam come mostly from the neighbouring states
of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. “The flowers you see
here are from Mysore and Coimbatore. This time the prices
have risen sharply,” said P S Mani, a flower merchant.
According to Mani, the Vinayaka Chathurthi festival yesterday
was one reason for the price rise.
“The flower cultivating villages in Karnataka and
Tamil Nadu themselves need flowers for the festival. So
there is a shortage,” he said.
In Thrissur, the price did not come in the way for N K Sudhir
and friends from laying a 20ft floral carpet at Thekkinkadu
ground in front of the south gate of Vadakkumnatha Temple.
Meanwhile, with the Kerala government pumping in millions
into Onam celebrations, a large number of foreign and domestic
tourists are expected to arrive to witness the weeklong
festivities beginning on September 10.
State Tourism Minister Kodiyeri Balakrishnan yesterday said
many hotels had got good bookings.
“During the Onam season, domestic tourists outnumber
foreign tourists simply because a large number of Malayalis
settled outside the state make it a point to come back to
celebrate the festival,” said Balakrishnan. –
IANS
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