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Blooming orchids a visual feast in Gangtok
Gangtok
(Sikkim): In fascinating hues of vivid lavender, flaming Ochre and
brilliant blues, orchids of varying shapes and sizes have won the hearts
of hundreds of nature-lovers at a recently held flower show in Sikkim.
Among the largest and most diverse of the flowering plant families, orchids
have over 800 described genres and about 25,000 species. With its sub-tropical
climate, Sikkim has the perfect weather for beautiful blooms and is home
to more than 600 varieties of them, besides hundreds of other varieties
as well. While its lower mountain slopes are currently abloom with lush
green bamboos and ferns, its northern valleys are draped with wild cherry,
oaks, chestnuts, pines and white magnolia. The orchid show is a much-awaited
event and attracts scores of enthusiasts to Gangtok every year. This year,
the display included more than 100 varieties of Orchid blooms grown by
various horticulturists in and around the city. The Sikkim Flower Festival
Committee, which organizes the show, says it intends to evolve awareness
amongst nature lovers, regarding conservation and growing commercialisation
of flowers in the Himalayan region. "I haven't counted, but we got to
see a tremendous variety of flowers here. It's very good here," said Biswas
Dey, a visitor from neighbouring West Bengal. "We loved the flowers and
my family is really enjoying themselves here," said Sonal Basu, another
tourist. The orchid has fascinated aristocrats for many decades with most
of them spending big fortunes in cultivating them. But modern production
techniques have ensured the accessibility of flowers to a larger section
of society. Gangtok, bordering China is known for wide varieties of orchids,
the most popular being Cymbidium eburnean and Cymbidium Hybrid. Around
1,700 species of orchids are found in India of which about 800 are found
in the northeast only. In India, Orchids are cultivated in about 5,000
hectares area of land, which is up from about 2,000 hectares in 1996.
-April 1, 2006
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