Highlights
- 87-year-old Elikutty Paul, a resident of Muttuchira in Kottayam District, who suffers from age-related ailments told one of her sons that she wanted to see the rare flowers
- But only after reaching there did the family realise that there were no motorable roads to the hilltop.
- Not willing to give up on their mother’s dream the two sons then lifted her elderly mother on their shoulders and trekked some 1.5kms
In a heart-warming gesture, two men from Kerala carried their elderly mother on their shoulders and climbed a steep hill to fulfill her dream to see Neelakurinji, a rare flower in the Western Ghats that blooms only once in twelve years.
87-year-old Elikutty Paul, a resident of Muttuchira in Kottayam District, who suffers from age-related ailments told one of her sons that she wanted to see the rare flowers that had bloomed in the neighbouring district of Idukki.
Travelled nearly 100 kms on jeep
Without second thoughts, her sons Rojan and Sathyan took her on a jeep and traveled close to 100 kms to reach Kallipara hills near Munnar.
But only after reaching there did the family realise that there were no motorable roads to the hilltop.
Not willing to give up on their mother’s dream the two sons then lifted her elderly mother on their shoulders and trekked some 1.5kms to the hilltop, which has now turned into a blanket of purple with Neelakurinji flowers.
Neelakurinji bloom in Kerala
Neelakurinji (Strobilanthes kunthiana) is a rare flower that is found across the Western Ghats and blooms only once in twelve years at one particular area.
The most famous Neelakurinji blooming spot is the Munnar hill station in Idukki district, where the spectacle happened the last time in 2018, immediately after the devastating Kerala floods.
The next Neelakurinji bloom in Munnar will happen only in 2030.
Neelakurinji is not limited to Munnar
But if you don’t want to wait till 2030 to witness this rare phenomenon, don’t worry.
Since 2018, Neelakurinji has bloomed in Kodaikanal in Tamil Nadu, Kodagu in Karnataka and Pooppara in Kerala.
This year Neelakurinji has bloomed in Chikmagalur, in Karnataka and Kallipara in Kerala.
Kallipara is a sleepy village near Munnar, in Idukki district, and wasn’t even on the tourism map until the Neelakurinji bloom.
