Neelakurinji – The Flower that blooms once in 12 years

The botanists call it ‘Strobilanthes kunthiana’. But it is locally called Neelakurinji, Neela meaning the blue color of the flower. Tamil is a language that is there even before the birth of Christ. The Tamil letters can be seen in the Indus valley civilization excavations proving the ancientness of the language. Well, the language is not only old but also has a very poetic expression of explaining and naming everything. The Kurinji – being a flower which blooms once in 12 years is often used as a metaphor in ancient scripts and poems. The Tamils spilt the land into five different categories where Kurinji is the name given for mountainous regions.

It is said that witnessing the blanket of this bloom is a very rare occasion even for Tamils as the blossom is located in a mountain called as Kolukkumalai which is remote. But now, many are visiting the place more often. Other places where the Kurinji blooms are in Eravikulam National Park, Munnar, Kerala. The Tamilnadu-Kerala border in Idukki is famous for this natural marvel.

Kurinji Flower Blooms in 2006 at Eravikulam National Park.

There are so many varieties of Kurinji flowers which bloom once in 6, or 12 years. The Neelakurinji which is a blue colored flower is the very common one. The national park and many activists are taking immense efforts to conserve this natural wonder.

If you have a chance to visit Tamil Nadu or Kerala in this month surely make time to visit this real once in a lifetime opportunity. If you miss this, you should wait for 12 more years to get a glimpse at this wonderful natural phenomena.