And ‘T’ for tulips (For my Non-Hindi-Movie-Buff readers, you can skip this paragraph and safely jump to the next) . The Bollywood junkie in me remembers tulips as those lovely flowers , that sway merrily in the wind , as a ravishing Rekha and a lanky Amitabh, arm in arm , wade their way through an ocean of tulips-in-all-colours-possible. Yes I am talking of ‘Silsila’ and gently humming -
“Dekha ek khwaab to yeh silsile hue ,
Door tak nigahon mein hain gul khile hue”. But I digress.
So when I heard about the Floriade, Australia’s biggest celebration of Spring, I knew we had to go. This is a month long flower fest that takes place in the Commonwealth Park in Canberra (mid September - mid October) and attracts tourists from all over the country as well as international travellers. The site has no entry fee, which is great. We drove from a whiny rainy Sydney to a glorious blue skies-white clouds Canberra and reached around lunchtime. There were quite a bit of food options inside the venue itself which was very convenient. Between numerous clicks and exploring the bright tapestry of flowers, we inhaled the crisp air, soaked in the warmth of the October sun. This year the theme was Pop culture which was little hard to decipher though.
While regulars complained of lesser flower beds and more commercialisation of the event, as a first time visitor , I did enjoy. Will I go back next year? Well, I don’t mind !
Cheers,
Shemanti