Vegetable show at Kotagiri turns a crowd-puller

As curtains came down on the second day, the tourists left Nehru Park in Kotagiri with satisfaction on seeing a visually appealing show. A huge ‘nandi’ made of 250 kilograms of brinjal and 150 kilograms of capsicum (kudai milagai) turned out to be a major attraction this season. 

Horticulture departments from Coimbatore, Dindigul, Theni, Villupuram, Dharmapuri and other districts had put up their exhibits. There was a Barbie doll made of vegetables, dolphin sculpted out of green chillies, a replica of Aadhi Thiruvarangam Sri Ranganathar statue made of carrots and pumpkin, a panda bear out of radish, beetroot and cabbage, a fish carved using pumpkin and carrot and a colourful vegetable butterfly were the other eye-catchers in the show.  

Visitors said that the show was organised in an impressive manner and arrangements lived up to the expectations. 

“It was really exciting to see animals carved in vegetables. Our children were thrilled to take selfies with those ‘vegetable animals,’ said R Muruganandam, a textile firm owner from Tirupur, who was on a family trip to Ooty. 

On the first day, about 6,544 tourists witnessed the vegetable show, while on Sunday about 10,000 tourists arrived. District Collector Innocent Divya presided over the closing ceremony of the two-day show and gave away awards to best displays.