Brinjal jumbo cynosure of Kotagiri veg show

COIMBATORE: Vegetables crafted into different shapes enthralled tourists at the 12th annual ‘Vegetable Show,’ which commenced in the Nehru Park in Kotagiri on Saturday.

A large number of tourists turned up to see the event, which marks the first event of the summer festival. More than two tonnes of vegetables were used to make the structure of animals, birds and others.

A wide-mouthed crocodile made of bitter gourd and a ‘brinjal’ elephant with its two calves trailing behind, with a caption ‘save us,’ turned out to be the cynosure of all eyes. Given the international year of millet, there were also vegetable structures of maize and pearl millet (kambu) crops.

The children were thrilled to see the vegetable structures of dragon, panda and peacocks. Farmers from a few districts including Coimbatore, Dharmapuri, Theni, Dindigul, Kancheepuram, Villupuram and Kallakurichi districts exhibited vegetable replicas of ‘sivalingam’, Nilgiri tahr, veena, camel, chariot and also Bhavani Sagar dam.

Tourists enjoyed taking selfies in groups and families at selfie points made out as ‘I Love Kotagiri’ in the entrance, ‘Namma Kotagiri’ and also the wings of an eagle. On behalf of the Kotagiri Town Panchayat, non-degradable waste like plastics and tyres were used to make displays of Indian Gaur, deer, rooster and rabbit to drive home the message of solid waste management.

To create awareness of the ill effects of plastic, the visitors were given ‘manjapai’ (cloth bags), an initiative of the state government. The two-day vegetable show was inaugurated by Tourism Minister K Ramachandran and Member of Parliament A Raja in the presence of District Collector SP Amrith and Joint Director of Horticulture Shibila Mary.