Oscar-fame jumbos big draw in Ooty spice show

COIMBATORE:  The three-day spice show, which kicked off in Gudalur in The Nilgiris on Friday as part of the Summer Festival, has turned out to be a crowd puller with its eye-catching exhibits.

A major attraction of the show was the ‘spice models’ of Raghu and Bommi, the two elephant calves featured in the Oscar winning documentary, ‘The Elephant Whisperers.’

“Around 95 kg of spices in 14 types, including cardamom, pepper, cumin, nut-meg, mustard and others were used to make both the elephant models. It took nearly 25 days to make out the models in tribute to the couple Bomman and Bellie who brought fame to the Nilgiris,” said S Jeyalakshmi, Assistant Director of Horticulture, Gudalur.

In the backdrop of both the elephants is the lifesize portrait of the indigenous couple Bomman and Bellie along with the model of an Oscar statue.

This is the 10th edition of the annual spice show and is organised jointly by horticulture, tourism and revenue departments.

“A majority of tourists and those from Kerala who visit Ooty through Gudalur make a stopover to watch the show. It helps to boost tourism as well as the local economy in Gudalur, which is devoid of any major tourist attractions. Also, the aim of the spice show is to increase awareness among the farmers to increase production and also showcase their produce to people outside,” the official said.

In a stall put up by the Forest Department, preserved specimens of leopard, bear calves and elephants were on display. To drive home the message of solid waste management, the Gudalur Municipality has recreated the model of a dolphin springing out of sea by using non degradable plastic materials.

Tourism Minister K Ramachandran inaugurated the show in the presence of other district administration authorities.