Roses in full bloom at Ooty
Udhagamandalam: Presenting a breathtaking look, the Centenary Rose Park at the Vijayanagaram Horticultural Farm in the heart of Udhagamandalam is now swarming with tourists.With the majority of the roses in full bloom, it is a riot of colours. The pride of place near the threshold is now occupied by a plaque, which represents the Garden of Excellence Award presented by the World Federation of Rose Societies during May 2006 at Osaka. The plaque, which was handed over to the Department of Horticulture recently, was put on show at the park a few days ago.Having come into being in 1995, the park has within a short period emerged as one of the most popular tourist spots in this hill station. Pointing out that the number of visitors has been steadily rising, official sources told The Hindu that during weekends about 4,300 persons visited the park. On weekdays, the number was about 2,400. Since it featured over 3,000 varieties, one can see almost all the varieties of roses available in India, in one place.However, according to many visitors its name is confusing. It was created to commemorate the centenary of the Annual Floral Carnival (AFC) at the Government Botanical Garden here. Since the then Chief Minister Jayalalithaa was instrumental in establishing the park, it was named after here. Subsequently it was re-christened Centenary Rose Park.
Visitors who are unaware of the history of the AFC are not able to figure out why it is called the Centenary Rose Park. Often the staff of the Rose Park are forced to give lengthy explanations. Since many of them are not well versed either with the history of the Government Botanical Garden or that of the AFC, tourists often end up getting distorted versions.Many said the word `centenary' should be removed and it should be adverted to `Ooty Rose Garden'.
