Munnar Neelakurinji Access

“It means ‘the one who is behind.’ The one who is left behind. The British came, we went behind the hills. The tea came, we went behind the forests. The tourists came, we went behind the fences. But the Neelakurinji … it never leaves us. It remembers.”

The first to arrive were the scientists from the Botanical Survey of India, with their clipboards and their hushed, reverent tones. Strobilanthes kunthiana , they called it. They measured the flower heads, took soil samples, and spoke of "mast seeding" and "pollination syndromes." Kurinji watched them from a distance. They saw the flower, but they did not know its song. munnar neelakurinji

“Do you know why we are called the Muthuvan, child?” Muthassi asked, without turning around. “It means ‘the one who is behind