New Delhi: Delhi seems to have been transported to the 1630s, when tulip mania gripped Holland and everyone was buying and selling the bulbous flower. The city administrators are exhibiting an obsession with cultivating a flower native to mountainous regions, not a semi-arid city like Delhi where it flowers for a fraction of the time it does in native climes. After importing around 1.
5 lakh bulbs in 2022 and 5 lakh in 2023 from Europe, the state govt’s Delhi Parks and Garden Society is in the process of acquiring three lakh more this year — to distribute to parks and residents’ welfare associations. “Three lakh well-rested bulbs will be procured to ensure that they aren’t dormant, but will bloom. In addition, one lakh planters will also be procured for distribution among RWAs and bodies like the municipal corporation and Delhi Development Authority,” said a govt official on Wednesday.
“Last year, Shanti Path was abloom with tulips and we aim to grow the flower everywhere in the city.” The first import of tulip bulbs was done by New Delhi Municipal Corporation, but last year, the lieutenant governor’s office said other departments should also procure tulips and other ornamental plants. Accordingly, over 6.
5 lakh tulip bulbs have been procured since 2022. The silsila of buying tulip bulbs, thus, goes on. Not surprising, because the beauty of endless rows of the bright hued flower depicted in the 1981 film Silsila is perhaps what first brough the Dutch icon int.
