"The entire Kanheri caves area as well as the highest point has a carpet of karvi flowers that attracts people and photographers from all across," said a forest official.
Nature lovers' eight-year-long wait is finally over. Karvi flowers are all set to bloom enmasse and carpet the forests, including the Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP), in just a few days. According to naturalists, sporadic blooming of karvi takes place during the rainy season, but the mass blooming happens only once in eight years, and was witnessed last in 2008.
Dr Parvish Pandya, associate professor of zoology department and vice-principal of Bhavan's College, who has been following karvi blooming since 1986, said Strobilanthes Callosa was endemic to the Western Ghats, and their mass blooming could be best witnessed in SGNP, Film City area as well as Tungareshwar, Lonavala-Khandala, Matheran, Mahabaleshwar and other places.
"We can already find karvi buds all across SGNP, all ready to bloom. The beautiful purple flowers will bloom within a week or so, according to our estimate. Normally, karvi flowers bloom between late August and early October," he said, adding that SGNP was one of the best places to witness the entire forest turning into a lavender field.
"The entire Kanheri caves area as well as the highest point has a carpet of karvi flowers that attracts people and photographers from all across," said a forest official.
Naturalist and butterfly expert Issac Kehimkar said that apart from making the forest lively, the karvi shrub plays an important role in the forest. "Karvi grows on rocky slopes and holds the soil, preventing soil erosion. Local tribals use dried karvi stems mixed with mud to make walls of their huts," he said, adding that one could also witness a lot of insects, butterflies and honey bees seeking nectar in the area.
Kehimkar also informed that while the life of karvi flowers is around 15-20 days, it bears a fruit that dries up. "The fruit open up only when the first showers of rain fall on it. In fact, it opens with a popping sound, dispersing seeds all around," he said.
To ensure that Mumbaikars witness this nature's miracle, the SGNP's Nature Interpretation Centre (NIC) as well as the BNHS Conservation Education Centre (CEC) are hosting walks in the forest.
A BNHS spokesperson said, "The CEC campus in Goregaon is hosting a week-long karvi festival in late August and early September, to celebrate this rare blooming. It will offer a wonderful opportunity for Mumbaikars to see large patches of hill sides adorned with the beautiful purple flowers in the tranquil and dense forest around BNHS CEC."
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