Karvi Festival organised for celebrating once-in-seven-year Karvi blooming

The Bombay Natural History Society Conservation Education Centre (BNHS CEC) is celebrating the once-in-seven-years blooming of Karvi by organising the Karvi Festival. Strobilanthes callosa, known as Karvi in Marathi and Kannada is a flower which can be found in the entire Western Ghats and its sub-ranges in Maharashtra, Goa as well as the neighbouring regions of Karnataka and some parts of Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh.

Started on August 28, the Karvi Festival will go on till September 4 at BNHS CEC in Goregaon. Each day, two batches will be taken on a two-hour nature trails in the morning. They will not only be enlightened about Karvi, but also the surrounding flora and fauna. "It is a rare sight. The flowers are purple and lavender in colour, and almost the entire hillside can take that colour," said Atul Sathe, Assistant Director, Education and Communication.

A similar festival was last organised in 2008, the previous time Karvi had bloomed in Mumbai. Sathe said, "We are organising this festival to provide one more opportunity to Mumbaikars to connect with nature and to appreciate the beauty which is right there in the middle of the city."

One can call up BNHS CEC on 022-28429477 to register for the festival.