Come winter and Thane-sites have the pleasure of mild early morning chills from the temperature dipping on some days to teens in Centigrade. Each winter Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC) hosts its annual plant show at the Raymond Factory premises on Pokhran Road. The 12th Vrukshavalli is currently on and shall be open for visitors from January 10 to 12 January 2020.
This year’s Vrukshavalli theme is music. Right at the entrance, a giant violin and a saxophone bedecked in flowers have been placed on Pokhran Road Number 2. Inside, after one registers by providing one’s name and phone number, one can see more musical instruments. So, you have giant tablas, a flute, a veena, and more in the open, making for excellent photo opportunities. There is even a tribal wind instrument in front of art showing dancing women.
The center of attraction in the covered area as one makes one’s way through the displays are giant flower-bedecked musical instruments. They are surrounded by fountains and are the star attraction of the event, making them the Selfie-spot of Vrukshavalli 2020. TMC thoughtfully plays instrumental music at the venue to blend with the theme and add to the charm of the event.
Real estate companies have been provided space to put up their creative displays as per the theme. They also have been allowed to show plants as per different categories of the show, including foliage plants, flowers, fruits, vegetables, medicinal plants, and even trees. Succulents, current global and Indian favorites, and bonsai find their place too at the show. Central Railways and Maharashtra Nature Park of Mahim also have displays with the former exhibiting across categories and the latter displaying medicinal plants. The host Raymond’s too has some plants on display.
One of the fascinating displays is of artificial flowers made of crepe paper - they look too real though artificial. A corner at the end of the exhibition is dedicated to ferns and other similar plants that favor high humidity. The plants exhibited include those in a giant vertical garden that towers over one end of the venue with thousands of plants.
The exhibition also has displays of photographs of nature and projects by school children. They have paintings of nature by students of an art school. The last section is of floral, fruit, and vegetable arrangement. It is in an air-conditioned part and has excellent displays. The vegetable carvings are very creative as also the floral arrangements by use of both flowers and leaves. Sadly, the large tags on the plants, particularly the floral arrangements, come in the way of taking pictures. One makes way out of the exhibition from the indoor display.
The show has stalls where plants, containers, soil, manure, and other gardening supplies are sold. One can also buy even fruit trees that can be grown in apartment balconies. This year the most popular group of plants on sale seem to be succulents. Every third stall appears to be of this category. There is also a stall selling Kokedrama or a Japanese art that wraps plants in a ball of soil enveloped in spaghnum moss and jute cloth. These balled plants need weekly watering and low maintenance.
Vrukshavalli 2020 is a good place for a weekend outing in the large Raymond’s campus, which is otherwise out of bounds to the public. One can spend a couple of hours looking at the magnificent display of plants of all kinds. And return home with supplies to indulge in one’s gardening hobby at home.
