Silent bloom of Shirui Lily comes to an end amid unrest
Source: Chronicle News Service / R Lester Makang
Ukhrul, June 19 2023:
For two months, Shirui Lily, as usual, turned the whole mountain range of Shirui Kashong into a magical vibrant, colourful landscape.
This year, however, the spectacular flower could not draw the usual number of enthusiastic visitors and tourists from the outside and literally bloomed in silence in the midst of the prevailing unrest situation in the state.
And now, the colourful season is gradually inching towards an end for the year with only a few lilies remained on the mountain.
This year, the beautiful lily lasted for over two months, said former headman of Shirui village W Khavangpam in a communication with The People's Chronicle on Monday.
"The season has now come to an end and even though, the bloom has stopped and the flowers have started falling, a few flowers remained on the mountain, " he added.
He said that the lily normally starts blooming from April and lasts til the middle of June.
However, rainfall plays a crit-' ical role in the duration of the bloom season, he continued, adding that the lily can bloom early in April when there's rainfall.
"But then once the bloom starts, the season can last longer with clear, dry weather as rains could damage the blossoming pedals and shorten the bloom season," he said.
According to Khavang1 pam, a huge increase in the number of blooming lilies was witnessed this year, which he claimed was due to traditional method of burning the Kashong hill slopes.
Earlier in April, a stream of nature enthusiasts and tourists started heading to the mesmerizing Shirui hills to take in the breath-taking views of the flowery landscape.
However, after the violence broke out on May 3, visitors from outside have stopped coming in to witness this beautiful sight, he said, adding that the ongoing unrest situation in the state has badly affected the tourism industry here.
He said that we had expected higher tourists turnout this year as the density of the bloom was much higher but our wish could not be fulfilled due to the present situation.
He informed that unlike the previous years, as many as 8/9 flowers could be seen blooming on a single plant.
He went on to claim that many plants in dense slopes of the mountains could attain the height of 4/5 feet, while adding that normal height is only about 3 feet.
It may be mentioned that the annual state-level Shirui Lily festival which was scheduled to be held from May 17 to 20 has been put off indefinitely in view of the prevailing situation in the state.
Shirui Lily is an important part of Manipur's cultural heritage and is also the State Flower.
The spectacular white, pink, and purple-coloured flower grows on the Shirui peak, which is about 2,835 metres above sea level.