‘It’s getting better and better’: Extended till Jan 29, Ahmedabad International Flower Show continues to draw crowd

This year’s theme of the show is ‘Bharat Ek Gatha’ and the show seemed to have something for everyone from grand installations of mythological landmark events to the children’s zone that has cartoons to attract the young audience. The entrance has a flower-shaped fountain covered in white and pink flowers.

The AMC has extended the flower show till January 29. The 14th edition of the show began on January 1 although this year has reported a drop in footfalls by over 2.5 lakh compared to last year.

The civic body also scrapped the ‘VIP slot’ where visitors could enter on a premium charge for an hour, beyond the official opening hours.

One of the visitors, who wished to be anonymous, found the installation ‘Operation Sindoor’ interesting and said, “The festival has given space to the Army and the new generation will get to know more about the Army through such efforts — in a positive light.”

The crowd has been in moderate numbers post the news of extension of the festival, although it picks up after 3 pm.

The festival has made efforts towards cleanliness and ease of experience by putting dustbins at every installation and water booths at regular intervals.

The installations featured flashcards displaying information, and there were QR coded audio guides. Each installation accompanied a display board with information about a particular flower.

The students of Army Public School could be seen sprawled around, fascinated and engrossed across all zones. Visitors were on video call with their family members, whom they excitedly showed each installation.

Dolly Makkar, 60, a resident and teacher by profession, noted during her visit, “The festival is extremely good and it is so well-made and the theme is also nice but the only thing that turns you off is the filth in the food court. We told them to clean tables but they didn’t do it”. She said, “The bullet train is so beautiful and the way that they have made it,” and she also liked the “the dance poses”.

Prutha Dave, a 57-year-old IT professional, added, “There is no place to sit, especially for senior citizens. I would request at least one or two benches to be placed inside the festival”, referring to the area where installations are being displayed… And the wheelchair is also available from inside and not outside.”

The installations included giant-size pichkaris, diyas, kaju katli, a squirrel, football and windmills. There were banners about Diwali being announced as the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO and Common Wealth Games to be hosted in this very city in 2030.

Kajal Punjabi, 48, a teacher, said, “I come here every year, it’s getting better and better. Last year the theme was different but this year with the religious theme, showing different cultures, unity in diversity, was very nice… Amazing.”

(Hemaxi Agrawal is an intern at the Ahmedabad office of The Indian Express)