Siddaramaiah highlights Basavanna’s ideals at Republic Day flower show

Bengaluru: This year’s Republic Day flower show is the Horticulture Department’s attempt to shed light on Basavanna’s fight for social change and equality,” said Chief Minister Siddaramaiah
on Thursday.

He was speaking after inaugurating the Republic Day flower show with Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar and Transport Minister Ramalinga Reddy at the Lalbagh Botanical Garden’s Glass House. This year’s flower show is themed around Vishwa Guru Basavanna and Vachana
Sahitya.

Siddaramaiah stated that Basavanna aspired to create a society devoid of caste, creed, divisions, and superstitions.

“The speciality of this edition of the flower show is that it is based on Basavanna’s life and the Vachanas of other poets. I request citizens to make the most of this opportunity created by the horticulture department,” he said.

He also mentioned that a cabinet meeting earlier in the day had declared Basavanna as Karnataka’s cultural leader.

The CM and DyCM also launched ‘Jhenkara’ – a state-government-supported brand to promote locally-grown honey.

Major crowd-pullers included a larger-than-life replica of Basavanna’s Anubhava Mantapa, standing at about 30 feet tall and about 34 feet wide, made with nearly 4.8 lakh flowers. It stood behind a lifelike statue depicting him sitting cross-legged with a peaceful expression.

With a vibrant fusion of local and exotic flowers such as red salvia, zinnia, toraneum, celosia, and petunia welcoming visitors, they could also feast their eyes on a bamboo replica of the famous
Vachana concerts.

Statues of other Vachana poets of the 12th century, such as Akkamahadevi, Neelambike, Sharane Satyakka, Akka Nagalambike, Hadapada Appanna, Madivala Machideva, Samagara Haralayya, Amigara Chowdayya, and Baachikaayada Basavanna, dotted the glass house, continuously inviting visitors to pause and take a look.

The flower show is expected to attract over 10 lakh visitors over the next 10 days, as thousands of Bengalureans will flock to the gardens to witness the flowery feast.