Nilgiri Flora: Three Flowers
The Nilgiris holds its flowers closely. The rhododendron that blazes on high ridges. The kurinji that blooms once in twelve years, turning entire hillsides violet. The Michelia nilagirica, quiet and endemic, known only to these mountains. Three flowers, each woven into the ecology, the stories, and the indigenous life of this landscape.
They have long drawn those who look closely. In 1915, botanist P.F. Fyson documented the flora of these hills in his landmark work, the illustrations largely by his wife Diana Ruth Fyson and other naturalists who spent years drawing what grew here. It is from this lineage of patient looking that Nilgiri Flora draws its inspiration.Nilgiri Flora · Three Flowers brings them into cloth for the first time — block printed by hand in Jaipur, alive with Toda embroidery — scattered across some pieces, bordering others. Each garment carries a flower. Each flower carries a world.
The Rhododendron
The Rhododendron
Block printed in Jaipur, Toda-embroidered in the Nilgiris. The rhododendron arboreum, in fine linen.
The Kurinji
The Kurinji
The kurinji in cloth — block printed in Jaipur, Toda-embroidered in the Nilgiris. Fine linen, limited numbers, each a long labour of hand.
The Magnolia
The Magnolia
The Michelia nilagirica in cloth — block printed in Jaipur, Toda-embroidered in the Nilgiris. Fine linen, limited numbers, each a long labour of hand.
