Solan scientist makes it to Limca Book of Records

Ambika Sharma

His passion for growing flowers has earned Brij Lal Attri a place in the Limca Book of Records — he has grown a record 865 marigold flowers in a single plant.

Attri, principal scientist, Directorate of Mushroom Research, Solan, achieved this unique feat while he was posted at the Central Institute of Temperate Horticulture, ICAR, Mukteshwar in Uttarakhand, in October 2015. This town is located at a height of more than 2,200 metres in Kumaon hills.  

Attri, however, came to know about the enlistment of his achievement in the 2017 edition of the Limca Book of Records only recently.

He says that he has been associated with fruits, vegetables and flowers since 1987 and has served at various places such as Port Blair, Bhubaneswar and Mukteshwar before coming to Solan.

It was a chance that he grew marigold flowers in his kitchen garden, which bloomed profusely. “I have always been passionate about growing flowers and I had sprinkled marigold seedlings on the edge of my kitchen garden at Mukteshwar in the summer of 2015. Being a hardy species, it was suitable for a place like Mukteshwar that received heavy rainfall and the flowers bloomed profusely as they also utilised fertilizer that I used in my kitchen garden”.

The encouraging results persuaded Attri to go a step ahead and he ensured weeds and other plants, which grow along with flowers, were regularly uprooted. He waited for the rains to subside and when the plant bloomed again in September end, the count of flowers was ‘unending’.

“Seeing a plethora of flowers visible in a single plant, I decided to count them but it was not an easy task. I had to divide the canopy into several compartments by tying a thread and finally counted all the flowers one by one. It was amazing to see a single plant bear as many as 865 flowers and all of them in a healthy condition” recalls Attri.

Buoyed by the feat, he then approached the Limca Book of Records and after authenticating his claim from a fellow scientist, Attri applied for recognition for this rare feat. His wife Babita, who is equally passionate about flowers, assisted him by taking care of the plant and also inspiring him for this achievement, recalls Attri.