One of Viji Abi’s dreams was to have a waterlily with her name, a hybrid variety that she propagated. The dream was realised when the Thailand-based International Waterlily and Water Gardening Society (IWGS) accepted her entry, a hybrid waterlily, Nymphaea Sree. The bloom met several stringent IWGS criteria before a new registration. She says this possibly makes her the only woman hybridizer from Kerala, or the country for that matter, to find a place in the IWGS.
She is not done, this is just the beginning. Her dream is the waterlily which will get her worldwide recognition. “Until then no rest!”
With more than 100 varieties of waterlilies in the 60 cents of land around her rented property at Ollur, Thrissur, Viji says, “It is a dream that I hope to realise. Water plants have an identity, and waterlilies especially!” Her waterlilies grow in a couple of ponds, pots, tanks and eight children’s ’ pools — cramming any space where there is sunlight.
