Waterlily hybridizer is first woman in Kerala to be recognised by international water gardening society

Viji Abi's dream of having a waterlily with her name came true when IWGS accepted her hybrid, Nymphaea Sree. She is the only woman hybridizer from Kerala to find a place in the IWGS. Her passion for water plants has now bloomed into a business, with over 100 varieties of waterlilies in her 60 cents of land. She has propagated many waterlilies, looking for one that is perfect and unique. With help from the horticulture department and waterlily enthusiasts in Thailand, Viji is now looking forward to propagating more perfect flowers.

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.

Over the past five years, she has propagated many waterlilies, looking for one that is perfect and unique. The number of petals, shape and colour are among the key factors that make the ideal flower. The hybridizer tag was not easy to come by. One of her ‘babies’, a hybrid that changes colour; pretty as it is, had nothing unusual about it, says Viji. “It would have appealed to lay people but not the experts. Nymphaea Sree meets the criteria and hence the recognition.”  

An interest in water plants, that started in 2018, has now fully bloomed into a passion and business for this former accountant. Growing up in a house with a garden full of plants, and a green thumb inherited from her mother, led her to run a business selling plants. 

Her interest led her to water plants - water lilies and lotuses. “The first time I heard the price of a seedling of Australian Victoria waterlily — ₹12,000 — I was shocked! Who would pay so much?” Today, she knows that the prices can range from upwards of ₹150 to a few lakhs of rupees. 

Her initial attempts at growing waterlilies were failures, “I did not even know that some bloomed only at night and others during daytime. That is how clueless I was.” She planted seedlings, and saw them bud but never the flowers. She accidentally saw that the waterlilies bloomed when she came home late one evening.