Miguel Braganza
February is the time when the Firecracker flower, Crossandra infundibuliformis, begins to bloom. We call it the Abolim. It is also the name of a hall at the International Centre, Goa, where more books will be released at GALF this weekend.
Crossandra is a bushy, erect and evergreen plant growing about one metre tall. It has glossy, dark green leaves with wavy margins. There are three types of abolim: ratan, sadim and pixim. The commercially used ratan abolim flowers always remain as unopened buds. Flower colours range from the orange to marmalade, red or yellow. The flowers are a part of Goan traditions across religions. The plant can tolerate shade and grows well with little care. It can be planted on the ground or even
in a large pot.
The folk dancers performing the dekhnni dance invariably use abolim garlands in their hair. This can be seen even on the cruise boats in the river Mandovi. The narrative of the song that accompanies the dekhnni dance is of a lady from Saxtti or Salcete taluka pleading with the boatman to take her across the river Zuari to Shiroda in Ponda taluka, then the Antruz Mahal in the kingdom of Sondekar Raja. From 1764 A.D. It became a ‘Protectorate’ of the Portuguese. The ballad is, perhaps, from the pre-1764 era. The abolim flowers signify sacrifice and are used at religious celebrations, from Lenten services to the zatra of Lairaie in Shirgao.
Recently, Justice (Veteran) Ferdino Rebelo has given a call to the people of Goa to rise and fight for justice that seems to have become elusive in the red tape of the administration and legal system. However, there is Justicia infundibuliformis that is now known as Crossandra. Yes, it is the self-same Abolem that is known as Priyadarshini across India in Hindi, Tamil, Nepali, Gujarati, Marathi, Kannada, Malayalam and other languages. Incidentally, Priyadarshini Nehru is the maiden name of Indira Gandhi, the ‘Iron Lady’ of India. It is quite rare for a plant or flower to have a common
name across languages.
The Goa Forest Development Corporation held a biodiversity exhibition earlier this year. It has proposed to declare the Abolim as the ‘State Flower’ of Goa. The Abolianchem Fest celebrated since 2018 by the aspiring teachers pursuing their B. Ed, D. Ed or D. El. Ed at the Nirmala Institute of Education, Altinho-Panaji, has had demonstrations of the art of making a jelo, fanti and venni with Abolim flowers for the traditional
adornment of hair. The Botanical Society of Goa has also popularized Abolim garlands at the Plant Utsav since 1998 and the Konkan Fruit Fest in May from 2003 to 2025 through a number of competitions, including fresh flower arrangements. It is already a popular flower in Goa and a good candidate to be notified as the State Flower of Goa, possibly with a proviso by an amendment to the Goa Fruit & Ornamental Plant Nurseries (Regulation) Act, 1995.
