When the tulip growers of Turkey recently invited retired district floriculture officer Javed Ahmad Shah to their country, they were impressed with his knowledge of tulips. Shah was then tasked with preparing a report to suggest ways to boost commercial floriculture vis-à-vis tulips in Istanbul, Turkey.
Earlier, he was engaged as an expert on an advisory panel in Darjeeling for the cultivation of tulips to boost tourism in the north-east region. Shah is now scheduled to travel to Canada as a part of the World Tulip Summit Society (WTSS) mission to promote the tulip as a symbol of friendship.
Now considered an expert in tulips, Shah first fell in love with the flower variety when the J&K Government conceived the idea of floating a Tulip Garden around a decade back.
“We toiled hard before Tulip Garden was first opened for the public (in 2008). Even though I retired a few years back, there was no let up in my love for tulips,” he said.
Shah said after retirement, he remained associated with the WTSS as a member which was enabling him to spread ‘tulip friendship’ across the globe.
“The WTSS mission is to promote the tulip as a symbol of friendship and peace. As a member of the body, I am continuing to pursue my passion for tulips. I was in Turkey from April 18 to 25 on an invitation by the producers of tulips. They are crazy about tulips but the flowers are grown only for tourism purposes not for commercial floriculture. They sought suggestions from me and I will be preparing a report in this regard,” he said.
“While I was engaged by our authorities as a consultant for Tulip Garden after retirement, I was also taken an expert on an advisory panel in Darjeeling. Now, there is a likely visit to Canada as a part of our mission to promote international goodwill through tulips,” he added.
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