Thiruvananthapuram: Tamil Nadu is now experiencing the repercussions of the recent reluctance of Keralites towards the Arali flower. It was from Tamil Nadu that the flower was brought to Kerala on a large scale.

The use of the flower in temples across Kerala has almost come to an end. 

Although Arali flower is not banned officially, the temples coming under Travancore Devaswom Board have stopped using it from the ‘Nivedya Poojas’, said Devaswom president P S Prasanth. It has been decided to ban the use if it is proved that the flower is poisonous. 

The demand for the flower began to fall with the recent media reports indicating its poisonous nature. “Now, Arali flower is used only for those rituals which have no direct binding with the devotees like ‘Pushpabhishekam’, ‘Niramala’ etc,” said Devaswom secretary G Baiju. It might be dropped from the temples permanently, he opined.

The Arali plant is grown in some temples also. In Thiruvananthapuram, the flower is mainly brought from Thovala and Thenkasi areas. The sellers, who pay Rs 300 per kg to the farmers, said the use of the flower cannot be stopped abruptly.

Apart from temples, Arali is used in ‘Onapookkalam’ and funeral rituals in southern districts of the State.

If any one Devaswom bans the use of the flower, then other Devaswoms will also follow suit, adversely affecting the farmers and sellers of Tamil Nadu.