Such is the enduring power of Bollywood, that it is practically impossible to gaze at a field of tulips, and not recall Amitabh Bachchan and Rekha canoodling in them in Silsila.

So there I was, gazing at tulip fields at the Floriade, an enormous flower show in Canberra, billed as "Australia's biggest celebration of spring". A free, month-long festival that runs from 14 September to 13 October, every year, the Floriade claims to showcase one million flowers in bloom, and draw 4,00,000 visitors every year. Actually, I was in Sydney recently, visiting my friend Gouri Umashankar, and she booked us a superb day-trip by bus with Ozia Tours to the Floriade in Canberra. There were tulips in a squillion shades, irises, poppies, daffodils, violas, pansies and more. And, as busloads of people and families arrived all day, the Floriade had a festive air, with a giant wheel, food stalls, even musicians giving free concerts, as families sprawled on the lawns in the mild spring sunshine, enjoying it all.