The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : Petals from the lives of flower people

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, May 17, 2007
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Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

Petals from the lives of flower people

Kanasu Nagathihalli

Many people depend on flowers for their livelihood

COLOURFUL: A view of the flower market at K.R. Market in Bangalore. — Photo: G.R.N. SOMASHEKAR

BANGALORE: "My parents have been selling flowers for 30 years. I have been helping my mother since I was born. I don't feel like doing anything else," says Bhagya, a flower seller at Basavanagudi market.

Selling flowers is almost a 24/7 activity and pretty risky as the flowers have to be bought in time. "We have to throw them away if they wither," says Basavaraj, who works at a flower shop in Jayanagar.

Flowers arrive at the City Market as early as 4 a.m. and are sold until 9 p.m. Thousands depend on them for their livelihood. Most flowers come from Tamil Nadu, says wholesale dealer N. Anand Kumar. Marigold, jasmine, lilies, roses and carnations are neatly piled up waiting for the action to begin. Retailers flock to the market and buy the fresh flowers.

"This is such a price-sensitive product that even a discount of Rs. 5 can ensure that everything is bought up in no time," Mr. Kumar says.

Small-time sellers buy from retailers and then the flowers are on the streets for sale in the various localities of the city.

There are specialists reputed for stringing the flowers together. All they do is string flowers and return it to the seller. Entire families have depended on this activity for their livelihood for many years.

The flowers are mainly bought for marriages, pujas and festivals. "The quantity of sale is unpredictable. It depends on the customer. If there is a function coming up, they would like to buy more flowers and our business skyrockets," says Lakshmamma, a shop owner in Basavanagudi.

Flowers that are unsold at Basavanagudi are left the way they are, covered for the night. The next morning, the sellers return to their flowers and resume the sale. Through the night there is no security, except for the odd police patrol. Never any theft, aver the sellers.

Most flowers stay fresh for around two days but some, such as carnations, remain fresh for a week. Roses are not seasonal while jasmine is. "One of the strangest orders we got was for 100 red roses shaped in the form of a heart," says Nitin, manager of Ever Exotic, near Richmond Road.

So what happens to flowers that are not sold on time? Most sellers throw them away, but Muniratnamma, a florist at the Banashankari temple, says, "We shower the flowers on our goddess just before they wither. What comes from her goes back to her."

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