Mornings of Mumbai - Dadar flower market: The captures

18th February, 2015
7:30 AM
Dadar flower market,  Mumbai

Words make you imagine,
and pictures make you visualize.

All that I wrote,
is all what I felt.

And all that touched,
is all what I clicked.

The smiling  mother daughter team making and selling gajras, amidst all the crowd grabbed my instant attention....

After travelling each morning at four from Mankhurd to Dadar, along with her husband and daughter she weaves gajra of juhi, mogra and tagar flowers to earn their living... After a day long of efforts the amount they earn is inversely proportional to the smile she and her daughter is wearing in the previous click...

These pretty tiny garlands of 'tagar' hold a religious significance and women match the woven threads with their sari... but every morning when you find them fresh near your homes do remember someone sat all night to make them so that they are ready to be reach you fresh each day...

And as you walk along, you see a whole spread of colours, hanging, heaped and laid scattered...

Street along the flyover lined with vendors...

Single space, multiple functions and over lapping activities... this market is the perfect example for that... 

Marigold is highest selling flower in terms of volume...10 rupees and they gave me a bag full of them... they may cost you around Rs. 40 per kg

Along with the makeshift vendors, there are few florist that you will find all along the day.. 

And along with heaps of marigold, you will find piles of lotuses too...

And as I was moving around I found these two guys, selling roses and who were more than happy to pose for me... (While you are on streets clicking its rare to find such smiles voluntarily posing for you )... so why not grab the opportunity !!!

Rs. Ten for a bundle of twenty roses.... !!! Anyone's interested...

If you thought that the market is only for traditional flowers, let me correct you it has an amazing collection of exquisite flowers to offer...

Kuruva leaves, the ones these women are selling are used for packing of other flowers...

As sun attains a certain inclination and is out of the horizon completely, market begins to wrap up... waste flowers and stalks in tons are sorted and filled into the municipal trucks.. and by nine in the morning the market is wrapped up as if it never existed....

While walking along the market and observing and women engrossed in their sales, a definite pattern of allocation surfaced. All the low value activities and the ones which required making of the final product like gajra and garland involved women labour. Whereas all bulk selling and trading involved men. It is unsure though whether its intended that way or organically evolved. But the energy every individual brought to the market is worth the experience. 

 

Mornings of Mumbai - Dadar flower market: The market

18th February, 2015
6:30 AM
Dadar flower market,  Mumbai

3:00 am in the morning and the action begins,

Vendors with truckloads of flowers start pouring in.

A kilometre of stretch around and under the flyover,

Are now filled with heaps and baskets full of flowers.

As the clock continues to tick

Customers too start pushing their way to make their pick.

From bundles of roses to kilos of marigolds,

From assorted flowers to designer bouquets,

                 

From decoration to preservation,

And from fresh ones to few days old,

For puja or for shaadi,

For birthdays or for anniversary,

For a specific variety or just for random buying,

For personal use or for further selling,

Whatever the purpose and the need is,

This market is the perfect place to be!

If best and fresh is something that you are looking for,

Then make sure you are here in the morning at eight or before

Because as the morning advances

The wrap up of the market begins

Corporation garbage bins replace the supplier trucks,

And Sweeping staff the hustling customers.

As I see tons coloured petals and stalks getting cleaned and the vendors unwind,

The thought of composting comes to my mind.

With the seed of another thought to ponder,

And capturing the market and its vibrancy all over.

I buy a few stalks of roses,

And make my way to a place I call home !!!

Mornings of Mumbai - Dadar Flower Market: The journey

18th February, 2015
5:15 AM
Vashi railway station, Navi Mumbai

Dawn is about to break, and sun is yet to peep out,

Roads devoid of horns, and calmness all around.

As I board the train and while I embark the ride

Crowded coaches at six take me by surprise.

And while the train heads Dadar,

All that I witness further makes me wonder!

How pleasant is the view of Vashi creek,

Shores of which are dotted with innumerable white migratory fleets.

And the not so pleasant scene along railway track,

Lined with people discarding their biological crap.

From cramped lanes and weathered shanty houses to sky kissing towers,

The route had all the extremes to offer.

While my eyes wandered out and gazed around,

The destination arrived unnoticed and a push from the back got me down.

With the vividness of the journey in heart,

There I reach Dadar to explore its signature wholesale flower mart...

Storm of flowers and riot of colours,
Six thirty in the morning and unbelievable horde of people!!!