The Calcutta flower market

 

A few weeks ago I went to Calcutta for the weekend because, well because there are just certain names that evoke romance, exoticism and intrigue and for me, Calcutta is one of those places.  I'm not quite sure why "Calcutta" rings in my ears the way it does--maybe it's the association with Mother Theresa and her crusade against poverty, maybe its that line from the musical Rent: "This is Calcutta, Bohemia is dead!" Or maybe, it's just the pleasing alliterative ticketytack as the word rolls of my tongue. Cal. Cut. Ta. (Go on, try saying it aloud. I'll wait. Nice, isn't it?)

 

 

Anyway, point being is that about a month ago I packed a weekend bag and escaped into this evocative-sounding city with a friend and a well-charged camera. I haven't yet had a chance to put my Calcutta pictures up, except for a few in a posting below (though, keep your eyes peeled for a facebook album coming to a computer near you soon!)  Truthfully, I doubt I'll be able to describe all of my Calcutta adventures for you guys in detail, but I did want to introduce you all to the explosion of color, noise, activity, and odors that is the Calcutta flower market--which was my favorite part of the city. 

 

 

Actually, I think most Indian cities probably have similarly bustling flower markets--flowers are BIG business here since religious worshipers are encouraged to make floral offerings and shrines and temples; anyone trying to make a good impression with their hotel/restaurant/other business will indubitably deck it out with the auspicious marigold flowers; and many women daily wear jasmines in their hair. (In fact, many of the street children who haunt the traffic light near my work sell loops of jasmine for ladies' hair. Usually, though, they take one look at the crazy mop on top of my head and walk on). However, at least in Delhi, the flower wholesale market takes place on the outskirts of the city (and very early in the morning), so it's not the easiest place to view as a tourist. The Calcutta flower market, however, is smack dab in the middle of the city and apparently goes on with strength and ferocity throughout the day.

I encountered a few surprises as I wandered the crazy mayhem of the market. The first is that flower selling appears to be a largely male business (though, I did find a few female vendors, who are pictured below). I'm not sure why this should surprise me since I rarely see female vendors of anything in India, but I guess I had assumed that the sale of florals might be considered more feminine work. But nope, clearly, in India it's a man's world--everywhere. (And actually, considering the weight in flowers that I saw certain vendors carrying on their head, I guess it makes some sense that, at least the flower transporters should be male).

 

The second surprise was how well-presented these flowers were even at the wholesale market--beautiful (and long) strands of strung-together blossoms were being sold everywhere. Since flowers don't grow in convenient beaded-together ropes this must mean that the vendors (or more likely, their wives) do substantial presentation work even before the market opens. I can only imagine that stringing together yards and yards of flowers must be a tiring and time-consuming task, and I now have this mental image of flower vendors sitting up late at night surrounded by heaps of vegetation, sewing together flowers upon flowers upon flowers.

 

 

 

The third surprise was how few tourists there were to witness this remarkable spectacle. (Actually, I think my friend and I were the only tourists around!) So, let me just say it here: folks, if you ever make it to Calcutta, go to the flower market!