Mullick Ghat Timeless Blooms

Reshmi Chakravorty

Have you ever seen a street overflowing with flowers? Despite the filth, Mullick Ghat flower market – the largest wholesale market in Asia has something unique about it. No wonder that the stretch between Howrah Bridge and Mullick Ghat is a delight for camera wielding visitors and also interests a steady stream of tourists, including foreigners who are eager to catch an archetypal view of the city. It’s not only the thick strands of marigolds which look like orange and yellow braids from a distance that enthrall you, but a wide variety of flowers and fragrances and the human milieu swarming around that leave your senses overwhelmed.

The Bazaar
Customers come from all over the state and other parts of the country to the Mullick Ghat flower market. The demand for marigolds, roses and other flowers apart from the leaves for temple offerings are huge. Though it is not the wedding season, the demand for fresh flowers is still high. And during the peak seasons the bazaar is open round the clock to meet the demand. “The business is on for 24×7 during Durga or any other pujas. We literally struggle during those days to meet the demand,” said a stall owner. Even before the first rays of the sun lights up the eastern sky, the day begins at Mullick Ghat with its usual hustle-bustle, bargaining and chaos. Tons of multi-hued flowers, their diverse fragrances, people carrying large sacks are constantly on the move and their humdrum – all leave you overwhelmed. Clearly, neither the decay thrust upon by age nor fire has been able to destroy the spirit and vitality of Mullick Ghat flower market.

“Flowers of every kind, be it for worshipping or for decorations, are available in the market. Apart from flowers, leaves are also supplied, again for a variety of purpose ranging from daily worship to decorations,” informed a veteran shop owner, Rampada Jana of Maa Sidheshwari Pushpalaya. Jana had been running the stall at Mullick Ghat market since last 50 years.

Some stalls choose to specialise in leaves of every kind while some trade in flowers such as roses or rajanigandhas (tuber roses). Lotus, rajanigandha, rose, garlands of different sizes made up of bel and jui flower, marigold to orchids, Bangalore roses, tulsi, mango leaves, belpata– you just have to name it. Even Feng Shui enthusiasts will get their bamboo shoots at a very competitive price. Not only there are numerous stalls but farmers coming from far away areas sit on the road, selling their wares. A good bargaining skill is a must like any other wholesale market.

“There is a particular location where on one flank of the road the sellers sell only marigold strands, both in orange and yellow. The buyers’ queues in front of all the sellers are quite long. They are our steady customers,” points out Rampada Jana who deals in almost every kind of flowers and leaves. “Farmers come here daily and when they finish their stock they return back. We, who have stalls here, stay back only in order to save time in commuting,” he explained.

A few steps and then an open courtyard of Mullick Ghat will lead you to the banks of the river from where the Howrah Bridge can be seen in all its magnificence. People bathing, cleaning clothes, offering prayers are a familiar sight here. The main market originates from the ghat itself extending till the roads. The stalls in and around the main market have covered sheds to protect them from nature’s fury. “Earlier people used to take a bath at the adjoining ghats and buy flowers from here for the daily pujas. This market has never been closed, apart from the national lockdown and when it was gutted in fire,” reminisced Asutosh Gatayit of Rupnarayan Nursery. He has been carrying on the family business for almost 55 years after it was initiated by his grandfather.

History
Shop owners guided us through the oral history of this market. The land originally belonged to Kolkata Port Trust. “Farmers, mainly from Medinipur would come down here to sell flowers. The market may have evolved more than 100 years ago,” said S K Dhar, Land Manager, Estate Department, Kolkata Port Trust. Though there wasn’t any proper market at that time, people would come from faraway places in trains till Howrah Station and then reach here with the help of a coolie. Farmers would come in the morning with bags full of fresh blooms, sell them and go back home, only to return on the next day. People who would come to take a bath in the river were the first buyers who would buy flowers to offer puja. There were no permanent stalls that are seen now and it was not even concretised.

Oldest Store
Tagore Flower Show, popularly known as Thakurer Dokan, established in 1960s is among the oldest stalls. Stalls are a new addition to the age old market. As 80-year-old Madhab Chandra Das who runs the stall as a family unit, shares: “My friend is the actual owner of this stall, but he lets me run it. We stay here and go back to our village once in a fortnight”, said Das. They have been running the business since when there was no provision of permanent stalls. They had seen it all – from the muddy lanes to the current concretised ones. “We take orders for any occasion and export them too but with the help of a distributer who charge us a percentage for his services,” informed Das.

The Shops
There are distinct three categories of sellers. The first category includes the small farmers who stand and sell their produce; then comes the second category of farmers who spread a plastic sheet on the road to put their wares on display while the rest have permanent stalls – individual or clustered inside the main market. Among the stalls there are again three distinct categories in terms of what’s on sale. Primary are the stalls where flowers and leaves for daily use can be bought, others sell exotic flowers while the third kind are for artificial flowers and packaging.

“There are more than 200 stalls out of which seven are for exotic flowers and around 20 for artificial flowers,” said Gorachand Sahoo, who runs one of the artificial flower shops. What is incredible is that it is not the name of the shops that attracts the customers. Instead, the sheer abundance of fresh flowers and business strategies make up the real success mantras.

Please note that this being a wholesale market, you will not be able to buy a single rose. But a bunch of 50 red roses for your loved one that too at Rs 20 is a bargain you cannot afford to miss.

The Market
Recently, the land has been taken over by the State Government on lease for 30 years from Kolkata Port Trust on a token rent of Re 1 per year. It was originally the ‘Tariff Authority for Major Ports’ which had introduced the rent system to all lands belonging to Kolkata Port Trust and thus, this stretch from Mullick Ghat to Goenka Ghat comes under the rent system.

All stall-owners pay rent to the authority. Only the farmers who stand and sell are not required to pay any rent. The spots where farmers sit and sell have a unique rotational system. The rent is collected on a shift basis. Every shift stretches to 4 hours and the rent for each shift is Rs 25. So, if a farmer is there for 4 hours then he has to pay only Rs 25. Most of the stock is exhausted in one or two shifts. The covered stalls are leased out to shopkeepers for of Rs 2,000 – Rs 3,000 per month.

Source of Products
Farmers from neighbouring districts – mainly Medinipur are the main source. Nowadays, the fresh flowers find their way to this market via roads and railways too.

“We get the best flowers from all over Bengal and other states. Rajanigandha from Kolaghat, roses from Paskura, marigold from Ranaghat and also the markets at Deuli, Mecheda and Andul are important source points. Exotic flowers like orchids are sourced from other states – just like Bangalore roses,” informed Madhab Chandra Das.

The Sellers
“The business is not very good nowadays. There is more competition. Earlier, though not as systematic as it is now, we had the opportunity to make profits. At present, the number of sellers has increased by ten folds while the demand has not increased to the same level,” pointed Rampada Jana. Almost echoing the same sentiment was Madhab Chandra Das, he said, “Only during the wedding and puja seasons we make a bit of profit, otherwise it is pretty dull. The prices of flowers vary from day to day depending on demand and supply.” Whatever the condition may be of the business, the market is abuzz mostly with retailers who buy it from this wholesale market at a much lower rate and sell at your nearby markets to enjoy a huge profit.