You are a photographer,
traveler, wanderer, street hopper, cultural activist, documentary filmmaker,
and above all you set your foot in Mumbai, feeling what to do, where
to go etc etc.....
I understand, it's not
really easy to get zeroed on a place in a city like Mumbai which
has a vast mixture of cultures, rituals and all the other things that can be
put in your brackets to get the exact glimpse of it.
Mumbai!! a city which defines the fastness of a metro
city, which daily added a new dimension to its definition. Mumbai!! a
city which has embraced almost every culture in its heart and still doing the
same.
Yes!! Mumbai!!
Well, Let's see Mumbai from
its own eyes, the crowd, the hustle bustle of local trains and never ending
human chain, the crowded markets which sell everything (In fact, there is
nothing that you can’t find in these century old markets of Mumbai).
In this way, to see the
real Mumbai, you will have to visit Dadar Flower Market, without
this your
Mumbai trip will never deemed to be completed.
Dadar Flower Market, the largest and only flower market of its kind
in Mumbai. It is an asymmetrical arrangement of flower vendors, florists and
garland weavers, quite literally on the Dadar
Railway station. This less-than-a-kilometer stretch under the bridge
stocked everything from genda(marigold), mogra(Jasmine) and lotus to tulips, orchids and imported carnations.
Dadar Flower Market opens at 4 a.m. and sells over 500 kgs of
flowers every day. These flowers bedeck everything from weddings, religious
ceremonies and lovers to vases in hotels and homes. There are fixed shops, and
flower dealers trade mostly in bulk quantities. But the flower market has
evolved so beautifully that many people from the outskirts of Mumbai set up
shop with fresh flowers, leaves and even types of grass. All they have is one
basket full of fresh inventory and a sharp business sense. Once they’re sold
out, they pack their belongings and head home to come back with fresh stock
next day.
The vendors, though are mostly Marathi, but come from all
the parts of India, and so the way they deal with customers are different too.
They are very photo savvy and once they find you with camera, happily obliged
to pose for a photo or never give you a look for clicking them while they are
busy doing their work. The support system too is very different here, I found a
chai wala(Tea Vendor), providing chai in a different cups to all the vendors,
never asking for money.
And there are not the vendors only, but you will find the
poor flower pickers who picks flowers from the roads and the one which vendors
think are not worth for their selling. They picked those flowers during the
business time and then make garlands out of these flowers and sell at temples
and other places in the day time. This
place, the colors and the aura that this place has, takes away all your
fatigues to come there in the wee hour to see the culture and the flowers that
this market boasts.
So, are you still confused, where to go in Mumbai to see the
real Mumbai, the real chaos and the real crowd……? There are still more, keep
watching the space.
Keep Traveling and write to us at nirajbahadur.pal@gmail.com if you look
for a customized travel, group travel or backpacking in India. We take you to
the real trail of India, the roads
which are less travelled is our only destination, to get lost in the ocean of
culture which is known as India. Be
a Vagabond and allow us to add pages
to your Vagadiaries!!
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