As dawn breaks in on Bangalore, old city areas wake up to the familiar call of "mallige, kakda, kanakambara, chendu hoo..." Carrying baskets of these flowers on their heads are women, young boys and girls. The same, however, cannot be said of the city's newer extensions like Koramangala or Indiranagar.

K.R. Market, part of the old city area, is an important centre for those who buy flowers on a wholesale basis. Roses, 'kakda', 'mallige', 'kanakambaras', 'sevanthige', asters, 'chendu hoo' and 'rudrakshi chendu hoo' are bought from wholesale flower market ('hoovina mandi') and other places like Hosur, Timmapura, Salem and Tiruvannamalai of Tamilnadu, Nelamangala, Doddaballapura, Anekal, Chikkaballapura, Hebbal and Kumblahalli of Hoskote District.

Come early August, the demand for flowers shoots up owing toa series of Hindu festivals including Varamahalakshmi, Ganesha, Dasara and Deepavali when they are sold for Rs. 40 to Rs. 45 a kg. Small vendors from various parts of the city buy flowers from the K.R. Market. A single lotus stem ('tavare'), which is of great demand during the festival season costs Rs. 3. Sales dip during the 'Ashada' season (late June to late July), as it is believed to be an inauspicious period for festivities and celebrations of any kind.

However, stringed flowers continue to make big business in traditional, middle class localities of the city where they are bought on a contract basis ('vartane' in local lingo) at a standard price, the 'Ashada' or festive season notwithstanding.

Jasmines ('mallige') continue to be a great hit amongst traditional Bangalore women. 'Sooji mallige', 'Kakda mallige' and the famed 'Mysore mallige' are some of the varieties of jasmine. A metre-length (three 'molas' in Kannada) of stringed jasmines costs Rs. 6, while an aster string of the same length costs around Rs. 8. Some households in old Bangalore areas like Malleswaram, Seshadripuram, Chamarajpet, Basavanagudi, etc., are known to buy flowers like jasmines, 'kanakambara' and 'rudrakshi chendu hoo' from roadside vendors, string them into garlands and sell them to local temples on a contractual basis.

Garlands made out of roses, 'chendu hoo', 'paneer soppu', 'moosambi', 'ullina vunde', colour paper and jari are also available in the K.R. Market. According to Sendil Kumar, local merchant, five types of garlands are sold here. These are the 'Gundaara' - used mostly for marriages and priced between Rs. 40 and Rs. 75, the 'Dombless haara', used mostly to adorn celebrities and cutouts and priced between Rs. 75 and Rs.120, the 'Highness haara', used mostly for local theatre and to adorn politicians and priced between Rs. 150 and Rs. 200, 'Chikka haara', small garlands used to adorn gods and priced at around Rs.10 - Rs.15 and the 'Serige haara', used for marriages and funerals. These garlands are also sold to bus, truck and autorickshaw owners. In fact, buses decorated with garlands and stringed flowers are a common sight in Bangalore.

Another interesting facet of traditional Bangalore life is the 'moggina jade'. The 'moggina jade' is an attractive decoration made out of jasmines, roses and 'kanakambaras'. Little girls are decked with 'mallige jade's and taken around in the neighbourhood with great delight. The 'mallige jade' is also a must-do for the traditional Bangalore bride. One piece costs Rs.150. According to Srinivasa who is in this business for the past ten years, there is a huge demand for the 'moggina jade' during the marriage season, i.e from January to June. The 'thurai', shaped like a small umbrella and decoated with jasmine flowers is also used for bridal decoration. It is priced at Rs.150 a piece.

Flowers are very much the theme for the modern day Bangalorean too, for he wouldn't hesitate to buy that bunch of roses or a bouquet of carnations for Valentine's Day, New Year's Day or any other occasion. Any street corner is bound to have the ubiquitous florist stacking bunches of roses or lillies in plastic buckets.

The same is true of Bangaloreans residing in Shivajinagar or the surrounding Cantonment area. Christmas and New Year celebrations are on a major scale in these areas. Button roses and cut roses are in great demand during this season. Roses that are priced at Rs. 20 a bunch on a normal day can skyrocket to Rs. 100 or more during Christmas and New Year.

Talking of roses, there is a wide range of choices. One can opt for the Grand Gala Roses, (roses without thorns), the First Red (roses with thorns) or the Fashion Rose, costing anywhere between Rs. 20 to Rs. 40. Roses are further classified on the basis of colour. They come in a range of reds inluding Brick red, Sash red and Baron red, yellow shades that are called Skylane, Prisco, Diva and Spins, shades of orange including Monalisa and Corbet, white roses that include Venica and Biyanka and shades of pink that include Pretty Women, Nobless and Clare Cossembra. The other flowers which make brisk business are Two Braze that can cost you anywhere from Rs. 25 to Rs. 100, Stratege that can cost between Rs. 5 and Rs. 15, Glads (single, double and semi), Blue Daze, White Daze, Custom Daze and Golden Rod that cost between Rs. 5 and Rs. 15, Cardiffs that cost between Rs. 5 and Rs. 15 and Gerbara (single - Rs. 20 to Rs. 35) (double, 10 pieces - Rs. 20 to Rs. 30).

Text and Pics: Ravindra Nayak

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