Market Life

Before the festival garlands, the weddings, and the temple offerings, there are these faces, hands, and smiles.

Gudimalkapur Flower Market sits in the heart of Hyderabad. By the time the city wakes up, tonnes of flowers have already changed hands: tossed, weighed, bagged, and carried. You can buy flowers in bulk, ready-made garlands, or betel leaves. Anything your weddings, prayers, celebrations, and holidays need in the way of flower decor starts here.

Maybe it’s because they sell flowers, but everyone here seems to be in a good mood. People joke, bargain, and laugh, and there isn’t a single dull face in sight. At the stalls selling ready-made garlands, teams of workers make them right in front of you. They start with a needle and thread, and then comes a laugh, because the work is long and the company is good. A few hundred garlands later, this is what hangs in a temple or a doorway.

The flowers will fade by evening. The faces behind them stayed with me much longer.