The Kolkata/Calcutta, India Flower Market


The Kolkata Wholesale Flower Market is one of the Kolkata highlights. I dearly love flowers and the sight (and smell) of thousands of roses will forever remain with me. You can buy one dozen long stem red roses for less than $1.00 U.S. That blew my mind. The market is almost directly under the Howrah Bridge, itself a landmark. …View image… At one time, the Howrah Bridge was the only way across the Houghly River and is similar in size to Sydney Harbour Bridge in Australia. It is considered the busiest bridge in the world and everything from pedestrians…to bullock carts…to push carts…to automobiles…to bicycles cross every day.

Before plunging into the market, Malini filled us with mutliple cautions. Buyers and sellers are constantly running through the narrow lanes of the Flower Market with humungous loads on their heads. Watch every footstep, where you walk, what’s coming at you, piles of animal and human excrement…and in we went…

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busy porters carrying flowers through the market in Kolkata, India

This 125-year flower market was gutted by a devastating fire in 2008 but we wouldn’t have known anything about it. The Kolkata Flower Market is eastern India’s largest flower market with hundreds of stalls and people sitting on the ground. One guestimate is that approximately 2,000 flower growers from the surrounding areas come daily to sell and during wedding seasons and festivals, probably double that number.

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garlands of Marigolds for sale in the Kolkata Flower Market, India
 

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exquisite yellow roses in Kolkata Flower Market, India

Garlands of Marigolds in bright yellow and orange…View image…carried on arms…heads…and piled into heaps on the ground…women stringing flowers….View image….selling…View image…unloading trucks and unpacking a gazillion bags and boxes of flowers… Marigold garlands are used in Hindu festivals, decorate the gods, and placed around visitors’ necks in India. The colors are brilliant but I’ve never been a fan of the Marigold odor.

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unpacking even more roses in Kolkata Flower Market, India

…another porter trotted by with dozens of red roses on his head…

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long-stem red roses coming through… Kolkata Flower Market
 

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enjoy the scent of Kolkata, India

…while I stood there surrounded by roses, inhaling their scent and probably could have stood in raptures for ages but Malini said there was a lot to still see and do. Put this excursion on your to-do list in Kolkata if you love flowers.

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goodby, beautiful Kolkata Flower Market, India

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7 Responses to “The Kolkata/Calcutta, India Flower Market”

  1. prashant says:

    Hi i am looking for loose fresh kolkata marigold in bulk quantity at mumbai.
    Dear Prasant:
    So sorry but I wouldn’t have the faintest clue how to help you. Good luck in your endeavors.
    Sheila

  2. Dwarika Dhish says:

    HI, I WANT AN APPOINTMENT TO VISIT YOUR COMPANY,ACTUALLY WE ARE GOING TO SET UP A MEDICINAL PLANT IN NAWADA,FOR THE SAME WE WANT TO DISCUSS THE SAME IN BRIEF.
    THANKS AND REGARDS,
    Dwarika Dhish
    09975589951
    ddhish@gmail.com

  3. rita chakraborty says:

    I have a flower house in Agra and want some good quality flowers in whole sale.Plz reply with quotations
    Thanks for visiting Travels With Sheila and taking the time to commeny. I wish I could help you but only was a visitor in the flower market. Good luck on finding a supplier. Sincerely, Sheila

  4. Ashwin Patel says:

    Hi i am looking for loose fresh kolkata marigold in bulk quantity at LONDON for 24/25 may 2010.

  5. Sheila says:

    Thanks for reading and commenting but I don’t deal in flowers. Just visited the flower market as a tourist. Good luck.

  6. paritosh says:

    hi, we are into IT and Agri business. we want seeds of kolkata marigold can u help us

  7. Sheila says:

    So sorry, but I was just a tourist, visiting the very interesting flower market. Good luck!

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