Kolkata is a darling to me! A visit once a year is a must for me. And for photographers? It’s a heaven. In this edition we’ll be unfolding the Mallick Ghat which is considered as Asia’s biggest flower mandi (market) & was built by Ram Mohun Mallick in 1855, making it 164 years old today!
A city with more than three hundred years of history is running with another 125 years old history. Just below the Howrah Bridge on the banks of Hoogly River at Mallick Ghat a unique more than 125 years old flower market is held every morning. This is the largest wholesale flower market in eastern India. The Ghat was built by Ram Mohun Mallick (son of Nayan Chand) in the year 1855.
A sea of fiery orange marigold strung together forming huge chains, bunches of lotus, roses, sunflowers and all sorts of flowers along with their distinctive fragrances greet you as you enter the market. Most vendors also live in makeshift shelters inside the market and are usually busy in making flower arrangements and bouquets that are in great demand during festivals and religious occasions.
From small quantity to large amounts, you can purchase flowers for any use from 4am — 10pm. Peak hours are usually in the morning till 10am and after lunch hours. Since the market also supplies flowers to the neighbouring states, packaging flowers in bales and transporting the same is another significant activity here. A picture of vibrancy, vigour and life, Kolkata’s flower market experience is definitely a must-have!
Waking up whole night to engorge in a photowalk while you are in a vacation at 5in the morning on a holiday could be considered sadistic, but my reward was a photowalk was to watch the sun rise on heaps of colourful flowers & the workers who gathered embracing their lifestyle embracing the beauty of nature.
An 8 months gap took me back to the City of Joy to work on another personal photo-project. Last time embraced the 85mm focal length but this time opted 55mm Zeiss 1.8 for Sony system. An interesting focal length which gives wide varieties alongside interesing closeups helped to shape up the photo story.
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