Occupation: Flower Seller
“I have been selling flowers sitting here near the Palayam market for close to 20 years. We stayed near Puthiyara and a few of our neighbours sold flowers for a living. My sister and I joined them. My day begins at five in the morning when six of us who live in Puthiyara come to the market together. Sometimes we walk, on others we take an autorickshaw. We buy flowers from the wholesaler and set shop. If it is a good season, then we buy flowers for as much as Rs. 5,000 to Rs. 10,000. If it is a dull time, then we usually take flowers for about Rs. 1,000. The wedding season is usually good for us, while the rains as well as the month of karkidakam are so bad that it is better to sit at home.
I normally sell jasmine, both the extremely fragrant and the less fragrant variety. Jasmine usually comes from Mettupalayam, Palakkad and Mysore. They come stringed and in a good season, an arm’s length can be sold for Rs. 30. On a day like today, when business is not good, the same length of flowers are sold for Rs. 20.
I also sell bachelor button, oleander and marigold. I string them along with tulsi and sell it. In the morning, a lot of my customers are those going to the temple. They usually buy in small quantities. Wedding parties are the ones who buy in bulk. Some of them will place an order the day before, while others come in the morning for the buy.
I usually sit here till about 10 in the morning and then go home. I rest a while and then come back here by five in the evening. We buy another batch of flowers in the evening and begin sale. It goes on till about 10-11 in the night. Some of us leave by 7 p.m. But a friend and I stay back till about 11 p.m. in the hope of better sales. We usually have some sale when the shops close and the workers leave. By the time I wind up, it would be close to 12 a.m. and my husband comes and picks me up.
My husband is a manual labourer and I have four children. Two of them are engaged in flex work and the other two are in school. My youngest child helps me out a bit with my work. This work has sustained me through the years and helped me do my bit in running the house. It has seen my family through when someone fell sick. On a particularly good day, I might be able to take home a little over Rs. 1,000. But on bad days, I may not earn even Rs. 100. The flowers bought in the morning will not be sold even by night and ends up being a loss for me. The amount for which we take flowers from the wholesaler in the morning has to be paid back by evening irrespective of good sales or not. There would be days when I have to put in the rest of the money from my pocket. I am also part of the unduvandi footpath flower kachavadam union.”
As told to P. ANIMA
A column on the men and women who make Kozhikode what it is.
