The flowers go for 5 or 10 taka (5 to 10 cents) a piece: red and white roses, tuberose, garlands of marigold, multihued gladioli, lilies and water lilies, carnations, a smattering of chrysanthemums and baby’s breath. Bunches are made up on site, alongside pre-made bouquets, on the southeast corner of Shahbag intersection in Dhaka. The famous flower stalls at this corner have been in business for decades. ‘Twenty years,’ each of the three stallholders I spoke to said when asked how long they had been around. Some had been there longer and 20 could just be a marker of longevity rather than actual duration.
Every now and then there are calls to clear these sidewalks, to make them pedestrian friendly, as if a few feet of floral interruptions are what spoils their walkability. At Mayer Doa (Mother’s Prayers), Babul was engrossed in stemming, pruning and watering his perishable wares. How do they halt these periodic rumblings for eviction? ‘We have our ways,’ he hazards a reply, not wishing to disclose much. He is there every day from dawn to receive supplies arriving from Jessore and Savar, until they close late in the evening. His brother, who is the proprietor – ‘his senior’ – gets in late, a luxury a ‘junior’ doesn’t have.
