Bombay flower market

Rise and shine!  Flower market opens at 4:30am, and we crawl out of bed before dawn to catch it in full swing.  As stumble into the dark and deserted streets, we wonder what in the Sam Hill we were thinking when we set the alarm.  The chai wallas are still asleep on our street in Colaba—that would be literally on our street, and  to get a cab, we have to step over the entry guard and a couple of neighborhood workers we recognize as they snooze on happily.   However, the wholesale flower and veggie market is clearly the place to be at sunrise.

Streets are crowded, baskets are brimming, and chai is warm and tasty.  Marigolds are sold by the kilo to local vendors who will spill them out on newspapers and sell them from sidewalks in neighborhoods all over town. 

Over the past two months, our olfactory senses have been overwhelmed:  burning garbage, human sweat and sewage, frying oil from street vendors, belching diesel trucks, acrid urine, and chemical fumes have assaulted us daily, but this morning, we take in the sweet smells of marigolds and jasmine, roses and ginger flowers.

After two hours of trying to identify vegetables we’ve never seen before, dodging sinewy men and ancient women carrying enormous bundles on their heads, we leave the area and head for an onion rava dosa at the Madras café.