Paramount Flora

We are at the Old Flower Market at M.S Corner. It is right near Swaminarayan College, so we see a lot of students hanging around. Dadar West is always a bit of a madhouse. There are people everywhere. We are tucked behind Bajaj Manan. The building has seen better days, but it has character. We open up while the streetlights are still on. Paramount Flora isn't a big name, just a sign we painted ourselves. The floor is cracked in places and we have to be careful with the buckets. We deal with the wholesalers directly. It’s a lot of bargaining and early morning shouting. By nine, the shop is a sea of color. We don't do anything special with the decor. It is just buckets and tables. My father used to run a stall near here, and I just continued the trade. We don't have a website or a social media page. If people want flowers, they know where the market is. We use old twine to tie the bunches. It is rough on the fingers. The smell of the market is something you never forget. It’s a mix of wet earth and jasmine. It’s hard work, standing all day, but we are used to it. The crowd never stops and neither do we. It's just what we do to get by in this part of Mumbai.