Chandreshwar Flowers

Our flower shop is right on Nashik Road, across from Mukti Dham. Being in Chandreshwar Park near the Kiran Hotel means we get a lot of people passing by. Every morning, the fresh flowers come in, and the whole place smells like roses and marigolds. It’s a nice change from the car fumes outside on the main road. We spend a lot of time trimming stems and putting together bunches. The floor usually has leaves and cut petals all over it by midday. We have to keep the water buckets full so nothing wilts in the heat. Mukti Dham is a busy place, so we see people coming for all sorts of occasions, some happy and some sad. We just try to give them what they are looking for without making a fuss. The shop isn't very big, so we have to use the space outside on the pavement sometimes. I’ve been working here long enough that I can tell which flowers are going to last just by looking at them. The noise from Nashik Road never really stops, but inside with the flowers, it feels a bit different. We have a small radio that plays music in the background. It’s a lot of standing on your feet and getting your hands wet. We just keep the shop open and wait for the next person to walk in from the park or the hotel. The buckets are heavy to carry when they are full of water, but it's part of the job. I usually go home with my apron smelling like lilies.