As someone with an insane love for photography, I do think the best way to capture the vibe and vibrancy of a city is to visit its pockets and the most chaotic places. Mullick Ghat Flower Market is one such place of absolute but amazing chaos. You will feel the pulse of Kolkata, a city always brimming with joy and laughter.

Where is it?

Mullick Ghat Flower Market is the largest flower market in Kolkata. The 135-year old iconic flower market is one of the biggest in Asia. People from the nook and cranny of the city as well as the suburbs come here for flower trading. The market cosily seats under the south-east end of the Howrah Bridge and stretches far with hand in hand with the riverside.

Photographer’s Paradise

The chaos, the crowd, the cacophony, the colours, the flowers, the fragrances, the mélange of people and the magnificence of the towering Howrah Bridge – all come together to give the strangers a strong feel of the famous Kolkata city life. The same elements cohesivelyturn the flower market into the photographers’ paradise. Early in the morning till the vendors wind up their temporary shops, you will find many shutterbugs hanging out with their cameras here and there in and around the place. The market offers a unique and beautiful glimpse of beaming sunlight. Visit the Ghatearly in the morning and the blushing sun will bath you in the colour of red. You will feel the warmth of its grace and greetings. In the inching and increasing jungle of concretes, sunlight and greens are becoming the ‘rarest of rare’ gems in Kolkata. The evening wraps the place in a lovely fold of red. As the night spreads its wings, the place slowly sinks into silence and finally slips into the blanket of sleep and gets lost into dreams.

The best time to visit the place is when it is a sleeping beauty or just waking up to the soft rays of the rising sun, the sound of the temple bells and the chirping of the birds. The sunlight streaking in through the tiny holes of the tin-roofed flower shops or between the small gaps of the two adjacent buildings is a divine delight for your eyes and clicks. As the dawn rolls into the day, you will see the truckloads of fresh flowers arriving in the market.The market buzzes with hustles-bustles of daily city life.

Many traders come here to buy flowers in bulk and carry them to the other places for sale. A few local individuals buy flowers to do pujas at home or offer prayers to the Gods and Goddesses in the temple. Mullick Ghat is an incredible delight on any visitor’s sensory organs. With a variety of flowers, the place looks like an exciting colour palette. The market offers an amazing and amusing mingling of fragrances. If you are a nature lover, you will not mind finding yourself lost in the beautiful colours and aromas. Soak in the colours and fragrances of nature whenever you visit the market.

Other Aspects of Mullick Ghat

In addition to being a popular centre for flower trading, Mullick Ghat is also famous for other reasons. It is one of the places where the Hindus perform their sacred rites after the death of their near and dear ones in the family. As a part of the Hindu rituals, the immediate relatives of the deceased take a dip into the river Ganges and wear new dresses on the day before Shradh (funeral rites) is performed. It is called ghatkaj. You will see several families coming to the ghat, performing rites, paying obituary to their beloved relatives,taking bath and wearing new dresses. These sights may stir the philosophical monk in the onlookers, forcing them to face the ultimate and uncomfortable TRUTH in life – death is the only eternal certainty in this world.

Mullick Ghat is also known as a safe and secluded abode to some notorious ghosts. Whether ghosts are real or a surreal feel living only in our imaginations and illusions, Mullick Ghat has come to be known as one of the most haunted places in Kolkata, most probably due to the funeral rites performed on the ghat (by the riverside).

So, if you are a daredevil and want to meet them, visit the ghat in the wee hours of the morning. Oh yes, don’t forget to carry your camera. No one will believe you until you give them the proofs of ghosts’ presence. What can be the better proofs than their moods and movements captured through the lens? Think about it!

Mullick Ghat receives holy footfalls of the Hindu monks. You will see a few of them almost round the year. However,they visit the place in a large number on the eve of MakarSankranti. They live in the nearby places and head towards Ganga Sagar for holy dips.

The Indian sadhus are of very interesting characters. They are a token of mini India. The monks come from different places of the country. Contrary to popular belief, not all of them wear saffron dresses. Some monks stay naked; they are famously known as naga sadhu (naked monks). Some putbibhuti (ashes) on their forehead, some sport long beard and some keep a jhola (a cloth-made long bag, usually red or orange in colour to keep essentials) with them.

A wonderful diversity in colours, characters and cultures at Mullick Ghat! Every moment, every mood, every move is worth your capture, composition and celebration.