February 15, 2024
DHAKA – February 14 witnesses the maximum trading of flowers in a single day around the world. In Bangladesh, the celebrations take on a multi-coloured hue with nature’s announcement of the arrival of Falgun.
On these occasions, bargains at florist shops and with hawkers is a rather common scene on the streets of Dhaka. But, have you ever wondered which garden produces the rose you choose for the most special person on this very special day of love and nature?
As winter winds slowly depart, smiles bloom on the faces of flower cultivators of Shahdullahpur, a small village on the banks of the Turag in Savar.
The village, known as “Golaap Graam (village of roses)”, rejoices as locals celebrate their most awaited harvest of the year.
Gypsy farmers like Shibu Chandra Bhowmik have been walking to fields at dawn almost every morning for the last 35 years, selling each bunch of the flower for Tk 20-30.
Meanwhile, gerbera cultivator Palash and his associates work around the clock to ensure a good harvest of the species in pink, yellow, magenta, orange and red, which are vibrant enough to make you fall in love at first sight.
But it’s the red rose that always wins hearts of all with its crimson appeal. Delicately plucked from thorny branches, the flowers only bring enough for the farmer family to secure two square meals a day.
Nevertheless, they continue to plant the seeds, nurture them, and finally cut them off the stems, so that the flowers can be part of the tales of love woven during a precious break from the urban monotony.