THE COLUMBIA ROAD FLOWER MARKET - PARADISE IN A LANE

I have a thing for flowers. Of course, all women love flowers...but I connect with them on a “Soul” level if that term can every be associated in such a manner.

The bright colours, the cheery innocence lying behind every flower, the subtle aromas, the soft feel of the petals stir an emotion within me that can be compared to living in heaven. The immediate calm upon touching a flower and the sudden happiness experienced is absolutely incomparable to anything else.

So, when I came across a note about a flower market in London in my Lonely Planet book, it seemed unforgivable to miss this out. Nestled away in a narrow lane in London is the Columbia Road flower market that regularly pops up only on Sundays during the summers.

Armed with my trusted travel book, my camera and a friend on hand who shared my enthusiasm for hunting down a flower market, we set out on an otherwise relaxed Sunday to track the place down during my last visit to London. A couple of train changes and about a couple of kilometres spent walking from the station – majorly because we got lost around the area, we came to a sign that finally pointed to Columbia road lane. A bit relieved that we were on track, we trudged in the direction of the market hoping that the experience is worth the few kilometres we had trekked to reach there.

Midway through the walk, my fears were gradually seemed to ebb as I slowly noticed people hauling buckets of flowers, plants and even small trees from the direction of the market. Signs that immediately soothed my aching feet and gave me enough of an energy boost to cover the market.

ROSES

Stepping foot into the market, I felt chaos…Chaos of the most wonderful kind I could ever have imagined. The sights, the smells and the aura completely took over my mind leaving absolutely no space for any further thoughts.  To my right, I saw buckets of tulips in hues of pink, red and yellows ..to my left, masses of roses in pale romantic shades of baby pink, powder yellow and pure white. I felt like a kid loose in a candy store for a day! It was absolute bliss.

GERANIUMS

Moving further down the market lane, focus set in. It was time to get down to business. Of course it was pointless purchasing anything as I was scheduled to return back on the same day but it was an exercise in testing my will-power. Cheery Geraniums became visible from the first few stores in varieties of colors such as magenta, coral and white followed by a vendor marketing tall spikes of Delphiniums in the trademarked colors of purple and white.

DELPHINIUMS

Another personal favourite – the Lupins were seen in pots for sale. The bright pinks and lavender hues of the flowers merged beautifully with their bottle green leaves which were an absolute delight.

LUPINS - MY FAVOURITES

Another surprising addition to the list of plants found there were the Fuschias – better known locally as the “earring plant” (as they resemble earrings).These are traditionally found only in tropical climatic zones but I guess there are takers for these wonderful creepers in the summer months in the UK.

FUSCHIAS - ALSO KNOWN AS THE EARRING PLANT

ORIENTAL LILIES

Oriental lilies were seen in plenty as well. These are another personal favourite with their bright colours mixed with subtle hues and their intoxicating aroma .

THE MOTH ORCHID - PHALAENOPSIS

Orchids were very few in variants with only the common varieties of Phalaenopsis were seen. I would have loved for some more exotic ones to be present for sale in the market but with the difficulties in maintaining and propagating orchids, I guess it possibly would not have been a viable option there. 

A GARLIC FLOWER

Some of the more interesting and unexpected varieties of plants up for sale were the Allium species – better known as Onion and Garlic plants in their full flowering state. Believe me, these are beautiful and are also used in lots of cuisines for their subtle sulfury taste. In fact, I have been growing them in my windowsill garden with decent success.

POPPIES

Another unexpected species that caught immediate attention were the poppies. Not the actual flowers but the buds. It is extremely rare to find poppy plants where I come from but these were fantastic. The closed buds resembling something out of a fairy tale garden were an absolute stunner.

SWEET PEAS

Amidst all the bursts of colours, something soft caught my eye lying on the bottommost racks in one of the shops. Soft pastel hues of lavender, powder pink and white peeked out from amidst small planters. These were the beautiful soft sweet pea flowers – one of the softest looking flowers present in the flower kingdom.

AFRICAN LILIES

Apart from all the flower species being marketed, herbs such as Tarragon, basil, chives, mint, bay leaves and many more and small vegetable plants such as tomatoes and chillies were available as well. I did spot someone selling Jalapeno plants too.

JALAPENOS

HERBS IN POTS

  

But you know what is the most painful part…visiting such a beautiful market and not being able to buy anything. I was scheduled to return on a flight back in the evening on the same day and it would have been impossible to take back the plants back home. It was almost like heartache – being able to fall in love with these beautiful things and leaving all of them behind and going back. However, the comforting fact was that my friend who had accompanied me did went overboard buying all the wonderful stuff there with a little bit of persuasion from me. I was really happy I could at least buy something – if not for me but for my friend who was equally overjoyed with her picks for the day.

Bargaining was pointless for plants or flowers in the early part of the day just when the market was starting business. However, as we came to the end of the market, we saw almost every plant up for auction as the sole aim at the end of the day for these people was ensuring all their produce got sold. 

We were an absolute sight leaving the market. My friend and me were literally dragging all the bags filled with the wonderful stuff and wondering how would we ever make it back to her place with these goodies. But where there’s a will, there is a way. We managed to get everything to the station where she was to part ways with me and from there on, she got another friend to help her with the stuff.

The experience of looking out for such markets, hunting them down and the journey of exploring these locations are self-enriching ones. These experiences throw light on how people work, their trade, their life and most important, the local culture of the place. While some may be good ones, a few experiences may not be so fruitful but then again, every journey teaches something.

Lewes Farmer Market..The market I fell in love with!!

The mere mention of the town of Lewes brings forth a string of memories of my time in England during my University days there. An emotion, that I am pretty sure would be shared by quite a few of my housemates and friends who used to frequent this market every month on a Saturday.

My housemate and a good friend in University who was from Thailand introduced me to the Lewes farmer market. She was a major food enthusiast and I believe still is. A random visit to this place on a Saturday morning when I had practically nothing to do struck a life-long interest in local culture and food and for which, I am heartily grateful to her.

Lewes – a quaint little town in Sussex and short train ride from Falmer village – near University of Sussex reminds you of the quintessential English Village with small cobbled streets, greens and houses. A short walk from the station and you end up in a street that for the better part of the morning has been taken over by locals to market their home grown, homemade produce. The street by itself isn’t long and its really a rather small market as compared to some of the other markets I have been to but this one has a charm that I have yet to experience in the other places. Its almost cosy and warm – if that term could be applied to a market. Not to forget the fact that it was my first ever experience of a local farmers market and first experiences are hardly ever forgotten.  

Lewes

The visuals filled my senses almost instantly. The colours, sights and smells – I can still remember as they were then. The shop selling fresh homemade preserves and marmalades,  to another selling homemade mustard and honey, to another gentleman selling fresh breads to another shop selling homemade aromatherapy soaps and similar paraphernalia – all of these had something memorable to offer. 

Handmade Preserves and Marmalades

My particular favourite was the Orange marmalade, Strawberry jam and the Lemon Curd being sold. These were to die for. Chunky bits of fruit made this a wholesome treat with no synthetic feel that would generally be found in the store bought jams and preserves. The lemon curd was a sweet and tart mix that I was completely ignorant of. It was on one of these trips that my Thai friend introduced me to it and got me addicted to this simple treat that subsequently used to find way in my bakery experiments and even do today. ( Of course, today - I make my own lemon curd but I learnt quite a lot form my experiences at these markets)

Handmade Aromatherapy Soaps

The smiles of the gentleman behind the honey counter or the talk with the lady selling potted plants and flowers – all of these imprinted my memory with a sense of being one of them and understanding what made them do what they did. It wasn’t always for the money. It was about meeting new people, making new friends or just catching up with the old ones already present.

   

Local fruits, vegetables and breads, toys and trinkets were some of the other stuff marketed. We usually went for the food part and occasionally for the potted plants. Strolling along the cobbled pathways, discovering new sights, understanding the people – all of these has contributed vastly to what my understanding is of local cultures across the world today.

Shop selling honey

It’s been almost 8 years since my first brush with the Lewes Farmer market but the visuals, sights and sounds of the market still thrive in my mind even today. These local markets sometimes are the best places to understand local culture, mindset and behaviour. The articles, food etc. made and marketed, the people selling them and their manner of approach – all add to the experience and understanding of the local culture of that place.

 

At the Lewes farmer market 

Having bit by the local market bug after the Lewes market, I usually make it a point to raid a local market any place I travel to. These are the best places to pick up local culture as opposed to merely travelling around the places and visiting the touristic monuments. 

English Summer...!!!

 A pictorial tribute to Henley on Thames..!! One of the best places I have ever been to..

The Reflection zone!

The still waters !!

Can we please bring about a change now?

As everyone in India, I have been following the news in the past few weeks following the brutal rape and murder of an innocent lady in Delhi. Of course, such incidents are becoming a regular news piece almost everyday – from some part of the country or other. The coverage depending on where the person hails from is from minimum to massive.

The lady hailed form Delhi – the capital city and hence, saw massive numbers of people come out in her support. Had someone from a smaller village been subjected to such treatment, the same might not have gained much hype.

What followed the incident was the defensive tactics by political officials, speeches by other unknown politicians and celebrities (probably trying to get their two minutes in the limelight) condemning the act. On the other hand, there were common people who came out to protest the inhuman treatment of the young lady who was on the verge of hear deathbed.

One fact was clear - she wanted to live. Her fate, however, won the battle against her will power.  

It is disheartening to see that in a country that is considered as one of the largest developing economies of the world is still unable to deal with such sensitive situations. It struck a nerve with me because when you place yourself in her shoes – the fear is incomparable. 

What was her fault? She was out with a friend in the evening for a movie and at a decent hour in a metropolitan city. That sounds like an identifiable scenario for most of the people my age I guess. The realization that “what if it were you” is enough to unnerve any sane person I guess. It scares me too. But its not a scenario where I will say “ What can be done about it..it happens in India”. I will work on finding a way to be safer – take self-defence training, trust my instincts when out and be more aware of the surroundings.

Reflecting on the happenings and digging deeper, I began thinking about what is it that prompts more such incidents in India as compared to some of the other developed nations. I am not referring to our failing political system or the weak arrangement of human rights or the pathetic law system that is abundant with loopholes. No, I am trying to analyse deeper into the mindset of an average Indian.

Why do men perform atrocities such as rape, marital abuse, and killings in the name of honour, dowry demands or just any form of crime against women? And why do women bear the treatment imposed on them??  All of them are humans. Just as other human beings in other parts of the world. Why is the scenario different in India?

The answer lays at the code of the so-called mindset that we Indians have. The one that differentiates between a man and a woman. The one that says “men are more stronger and capable than women”. Sure, we now believe that the Indian women are empowered and are equal to any man. But how true is that? Sure, they are given the freedom to work, to choose their partners maybe etc. But at a more psychological level, aren’t we Indians hypocrites to a certain extent?

We proclaim ourselves as modern and open-minded, but then why do we differentiate between our sons and daughters as different? I don’t mean in an equality kind of manner but in the way as to how they are raised.

From the time they go to school, the differentiation starts. Boys are pushed more towards sports – cricket, football, karate etc. while girls are encouraged to opt for art, crafts, dance etc. Why aren’t girls pushed more towards sports or why aren’t boys inspired to dance for that matter? It is virtually fed into their psychology that boys opt for more man-like activities – read sports while girls are delicate and feminine and thus pushed more towards the finer arts. If girls were trained better in sports or other physical activities, they would definitely much better in terms of their physical capability as well as confidence levels. It is because it is fed it into their minds that boys and girls are different in terms of their capability.

The differentiation between men and women is even more distinct. Women are viewed as the ones responsible for the homely chores such as managing the house; child-care duties etc. while men are seen as the ones responsible for the progress of the family – the core member. The new age television programmes are widely responsible for propagating these beliefs. These shows portray the woman as the docile house lady who just has to clean, cook and make babies. The actors glorify the responsibilities as something that the common woman is born to do, something without which her life is pointless. Men on the hand are the most important people in the family, someone who is the key decision making authority in the house. Nothing wrong in taking care of the house, but the key message propagated by the shows are of women been shown as the weaker sex while the male is the stronger one.

The ideas are imprinted pretty strongly in the minds of the regular television watching population in India – ranging from young children to older adults.

Men and women are born equal. It is the so-called conservative mindset that the society lives by and what is so proudly disguised as “tradition” that is the culprit here. The one which claims that “women as needed to be taken care of while men are the protectors”. It is subconsciously fed in the minds of people that “Women are weaker and need men to be taken care of”. This leads the women to feel they are vulnerable and helpless without men while men invariably look down upon women as weaklings and this gives them the power to dominate them.

Men and women are considered as equals in most developed nations globally. Capability is not questioned based on gender. Both-men and women share responsibilities equally. It is this mindset that has provided the women in these nations the confidence to live life independently and not feel less powerful than men in any way. Men consider women as their equals and not is a derogatory mindset that considers women as materialistic pieces that can be abused and treated as wished. 

It is essential for these sentiments to find their way into the Indian mindset to bring about a change, to get the women to make use of their power and to point out to men the fact that women are equal to them in all sense to avoid them from abusing their available power.