You'd think that having to begin working at an ungodly hour would mean doing away with a beauty routine or fussing over what to wear, but Lakshmi offers a contradiction. Choosing a happy-hued cotton sari from her steel almari, stacking her arms with glass bangles, wearing her gold jimmikis (earrings) and nath (nose ring), wrapping fresh gajras around her neatly knotted hair-Lakshmi is one of the many middle-aged women across South India whose livelihood depends on gathering fresh flower produce before the crack of dawn.
Inextricably linked to the country's social and cultural fabric, the plenitude of gulaab, kamal, chameli and genda is evident in every festival, nuptial and gifting checklist, adorning homes, hair, deities and temples everywhere. In South India, the onset of Onam is marked by pookalam (flower rangolis) decorating doorways to welcome King Mahabali for a good harvest. Travel to Karnataka during Ugadi and you'll see marigold and mango leaf torans draped across front doors to ward off nazar. India's flower business (valued at *26,200 crore last year as per market research firm IMARC) is dependent on people who have dedicated generations to the trade despite reaping few benefits in return.
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Diese Geschichte stammt aus der November - December 2024-Ausgabe von VOGUE India.
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Sign of the times
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Dimple, All Day
YOU MAY HAVE WATCHED HER ON THE BIG SCREEN FOR OVER FIVE DECADES, BUT DON'T MAKE THE MISTAKE OF ASSUMING THAT YOU KNOW DIMPLE KAPADIA.
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Let it grow
When we think of hardworking farmers toiling in India's scorching heat, we often think of men, the sweat on their brow, the sinews in their arms. JYOTI KUMARI speaks to four women who are championing the invisible female labour that keeps these fields running
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Sweet serendipity
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Red pill, blue pill
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Breathe in, Breathe out
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