In India even the visit to an ordinary flower market can turn into a memorable experience.

Last Saturday I was destined to go to Dharavi, an area of Bombay where many scenes of Danny Boyle’s movie Slum Dog Millionaire are set and which is regularly referred to as Asia’s largest slum. (To be honest, it didn’t look too much different from my neighborhood in Delhi). On the way to Dharavi , the train stopped at a place called Dardar where I got off to have a look around before continuing to Dharavi.

Dardar is a suburb of Bombay, the main street of which turns into an enormous whole sale flower market. Every morning, trucks bring tons and tons of marigold flowers to Dardar, which are widely used to make necklaces for Hindu idols and honorary guests. The marigolds are sold to smaller traders who will re-sell them to consumers in markets all over Bombay. In between the wholesalers, smaller traders try their luck by offering roses, tulips and virtually any other kind of flower you can imagine to the market’s visitors. Sometimes these smaller traders are a whole family of refugees from rural India, who have not more than a bunch of roses to offer, hoping to feed their children from the proceeds.

The market was, as markets usually are in India, hugely overcrowded, colourful and chaotic. While I was happily shooting away, very much enjoying the lively atmosphere around me, a Hindu priest came in front of my lens.

When we started talking, he told me that he had come  to buy flowers for his temple. He then invited me for tea and to meet a friend of his. So I followed him into a dim dark alley behind the main market road. There, seated on a plastic chair, was a huge Indian man, dressed in pure white clothes, wearing sparkling gold jewelery around his neck and wrists. His face was covered by a pair of enormous sunglasses which only underscored his shady looks. Sitting to his feet and patiently awaiting his attention were two stray dogs which he fed from time to time. To his side, a secretary tried to keep the books using a plastic box as a makeshift desk.

My priest friend introduced the white godfather as the boss of the market. While we drank tea the “godfather” asked me to take his photo. After I had duly complied with his request, I was relieved and continued strolling the flower market, taking the photos you find in the attached gallery.