Flowers sell like hot cakes in holy month of Shravan

New Delhi: The holy month of Shravan has turned out to be a boon for flower traders in Chhattarpur and Ghazipur phool mandis. “People buy more items of poisonous plants to worship Shiva, therefore we have a higher trade in this market”, said Kailash, a flower vendor.

According to Hindu mythology, during the legendary sagar manthan, gods and demons discovered several objects, one of them being a poison pot. Lord Shiva drank the poison to save the universe from its effects. Following this, the gods danced to protect Shiva from the harmful effect of the poison and keep him awake for a night. Thereafter, the devotees started offering water, milk, dhatura, bhaang, and akwan flowers to Shiva’s idol. “We get orchids from Assam and Thailand, which is a rare variety here. Carnations come from Himachal and Bengaluru”, said H.L. Rawal, who has been in this business for the past 20 years. Another trader, Sunil Kumar, said, “Big marigold flowers come from Rajasthan and Haryana, especially during Diwali.”