A man in a soiled dhoti sits on a pavement in Mylapore, just beyond the tank of the Kapaleeswarar temple. Spread out on a piece of cloth next to him are purple-coloured water lilies in half bloom. I almost walk past him when he calls out, “For ₹10 you can take a bunch.” Flower-sellers are common in Mylapore. The road leading to the temple is full of them — from pink rose garlands to jasmine, the many stalls do brisk business through the day. But, here is a man who has kept away from the usual and specialised in just one variety.
“This is called alli thamarai ,” he says with the air of a story-teller. “It’s a unique flower.” His name is M Ranganathan and he hails from a village near Mamallapuram. Every year, during summer, he sells the flowers in and around Mylapore. He travels on foot, the flowers wrapped in a cloth and balanced on his head. Ranganathan stops when his feet beg for rest. “ Alli thamarai blooms only at night, under the moonlight,” he explains.
The flowers are sourced from ponds in and around Mamallapuram. “Men set out in boats to collect them before sunrise. The water is just chest-high, but is quite tricky to swim in. They know how to manoeuvre around the water plants that tug at their feet to gather the alli thamarai ,” he says. It’s a practice that’s been going on for years; the boatmen supply to people such as Ranganathan, who take the flowers to various parts of the city. “When I was younger, I would swim in the waters myself. But now, I have to depend on the boatmen to bring me flowers to sell,” he says.
The lilies, with their thick stems and petals too shy to bloom under the summer sun, don’t appear as attractive as the fragrant roses sold at the stalls nearby. “But, they will bloom,” promises Ranganathan. “Take some home.”
Not entirely convinced, I buy two bunches for ₹20 and drop them in a trough filled with water back home, overnight. The next morning, the lilies beam proud, their violet petals almost aglow. The man was right. They remain that way for a couple of days. It then seems worth it; the efforts of a boatman and his many vendors waiting at the shore for the treasure he’s harvested.
