Flower Market devastated by fire ...Contd.

On the second day after the fire, that is 13th April 2008.

The administrative body of the market has taken a decision the day before to clear up the debris from the site by the following night. Hence by next morning space has been made for the vendors to start operation as much as possible so that loss is minimum.

Vendors started business on the cleared up site. The next day, that is 14th April, was the Bengali New Year and hence a boom in sale was expected.

A boy scavenging in the heap of debris still remaining to be cleared up from the site.

The camp of the labourers in the market who worked on the previous night to clear up the site from debris. Much were yet to be done.

Vendors set up temporary shelters with bamboos, the wooden pillers which are not completely burnt and plastic sheets.

Lots of scrap iron sheets, rods, welded frames , etc. had been produced due to the accident. Scrap metal vendors flocked to the place for their share.

The fire had taken away all colours from the market and turned it into black ashes. On the second day of the accident the market was struggling desperately to regain its usual colour.
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Flower Market devastated by fire ...Contd.

12th April 2008: The next day

The burnt portion of the flower market from a rooftop.

The flower vendors sitting idly inside a burnt out structure.

Flowers to be sold and water pots before a burnt shop.

A burnt out shop in the market. Police forces had been deployed for security reasons.

It was suspected that the fire was caused by LPG cylinder burst.

A burnt out temple in the market.

A burnt earthen flower vase in the debris.

Vendors stocked flowers in the market expecting boom in sale due to the imminent Bengali New Year. They met with huge loss after the accident.

The opposition parties organized a political rally in the market demanding proper investigation of the incident. They were the strong believers of the conspiracy theory.

Curious passersby having a glance at the site of devastation.

The horticulture minister, the chairperson of the administrative body of the flower market and other administrative heads discussing the future course of action. It was decided that the site will be cleared up working whole night, so that from next day morning business activities could be resumed at least partially. Some sort of temporary structures would be erected later for the shops.

Question-answer session with the journalists from different media houses.

Business was in full swing at the unburnt portion of the flower market.

In a temple a few pace away from the burnt site people were engaged in their daily worship.

An old lady taking rest in the afternoon was probably on her daily routine as usual.

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Flower Market - More photos

Last Saturday I went to flower market again to capture some more colors. The day before at night we had heavy rain here. Naturally the place was filled with mud, small pools of water and rotten flowers scattered here and there. These are the problems of any thriving market place here. So instead I focussed on its beauty, its colorfulness.


I found this vendor in the market showing his beautiful garlands to the buyers.

In the lotus market sticks of lotus bundled together can be found for sale.

Decorative flowers of different colors would be sold to the retailers who will make beautiful flower bouquets to sell them in the local market.

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Jagannath Ghat

Last Saturday I and my friend went to Jagannath ghat to try our luck with street photography. A "Ghat" in general term is a concrete structure built on the bank of a river to facilitate bathing, and as such has a rest room and the stairs that get down to the water. Jagannath ghat is one of the oldest on the bank of the Ganga in Kolkata. The installation has some architectural speciality, unlike others. One can find the porcelain tiles lining the inner walls of the rest room, wrought iron columns and nicely curved ventilators.







Photographers flock the place to shoot at the colorful flower market nearby. The colors are fascinating!! I hope to go there again to capture some more color.

The ghat itself is the place for lots of activities. The daily life passes by with the devotees singing bhajans at their ashrams or local youngsters watching latest Hindi movie in a shady video parlour or people bathing in the river and observing different rituals.

While returning I found this lovely couple playing in the shade of the rest room.

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