Madras Day | What ₹200 can get you in these iconic Chennai markets Premium

Can you explore Chennai's vibrant markets with just ₹200? On Madras Day, we try it out.

Comparing the setting before my eyes — a flower market, to a scene out of a neo-noir film might be odd, but that is exactly what strikes me when I make my way into the long row of shops selling loose flowers at the Koyambedu flower market.

The place is bathed in an eerie green glow, white bulbs are hanging low right above crates and piles of flowers, and there is the deafening chatter of sellers calling out to customers. It is all about the florals here — you can choose from garlands, hair ornaments, long-stemmed blooms for bouquets, and large flower arrangements for events. 

“Don’t stand in the way,” I am told by at least two women making their way through the throngs of people with heavy bags. Here is where several women like them come to buy flowers in bulk, for small flower shops that dot the city.  

There are baskets filled with jasmine flowers at S Kumaran’s store, but I take a step back once I hear the day’s price is at  ₹1,300 a kilo. “Earlier this week, it went up to  ₹1,500!” he says. I settle for a kilo of orange marigolds, priced at ₹40 . Kumaran stuffs a cloth bag to bursting, a marked departure from how delivery apps usually sell a handful for over twice the amount I am paying here for a kilo. 

Amidst the piles of button roses, marigolds, jasmine, and yellow chrysanthemums, pops of purple catch my eye. Purple chrysanthemums, I am told, are all the rage now and I give in once again, for a kilo of ₹40. 

At the rows of shops selling garlands for every occasion, men deftly string up roses, lotuses, and jasmine, and are disappointed when I say I have no big event to shop for. I am however promptly directed towards the quieter part of the market at the back, where rows of roses, gerberas, sunflowers are placed in buckets.

I am tempted by the bright sunflowers and the lilies, but given the budget, pick a bunch of lovely, light pink long stemmed roses for ₹120. “We only have around 20% of our regular business at the moment. This isn’t the season for weddings,” a florist there says. Now that the Aadi month has finally ended, I can only imagine the flower market must be twice as crowded.