Patna: What could be better than a colourful and fragrant start to a new year? With the world gearing up to say bye-bye to 2024 and ring in a fresh start, florists across the city are burning midnight oil to make the new year beautiful, colourful as well as fragrant, stocking up their shops not just with garlands and lose flowers for puja but bouquets for gifting. Florists say mainly roses, marigold and tuberose (rajnigandha) do brisk business on New Year. “Red roses definitely sell like hot cakes but people buy marigold and ‘rajnigandha’ flowers and garlands for offering prayers in temples and homes on New Year,” says Manoj Malakar, president of Mali Malakar Kalyan Samiti (Patna). Florist Chandan Kumar, who has a outlet on busy Fraser Road here, says sale of flowers, mainly roses and marigold, becomes double during this time as compared to normal days. “Our shops are empty by 2pm on the New Year day,” he says. However, prices do not vary much as these are perishable items with short shelf-life, adds Chandan, saying they cannot charge much, as that would lower the demand. For bouquets, Chandan says, people mainly prefer red roses on the occasion. “Many also buy red and yellow rosebuds, starting Rs 20 per piece. After roses, bouquets of carnations in various shades of red, white, yellow and pink are in huge demand on the New Year,” says Chandan, adding bouquets ranging between Rs 100 and Rs 500 are the most sought after. “But there is no upper limit on the price tag for special bouquets, which mostly depends on the size and flowers opted by the purchasers,” says Chandan, adding, he sold a bouquet worth Rs 6,000 last year. Keeping up with the online stores, he says they also provide home delivery of bouquets and flowers within a radius of 10km in Patna on orders above Rs 700. Malakar adds a few customers order special bouquets, prepared as per their choice. “The most preferred flowers opted for preparing bouquets include rose, carnation, lily, orchid, daisy, hydrangea, chrysanthemum, daffodil, iris and cherry blossom.” About the places from where they procure their stock of flowers, Chandan says it varies depending on the season. “In winter, we mainly buy from Pune and Kolkata, while in other seasons, we bring flowers from places like Delhi, Bengaluru, Nasik and Varanasi,” he says.
