flowers

A carpet of flowers for Onam

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A carpet of flowers for Onam

Balaramapuram, about 20 km from the Kerala capital of Thiruvananthapuram, is known for its off-white handloom saris with golden borders. This Onam though, it is not the cloth alone that is making Balaramapuram proud.  Just out of Balaramapuram, at Nellivila, is a nondescript gate behind which shines a crop of yellow and orange marigolds interspersed … Read more

With Onam around the corner, marigold farmers in Kochi hope to make a profit

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With Onam around the corner, marigold farmers in Kochi hope to make a profit

Nothing prepares me for the cheery sight that awaits me in one part of Varapuzha. It is just after 9.30am on a muggy day; I hear the murmur of women before I see them. Lakshmi Murali emerges from behind a gap in a compound wall and calls me over. All I see is a plot … Read more