If you want to feel overwhelmed and mesmerized with the flowers, then we are here to take you through Flower Market Bangalore, most popularly known as KR Market. This market is also very popular with photographers for presenting multiple and versatile photo opportunities. It is famous for its ethereal photo-ops it presents as you can see a wide range of human emotions with nature’s best gift to us, flowers! It is one of the best places to be at if you are looking to picture both, crowd and a riot of colors! The loops of flowers, the color of petals, hands darting through flowers and meandering haggling voices, well, everything about the market is picturesque.
Even the chaos of the market turns out to be beautiful amidst the color of the flowers! It is almost similar and striking coincidence that a concrete IT hub has a natural landscape to feast the eyes on! The market also features as ‘Places to Visit in Bangalore.’
Named after Krishnarajendra Wodeyar, K. R. or Krishna Rajendra market is the largest wholesale flower market in Bangalore. Krishnarajendra Wodeyar was the ruler of Mysore. Though the market deals in lots of commodities, it is the flowers that give it the title of one of the biggest flower markets in Asia. The locality of this market is also the first place to get electricity in Asia.
In this oldest flower market Bangalore, there isn’t one variety of flowers you wouldn’t find. Every desi and exotic flower type sit pretty with the vendor, waiting to be discovered and bought. The pretty hues of flowers against the dawn and still sky look surreal and stunning.
The Location of the Bangalore Flower Market
The market is at the junction of Krishnarajendra Road and Mysore Road. The landmark for the market is Tipu Sultan’s Summer Palace and it is right next to it.
Flower Market Bangalore : Now and Then
The area of the market was a battlefield for Anglo Mysore wars and you can still see one or two buildings at the front and back of the market. Instead of the market, there was a water tank. During the war, the place was earlier served as a buffer zone till the 19th century. The Anglo-Mysore occurred in 1790 and then, reached to Bangalore in 1791 after the British army had captured and defeated many kingdoms in Tamil Nadu. The fort area in Bangalore was guarded by Bahadur Khan with 2,000 army personnel of Tipu Sultan’s army. The army couldn’t muster the courage to attack the fort and put its camp in the open area. However, after a fortnight, the British army played askew and attacked the fort in the night, against the rule of the war. The British army officially captured the fort on March 20, 1791.
The battlefield was made a public place after the occupation of the fort by the British army. The buffer zone was turned into the market area and vendors from the nearby villages came here to sell their goods.
The market building was built in the year 1921 and named after the king of Mysore, Krishna Rajendra. Besides, an oval-shaped park was also there and named after Sir Mirza Ismail who happened to be Diwan of Mysore state.
However, now, it is a full-fledged market and here stands a three-story concrete structure, which was erected in the year of 1990. This new building was erected in between two older buildings. The basement has an underground parking and the three-story building is dedicated space for flowers, vegetables, dry goods and machine tools. The flowers and vegetables can be found on the lower ground floor, machine tools and other accessories are available on the first floor and dry goods are on the upper ground floor.
Overview of KR Market, Bangalore
The KR market is one of the largest and busiest markets in the city. It is also the city’s oldest commercial hub as it was opened in the pre-independence era in the year 1928. It is surprising that erstwhile it was a battlefield in the 18th century. If you are in Bengaluru and want to understand the roots and what’s the city is all about, a trip to the KR market would be a nice idea to get in touch with the local tradition. There are ample of local florists in Bangalore for helping you get fresh flowers delivered in Bangalore every day from these flower markets and will make your home full of its fragrances.
The market still retains some of the British magic in the form of original red and white building but that’s about it. The market now has a larger complex and building to host an array of businesses including flowers. And it is bustling with vendors and customers. The sidewalks, neighbouring lanes, and streets are full of vendors selling flowers. Haggling and negotiating with vendors is a very prominent feature and if only you are comfortable with the intensity of noise as well as the earthy fragrance of flowers filling up your nostrils, plan a trip to KR market or else trust your online flower shops for all things flowers.
However, the brilliant and vivid display of flowers makes it all worth it!
The Time to Visit the KR Market, Bangalore
We visited the biggest flower market in Asia with FTD Flowers guys to help us to able to understand each and every part of this flower market in Bangalore. The market operates from morning to night but if you are visiting the market for flowers, it is the early morning when it magically transforms into city’s biggest flower market at the southern Avenue road. Here you can find fresh flowers of different variety and color at the attics, sidewalks, and lanes, which makes for a wonderful treat for eyes.
This is also the time when the business is at its prime and businessmen from all over the city flock the premise to get the goods at the best prices.
Tips for First-Time Visitors and Photographers
A little homework before the visit wouldn’t hurt. Many eminent artists have made a beeline for the aesthetic sights of KR Bangalore Market. One of them is H. Pedder, whose drawings of the area feature in the Picturesque India collection. The market might have a proper road in as early as the 1890s because we see a road and many vendors in the drawing.
For people who would like to shoot colourful memories and boundless human energy integrating with the natural landscape, here are a few tips they could follow!
- Plan a trip during the weekend. The market starts at 5:00 am and the vendors wrap up at about 8:00 pm. The market, however, starts showing activity as early as 2:00 am.
- People are friendly and they won’t mind posing in front of a camera. However, be courteous and ask them. Expect people to be busy. They might be friendly but it is their business and they might be busy packing, dealing and haggling. So, you have plenty of opportunities to observe random conversations and shoot them.
- Flowers are cheaper here but they aren’t cut flowers or flower arrangements. You would like to leave that to your online flower shop in the city.
- The clamour and chaos shouldn’t deter you from exploring the market. It makes for a wonderful contrast to the otherwise mundane and scripted part of your life.
- Since there will be a lot of people around, you need to take care of your belongings such as wallet, camera, and handbags.
- Parking space is scarce and it is recommended to park your four wheelers in allotted parking space nearby. Two-wheelers can zigzag their way to close to the market.
- The perfect months to visit the market are August to December. In winters, you can find a lot more varieties in flowers and the weather is pleasant in Bangalore.
What to Expect when you are at KR Market?
The KR market is the hub of many flower vendors, farmers, and gardeners who cultivate and source flowers such as roses, carnations, lilies, daisies, anthurium and chrysanthemums to the season the scenes of the IT hub and Silicone Valley of India. Every day, starting from 12:00 am till 8:00 am, the colourful riots of flowers bring out lavish imagination and delightful quirk. However, expect the market to be like any other market, vendors trying to sell the flowers, shouting the prices, conversations between the customers and vendors for the prices and customers wrapping up the packages after the deal.
And there is every type of customers, from interior designers to wedding decorators and flower shop owners!
The Segment of Flower Market in Bangalore
The flower market in Bangalore has two sections. One of the parts sells loose flowers such as roses, garlands, marigold, and petals. The other section is used for selling exotic flower varieties such as Asiatic lily, blue daisy, chrysanthemums, orchids, gerberas, carnations, yellow daisy and Dutch roses. It is also the place to buy different foliage such as Song of Jamaica, Xanadu, Ivy leaves, Red Dracena, Grenen Dracena and China Leaves.
The big sellers sit behind the Mosque area. If you are looking for flowers for wedding décor or need to buy wholesale flowers for decoration purpose, this is where you should be heading to.
How to Reach Bangalore Flower Market?
It is the prime commercial hub of the city and you can find several ways to reach to KR flower market. You can take government BMTC buses starting their services as soon as 5:00 am or you can take autos or private cabs to the flower market. It is a better idea to go to the market via personal vehicle. Two wheelers are definitely a better idea as you can park closer to the market and if you are hitching a ride on your four wheeler, it is better that you park somewhere closer but not any near to the market. It is bustling and you would be stuck in the traffic.
Pro Tip
Don’t forget to negotiate!