Total Nirvana

When it comes to wellness, Erin Flaherty discovers everything old is new again as she explores the country’s jasmine regions

- Erin Flaherty

It’s dawn, and I’m surrounded by endless rows of cheerful marigolds, roses, lilies, and more that coalesce in an overwhelming symphony of scents. It may sound like a fantasy, but it doesn’t get more real than standing in the middle of a Mumbai flower market at 6 a.m. At first, it’s calm and even eerily quiet, but as the minutes pass, the pace quickens to a chaotic swirl as buyers scoop up pounds of flowers and men scurry past, hauling crates into trucks. It’s a sensual, wild banquet of sights and smells and sounds.

In this country, flowers are big business, and exotic, pungent jasmine is the star that gets top billing. I’m on the hunt for some, but it’s hard to focus as merchants shout my way, greeting me and asking what I want to buy. They dangle intricate garlands of woven blooms in front of my eyes, and I run my fingers through huge baskets filled with silky petals of dizzying variety. Eventually, I come upon a stall where I purchase a generous bag of jasmine buds for about $2 (“They’ll open in a few days,” the vendor assures me). The tour guide accompanying me on this excursion affixes a bracelet of delicate jasmine flowers to my wrist as a gift. “Welcome to India,” she says.