One of Mumbai's oldest flower shop to close business soon

Yet another one of the oldest shop will shut its doors. Mumbai will soon bid adieu to one of the oldest flower shops in Matunga as it is struggling to continue the business.

The South Indian Flower Shop is of 350 sq ft area in Matunga and was established by a Tamilian named Tanga Thevar in 1942, when he migrated to the city at the age of 14. The shop was later owned by his son Murgesh and now Murgesh's son Vinayak and Vignesh look after the business.

The shop will undergo re-development soon and will be shut down.

According to a report in DNA, shop-owner Vinayak Thevar (30) said, "Since the last five years, we have not been able to maintain the business because flowers are now being ordered online. After redevelopment, the area will have a shopping centre on the ground floor and a residential building on the top. Selling flowers in a shopping center is not worth it and we are not comfortable running the business on a footpath like hawkers. We have another shop in Chembur, which is run by my uncle."

Thevar informed that in the beginning, 60 workers worked in the small flower shop but now it has only five. The shop even imported rare flowers from different states in south India.

He added that the reason for diminishing business is that flower shops have been opening on every street of the city which results in customers opting for nearby markets than a big flower market.

It seems that Mumbai is slowly losing out on its old world charm, although sadly.