Blooming where she is planted

Shanthi set foot in Ceebros Boulevard as a flower seller and ended up putting down unshakeable roots as a vendor of vegetables and fruits, which she purchases in the wee hours of the day at Koyambedu market and transports to this gated community in Thoraipakkam. Her business is restricted to this community. And Shanthi has blended in, residents accepting her as their own, rallying around her in her times of trouble and celebrating her personal victories

Gated communities operate to an entrenched pattern. Intrinsic to this pattern are faces that show up at the gate every morning — a flower seller, a vegetable vendor and anyone carting in an essential service. Over time, these local peripatetic traders become clued in, and with an accuracy equalling social-media algorithm, tailor their services to meet individual preferences, carrying the right wares before ringing a calling bell. Residents rely on them.

And the odd one manages a deeper connection. The transaction extends to squeeze in small talk. There is mutual sharing of personal updates. Somewhere between transactions and conversations, a comfortable familiarity builds. They may not live inside the community, but in every practical sense, belong to it. When the gates of Ceebros Boulevard in Thoraipakkam open to the outside world, Shanthi walks in as an insider, a non-resident insider. She has been a regular at these gates since 2011 — once inside, she does not have to explain her presence. The residents know. Shanthi has blended in. 

The memory of her first day at Ceebros Boulevard, marked by an encouraging string of transactions, remains indelible . “I asked the security guard if I could go in to sell flowers and was directed to Flat 201,” she recalls. She knocked, sold a strand of flowers for ₹5, and moved on to Flats 212 and 222. Household chores came her way and she was grateful for the work. “I took whatever came my way,” she says. Soon, the demands shifted. Residents began asking for mint leaves, coriander, bananas and so on — and Shanthi had a stab at delivering grocery items on demand, still latching on to her other profiles as flower seller and an occasional helper in households. And she would soon ease into being the community’s unofficial but only vendor of vegetables, greens, fruits and flowers. 

Five years into her Ceebros journey, she added festival essentials to her offerings — sugarcane, turmeric and Pongal pots. “Four days in advance,” she notes proudly. For residents, her arrival brought relief — they no longer had to step out or search for what they needed during festive times. Shanthi had them covered.

When she got started on this journey, Shanthi was a resident of Thiruverkadu. Today, she resides in Kannagi Nagar ( a short jog away from Ceebros Boulevard) with her 70-year-old mother and two daughters, aged 22 and 20. She herself is 50 — and has walked a long road, quite literally. “Van drivers do not come into Kannagi Nagar,” she explains. “So I walked. Sometimes I came home only at midnight.” Carrying huge flower bags filled to the brim, navigating late-night roads, and still appearing the next morning — that was her everyday life.

Her day begins before sunrise. At 2 a.m., she leaves for Koyambedu market — a three-stop haul for flowers, fruits, greens and vegetables. She hires a small truck for ₹300, and by 7:30 a.m., she is stationed at the Ceebros gate. What follows is a frenetic dance of deliveries — mint leaves, vegetables, fruits, and flowers — often done door-to-door. She returns in the evening for another round of comers, with a new stock of fresh vegetables.

Market days give her no breathing space. She boards the 4 a.m. bus to Parrys Corner (for its flower market) and returns just in time for the morning pooja. “At first, I did not even have a pushcart,” she shares. “I carried everything in hand.” Squirrelling away earnings over time, she bought one.