This is an everyday picture. All types of flowers are bought here from different parts of Dhaka and its adjoining areas both for retail and wholesale. Apart from the sellers of a few outlets, most are floating.

Those who need a little bit more flowers for any function rush to the Shahbagh flower market adjacent to Bangabandhu Medical University and BIRDEM Hospital.

A few days back, Nurul Absar, programme coordinator of an NGO, was buying several baskets of flowers from a wholesaler of the market. "My boss' son is getting married and I've been requested to decorate the house with fresh flowers," a beaming Absar said in response to a query.

His baskets were full of a variety of roses, gladiolas, Indian marigold and tuberose and Orchid. Asked why he is buying so many orchids, Absar says, "Actually, I want to decorate the house in a unique way so that it is praised by all."

"Orchid is still a new type of flower in Bangladesh and it's much more attractive. It remains fresh longer than other flowers. This is why I'm buying it in larger quantity."

Apart from Shahbagh, there are some flower shops at Kantaban adjacent to Dhaka University. Farhana Mostari, an MA student of Dhaka University, is making a bouquet with orchids of different colours like magenta, white, off-white, yellow and orange. It looks simply gorgeous.

"Today is my boyfriend's birthday. He's out of town now. Anyway, I'll keep the bouquet in his room so he can see my gift first when he'll be back tomorrow morning. I'm using orchid, thought it's a bit expensive, as it stays fresh up to 10 days," says Farhana.

Things are changing in Bangladesh very fast. There have been changes in our culture too. These days many people prefer gifts with orchid than rose and rajanigandha.

Orchid of different colours like white, off-white, magenta, yellow, light pink and orange are available in the markets. "More variations in colour are on the way," says Shamim Rahman, a flower seller at Shahbagh market. The colour of orchid in our country is more nice-looking than those in Thailand."

Orchid made its way into Bangladesh about 10 years ago and it was costlier at that time. It used to come from Thailand. So commoners hardly showed any interest in the flower. Barely a year ago, some local farms experimentally started producing the flower in Tangail, Gazipur and Kishoreganj. And its farming is expanding day by day.

Dr Jasim Uddin, a lecturer of Dhaka University's Botany department, said, "Orchid farming is much harder than that of other flowers. Two varieties of orchid are actually grown in two waysone on earth and another on other things (parasite) like coconut coir. Orchid grows better on that soil which has more iron, acid and humus. Orchid grows well in tropical and subtropical areas where temperature, humidity and rainfall are high. There is no specific time for the flower to bloom."

On the price of orchid, Aminul Islam, a flower shopkeeper, said, "The price was much higher when this flower used to come from Thailand. At that time we used to sell one single stick for Tk 25, which is why few people used to buy it. Now a quality stick sells at Tk 15 while a lower grade at Tk 8."

Experts say there is a bright prospect for orchid farming in Bangladesh. But the government seems to be reluctant to take any initiative to promote its farming and business. Currently, three organisations BRAC, Dipta and Wonderland Toys are cultivating orchid at their own initiatives.

Mohammad Nayan, marketing officer of Wonderland Toys, said that they have experimentally started producing orchid on four bighas of land in Rajendrapur of Gazipur district.

About the farming process, he said, "We are following the greenhouse process in orchid farming under the supervision of experienced agricultural officers. In this method, the plants are hung on bamboo trays. We have a plan to export flowers in the future."

Abdul Mannan, a gardener of Dhaka University's Shamsunnahar Hall, began farming orchid as a hobby. He said, "We can farm it at home by firmly wrapping the orchid plant in coir. Then it has to be hanged from any wall or any other way.

About the future of orchid Dr Jasim said, "This flower has opened up a new prospect for our country and we should utilise it. There should be government initiative to cultivate the flower on a larger scale.

Rupa Sarker, News Network