Christians in the city willing to pay big for floral grave decorations

This S arrangement costs around Rs 20,000; florists say they receive 10-30 orders each for grave decorations on All Souls Day, which falls on November 2 every year

Remembering the loved ones who have passed away is a significant tradition of the Christian community, and the people go all out to shower their love for the departed souls with beautiful grave decorations. With All Souls Day today, several have decided to personalise the floral arrangements on the grave.

Usually, people select from a range of designs supplied by the florists. However, recently, many from the community have approached the florists with designs they have found on the web. The personalised floral arrangement cost anywhere between Rs 1,000 and Rs 20,000, say the florists.

Laxmikant Bera, a florist in Borivli's IC Colony, said though he offers designs of seven to eight varieties, people come with their own designs. He said, "These days, people rely on technology for everything and they don't have the time to decorate the graves all by themselves. We can recreate any design that they bring to us. But we also have to keep their budget in mind."

Despite their best attempts, florists are sometimes unable to replicate the designs as shown in the pictures the customers provide. Inayat Motwani, owner of Decent Florist in Bandra, pointed out that some of the flowers in the web designs are either not available in the city or are too expensive.

"We discuss the design with our customers. If any of the flowers are not available locally, we use other flowers of the same colour to give the same effect. For instance, instead of a hydrangea, we use an arrangement of carnations for the same look," said Motwani. While florists get bigger orders for funerals and death anniversary, on All Souls Day they receive an average of 10-30 requests each for expensive grave decorations.

Rs 1,000
Cost of the cheapest grave decoration according to florists

Catch up on all the latest Crime, National, International and Hatke news here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates