Saying it with flowers

SHIVA Munusamy, a florist, was engaged with one unromantic who strongly opined that buying flowers was a waste of money.

“I’d rather get someone a basket of fruits than a bouquet of flowers. Fruits you can eat, flowers are going to wilt and then die, said Ms Practical.

Flower power: Letchumy and Shiva say that flowers have the power to calm and dispel negative thoughts

Shiva did not argue but what he did was to place an apple and a yellow chrysanthemum in front of her. It was the chrysanthemum that got picked up and smiling indulgently as he watched her breathe in the fragrance, Shiva must have basked in the sure knowledge of flower power.

Shiva is 38, but he’s been stringing flower garlands for the past 32 years. His father, Munusamy Ramalingam Pandaram, now 97, had taught him the skills of making garlands out of jasmine, roses and lilies as soon as he turned six.

The exposure has made Shiva somewhat of an “expert”.

The flower covered part of the garland is known as kathai and will be made up of several kandam. Each kandam will have a different hue of flowers so that one will have a colourful garland. As for the pendant of flowers at the end of the garland, this is known as kunjum, informed this bachelor.

He also added that the make-up of a garland, where the flowers are usually tied together with banana string, should be 100% natural for temple offerings. Ideally, they should also be made up of fragrant flowers like jasmines, lilies and chrysanthemums.

Flowers which have been artificially dyed or have no scent, may look great for other occasions but are not suitable for divine use, he said.

And one should also mind the colours as a garland is symbolic of one’s inner thoughts. Yellow denotes honesty and purity. Red conveys stronger emotions and is believed to be able to thwart evil thoughts while white signifies purity and innocence.

For those yearning to regain lost health, Shiva revealed that the garland should consist of herbs with Ayurvedic properties like wheat grass, neem leaves or tulasi. For requests of business luck, the lotus flower signifies prosperity.

For those who wear flowers as adornments, Shiva also advised that ladies with round faces should wear their sarams (floral hair pieces) by the side and hefty sizes should refrain from using stiff materials in their garlands. He also reminded that a thoranam (decorative hangings made out of tender coconut leaves) for an auspicious occasion should have five folds and not three.

Of course, growing up with flowers has been a boon to this florist who also has an MBA and a first-class honours degree in law. As a teen, he would be known among the girls as the guy who brought them flowers.

This reputation has made Shiva a firm believer that men who give women flowers put themselves in a class above the rest. It doesn’t have to be a whole bouquet, he said. A single stalk, delivered personally, will do just fine.

Explaining his strong stand on flower power, Shiva revealed that the roots originated from his forefathers who had passed the belief down the generations. The Pandaram name that you see is not a surname. It denotes our caste and my family are descendants of the Pandaram caste. In the past, their role in society was to decorate the temples with flowers. Till today, we still see flowers as a source of wonder, of god’s holy powers, said Shiva.

Currently, Shiva is helping his 50-year-old sister, Letchumy Kanapathy Pandaram, run her florist business since her late husband, Kanapathy Peria Pandaram, passed away suddenly of a heart attack at the age of 46, seven years ago.

Today, the family-run business have outlets near the Kottu Malai Vinayagar Temple in Jalan Pudu, Brickfields and near the Sri Mahamariamman Temple in Jalan Tun H.S. Lee in Kuala Lumpur. They also have a farm in Sungai Buloh, Selangor, which produces 1000 stalks of roses, five kilograms of jasmines and three kilograms of lilies on a daily basis.

As for how this florist would unwind after hours of stringing jasmines together, Shiva would admit that it would definitely be in a garden full of blooms.