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On October afternoons, when the monsoon loosens its grip and the air smells faintly of drying earth, gardens across India quietly prepare for a burst of colour. If you grew up in an Indian home, you might remember this season not by calendars but by your grandmother’s hands, busy pushing tiny marigold saplings into the soil. By winter, her garden would be crowned with golden-orange blooms.

For many families, marigolds are more than flowers — they are memories woven into rituals, markers of festivals, and a constant presence in Indian households. October was always “the month of marigolds”, when every backyard, balcony pot, or courtyard seemed to await its share of yellow and saffron.

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