Kashmir is blessed with both abundant water and distinct seasons. Gentle summers and crisp autumns conspire to fill the land with bursts of color twice a year. Punctuated by winter that give the weeks of snowbouild The Mughal rulers of medieval Agra and Delhi had built many oases of shade and green in their marble and sandstone capitals, but it was in Srinagar that emperors and their gardeners were able to let their imaginations flower. The great gardens of Srinagar — known collectively as the Mughal gardens — are arranged around the massive Dal lake and it was here that Mughal kings and nobles would find peace and rest. Today, these form an inextricable part of the lives of Srinagar’s inhabitants.
Overlooking the Dal from the northeast are Shalimar and Nishat Bagh. Shalimar Bagh derives its name from an ancient resting house built by the king Pravarsena II and named Shalimar, or ‘the hall of love’. When the Mughal emperor Jahangir came to Kashmir in the early 17th century, he built a garden here, which was named ‘Farah Baksh’ or ‘delightful’.
Shalimar Bagh was built in three stages — The Diwan-e-Aam, for the emperor’s public audiences; the Diwan-e-Khas, where he would hold more private meetings; and a section walled off especially for the royal zenana. A central canal flowed through spacious lawns leading to pleasant, airy pavilions of which one survives today, together with exquisite decorations of red and gold flowers and geometrical designs on its walls and ceilings.In the warm months, Shalimar Bagh’s flower beds are rich with gorgeous roses, massive dahlias, deep red coxcombs, and the air carries the delicate perfume of magnolia blossoms; while in autumn, the centuries-old chinar trees burst into glorious shades of orange and gold. In winter, the grounds are covered in snow.
Nishat Bagh was the creation of Asaf Khan, Emperor Shahjahan’s prime-minister and uncle. Despite such close bonds, the emperor could not suppress a feeling of envy when he visited Nishat Bagh – in comparison, it seemed, and even the imperial Shalimar was wanting.
Today, Nishat Bagh epitomizes what the National Geographic called the ‘nearly perfect marriage of art and nature’ in Srinagar’s gardens. Water still flows down the central channel, collecting in a large pool near the entrance from which pigeons drink. Flower beds are palettes of purple and red, yellow and pink; but nothing, perhaps, matches Nishat in the autumn, which ‘lights up the poplars in clear gold and the big chinars burn red’ – and all who visit linger on, unconscious of time’s passing.
Two small but enchanting gardens on a hill of the Zabarwan range, alongside the Dal lake, are Pari Mahal and Chashme Shahi. Of these, Pari Mahal is higher and was built as an observatory by Dara Shikoh. The most mystically-inclined of Shahjahan’s sons, Dara Shikoh gave the garden to one of his teachers, Peer Mullah Shah —and much of the prince’s spiritual investigations occurred on these seven terraces.
One can say, without exaggeration, that the view from Pari Mahal is like a painting, vast and yet filled with beautiful detail — the Char Chinar island, for example, floating in the Dal, or sparkling water hazards in the Royal Springs golf course below.
Chashme Shahi, the ‘garden of the royal spring‘, was built by one of Shahjahan’s nobles in 1642. Though not as extensive as either Shalimar or Nishat, Chashme Shahi has its charms — particularly the large pool at its centre, on which rain the waters of a sprightly fountain. There is a small cafeteria in the garden, where visitors may like to sip a cup of tea as the sun sets and coloured lights begin to illuminate the garden paths, creating a cheerfully modern kind of beauty.
Both Pari Mahal and Chashme Shahi, in fact, are best visited in the evening, one for the pleasure of its sunset, the other for these festive, electric colours.
Near the foot of the Chashme Shahi hill are two new additions to Srinagar’s horticultural riches. The first is the Jawaharlal Nehru Memorial Botanical Garden, built over 80 hectares in 1969. Over the years, the garden’s research station has planted over 1.5 lakh plants here. For visitors interested in a more active outing, there is also a small lake with boating facilities.
The 19th-century poet Thomas Moore described Kashmir’s roses as ‘the brightest that earth ever gave’. Today, the youngest of Srinagar’s gardens may well be posing these roses stiff competition. The Indira Gandhi Memorial Tulip Garden, conceptualized as recently as 2007 by the then chief minister, Ghulam Nabi Azad, has become immensely popular in the last five years. Over a million bulbs bloom to magnificent glory every April.
Srinagar boasts of two of the finest golf courses in India, and attracts both amateurs and professional golfers from across the country. The older Kashmir Golf Club was built in the 19th century, whereas the splendid Royal Springs Golf Course was commissioned in 2001.
Harwan Garden, situated on the hillside 3 kms from Shalimar Bagh on the road to Dachigam, makes for a splendid outing. A canal, Sarband, bordered with chinars, flows through the middle of the garden adding to its charm.
Excavations in Harwan village by the ASI have revealed major Buddhist ruins dated to the 3rd century AD, including a stupa, terracotta Buddha figurines and carved tiles, many of which are now on display in the Ram Nagar Palace Museum, Udhampur. Originally known as Shadarahadwan, Harwan hosted the third International Buddhist Conclave in the 4th century AD.
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