The Mughal Gardens

The Mughal gardens at India's Presidential residence are open to the public for a few weeks in Feb-March every year. We were able to log a visit on Sunday, just a couple of days before Gate No 35 is closed. And now I attempt to describe the visual delights on offer without the right kind of pictures.

That's right - being a VVIP enclosure, you are not allowed to carry the camera / mobile / handbag / car keys. (Good ideas of course for a proper, unencumbered stroll). Even my son's small notepad had to be deposited at entry.

How to get there - Reach North Avenue in the Presidential Estates, then you'll find ample parking. Sufficient arrangements are available for visitors - lockers, lounge areas, waterholes (only water), first aid, a horticultural info stall.

Herbal Garden - India's rich daily-use herbs basil, mint, fenugreek, ginger, garlic, asparagus and so many more, are well marked out. [If I had blindfolded my life-partner, he would have easily scored full marks in a 'find the herb' contest using just his nose - honest! We got to know of the herb in the next patch before we turned to see it or read the placard. Me - I am not very proud of my olfactory senses].
Musical fountain - You can sit in a lounge and enjoy watching the water dancing to popular numbers, and the very huge hybrid dahlias.
Bio-diversity park with 10 species of local fauna.
Main Mughal garden - If we had been the lone visitors, I would have felt like a queen (or Madame President!) having a private stroll amidst millions of flowers. As it was, this is about as close as you can get to the Indian President.
Rose Garden (also called purdah garden) A straight stroll under pretty creepers, with patches of rose varieties on either side.
Circular Garden - This is a set of stepped, annular riots of flowers, with a central fountain. If you ever wish to go round in circles, there is no better place!(picture courtesy http://presidentofindia.nic.in/)
Spiritual garden - A special enclosure for herbs and trees mentioned in India's ancient religious texts (tulsi, henna, kadamba, hibiscus, amla, olives, bamboo, to name some of the well-known species).
My takeaway (apart from pleasant memories of a family stroll in haloed precincts) - these flowers - the silk cotton flower and the flame of the forest.A welcome change from the concrete jungle I live in! I'll now look forward to a Nature Trail at the Presidential Estates.See more visions from around the world in My World Tuesday

Comments

  1. Inner Vision09 March, 2009

    nice info...thank you very much. It reminded me of my visit to the garden some years back. Thank you.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Eve10 March, 2009

    Such an incredibly beautiful garden!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Sylvia K10 March, 2009

    Oh, what lovely gardens! Thank you for sharing your world! Beautiful photos!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Anonymous10 March, 2009

    thats something i would want to visit and spend a lot of time photographing. thanks for sharing.

    ReplyDelete
  5. This Is My Blog - fishing guy10 March, 2009

    Swarna: That is really beautiful, thanks for sharing your neat shots.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Gaelyn10 March, 2009

    What an interesting post and place. Too bad no photos allowed. Yet a nice intro to a future place to visit.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Janie10 March, 2009

    You make the gardens sound wonderful, and the photos are lovely. Seems like a very special place to visit.

    ReplyDelete
  8. SandyCarlson10 March, 2009

    Those are amazing. I especially like the mandala-shaped garden.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Esther Garvi10 March, 2009

    My mother would have loved to visit those gardens! She loved anything with flowers! :-)

    ReplyDelete
  10. ninja10 March, 2009

    Right the best thing about it to me is that it's all year round and You don't have to wait till Spring.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Joseph Pulikotil10 March, 2009

    Hi Swarna :)

    Great presentation and lovely photos.

    Actually your narration brought to my mind a visit to the Mughal Gardens in the year 1968. I took part in the Republic Day Parade and one of the benefits was to have a tea party with the President. At that time VV Giri was the President. I was amazed at the beauty and magnificence of the various flowers especially the roses. From your narration, I understand that substantial improvements and additions have been done to that already wonderful garden.

    Many many thanks for sharing and I wish I was in 1968 again. The fun we had at the Garrison grounds living in tents in extremely cold weather and believe me it rained sometimes although it was the month of January.

    Best wishes :)

    ReplyDelete
  12. Carole10 March, 2009

    These are just beautiful.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Jeannelle10 March, 2009

    Very lovely. Thank you for posting! Happy travels!

    ReplyDelete
  14. Mojo10 March, 2009

    Oh there's no way I could visit a place so beautiful and not be allowed my camera! It would be just too cruel!

    ReplyDelete
  15. Unknown10 March, 2009

    Well I think you gave a wonderful verbal tour, it looks and sounds delightful.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Louise10 March, 2009

    What a beautiful garden!!

    ReplyDelete
  17. Guy D10 March, 2009

    Fabulous gardens, fantastic pics.

    Have a great week!
    Guy
    Regina In Pictures

    ReplyDelete
  18. Mariz10 March, 2009

    would love to visit this place someday. nice post! thanks for sharing this..

    ReplyDelete
  19. Lio Popov10 March, 2009

    Of several images can be acquired idea of beauty spot. Thanks for the information.

    ReplyDelete
  20. The Good Life in Virginia12 March, 2009

    what a lovely area...enjoy your posts of your world.

    erin

    ReplyDelete
  21. Indrani15 March, 2009

    No camera allowed? That would have been very disappointing for me too.
    You have done justice with words though.

    ReplyDelete
  22. RAJI MUTHUKRISHNAN17 March, 2009

    The Mughal Gardens are something Delhi can be proud of. When I was a child, it was a treat to visit the garden as part of our school activities in the winter.

    ReplyDelete
  23. Kat25 March, 2009

    Jeeez, you've thrilled everyone
    with the visit to the President's
    gardens.

    As a UIP, such thoughts to visit
    such places have never entered the
    mind.

    The flowers whacked from the
    gardens looked very nice :)

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

i appreciate that you have some thoughts to share, and are taking the effort to do so.

Popular posts from this blog

The Power of Vishnu Sahasranamam- Vani's rebirth

A real 'story' as told by a close friend: "Vani was in her early thirties when I first met her in a Mumbai local sometime in the late ‘70’s. She never talked much but her helping tendency was obvious. She boarded the train at the starting point and always found a seat. Instead of sitting through the hour-long journey, she would offer her seat – a luxury - to another lady. My acquaintance too began this way – a few pleasantries exchanged over the train’s din. After a couple of months, she was not at her usual seat. Everyone presumed that she was on leave. In the busy buzz of the Mumbai life, no one thought twice about her till she came back after nearly 4 months. None of us could recognize her. She had lost weight, her cheeks were sunken, eyes lifeless, and to top it all, she had an almost bald head. Out came the rude shock that she had been diagnosed with breast cancer and had to undergo radiation therapy. She hoped that she had won over the disease, but even before
Read more

"Did Hanuman return the mountain?"

Image
The query was popped while we were travelling in Srinagar by road, trying to have a fill of the valley's humbling views of the Himalayas all round. Here are a few glimpses of Gulmarg and Pahalgam My son's query caught us unawares, and also got us thinking about the doubt that we never raised during childhood sessions of the Ramayana epic , and I decided to call my mom, our free encyclopaedia for all things religious / spiritual / cultural. "Yes, Hanuman was disciplined, and he did return the Dronagiri mountain to its original locale". (was our spot answer) Pahalgam Back to the query - Anyone, any idea? There are several versions, all quite satisfactory, if you spare a thought. - Rumassala is one of several places identified by the Sri Lankan Tourism Department as being associated with Ramayana. Hanuman carried a part of the Dronagiri Mountain that was rich with medicinal herbs including Sanjeevani from the Himalayas to revive Lakshmana. 'When the chief physicia
Read more

Darshan Do, Ghanshyam Naath...

Granted that enough and more has been said about SM (स्ल-क in Hindi). - what the director did, and did not, - what the co-director did not, - what ARR routinely does much better (DB got his musician right), - how RP got world-recognition for his techniques, - what the media Overdid. For a very balanced take try K Hariharan's, titled 'Orientalism for a global market' . "For the majority of western audiences who are writhing under the excruciating weight of a global meltdown, a fairy tale about the ugly side of India should certainly come as an orgiastic catharsis! “Slumdog Millionaire” should be considered as one of the most gratuitous fantasies to be created about India in the 21st century. Over 200 scenes whizzing past in 120 minutes leaves one completely anaesthetised and incapable of registering the complex layers that make up the garbage dump presented in “SM” called India..... as an Indian and a Mumbaikar I am not ashamed to accept the image of slums, criminals an
Read more