MUGHAL GARDEN, RASHTRAPATI BHAVAN, NEW DELHI

 MUGHAL GARDEN

INTRODUCTION:

            Spread over a vast expanse of 15 acres, Mughal  Gardens has often been portrayed, and deservedly so, as the soul  of  the Presidential Palace. The Mughal  Gardens draw its inspiration from the Mughal  Gardens of Jammu and Kashmir, the gardens around the Taj Mahal  and even miniature paintings of India and Persia.

            Sir Edwin Lutyens had finalized the designs of the Mughal  Gardens as early as 1917, however it was only during the year 1928-1929 that plantings were done.  His  collaborators for the gardens was Director of Horticulture, William Mustoe. Sir Lutyens brought together two different horticulture traditions together for the gardens, the Mughal  style and the English flower garden. Mughal canals , terraces and flowering shrubs are beautifully  blended with European  flowerbeds, lawns and private hedges.

            In Christopher Hussey’s The life of Sir Edwin Lutyens, Sir Lutyens’ wife has written that the garden was a “paradise.” She added, “…flowers are set in such masses, producing a riot of colour and scents, that, when with the fountains playing continually, there is not the least sense of stiffness. The round garden beyond beats everything for sheer beauty and is beyond words.”

MAJOR ATTRACTIONS:

            Rose remains a key feature of the Mughal Gardens even today. The gardens boasts of growing 159 celebrated varieties of roses which blossom primarily in the month of February and March. They include, Adora, Mrinalini, Taj Mahal, Eiffel Tower, Modern Art, Scentimental, Oklahoma (also called black rose), Belami, Black Lady, Paradise, Blue Moon and Lady X. The Mughal Gardens also include roses named after people of national and international fame such as Mother Teresa, Raja Ram Mohan Roy, Mr. Lincoln, John F. Kennedy, Jawahar, Queen Elizabeth, Christian Dioramongst others. Arjun and Bhim, from the Mahabharata, also find place in the presidential palace.

  Apart from roses, tulips, Asiatic lilies, daffodils, hyacinth and other seasonal flowers beautify the gardens of Rashtrapati Bhavan, There are more than seventy varieties of seasonal  flowers including exotic bulbous and winter flowering plants. The gardens also grows 60 of the 101 known types of bougainvilleas. Edging and flowering of flower beds is done with alyssum, daisy, pansy etc. The grass that covers the garden is the doob grass, which  was originally brought from Calcutta when the Mughal Garden was being planted. The garden has almost 50 varieties of trees, shrubs and vines including Moulsiri tree, Golden Rain tree, flower bearing Torch Tree and many more.

            In fact, this is the place which  everyone must visit at least once. I hope this will make you feel that nature is very beautiful if you want to enjoy it.