- The phenomenon that doesn’t change in people is love. The one feeling that makes a person human is love. Likewise, the love of Jahangir, the Mughal emperor towards his wife Noor Jahan results in the building of Shalimar garden in Srinagar, Jammu & Kashmir. The affection of Jahangir towards Noor Jahan and his dream of the building made Shalimar’s garden possible.
- Let’s see the facts and interesting things about Shalimar’s garden.
History: Shalimar garden
Fountain of Shalimar garden
- The emperor Jahangir builds his dream place Shalimar garden for showing his love towards his wife. He further expanded the garden to become a royal garden in 1619 and named it Farah Baksh(the delightful). Then in 1630 emperor Shah Jahan’s order, Governor Zafar khan expanded it.
- During the rule of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, the marble pavilion in the garden was the guest house for European visitors. The upcoming generation rulers took care of the building and improved it for beauty. The electricity for the premises was done under Maharaja Hari Singh’s rule.
- The garden keeps on developing under the different rulers and get different names but the name Shalimar Bagh stands in the people’s hearts. By the beauty of the garden Emperor and the queen visit the garden from the fort in summer at least 13 times from New Delhi.
Infrastructure &Architecture:
- The infrastructure of the garden is inspired by the Islamic garden known as Persian gardens. The garden is built on a square land with the center place as its main water source. The modification is done because of the water well availability. The modification is done by changing the main channel of water from the garden to axially from top to lower point.
- The center channel of water is known as Shah Nahar which is the main axis of the Shalimar garden. The garden covers an area of 12.4 hectares of land(31 acres). The three terraced gardens are fitted with many fountains in the center and with chinar tree-lined vistas. The garden is built near the Dal lake and linked through a canal of 1 mile.
- The Shalimar garden is also called as Crown of Srinagar.
- The first terrace is a public garden or outer garden in Diwan-e-Aam(public audience hall). On this terrace, a small marble throne is built near the waterfall. The second terrace is built near the canal. The Diwan-e-Khas, the garden of nobleman or guest can alone enter through this terrace. The garden is surrounded by carved stone bases and fountains.
- The third terrace is Zenana garden accompanied by loads of chinar trees and its water supplied from the axial canal. The entry of the third terrace is guarded by two platforms as bodyguards. Zenana terrace is used only for royal guests.[Shalimar garden]
- The black pavilion which is built by Shah Jahan is built of Marble which is covered by water fountains. The black pavilion has an inscription in Persian written by a Persian poet saying “If there is a paradise on earth, it is here, it is here, it is here”.
Best time to visit Shalimar:
beautyful view of Mosque from shalimar garden
- The best time to visit Shalimar garden is either during the spring or autumn season (mid-February to mid-April and September-October).[Shalimar garden] This is the time when the flowers in the garden are in their full bloom and chinar trees change color from green to orange which gives a warm glow to the garden.[Shalimar garden]
- Many people suggest visiting the garden in the morning and sometime before the sunset because of the groovy feeling that makes the people so relaxed and happy. The Shalimar is a place for families and for couples to spend a romantic date with their loved ones.
- The garden can be reached by any means of transport it is 25km from the airport of Srinagar, and 22km from Railway station.
- The Shalimar is considered as the Mughal’s best Horticulture to India. The Jahangir’s pure love expression is now a tourist spot for the people. It can be taken as the mantle of love to grow for the upcoming generation of people.[Shalimar garden] Let’s show our love towards our best friends and special ones and live a happy life.[Shalimar garden]
Pinjore Gardens:Natural Beauty– Erakina
A charming place for visitors to visit Bedni “Bugyal hill station”- Erakina
Abeautyful Anamudi Shola National Park what you know about it– Erakina
By Mukesh Kumar U M
24/01/2022