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From ancient times, flowers,
plants and trees have been greatly admired and
cultivated in India. There are numerous references to
gardens in the Sanskrit and Buddhist literature.
However, the first documented records of gardening and
its techniques are found in the Muslim history of India,
which were first introduced from Central Asia and
Persia, taking root under various Muslim rulers who
ruled the land. They improved the existing styles of
gardens and developed their own, which culminated in the
beautiful gardens built by the Mughal rulers of India.
The Afghan and the Pathans who
had come to India along with the Muslim armies excelled
in the art of building massive forts and mosques. Some
of the grandest and the most beautiful buildings in
India belong to this period. However, there is hardly
any trace left of the gardens that once surrounded these
buildings. The early period of Muslim rule in India was
full of troubled times. Kings rose and fell with
astonishing rapidity. Wars and politics in this troubled
region left no time for leisure activities like
developing and planting gardens.
Feroz Shah
Tughlaq who ruled Delhi from 1351 to 1388 had a
comparatively peaceful reign compared to the rulers
before him. According to the records that have survived,
more than one hundred gardens were built around Delhi
under the royal patronage, but unfortunately today none
of them is left. All their fountains, tanks and terraces
are gone and their records have been lost in the
history. But a few old canals of this period survive in
some parts of North India.
Nearly two
centuries later, in the year 1526, Muhammad Babur
arrived in the scene. After consolidating his rule in
North India, he made Agra his capital and commenced the
construction of buildings and gardens in India. The
first garden constructed by him-later renamed as Ram
Bagh by the Marathas in the eighteenth century-was on
the banks of the River Jamuna. It is one of the earliest
Mughal gardens still surviving in modern India. Writing
in his memoirs ‘Babar Nama’, he describes his search for
a perfect spot to build his garden.
“Shortly after
coming to Agra, I passed the Jamuna and examined a fit
spot for a garden in Agra. First of all, I began to sink
a large well, then proceeded to build a large tank ’an
enclosure’ and the grand hall of audience in front of
the stone palace. I next finished the private apartments
completed the baths and produced gardens, which
possessed considerable regularity. In every corner, I
planted suitable gardens - sowed roses in beds
corresponding to one another. The men of Hind gave the
name Kabul to the side, on which the palaces were
built.”
Earlier to this,
Babur had planted and improved many of the gardens in
Kabul. Some of the gardens that are described in length
in his memoirs are Bagh-e-Wafa (The Garden of Fidelity),
which overlooked the river that flowed between the fort
and the palace. Babur had plantains brought from Lahore,
and planted them in this garden along with sugarcane,
flowers, oranges and pomegranate trees. There were
plenty of reservoirs for water and the garden grew and
thrived under his personal care.
Another important
garden mentioned by Babur in his memoirs is Bagh-e-Kilan
in Kabul. The fruits from this garden were distributed
free to wayfarers and beggars who passed by its gates.
It was believed that a garden meant for this purpose
should be acquired by fair means or else its possession
would bring misfortune on its owner. Babur writes that
he acquired it by paying the full price of the garden to
its owner. Babur had also built near Kabul, in the
district of Istalif, another beautiful garden, which was
the place where he was finally buried.
The rule of
Humayun, Babur’s son and successor, was short and
troubled. He was also the father of Akbar the Great. His
capital was in Purana Qila Fort in Delhi, which is now
in ruins. And, the tomb raised by Humayun in the memory
of his first wife was the first great architectural
monument of Mughal India. It is also the place where
Humayun was buried. The mausoleum has a garden that is
built in the form of a square in an area covering 13
acres and is one of the earliest Mughal gardens, which
still preserves intact its original plan. Today, the
garden looks bare and disappointing, swept bare of the
trees, fruits and flowers that characterized the Mughal
gardens of that age.
Five and half
miles to the north of Agra, is Sikandrah, the tomb of
Emperor Akbar (1556-1605) built on the site of Sikandar
Lodi’s garden. The mausoleum stands on a wide platform
in a vast plain surrounded by gardens in a huge square
enclosure with high walls. The gardens here, were
constructed on the lines of the earlier gardens built by
Akbar, with each side surrounded by tanks supplying
water to the narrow canals placed in the center of the
raised stone pathways. Akbar had commenced the mausoleum
in his lifetime but his son Jahangir completed it after
his death. The present garden with its grass, scattered
trees, and raised stone walks preserve in its bare
outline, somewhat of the garden’s original plan.
Akbar was the
first emperor to enter Kashmir. He built a fort in
Srinagar on the Green Hill and planned a large garden on
the shores of the Lake Dal to the north of Srinagar,
which he called Naseem Bagh. Akbar’s garden stands in a
fine open position overlooking the lake. Since then, the
walls, canals and fountains of the garden have almost
disappeared. The green turf that covers the ruined
masonry terraces of Naseem Bagh rising from water still
give the gardens an enchanting look as when it was first
built. Avenues of Chinar trees-prized for their size,
beauty and dense shade-were added to it long after the
garden was laid out. The Ain-e-Akbari gives an account
of the large number of flowers, trees and plants in the
gardens of Akbar and names the horticulturists who had
come to Delhi from Iran and Turan and settled in Delhi
under the patronage of Akbar.
The Emperor
Jahangir and his wife Nur Jahan lavished almost all
their attention on Kashmir and Lahore, the northern
cities of the Mughal Empire. Nur Jahan his wife had made
Kashmir-the Terrestrial Paradise of India-the summer
quarters of their court. It is recorded that the entire
Mughal court undertook the journey from Delhi to
Kashmir, no less than thirteen times to hold their
summer court, crossing the dangerous snowy passes of the
Pir Panjal mountain range on elephants. Bernier in his
travels, during the time of Aurangzeb, also describes at
length about the private gardens of nobles constructed
along the banks of Jamuna River. He writes that the city
palace had a garden with a fountain in it with various
trees, shrubs and flowers for the ladies of the Harem (Zenana).
As a young man,
Jahangir had constructed several Mughal gardens in the
City of Udaipur in Rajasthan. Empress Nur Jahan had a
mausoleum built on the banks of the Jamuna River, near
Ram Bagh, in the memory of her father Mirza Ghiyas Beg.
The tomb of Itimad-ud-Daulah as it is called today, is
one of the most beautiful of all garden-tombs in Delhi
with its perfect inlaid marble work and Persian tile
mosaics. Asaf Khan the brother of Nur Jahan built
another beautiful garden - the Nishat Bagh- on the
mountainside overlooking the Dal Lake of Kashmir. It was
one of the prettiest of all Mughal gardens - built with
fountains, water tanks and flowers.
When Shah Jahan
visited Kashmir in 1638, he took an immediate liking to
Nishat Bagh. Its high terraces, wonderful view of the
lake and mountain delighted him. He made his admiration
of the garden known to Asaf Khan, his father-in-law, on
three occasions hoping that it would be handed over to
him immediately. But Asaf Khan could not bring himself
to surrender his cherished garden to the Emperor. Shah
Jahan was angry with Asaf Khan for refusing to take the
hint. He ordered the water supply to the garden to be
cut off and soon the Nishat Bagh was shorn of all its
beauty.
Asaf Khan who was
staying in his summer palace could do nothing. His
entire household was plunged in grief at the state of
his garden. One day, he sat by the watercourse, sad and
depressed, and at length fell asleep. He was awakened to
the sound of rushing water. The fountains in his garden
were playing again and its waterways were white with
foam from the water rushing into his garden. At first,
Asaf Khan refused to believe his eyes. He soon found out
that a loyal servant had risked his life and defied the
royal orders by removing the obstruction that had been
placed across the stream. Asaf Khan rebuked him for his
zeal and hastily ordered the stream closed again. But,
the news had already reached the ears of the emperor
resting in the adjoining gardens of Shalimar. He ordered
the terrified servant brought before him and instead of
punishing him ordered a robe of honor bestowed on him
for his loyalty. At the same time, he ordered water to
be restored again to Nishat Bagh.
The famous
Shalimar Bagh in Srinagar is named after a village in
its neighborhood. The Emperor Jahangir had laid out a
plan for constructing it in the year 1619. The garden
had running canals and its pathways were overshadowed
with large Chinar trees. It was also the Mughal Imperial
Summer Residence. The garden was divided into three
parts with the outer garden terminating at Diwan-e-Aam
with a small black marble throne standing over a
waterfall. This part of the garden would be thrown open
to the public so that they may see the emperor enthroned
in the Hall of the Public Audience. The central garden
was meant for the exclusive use of the emperor and the
third garden with its black marble pavilion was built
for the private use of the ladies of Shah Jahan.
All the finest
Mughal gardens were built in beautiful natural
landscapes or centering in the region of a hillside,
like the Achibal Bagh on the way to Islamabad. Bernier
on his visit to Achibal writes of a fountain in the
garden that dispersed water into a hundred canals built
near the house. He also writes: “the springs gush out of
the earth with violence, as if it is issued from the
bottom of some well. The garden is very handsome, laid
out in regular walks, and full of flowers and fruit
treesfishponds are in great number, and there is a lofty
cascade, which in its fall takes the form and color of a
large sheetforty paces in length, producing the finest
effect imaginable; especially at night, when innumerable
lamps are lighted under the sheet of water.”
Nur Jahan’s
favorite Kashmir garden was Verinag Bagh, built nineteen
miles away from Kashmir on the road to Islamabad.
Verinag is supposed to be the source of Jhelum River.
Jahangir and Nur Jahan had built their palace by the
side of the pool. Later, during the course of a journey,
Jahangir had died in a mountain pass, which was very
near to Verinag. His dying wish was to be brought back
to Verinag and be buried by the spring. But his last
wish had to be set aside as there was a danger that the
mountain passes being closed due to heavy snowfall. The
Court of Jahangir continued on with their journey
bearing the last remains of the emperor to Lahore.
Wah Bagh owes its
name to Emperor Akbar who was so struck by its beauty
that it drew from him an exclamation “Wah! Bagh!” (Oh!
What a garden!). The garden was located near the Grand
Trunk Road on the way to Kashmir. It covered a land area
that was a quarter of a mile in length and half of that
in breadth. Today, the gateways, its turrets, and the
boundary wall are in a sad state of ruin. Water tanks
were kept to the east of the garden and to the west
there was a residence built for the emperor. The garden
was built here on account of its underground springs
that gush out from the northwest foot of the hill of
Baba Wali. Hieun Tsang, the Chinese Buddhist pilgrim
records in his travels of his journey from Taxila to
visit the springs of the Wah Gardens.
Shah Jahan had
the Shalimar Gardens built in Lahore on the model of his
father’s Kashmir Garden. Ali Mardan Khan, his royal
architect commenced building the gardens in 1634. This
garden had huge water tanks and hundreds of fountains in
it. Earlier to this, the architect had constructed a
canal, which supplied Shah Jahan’s Delhi with water so
that each house in the city could have its fountains and
tanks. For the Shalimar Gardens at Lahore, he
constructed pavilions on the three sides of the gardens.
The gardens were once filled with plants of different
kinds, flowers, orange, lemon and cypress trees.
The Taj Mahal is
familiar to all as the garden-tomb of Empress Mumtaz
Mahal-the lady of the Taj. Few people realize the close
connection of the whole group of buildings near this
famous mausoleum, and that of the garden that was
originally planned formed an integral part of one great
design. Bernier writing in 1600 CE giving an early
account of the Taj gardens in his book says: “To the
left and right of the dome and on the lower surface you
observe several gardens with trees and many flowers.
Between the end of the principal walk and this dome is
an open-large space, which I call a water partition,
because the stones on which you walk represent the
borders of a box in our partitions.” Today, the gardens
of the Taj bear a faint resemblance to the partitions of
the garden and flowerbeds described by Bernier in his
book, and the original mix of cypress trees and
flowerbeds, the chief characteristics of the Muslim
garden-craft are nowhere to be seen.
The few Mughal
gardens that have survived the ravages of time are the
burial places of Muslim princes and nobles and respect
for the last resting place the dead appears to be the
only motive for the protection of a garden. Lacking this
safeguard, gardens like the Shalimar Bagh in Delhi,
noted for its beauty in the past and built at a cost of
two lakh rupees by one of Shah Jahan’s wife, Bibi
Akbarabadi, lies in ruins. Another garden built at the
bottom of the Lidar valley at Bijbehara, formerly named
as Dara Shikoh's Garden, after Shah Jahan’s eldest son,
is also in ruins. It was a double garden built on either
side of the Lidar River, and was joined together by a
stone bridge. And, inside Delhi are Roshan Ara and Jahan
Ara’s garden-tombs. They were both daughters of Mumtaz
Mahal and were great patronesses of arts and letters.
After the fall of
the Mughal Empire, raids and wars, and years of unstable
governments along with adverse European influences have
all but destroyed the art of Indian garden-craft and
gardening. The legacy of constructing huge beautiful
gardens - left by the Royal Gardeners of Mughal India -
still awaits a revival in India. |
