Mughal Gardens

Mughal Gardens

Context:

  • The iconic Mughal Gardens at the Rashtrapati Bhavan (President’s House) in Delhi have been renamed.
  • The collective identity of all the gardens at Rashtrapati Bhavan will be ‘Amrit Udyan’.

Background:

  • The Mughals were known to value gardens and encouraging gardening. In Babur Nama, Babur declares that the Persian charbagh form of garden is his favourite type (literally, four gardens).
  • The charbagh building was designed to be a symbol of the jannat, an earthly utopia where people live in perfect harmony with all other parts of nature.
  • These gardens may be found all over the former Mughal realms and are distinguished by their rectilinear patterns, divided into four equal portions.
  • All of them are constructed in this manner, earning them the name “Mughal Gardens,” including the ones encircling Humanyun’s Tomb in Delhi and the Nishat Bagh in Srinagar.
  • The usage of streams to mark off the garden’s various quadrants is one of their distinctive features.
  • These were not only essential for maintaining the garden’s flora, but they were also a significant component of its attractiveness.
  • Fountains were frequently constructed as a symbol of the “cycle of life.”

How it came into the Rashtrapathi Bhavan?

  • The British made the decision to move to Delhi from Calcutta as the capital of India in 1911. It would be a massive undertaking to build a brand-new city, New Delhi, to serve as the British Crown’s administrative capital in its most lucrative colony.
  • The Viceroy’s House on Raisina Hill was built on roughly 4,000 acres of land, with Sir Edwin Lutyens tasked with designing the structure.
  • Indian and traditional European architectural features were integrated in Lutyens’ designs, creating a distinctive aesthetic that continues to characterize Lutyens’ Delhi today.
  • It was during this time the Mughal Garden was set up in the Rashtrapathi Bhavan. 

 

Source The Indian Express

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