The garden spreads westwards from the Rectangular
Garden to the Circular Garden through the Long Garden,
which is the only part of the garden with no water
channels. Over here, Lutyens designed a delightful
Pergola, on which bougainvillaea creepers grow. On
the sides, it has separate beds of roses with small
trimmed hedges of Ingadulets, creating an effect of
coloured knots on a vast carpet.
The gardens end quite simply in the round pool in
the middle of a sunken circle. Around the pool are
massed segmental and tiered flower beds attracting
butterflies. This part is the Circular Garden, also
called Pearl Garden and Butterfly Garden.
- The Mughal Garden is located in the premises of
the President house. This garden is not opened to
public viewing. During the spring seasons of February
and March, when the garden is in full bloom people
are allowed inside. This garden have some exotic and
rare flower plants. The dwarf orange trees and numerous
Rose plants are special attraction in the garden.
The fountains add to the beauty of the place.
Some of the influences on Mughal Gardens may derive
from the Hindu and Buddhist civilizations of India.
Others reached India with the conquerors, who followed
earlier Islamic invaders (Arab, Seljuk, Persian, Afgan
etc). A Turkic language was spoken in Mongolia and
the people were skilled horsemen. Their empire functioned
as a bridge between West and East enabling the exchange
of ideas and technology between Europe and China.
The Mongol conquest of Persia led to their adoption
of Persian culture, including its religion, art, architecture,
script and language. The gardens of the Islamic world
drew upon Persian and Christian sources, which themselves
drew from the ancient civilisations of Egypt and Mesopotamia.
The situation is further complicated by the fact that
hardly anything survives of the old garden culture
in this vast region. Though written without the innumerable
qualifications proper to the circumstances, what follows
is a hypothesis which attempts to set Mughal gardens
in a broad West Asian context. |