AMRIT
UDYAN - ART AND CULTURE
News:
Mughal Gardens will now
be called as Amrit Udyan
What's
in the news?
●
The Rashtrapati Bhavan gardens - popularly
known as the Mughal Gardens was renamed as Amrit Udyan on January 28, 2023.
Key
takeaways:
●
The gardens are thrown open for the public
for a limited period during spring each year.
Mughal
Garden:
●
Designed by Edwin Lutyens - the iconic garden is spread across 15-acres and it
incorporates both Mughal and English landscaping styles.
●
The main garden has two channels
intersecting at right angles dividing the garden into grid of squares - a Charbagh (a four cornered garden) - a
typical characteristic of the Mughal landscaping.
●
There are six lotus shaped fountains at
the crossings of these channels rising to a height of 12 feet.
●
The gardens house nearly 2500 varieties of
Dahlias and 120 varieties of roses.
Other
gardens of Rashtrapati Bhavan:
●
The Rashtrapati Bhavan houses a variety of
gardens.
●
Originally, they included East Lawn, Central Lawn, Long Garden and
Circular Garden.
●
During the term of former Presidents APJ
Abdul Kalam and Ram Nath Kovind, more gardens were developed - such as Herbal-I, Herbal-II, Tactile Garden, Bonsai
Garden and Arogya Vanam.
The herbal garden, bonsai
garden, central lawn, long garden and circular garden are now collectively called Amrit Udyan.
Go
back to basics:
Mughal
Gardens:
●
Mughal garden designs are heavily
influenced by the medieval Islamic gardens and are often seen as a place of
rest and reflection.
●
These gardens are considered to be a
reminder of paradise.
●
The concept of a planned garden, also
known as the Charbagh was introduced in South Asia by the Mughal Emperor Babur.
Features:
●
A defining feature of these gardens is the
use of waterways, often to demarcate
the various quadrants of the garden.
●
These were not only crucial to maintain
the flora of the garden, they also were an important part of its aesthetic.
●
Fountains were often built, symbolising
the “cycle of life.”
Charbagh
Style:
●
Charbagh is a Persian-style garden layout, in which the main building is put at
the centre of a quadrilateral garden, divided by walkways or flowing water into
four smaller parts.
●
Charbagh style was brought to India by
Mughals.
●
Humayun’s
tomb and Taj Mahal in India are the most famous examples of
this style.
●
In the Charbagh at the Taj Mahal, each of
the four parts contains sixteen flower beds.