Garden City - memorable and exotic

by Chanuka Mannapperuma

Bangalore is also famous for its fine sprawling gardens that boost exotic flora and fauna. To my delight, I sighted several gardens, big and small during my sightseeing tour. LalBagh was one of the important one among the gardens.

The name LalBagh has been given to it for the wonderfully bloomed red roses that remain blooming all through the year in this garden. A worker at the garden told me that this garden was laid out by Hyder Ali.

In fact, the nature loving citizens have planted many trees along the roads which has enabled the city to maintain its green looks despite its rapid expansion. Bangalore is therefore relevantly called the "Garden City" of India.

The enthralling 240-acre LalBagh Garden is located on the southern fringes of the city and it has broad gravelled walks and fountains. It was interesting for me to note that Hyder Ali's son Tipu Sultan improved the garden by importing shrubs from places like Turkey, Mauritius, Persia and France.

In 1856 it was made into a horticultural garden and placed under the management of a superintendent from the Kew Gardens in London. Now it is maintained by the department of horticulture. LalBagh has acquired India's first lawn-clock and the subcontinent's largest collection of rare plants.

Design and Lay-out-I was quite astounded to see the layout of the garden and it literally impressed me .This garden is laid out in typical Mughal style with a separate plot for each kind of plant. A worker said it has around 1000 species of flora. Some of the trees in the garden are over 100 years old.

Inside, the garden is aesthetically designed, with lawns, flowerbeds, lotus pools and fountains, LalBagh Rock, Maharajah statute, Aquarium, band stand, rose garden, lake, tree fossil, glass house, dove coat, Japanese garden, Kempe gowea tower-one of the oldest rock formations on earth dating back to 3000 million years- it is awesome.

The botanical garden is enriched with numerous native and exotic flora of wide ranging diversity, use and interest. LalBagh Garden is a community garden which attracts many visitors both local and foreign. The collection of the plants has made it a veritable treasure house of plants.

Indigenous species such as Artocarpus heterophyllous, Bombax ceiba, Butea monosperma, Cassia fistula , Dillenia indica, Ficus sp, Lagerstromia speciosa, Michelia champaca, Mesua ferrea etc, can be seen. In addition, a number of ornamental and economic plant species both of exotic and indigenous origin can be found in LalBagh.

The Glass House-"In the necklace of Bangalore's parks, Lalbagh is the pendant. And set at the heart of this pendant is a diamond in the form of the Glass House. Let the Glass House bring eternal joy to the people and may the Glass House celebrate not one but many centennial years in perpetuity.

Designed, originally, on the lines of the Crystal Palace in England, it was built with the specific objective of providing a sequestered locale for flower shows. But, over time, its scope has widened. The Glass House is now a national venue for conducting various meetings and public functions."

The floral wealth of LalBagh covers an area of 97 hectares inside the garden the Glass House, built in 1889 to commemorate the visit of Prince Albert of Wales during the reign of Chamaraja Wodeyar.

The Bangalore Development Authority decided to illuminate selected landmarks as part of the beautification of the city. The project included illuminating the pathways and the Glass House. The preferred lamp colour temperature was in the neutral to white range.

The greatest challenge was how to light the Glass House, an enormous structure of glass and steel pipes measuring approximately 200 m x 200 m.

The inside is lit with Master Colour 70W reflector lamps. The external steel columns were lit with specially designed luminaries featuring incandescent PAR lamps. This source was selected to create contrast in colour appearance and because of the limited mounting space for the luminaries (which required control gear). The pathways were lit with bollards and post-top lanterns.

Among Indians LalBagh Garden is famous as Lover's Garden, and I have no second thoughts about it. No doubt, it is one of the most romantic places I have seen so far in India.

I took my leave from LalBagh, and the experience of that monumental city has been carved in my memory. It was a brief visit and what I saw was beyond what is creative.

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