.!,'1.~\lj , !i ',1 l ili~'c t ~ , m ; Il,\,! r,, , ri " li 'ii' !i'! ; fi 'rfl Shalamar Garden * fit 1 , j:~[ Master Plan tr 1. Introduction which nature and man have combined WaIled gardens with raised walk to make it so lovely and where history ways (khayaban), open fronted sum- and legend have woven so much ro- mer pavilions (baradaris), canaIs with mance. running water, large tanks with Shalamar Garden is located in fountains are an important feature of Baghbanpura along G. T. Road, some MughaI architecture. Emperor Babur, cm .three and half miles North east of the ;~!~ the founder of the MughaI dynasty , is main city. The garden was laid at the ~~ known to have laid out a nurnber of i!; command of Emperor Shah Jahan charrnlng gardens at Kabul, Agra and i" (1627-1658A. C.)on 3rdRabi-ul-Awal ? : other places. Akbar and Jahangir aIso ~!I" " 1051 A.H. (1641 A.C.). It was com- enjoyed gardens and made them an pleted in seventeen months four days integral part of their palaces. Shah on the 7thSha'ban 1052 A. H.(1642 A. Jahan, the architect-king of the MughaI C.) at a cost of 6 lakhs (six hundred dynasty, introduced the features ofter- thousand) Rupees. The project was races, cascades and a Turkish Bath completed under the superintendence (Hammam) in the gardens. The nobles of Kharnullah Khan, a noble of Shah and grandees of the court followed the examples set by the emperor and aIl Jahan's Court, in cooperation with Ali important cities of the empire possessed Mardan Khan and Mulla Ala ul-Mulk a nurnber of charrning gardens.Lahore, Tuni. the Darus Saltanat of the MughaIst had Shalarnar is variously written and a large nurnber of fine gardensand was pronounced and interpreted in many known as a city of gardens. ways. The most plausible interpreta- Shalamar garden, the Versailles of tion seems to be that shalarnar is com- Pakistan, is the embodiment of the posed oftwo words 'shall' and mar'. ln MughaI conception of a perfect garden Kashmiri language these words mean and represents their land-scape archi- 'paddy' and 'black' loamy soil 're- tecture at its best. The deliciously cool spectively' The combined word ,~;,l 'ôi and pleasant atmosphereof the garden, 'Shalimar' would thereforemean 'black (f caIrn waters of its tanks and canaIs, loarny soil for paddy' and indeed the jet ting fountains, rippling and singing site of the first Shalimar in Srinagar did ?~~~ cascades,swinging cypressesand long possess such a soil. The popular narne shady waIk ways have endeared the 'Shalamar' is a corruption of the origi- hearts of many a spirited soul. Perhaps nal 'Shalimar'. The officiaI nameof the there is no other garden in the world in gardens was Bagh-Farah Bakhsh and 204 ~ Shalamar I~n -Prescrvation ~ Res~tion Faix Bakhsh. Farah Bakhsh which and winter seasons including mango, means 'pleasure giving' was applied to cherry, apricot, peach, plum, gokcha the highest terrace and 'Faiz Bakhsh' sultani (Rae Jaman), apple, almond, corresponding to 'bountiful' was used quince, seedless mulberry , sour and for the middle and the lowest terraces sweet oranges etc., saplings of cypress, together. poplar and varieties of odoriferous and Shalamar Garden, enclosedby a high non-ordoriferous plants and shrubs. perimeter wall bas been laid out in three 2. Buildings of the Garden descending terracesfrom south to north. 2.1 The Highest Terrace The garden measures2006 feet north to a)Aram Gah south and 874 feet east to west, some The highest terrace contains the royal forty acres in area. The highest and the residential buildings. The building in lowest terraces measuring 874' x 874' the middle of the southern side is the each are di vided into four equal parts by Aram Gah (resting place of the em- the cross canaIs and raised brick pave- peror.). It has a marble dado and its ments laid along 'both banks of the large middleroom contains acup shaped canals. There is a tank at the crossing of marble cistern with a jet ting fountain. the canals. The middle terrace measur- On its sides are two chambers. The ing 874' x 254" is 4' -6" higherthanthe front is occupied by an aiwan with three side ones. The central part is mainly arched openings on the northern side occupied by the great tanks and four and one each on the east and the west. pavilions. The side anes measure296' x As a result of the change in the align- 254' and are utilised for grassy plots, ment of the Grand Trunk Road the cypresses, pucca flower beds and small Aram Gah was converted into a main cistems. entrance by Major Macgregor, Deputy Irrigation -Shah N~lhar Comrnissioner, Lahore circa 1850 A.D . To irrigate the garden a canal named b) Naqqar Khana Shah Nahar (Royal Canal) later also The building in the centre of the known as 'Hansh Canal' was brought eastern side is now known as Naqqar from Rajpur (present Madhupur, in Khana, a place of drums or fanfare. India),a distance of over a hundred Originally it was the Jharoka-e-Daulat miles. It was planned by Ali Mardan Khana-e-Khas-o-Am or the Balcony of Khan, the weIl known Canal Engineer the Hall of Private and Public Audi- of Shah Jahan, and completed by Mulla ence. It has its own separate enclosure Ala ul Mulk Tuni, an expert in hydrol- which stilI e~ists but in a ruinous condi- ogy .The total cost incurred came to tion with a pavilion or baradari in its rupees two lakhs. Besides the canal, centre which in aIl probability served as two large wells, one on the west and the Arz Bagi, the office of the Minister of other on the south of the highest terrace, the Court. were used for supplying water to the c) Begum Ki Khwabgah fountain. The weIl on the west is known The building in the middle of the as Bara Hat ta. west side is the Khwabgah, sleeping Plantation chambers of the Empress. The present On the 24th Jamadal Ula A. H. 1051 ceiling of this building is of the Sikh (1641 A.C.) was commenced the plan- period of about 1838 A. C. During the tation of the fruit trees of the summer early British period this building was 205 ~ "~ il Muhammad Ishliaq Khan ill !~ " used as a Rest House for the local another version the repairs were carried population. It is now in a dilapidated out by Maharaja Sher Singh. condition. The western part of the b) Great Tank Khawabgah bas disappeared and a The central part of the middle Ter- modern water reservoir bas been built race contains a big tank measuring over its remains. 218'x191' with some152 fountains. ln d) The Aiwan the middle of the southern side of this The arcaded building in the middle tank and just opposite the great cascade of the northern side of the tenace over~ (19'-8"x14'-6") standsthe marblethrone looking the great marble cascade and (8'-10"x6'-2"x3'-8"). On the easternand the two lower tenaces, is the Aiwan or western sides of this tank are located the Grand Hall. It bas three cusped two pavilions now mostly lime plas- arched openings in its long side and tered. Accordingto MullaAbdulHamid two each in the other sides. It bas mar~ Lahori, these pavilions were originally ble dado and originally its walls were built in red sandstone which were re- decorated with panelling and Naqqashi moved during the Sikh period. The pa- (Fresco work). Its present ceiling dates vilion on the east measures 32'- back to the Sikh period of about 1838 2 "x 19' x 16' (height)and thatin the west A. C. This hall was used as a reception 33'..6"x19'-8" x 16' (height.) place during the Royal ceremonies and ln the center of the tank, there is an functions and is still used for statefunc~ island in the form of a raised platform tions. According to KanahyaLal, Ranjit approached by red sandstone cause- Singh removed its marble slabs includ- ways from east and west. This island ing the marble screens(Jali), sent them was used for sitting on moon lit nights to the Golden Temple at (Amritsar) and and for this reasonwas called, Mahtabi. later white washed the surface thus It was orlginally in marble with grilled exposed. 2.2 The middle tenace railing which, like other marble works, a) The Royal Bath was robbed by the Sikh rulers. In the south-east corner of the mid- c) Sawan, Bhadun and Chini Khana dle terace is located a Hammam or On the northern side of this tank Royal Turkish Bath. In fact it lies along stand two pavilions known as Sawan the eastern side of the Middle Terrace and Bhaduneach measuring 21'-6"x13'- and is composedof four chamber,Rakht 5"x14'-6". They are named after the Khana (dressing room), Sard Khana two rainy months of the Pakistani cal- (cold room), Ab-e-Rawan (running endar. They were originally built in water portion), and Khana (hot room), white marble which was removed by Originally the interior of the bath was Maharaja Ranjit Singh. The 'Chini- Khana ' , in fact is a three decoratedwith Parchin Kari (Pietra dura work). The three Sikh rulers of Lahore sided water-fall (abshar) measuring whoruledfrom 1764to 1799 A.C. and 26'-7"x21'-3"and9'-3"deep. Thefourth Ranjit Singh deprived this building of side is open. ln the walls of its three aIl. its Parchin Kari and other decora- sides are provided small niches in tions and ultimately replaced the same marble in which flower vases were circa 1838 A.C.