HERITAGE Rediscovering LALBAGH THE BANDSTAND AT LALBAGH, built around 150 years ago, was the early location of the flower shows. Behind the bandstand is a towering Christmas tree (Araucaria columnaris) that can be seen from any part of the garden. 101 F RONTLINE . A PRIL 23, 2021 V.K. Thiruvady’s book on Lalbagh, arguably one of India’s best public gardens, provides an evocative account of this fantastic arboreal world in Bengaluru and comprehensively traces its history from its early days. Text by VIKHAR AHMED SAYEED and photographs by K. MURALI KUMAR FOR a long period in its modern history, Bengaluru was known by the touristy moniker “Garden City” as verdant patches of greenery enveloped its fledgling urbanity. Little traffic plied on its long stretches of tree- lined promenades, which were ubiquitous, and residents were proud of their well-maintained home gardens, which evoked a salubrious feeling among visitors who came from hotter climes. Bengaluru’s primary selling point has always been its pleasant weather, and it was because of this and its extensive network of public parks and the toddling pace of life its residents led that Karnataka’s capital city was also alluringly, but tritely, known as a “pensioner’s paradise”. Over the past few decades, as Bengaluru exploded into a megalopolis and acquired the glitzy honorific of India’s “Silicon City”, its dated appellations have fallen out of use, but several public parks, big and small, still straddle the city’s busy boulevards, harking back to an era when Bengaluru was known for its greenery. Of the many green spaces in the city, the two large public gardens of THE GLASS HOUSE AT LALBAGH was completed in 1889 and was meant to be a miniature version of the Crystal DURING THE Republic Day Cubbon Park and Lalbagh stand out and continue to hectare) Lalbagh, which lies just a few kilometres away, Palace in Hyde Park, London. It is the site for the annual Lalbagh Flower Show 2020, in the remain on tourists’ itineraries apart from being valuable has a greater claim to being the first garden of the city as Lalbagh flower show. Glass House of Lalbagh on January carbon sinks for the city’s soaring air pollution, a result of its history predates that of Cubbon Park by more than a 17, 2020. (Left) The Glass House is the frenetic activities of its 10 million–plus population. century. the venue of the annual flower While the colonial-era Cubbon Park (no one refers to According to Vijay R. Thiruvady, author of the re- show. It was completed in 1889 and it by its official name, which is Sri Chamarajendra Park) cently published Lalbagh: Sultans’ Garden to Public was meant to be a miniature version is more centrally located as it swaddles the High Court of Park, Lalbagh, or Red Garden, is one of India’s best of the Crystal Palace in Hyde Park, Karnataka and lies opposite Vidhana Soudha, the seat of public gardens as “it has the most diverse collection of London. the State government, the 240-acre (one acre is 0.4 trees and plants in the country from all over the world F RONTLINE . A PRIL 23, 2021 102 103 F RONTLINE . A PRIL 23, 2021 THE YELLOW TRUMPETBUSH (Tecoma stans) THE SPECTACULAR FLOWERS of the pink poui THE MYSORE TRUMPETVINE (Thungbergia mysorensis) is a profusely flowering creeper. is a flowering shrub native to South America. (Tabebuia rosea) tree, which was originally native to South Its bright yellow flowers are full of nectar and America. This tree sheds all its leaves in spring, and for attract bees. around 10 days, its flowers blossom in a glorious outburst. THE FLOWER OF THE GOLDEN THE SPIKY FLOWER of the crimson bottlebrush (Callistemon citrinus) shrub, CHALICE VINE (Solandra which is native to Australia. The stamens, when packed together, resemble a FLOWERS BELONGING TO THE ALPINIA GENUS of plants, with their glass-like, translucent petals. These flowering maxima) plant, which is endemic bottlebrush. Bees can be found hovering around its flowers, which are full of plants are native to the Philippines and Taiwan. to Brazil. nectar. F RONTLINE . A PRIL 23, 2021 104 105 F RONTLINE . A PRIL 23, 2021 A BANYAN STRANGLER FIG of the Ficus genus, which sprouts from a seed the size of a pinhead most probably dropped by a passing bird. The strangler draws nourishment from its host, in this case a palm tree, throttling it in the process. THE LAST REMAINING MANGO TREE dating back to Tipu Sultan’s era. This tree is the pride of Lalbagh and still produces up to a tonne of mangoes every two years. F RONTLINE . A PRIL 23, 2021 106 107 F RONTLINE . A PRIL 23, 2021 A CLUMP OF AFRICAN JUNIPER TREES and includes flora from tropical, equatorial and temper- (Juniperus procera) planted during Gustav ate regions”. In his book, the self-trained botanist and Hermann Krumbiegel’s tenure as historian has provided an evocative account of the story Superintendent of Lalbagh. The African juniper of Lalbagh that comprehensively traces the garden’s his- is the only one of the 45 juniper species to be tory from its early days. found in the southern hemisphere. Thiruvady, who is almost 80, was speaking to Front- line as he led this correspondent on one of his Lalbagh walks, which have become renowned in Bengaluru over the past 16 years. The corporate consultant began to conduct these walks in 2005 and, on most weekend mornings since then, could be found leading a motley group of 15 to 30 people through tree-lined trails in the garden while explaining the fantastic arboreal world that is Lalbagh. Thiruvady had to cease his weekend sojourns to the park, which he loves passionately, early last year after he suffered a stroke that left him deaf in one ear. The COVID-19 pandemic also ensured that he was kept away from his beloved Lalbagh since his recovery. Stepping into the garden after this long absence, Thiruvady kept glancing around restlessly as he tried to absorb the beauty of the garden. The walk began at the foot of the “Lalbagh rock”, as Thiruvady referred to the small granite hill crowned by one of the four boundary towers erected by Kempegowda I (1510-69), who is often identified as the founder of Bengaluru. Thiruvady was easily recognisable by his fe- dora, which looked similar to the one worn by Indiana Jones. He leaned on his colourful walking stick and explained the significance of the “rock” in the planet’s early geological history. What lay in front of us was a Gneiss Complex, and according to Lalbagh, “this rocky VIJAY R. THIRUVADY, the author of “Lalbagh: Sultans’ Gardens to Public Park”. (Left) The book (Bangalore Environment Trust, Bengaluru, 2020; Rs.750) contains rare botanical illustrations from the mid 19th century. F RONTLINE . A PRIL 23, 2021 108 109 F RONTLINE . A PRIL 23, 2021 plateau rafted on to the lithosphere of the earth and A MANGO TREE from Tipu Sultan’s era felled a few years A BUDDHA STATUE carved out of a fallen eucalyptus tree stabilised in its present form” around 3.5 billion years ago ago. A local sculptor fashioned a Ganesha, octopuses and trunk and appropriately placed under a massive peepal, or after the earth’s tectonic plates moved around like coins ammonites from the trunk. bodhi, tree (Ficus religiosa). The Buddha attained on a carrom board over millions of years. Thus, because enlightenment under a peepal tree. of its importance, the hill was declared a National Geolo- garden into what forms the core of modern Lalbagh. Tipu gical Monument in 1975. even sourced seeds and saplings from places as far away After Heyne’s tenure, the upkeep of the garden be- According to Thiruvady, the finding of the “stone as Cape Town in South Africa. Thiruvady records in came the responsibility of Captain Wilbert Waugh, who slabs, referred to as Nishidhikallus and Virakallus” is Lalbagh that Francis Buchanan-Hamilton, who sur- was “given the designation of Official Keeper of Lalbagh”. evidence that Jain and Hindu communities lived in the veyed Tipu’s territory after the his death at the hands of During Waugh’s helming of the garden between 1807 area around Lalbagh, but the origins of the garden can be the British in 1799, visited the garden and wrote: “I and 1819, “he introduced plants, fruits and vegetables traced to the reign of Kempegowda, who laid out a flower visited the gardens made by the late Mussulman princes, from Europe and China. Waugh introduced fruit trees, garden “in 1537 with a view to growing flowers for wor- Hyder and Tippoo. They are extensive and divided into which included apricots, peaches and apples and trees of shipping in temples”. The boundary tower has been re- square plots, separated by walks, the sides of which are interest to a botanical garden, namely junipers, oaks and furbished “and made to look like a Hindu mantapa”, but ornamented with fine cypress trees.” thujas.” William Munro, another army man, also came to when it was originally built, it marked the southern A living remnant of this connection with the Mysore ONE OF THE MANY CENTURIES-OLD NANDI statues be in charge of the garden and made observations such as border of Bengaluru. rulers is present to this day: Thiruvady pointed out a found in Lalbagh. This statue is located at the base of a “Mauritius sugarcane grew well” and “sheep dung is the giant mango tree that Tipu Sultan purportedly planted in rain tree (Samanea saman) near the Lalbagh rock.