Persian and Mughal gardens

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SHALIMAR GARDENS


SHALIMAR GARDENS: The word Shalimar means “the abode of love”.

Ownership:

This garden was begun by Jahangir in 1619 and in 1630

Siting:

• It is a terraced garden in the foothills of the mountains overlooking the Dal Lake• It is a sloping site between the hills and the Dal Lake• It is two miles away to the north from Nishat Bagh.

Relationship to site surroundings:

• The pleasure garden- Shalimar Garden of Kashmir maintains a visual link between garden and the valley.

• The space unfolds dramatically with each terrace and the viewer gets a different experience and physical connectivity with the surrounding.

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• It is a royal garden designed for the emperor and the royal ladies.

• LOWEST TERRACE

• The lowest terrace, now truncated by a road was a public space dominated by the Diwan-i-am, or Hall of Public audience, a baradari where the emperor would sit enthroned and received petitioners.

• In this hall, a small black marble throne was installed over the waterfall

This central channel, known as the Shah Nahar, is the main axis of the garden. It runs through three terraces


• THE SECOND GARDEN is slightly broader, consisting of two shallow terraces

• the emperor’s garden; its central pavilion was the Diwan-i-khas, or Hall of Private audience, where members of the court were admitted.

• . The buildings have been destroyed, but their carved stone bases are left, as well as a fine platform surrounded by fountains.

• On the north- west boundary of this enclosure are the royal bathrooms.

• it has 410 fountains


• Above this is the Harem Garden or the Zenana Garden with the magnificent Black Pavilion built by Shah Jahan.

• At the next wall, the little guard-rooms that flank the entrance to the ladies' garden have been rebuilt in Kashmir style on older stone bases. Here the whole effect culminates with the beautiful black marble pavilion built by Shah Jahan, which still stands in the midst of its fountain spray ; the green glitter of the water shining in the smooth, polished marble, the deep rich tone of which is repeated in the old cypress trees.

• It is deeply shaded by two rows of plane trees, and its entrance is guarded by two small symmetrical pavilions


Spatial organization:

Axis:

• The central canal forms the main axis of the garden following the original concept of the Char Bagh.

• This broad straight canal rolls down forming the axis into the lake.

• Even the walks and the pathways that are along the central axis are shaded with trees, reinforcing the axis of the design.

• The regular repetition along the axis forms the symmetrical design of the gardenGeometry:• The overall design of the garden is based upon the Char Bagh concept.

• The garden is divided into squares by the sub canals that flow from the intersections at each terrace level.

• The overall geometry of the garden is rectangular forming the two axes of symmetry at each intersection.

• Regularly planted plane trees further emphasize Shalimar’s geometrical Char Bagh layout while providing welcome shade.


• Water:

• Jahangir’s engineers diverted a stream and directed the water into a broad centralcanal running the length of the entire garden.

• In passing over the garden’s succession of low terrace retaining wallsbefore emptying in lake, the canal forms a series of cascades.

• A line of water jets reinforces the principal axis of canal, and in each poolmore jets animate its surface.

• Water creates the cruciform plan of the true paradise garden.

The change in the grade has been used beautifully by negotiating the levels in a way that terraces have been formed overlooking the Dal Lake. These terraces give different views and reveal the magnificent beauty of the surroundings capturing different views at each level


Vegetation:

• The vegetation also reinforces the axis of the garden.

• It provides the required buffer and shade for each terrace that has different functionassigned to it.

• Chenar trees formed the choice of trees next to the central axis and the walks as thegigantic regular avenues and on either side there are flat irrigated meadows filled withgrass, flowers, and fruit trees.

• The garden was laid in trellised walkways lined by avenues of aspen trees planted at 2 feet(0.61 m) interval.

• willow groves and rice terraces fringed the lake edge.


S

NISHAT GARDEN:


NISHAT GARDEN:

Nishat is a garden of the same type and scale as Shalimar,in the reign of the same emperor, on the nearby site. But it is not a royal garden

Ownership:

Nur jahan’s brother Asif khan laid this garden. It is also called “Garden ofGladness”.

Siting:

Located on the bank of the Dal Lake, with the Zabarwan Mountains as itsbackdrop, Nishat Bagh is a garden of bliss that commands a magnificent view ofthe lake beneath the snow-capped Pir Panjal mountain range that stands far awayto the west of the valley.

Relationship to site surroundings:

More intimately related to the lake, no marshes and meadows intervene. Higher,narrower and numerous terraces are present. More steep topography.


• Even though the layout of Nishat Bagh was based on the basic conceptual model of the Persian gardens, it had to be remodelled to fit the topographic and water source conditions at the site chosen in the Kashmir valley.

• The plan, instead of being central with four radiating arms in a square pattern as in the case of Chahar (suited for a flat country side), was changed to an axial stream flow design to fit the hill condition with water source originating at the top of the hill end.

• This resulted in planning a rectangular layout rather than a square layout. This helped in dispensing with the long side arms.

• Thus, a rectangular layout with east-west length of 548 metres (1,798 ft) and width of 338 metres (1,109 ft) was adopted.

• Originally, this garden had 12 terraces rising higher up the mountain side from the eastern side of the Dal Lake but the lower terrace, which stretched down to the lake, no longer exists now, having been cut off by the modern road.

• The garden, thus, consists of only nine terraces at present.


• Rising from the edge of the Dal Lake, it had twelve 12 terraces representing twelve Zodiacal signs.

• However, it has only two sections, namely the public garden and the private garden for the Zanana or harem vis-à-vis the four sections of the Shalimar Bagh; this difference is attributed to the fact that the latter Bagh catered to the Mughal Emperor, while Nishad Bagh belonged to a man of his court, a noble.


• There are, however, some similarities withthe Shalimar Bagh, such as the polishedstone channel and terraces.

• The source of water supply to the twogardens is the same.

• Built in an east-west direction, the topterrace has the Zenana garden while thelowest terrace is connected to the Dal Lake.

• Out of all the terraces, the second terrace isconsidered the most impressive in view ofthe twenty three niches provided in thearched recess just behind the cascade.

• Originally lighted lamps used to be placed atthese niches. The second terrace also hasabundance of Persian lilacs and pansiescoupled with sparkling cascading water overthe chute, which provided a lovely sight.

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• The water flow from one terrace to the next is over stepped stone ramps that providethe sparkle to the flow.

• At all the terraces fountains with pools are provided, along the water channel. Atchannel crossings, benches are provided for people to sit and enjoy the beauty of thegarden and the cascading flows and fountain jets.

• [The tank at the eleventh terrace is the largest with 25 fountains, beyond which is thesecluded Zenana enclosure.

Water:• The central canal, which runs

through the garden from thetop end, is 4 metres (13 ft)wide

• Water flows down in acascade from the top to thefirst terrace at the road level,which could be alsoapproached from the Dal Lake


The transitions in the level are made not by wide, low cascades, but bynarrow, tall chadars. The inclined surfaces oaf these are intricately carved inlow relief with patterns.


Vegetation:• The vegetation also reinforces the axis of the garden.

• The flower beds consist of roses, lilies, geraniums, asters, gorgeous tall growingzinnias, and feathery cosmos, pink and white.

• The chinar trees and the flower beds are planted in linear patterns along thechanneled paths of flowing water.


TOMB GARDENS

• Unlike pleasure gardens,tomb gardens remained true to the form of char-bagh- paradise garden form.

• In the imperial tomb garden, the Tomb is placed in the center of thegarden, where the chabutra is customarily placed.

• Were on flat terrain with the mildest slope given for the drainage of water.


HUMAYUN’S TOMB GARDEN, NEW DELHI.


• The tomb was commissioned by Humayun's first wife Bega Begum (Haji Begumin

• It was the first garden-tomb on the Indian subcontinent

• The tomb itself-a massive red sandstone and white marble structure builtaround a rubble core-rests on a large plinth, made up of fifty six cellscontaining more than one hundred gravestones, in the centre of an enclosedgarden.


• Humayun’s Tomb is located on theflat plain of Delhi near the banksof the Jumna,

• There is a concept of prospectwhere the garden looks down tothe river.

• The Humayun’s tomb was the firstMughal Tomb to have beenlocated next to a water body orriver.

• This was to take the advantage ofeasy water availability andprospect. The garden looked downto the river.

• The enclosure created around thegardens were for refuge from thesprawling city.


Char Bagh garden

• Four central water courses

• it was placed in centre of a 30-acre (120,000 m2) Char BaghGarden (Four Gardens),a Persian-style garden withquadrilateral layout and was thefirst of its kind in the SouthAsia region in such a scale.

• The highly geometrical and enclosed Paradise garden is divided into four squaresby paved walkways (khiyabans) and two bisecting central water channels,

• Each of the four square is further divided into smaller squares with pathways,creating into 36 squares in all, a design typical of later Mughal gardens.


• The central water channels appear to be disappearing beneath the tomb structure and reappearing on the other side in a straight line, suggesting the Quranic verse, which talks of rivers flowing beneath the 'Garden of Paradise

• The entire tomb and the garden is enclosed within high rubble walls on three sides, the fourth side was meant to be the river Yamuna, which has since shifted course away from the structure.

• The central walkways, terminate at two gates: a main one in the southern wall, and a smaller one in the western wall

• Aligned at the centre on the eastern wall lies a baradari, literally a pavilion with twelve doors, which is a building or room with twelve doors designed to allow the free draught of air through it,

• finally on the northern wall lies a hammam, a bath chamber.


BARADARI


HAMMAM


TAJ MAHAL


• It was built by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his third wife, Mumtaz Mahal.In 1983.

City was perceivedchaotic and not pure inintent so it was shut offby walling up the garden

Refuge and prospect

Refuge: Shut out thehostile world

Prospect: Relationship withriver Yamuna.Element of repose : Thereis sense of certainprogression .


• The oblong site of the Taj Mahal is divided intwo main zones,

• the funerary and the ‘worldly’, reflecting thedialectics of the Islamic concept of din waduniya, the domain of the spiritual and thedomain of material life.

• The funerary zone consists of the mausoleumwith its flanking mosque and assembly hall, setin a garden and reached through a monumentalgate.

• This is preceded by transitional zone of theforecourt, flanked by quarters of tombattendants, subsidiary tombs, and bazaarstreets. To its south was the entirely mundanelarge bazaar and caravanserai complex, whichserved the functional requirements of the area


• Most Mughal charbaghs are rectangular with a tomb or pavilion in the center.

• The Taj Mahal garden is unusual in that the main element, the tomb, is located at the end of the garden.

• With the discovery of Mahtab Bagh or "Moonlight Garden" on the other side of the Yamuna, the interpretation of the Archaeological Survey of India is that the Yamuna river itself was incorporated into the garden's design and was meant to be seen as one of the rivers of Paradise.


• The complex is set around a large 300-metre (980 ft) square charbagh

• The garden uses raised pathways that divide each of the four quarters of the garden into 16 sunken flowerbeds.

• A raised marble water tank at the center of the garden, halfway between the tomb and gateway with a reflecting pool on a north-south axis, reflects the image of the mausoleum.

• The raised marble water tank is called al Hawd al- Kawthar, in reference to the "Tank of Abundance" promised to Muhammad


• The cypress of the Taj Garden were arranged formally, lining the walkways in straightrows.

• There were little groves of trees, as Apple trees, Orange trees, Grapes, Mulberry and Figtrees, Guava trees, Pomegranate trees.

• All the plants were watered from the channels

• There were mainly fruit bearing trees and rare aromatic herbs.

• Poppy flower is a red flower with a black mark in the centre, it symbolises the suffering heartand death. In figurative sense it stands for the mystical quest of the soul for God. Thuspoppies was highly appropriate as flowers in a tomb garden for a lost beloved.

Persian and Mughal gardens

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