A Mughal garden known as Shalimar Bagh is situated in Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir, to the northeast of Dal Lake on its right bank. Other names for it are Shalimar Garden, Shalimar Bagh, Farah Baksh, and Faiz Baksh. Nishat Bagh is another renowned shoreline garden nearby. For his wife Noor Jahan, the Mughal Emperor Jahangir constructed the Bagh in 1619. The Bagh is regarded as the pinnacle of Mughal horticulture. It is now a public park. It goes under the name “crown of Srinagar.”
History
To appease his queen, Emperor Jahangir built the renowned Shalimar Bagh, his ideal undertaking. In 1619, he expanded the old garden and turned it into a royal garden, which he named “Farah Baksh” (literally, “the pleasant”). For his wife Nur Jahan (the “light of the world”), he constructed it. Zafar Khan, the ruler of Kashmir, enlarged it in 1630 on the orders of Emperor Shah Jahan. He called it Faiz Baksh, which means “the abundant.” Following Zafar Khan, the Pathan and Sikh governors turned it into a recreational area.
The marble pavilion served as the European visitors’ guesthouse during Maharaja Ranjit Singh’s reign. Emperor Jahangir and his wife Nur Jahan, in particular during the Mughal era, were so enamoured of Kashmir that during the summer they travelled from Delhi to Srinagar at least 13 times with their entire court entourage. The Royal Court and their imperial summer home were both located in Shalimar Bagh.
Layout
The garden’s design is a modification of the Persian gardens, another style of the Islamic garden. This garden has a square layout on level land with four radiating arms that branch out from the centre, which serves as the water supply. It required to be changed to accommodate the mountainous terrain and the presence of a well that could be switched to the intended gardens from a higher elevation. The primary waterway that passes axially through the garden from the top position to the lowest point underwent modifications.
The Shah Nahar, the garden’s axis, is this centre watercourse. The garden, as it is now designed, is 12.4 hectares (31 acres) in size, with an axis channel that is 587 metres (1,926 ft) long and a total width of 251 metres (823 ft.) Three terraces in the garden feature sycamore tree-lined panoramas and fountains. The Shahnahar serves as the terraces’ primary feeder canal. Each of the three terraces has a purpose. A canal that went through a muddy bog and was roughly a mile (1.6 km) long and 12 yards (11 m) wide connected the garden to the open Dal Lake water.
Architecture
The three terraces of the garden have intricate architectural elements. The first terrace leads to the Diwan-e-Aam and is a public garden or an outdoor garden (public audience hall.) Over the waterfall in this hall, a tiny black marble throne was placed.
In the second terrace garden along the axial canal, there are two shallow terraces. The Diwan-e-Khas (the Hall of Private Audience), which was only open to noblemen or guests of the court, is located in the centre of the building. The carved stone bases and a lovely platform with fountains surrounding it may still be seen, nevertheless.
On the enclosure’s north-western edge are the royal restrooms. There are two pavilions or guard chambers marking the limited and controlled entrance to the royal harem (built in Kashmiri style on a stone plinth) at the entrance to this terrace. A fountain pool that draws its water from a higher terrace surrounds it. Behind the pavilion, a double cascade cascades against a low wall carved with tiny niches (chini khanas). Two octagonal pavilions that are located above the third level of the garden serve as its end wall.
The chini khanas, or arched recesses, below the garden waterfalls in the Shalimar Bagh are well renowned. They distinguish the Bagh as a whole. With the help of oil lamps, these nooks were illuminated at night, giving the waterfalls a spectacular look. The niches now, however, are filled with flower pots, and the pouring water reflects the colours of the flowers.
Baradari’s doors are another noteworthy aspect of the building. The Baradari has four magnificent stone entrances supported by pillars in the garden complex. These stone doors may have been the remains of earlier temples that Shahjahan had destroyed. Large water troughs with fountains were also placed in the landscape.
The gardens were kept in better condition even later, under the reign of the Maharaja, and they remain so now, as one of the primary tourist destinations near Dal Lake. The Shalimar Bagh’s upper terrace is home to the famous Persian inscription that reads: Agar Firdaus bar ry-e zamin ast, hamin ast-o hamin ast-o hamin ast. This pavilion was constructed during the early years of Jahangir’s rule (1569–1627.
