BENGALURU: Deepthi Chandra B’s fairytale moment came complete with a castle. The city-based landscape architect was among the 20 winners at an international garden festival, which takes place in the castle of Chaumont sur Loire, Blois, near Paris.
"There were 400 entries from across the globe and this is the first time an Indian team won in 28 years," says Chandra, who adds that other winners this year belonged to Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands, Italy and USA. She made two visits to France in January and February to carry out the execution of her design, which is now open to public till November 1 this year.
The theme for the 2020 edition of the festival was Return to Mother Earth. For her submission of the design, which Chandra called Dharitri: The Garden of Mother Earth, she decided to rely on something that would represent Indian culture, borrowing ideas from the harvest festival. The entrance to the 2,000 sq ft space begins with a walkway of bamboo and flowers one would normally use for worship, like rose and jasmine.
"These are also flowers that are used extensively by the French perfume industry,” explains the 30-year-old. As the view opens up, the visitor notices a circular water body, which was inspired by the Rig Veda’s concept of “Father sky and mother earth being complementary," says Chandra, adding, "This way, one can see the reflection of the sky in the water." The small pond is surrounded by step terraces that double as benches for visitors to take in the view. This part of the design was inspired by Indian paddy fields.
"If you climb them you can get a top view of the garden. The pathway finally leads to the exit point thereby completing the Pradakshina path as seen in Indian temples, thereby paying tribute to the sacredness of Mother Earth," she says.
Chandra’s first visit to France in January involved a meeting with the local contractors. During her second trip, her architect friend Chandrakanth GM, accompanied her to execute the design. Besides a slight language barrier, the duo also had to brave temperatures as low as 7 degrees Celsius while constructing the garden.
"But we also got to see the transition to spring, which came with beautiful views of cherry blossoms," says Chandra, adding that all the teams getting together for meals was a good cultural experience. "The culture there was different. They construct everything themselves. It was nice to see the other winners coming in with their friends, family and neighbours to build the garden together."