NEW DELHI: Moving around posh New Delhi areas, going past the bungalows of Delhi’s top bureaucrats and politicians and the lanes of the famous shopping hub in New Delhi, Janpath, one thing that always takes my breath away is the flora. Not just the well-laid-out roundabouts brimming with flowers, but also the huge shady trees dotting the roads and the premises of the bungalows and office buildings.
The roads become vibrant pathways in the spring season as these trees are abloom with lavender, pink and red flowers on their crowns!
What thought must have gone into planting these trees and selecting the species, are a few of the questions that often intrigued me. So when Sahapedia, an open online resource on India’s arts, culture and heritage that organises heritage walks across the country, offered an opportunity to learn about the horticultural history of the eighth city of Delhi that the Britishers built, Lutyens’ Delhi, I grabbed it with both hands.
On a windy February morning, a few walk enthusiasts and I gathered at the Udyog Bhawan Metro Station. Our walk leader was a young history student, Srajit M Kumar, whose interest in botany made him delve deeper into plants.
“First, the British wanted New Delhi to have the beauty of the countryside. Second, they missed their country so much that they planted those varieties which looked like the trees back home,” said Kumar, at beginning of the walk. This explains the 10,000 trees, spread over 100km of green hedges with the non-native palms and indigenous Ashoka, jamun, maulshree, neem and imli trees.
The Brits chose these trees not just for their air-purifying qualities, but also to show the Indians their generosity in thinking about them. They divided the areas into “avenues” and planted one species in each avenue, which collectively gives it a glorious impact.
The Britishers initially planted 13 species of avenue trees, and later, brought in more varieties. Further, they took care to plant trees in straight rows and geometric patterns to give the city an unparalleled beauty.
For planting a tree, a six-feet-deep pit was dug and filled with nutrient-rich soil sourced from the Gangetic plains to ensure its growth and health. Apart from stepwells, wastewater from homes was a source of irrigation for these plants and trees.
Rajpath has plenty of maulshree — known for its huge, shady crowns — and jamuns that absorb air pollutants and offer delicious low-calorie fruits. Akbar Road is marked by a canopy of imli trees, quite conspicuous during the sweltering summer heat. Over the years, though, an inner avenue was formed here on the sides of the road by planting amaltas trees.
Tees January Marg is dotted with a single variety of neem trees that create a green cover in-between buildings and roads, while Janpath is marked by arjan trees.
The avenue plantations have also created habitat havens for biodiversity to thrive in — one can see a large number of fruit bats roosting on the large leafy branches of trees on Janpath. Post the walk, I realised that despite living in Delhi for over two decades now, I knew so little about its botanical beauty. This calls for more walks! Watch this space for more.