NEW DELHI: The iconic ‘Mughal Gardens’ in Rashtrapati Bhavan has been renamed as ‘Amrit Udyan’, the President House announced on Saturday. Spreading over 15 acres, the lawns boast of more than 150 rose varieties besides several seasonal and winter flowering plants including tulips, Asiatic lilies, daffodils, and hyacinth. This year, visitors will see specially cultivated tulips of 12 unique varieties, which are expected to bloom in phases.
“On the occasion of the celebrations of 75 years of Independence as ‘Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav’, the President of India is pleased to give a common name to the Rashtrapati Bhavan gardens as Amrit Udyan,” read a statement issued by the Rashtrapati Bhavan.
Edwin Lutyens, the architect of New Delhi, designed the Mughal Gardens and William R Mostoe, who was the coadjutor and son of a professional gardener developed it. The design was inspired by Char Bagh pattern, the four-part garden laid out with axial paths that intersect at the centre, introduced to India by the Mughals. Hence, it was being called Mughal Gardens though it was never officially named so, said individuals aware of the matter.
Lutyens added more features seen in British architecture such as borders, canopies, and small-flower bed ends—to the design, they added.
“Sir Edwin Lutyens submitted the scheme of a formal garden for the Viceroy’s House in 1918 and from the beginning; he was of the view that it should follow the Mughal pattern of ‘Char bagh’. He had visited the gardens at Lahore and Kashmir as well as in the forts of Agra and Delhi. He was rather appreciative of the Mughal pattern of laying the garden, which reflected the Islamic idea of Paradise. Lutyens later followed it up with a mini Mughal garden in the Delhi palace of the Nizam (Hyderabad House), which he designed,” said Sumanta K Bhowmick, the author of ‘Princely Palaces in New Delhi.’
Attempts were made to name resplendent gardens as Mughal Gardens formally but it didn’t happen but they continued to be known as Mughal Gardens, which opens to the public generally during February and March every year. Until recently, all official communications from the Rashtrapati Secretariat would refer to the lawns as Mughal Gardens. The website of the Rashtrapati Bhavan also has it as Mughal Gardens.
President Droupadi Murmu will grace the opening of the gardens of Rashtrapati Bhavan – Udyan Utsav 2023 – on Sunday. The gardens will open for the general public on January 31 2023 and will remain open till March 26 except on Mondays.