Shalimar Gardens, Lahore

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to navigation Jump to search

Template:For Template:Short description Template:Use dmy dates Template:Infobox UNESCO World Heritage Site The Shalamar Gardens (Template:Langx) or Shalimar Gardens (Template:Langx) are a Mughal garden complex besides Baghbanpura, located in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. The gardens date from the period when the Mughal Empire was at its artistic and aesthetic zenith,<ref name="UNESCO">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and are now one of Pakistan's most popular tourist destinations.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

The Shalamar Gardens were laid out as a Persian paradise garden intended to create a representation of an earthly utopia in which humans co-exist in perfect harmony with all elements of nature.<ref name="rehman"/> Construction of the gardens began in 1641 during the reign of Emperor Shah Jahan,<ref name="rehman">Template:Cite journal</ref> and was completed in 1642.<ref>Shalamar Gardens Gardens of the Mughal Empire. Retrieved 20 June 2012</ref> In 1981 the Shalamar Gardens were inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site as they embody Mughal garden design at the apogee of its development.<ref name="UNESCO"/>

Names

File:Chatting at Shalimar Gardens.jpg
The gardens provide a popular recreation spot for Lahore's men

The courtiers told the Maharaja Ranjit Singh "that Shala was a Turkic word which means pleasure and the mar means the place to live in".<ref>Template:Cite book.</ref> "The arguments of the courtiers in favour of the Turkic signification of the word failing to make any impression on Ranjit Singh, he gave his own name to the garden, and called it “Shahla Bagh” شهلا باغ, “Shahla” meaning in Persian “sweetheart” with dark gray eyes and a shade of red and “Bagh” meaning “garden.”"<ref name="Latif">Template:Cite book</ref> Template:Quote

The gardens are however still known as the "Shalimar Gardens" nowadays. According to Muhammad Ishtiaq Khan, Template:Quote

Location

The Shalimar Garden is located next to the Grand Trunk Road, about Template:Convert east of the Delhi Gate of the Walled City of Lahore. Near Bhaghbanpura Lahore

Background

File:Faiz Baksh (Bestower of Goodness) terrace view from Farah Baksh (Bestower of Pleasure) terrace.jpg
View from Farah Baksh (Bestower of Pleasure) terrace

Lahore's Shalimar Gardens were built by the Mughal royal family primarily as a venue for them to entertain guests,<ref name="clark"/> though a large portion was open to the general public. The gardens' design was influenced by the older Shalimar Gardens in Kashmir that were built by Shah Jahan's father, Emperor Jahangir.<ref name="clark">Template:Cite book</ref> Unlike the gardens in Kashmir which relied on naturally sloping landscapes, the waterworks in Lahore required extensive engineering to create artificial cascades and terraces.<ref name="schimmel"/>

The Shalimar Gardens were designed as a Persian-style Charbagh "Paradise garden" - a microcosm of an earthly utopia.<ref name="rehman"/> Though the word Bagh is translated simply as "garden", bagh represents a harmonious existence between humans and nature, and represents a poetic connection between heaven and earth.<ref name="rehman"/> All natural elements of the bagh are appreciated - including the sun, moon, and air.<ref name="rehman"/> Muhammad Saleh Kamboh, historian to Shah Jahan, reported that the gardens of Kashmir inspired the design for the Shalimar Garden in Lahore,<ref name="rehman"/> and that a wide variety of trees and flowers grew together in the garden.<ref name="rehman"/>

The site was chosen for its stable water supply.<ref name="rehman"/> The project was managed by Khalilullah Khan, a noble of Shah Jahan's court, in cooperation with and Mulla Alaul Maulk Tuni. Ali Mardan Khan was responsible for most of the construction, and had a 100-mile-long canal built to bring water from the foothills of Kashmir to the site.<ref name="schimmel">Template:Cite book</ref>

The site of the Shalimar Gardens originally belonged to the Arain Mian Family Baghbanpura. Mian Muhammad Yusuf, then the head of the Arain Mian family, ceded the site of Ishaq Pura to the Emperor Shah Jahan in order for the gardens to be built. In return, Shah Jahan granted the Arain Mian family governance of the Shalimar Gardens, and the gardens remained under their custodianship for over 350 years.

History

File:Shalamar Garden July 14 2005-Sideview of marble enclosure on the second level.jpg
Inside Shalimar Gardens
File:Shalimar Gardens Lahore 1895.jpg
Shalimar Gardens in 1895

Construction of the gardens began on 3 Rabi-ul-Awwal 1051AH(6 June 1641), and took 17 months and 14 days to complete.<ref name="rehman"/> During the Sikh Empire, much of the garden's marble was pillaged and used to decorate the Golden Temple and the Ram Bagh Palace in nearby Amritsar,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> while the gardens' costly agate gate was stripped and sold by Lehna Singh Majithia.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

File:Lithograph titled 'The Shalimar Gardens, Lahore', from 'The Court and Camp of Runjeet Sing' by William Godolphin Osborne, ca.1840.jpg
The garden during Sikh-rule. Lithograph titled 'The Shalimar Gardens, Lahore', from 'The Court and Camp of Runjeet Sing' by William Godolphin Osborne, ca.1840.

In 1806 Maharaja Ranjit Singh ordered the Shalimar Gardens to be repaired.<ref>Template:Cite book.</ref>

The Gardens were nationalised in 1962 by General Ayub Khan<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> because leading Arain Mian family members had opposed his imposition of martial law in Pakistan.Template:Citation needed

The annual Mela Chiraghan festival used to take place in the gardens until General Ayub Khan forbade it in 1958.

Design and layout

File:Shalimar Gardens, Lahore (Faiz Baksh Tarrace- 2nd tarrace of the Garden).jpg
The middle level terrace of the garden, known as the Faiz Bakhsh terrace, was the Emperor's garden.

Mughal Gardens were based upon Timurid gardens built in Central Asia and Iran between the 14th and 16th century.<ref name="rehman"/><ref name="Smithsonian">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> A high brick wall richly decorated with intricate fretwork encloses the site in order to allow for the creation of a Charbagh paradise garden - a microcosm of an earthly utopia.<ref name="rehman"/>

The Shalimar Gardens are laid out in the form of a rectangle aligned along a north–south axis, and measure 658 metres by 258 metres, and cover an area of 16 hectares. Each terrace level is 4–5 metres (13–15 feet) higher than the previous level.

The uppermost terrace of the gardens is named Bagh-e-Farah Baksh, literally meaning Bestower of Pleasure. The second and third terraces are jointly known as the Bagh-e-Faiz Baksh, meaning Bestower of Goodness. The first and third terraces are both shaped as squares, while the second terrace is a narrow rectangle.

Shalimar's main entrance was onto the lower-most terrace, which was open to noblemen, and occasionally to the public.<ref name="rehman"/> The middle terrace was the Emperor's Garden, and contained the most elaborate waterworks of any Mughal garden.<ref name="rehman"/> The highest terrace was reserved for the Emperor's harem.<ref name="rehman"/>

The square shaped terraces were both divided into four equivalent smaller squares by long fountains flanked by brick khayaban walkways designed to be elevated in order to provide better views of the garden.<ref name="schimmel"/> Cascades were made to flow over a marble paths in what are known as chadors, or "curtains" into the middle terrace. Water collected into a large pool, known as a haūz, over which a seating pavilion was made.<ref name="rehman"/>

Water features

The Shalimar Garden's contain the most waterworks of any Mughal Garden.<ref name="rehman"/> It contains 414 fountains, which discharge into wide marble pools, each known as a haūz. The enclosed garden is rendered cooler than surrounding areas by the garden's dense foliage, and water features<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> - a relief during Lahore's blistering summers, with temperature sometimes exceeding Template:Convert. The distribution of the fountains is as follows:

  • The upper level terrace has 105 fountains.
  • The middle level terrace has 152 fountains.
  • The lower level terrace has 153 fountains.
  • All combined, the Gardens has 414 fountains.

The Gardens have 5 water cascades including the great marble cascade and Sawan Bhadoon.

Garden pavilions

File:A fragment of the painted door from Shalimar Gardens in the Lahore Museum.jpg
Painted door from Shalimar Gardens

The buildings of the Gardens include:

  • Sawan Bhadun pavilions
  • Naqar Khana and its buildings
  • Khwabgah or Sleeping chambers
  • Hammam or Royal bath
  • The Aiwan or Grand hall
  • Aramgah or Resting place
  • Khawabgah of Begum Sahib or Dream place of the emperor's wife
  • Baradaries or summer pavilions to enjoy the coolness created by the Gardens' fountains
  • Diwan-e-Khas-o-Aam or Hall of special and ordinary audience with the emperor
  • Two gateways and minarets in the corners of the Gardens

Conservation

In 1981, Shalimar Gardens was included as a UNESCO World Heritage Site along with the Lahore Fort, under the UNESCO Convention concerning the protection of the world's cultural and natural heritage sites in 1972.

See also

References

Template:Reflist

Template:Sister project

Template:Mughal Empire Template:Cultural heritage sites in Punjab, Pakistan Template:World Heritage Sites in Pakistan

Retrieved from "https://wiki.sarg.dev/index.php?title=Shalimar_Gardens,_Lahore&oldid=418622"