You are on page 1of 17

History of gardens

Landscape

1. MUGHAL GARDENS

SUBMITTED BY LIZA GILANI RAHEMA SHAH

MUGHAL GARDENS :

In India, the practice of building ornate tombs in walled enclosures became highly developed. The Mughal innovation was to treat the enclosed outdoor space as a garden. The words over the entrance to Akbar's tomb at Sikandra explain the reasoning: 'These are the gardens of Eden: enter them to dwell therein eternally'. The tomb garden became a microcosm of the world. The three types of garden made by the Mughals were: 1.Tomb gardens (e.g. Humayuns tomb and the Taj mahal) 2.Palace gardens (e.g. at Delhi and Agra) 3.Encampment gardens (e.g. the Shalimar Bagh gardens at Srinagar, Lahore and Delhi) Each type was conceived, in an Islamic context, as the making of an earthly paradise.

TOMB GARDEN :
In the sixteenth century the Mughals began designing tomb enclosures as gardens. It was an original idea. A central mausoleum replaced the garden pavilion and the chahar bagh layout was formalised into a perfectly symmetrical square plan. Percy Brown categorises Mughal construction as secular or religious, adding that those of a religious nature consist of two kinds only the mosque and the tomb. But tomb gardens span his categories. They were places to pray but they were also places of resort for the nobility to sip rose-water sherbet and chilled lemon juice, sitting on rich carpets in the cool of the night. The design of tomb gardens was also part-religious and part-secular. The Koran states that surely those who guard (against evil) shall be in gardens and rivers . Shah Jahans tomb in the Taj Mahal therefore has the inscription: This is the illumined grave and sacred resting place of the Emperor... may it be sanctified and may Paradise become his abode.

PARADISE GARDEN:

Paradise gardens were a calm retreat from the noisy and dusty outside world. They were used more as ornaments to be viewed from upper windows, or garden pavilions, than as rooms for outdoor living. Water channels, pools, fountains and cascades cooled the air. Flowers provided scent and colour. Fruit trees provided shade. Form: The classic Paradise Garden is divided into four parts by canals. It is known as a Char Bagh or quadripartite garden and has four square parts separated by water channels. The Koran (xxv.15) describes paradise as a garden of eternity (Arabic jannat al-khuld) with four rivers: of water, milk, wine and honey. Strict rectilinear gardens with squares and rectangles demarcated by water channels were made by the Persians (from the sixth century BC) by the Arabs (from the eighth century AD) and by the Mughals (from the sixteenth century). The underlying geometry had an amazing consistency for some 2,500 years.

He was inspired by (and perhaps homesick for) the gorgeous gardens of Samarkand and Herat that he had left behind. Among the earliest things he planted in India were melons. In the Victoria and Albert Museum, there is a watercolour painting of Babur supervising the laying out of Bagh-eWafa at Kabul. It is in the Char Bagh style, and water flows merrily in the middle. The Emperor wears golden robes. There are orange-laden trees in the foreground, and birds in the sky. The brick walls enclose a little slice of paradise....

http://delhimagic.blogspot.com/2011/09/english-are-gonebut.html

A closer look reveals that pomegranates were also among the favorites being planted

http://delhimagic.blogspot.com/2011/09/englis h-are-gone-but.html

EXPLANATION liza Char bagh,cypress trees,water chanels,flowers n fruit trees! etc

CHAR BAGH:
The CHAR BAGH Garden, or Four Gardens, are four square shaped gardens with pathways and two bisecting water channels. The gardens create an ambiance of peace and tranquility. It meant to replicate the Garden of Paradise. According to the Islamic view Paradise garden have four rivers that parted the garden into four parts North, South, East and West. The first river is of water and other three rivers are respectively of milk, wine and honey. The Mughal charbaghs generally have the symmetrical pattern where the main tomb is situated at the middle of garden. But there is a little difference in case of Taj Mahal Garden.

PALACE GARDENS:

EXPLANATION liza

EXPLANATION liza

ENCAMPMENT GARDENS:
Mughal encampment gardens were formed on Timurid lines. The court needed the protection of an army when travelling from place to place and it was pleasant to have good camp sites on the route, gardens serving this purpose well. The pavilion was a place for the emperor to sleep. Canals provided water. Planting provided succulent fruits and refreshing scents. In addition to being places of resort and residence, the Shalimar Bagh gardens on the Grand Trunk Road, outside Delhi and Lahore, could be used to assemble a caravan before its departure. Babur left the following account of how he selected the site of what is believed to be the Ram Bagh in Agra: I always thought one of the chief faults of Hindustan was that there was no running water. Everywhere that was habitable it should be possible to construct waterwheels, create running water, and make planned, geometric spaces I crossed the Jumna with this plan in mind and scouted around for places to build gardens, but everywhere I looked was so unpleasant and desolate that I crossed back in great disgust. Because the place was so ugly and disagreeable I abandoned my dream of making a charbagh. Although there was no really suitable place near Agra, there was nothing to do but work with the space we had. The foundation was the large well from which the water for the bathhouse came. Babur thus explains a key feature of Mughal gardens. Their predecessors, in the lands which are now Uzbekistan and Afganistan, were fed by rushing water from the mountains. This being impossible on the flat plains of North India, the gardens had to be supplied with water drawn by oxen from deep wells. Water had to be conserved. Channels could only have shallow falls. They were formed on raised walkways with the space on either side used for fruit and vegetables watered by flood irrigation. Raised walks protected visitors from snakes and vermin. They could be spread with carpets and protected from the sun by canopies.

Shalimar bagh pavilion

Painting!

Alteration with respect to geographicall conditions eg: nishat bagh, Shalimar bagh, shrinagar Based on the basic conceptual model of the Persian gardens, it had to be remodelled to fit the topographic and water source conditions at the site chosen in the Kashmir valley. The plan, instead of being central with four radiating arms in a square pattern as in the case of Chahar (suited for a flat country side), was changed to an axial stream flow design to fit the hill condition with water source originating at the top of the hill end. This resulted in planning a rectangular layout rather than a square layout. The Shalimar Bagh is well known for chini khanas, or arched niches, behind garden waterfalls. They are a unique feature in the Bagh. These niches were lighted at night with oil lamps, which gave a fairy tale appearance to the water falls. However, now the niches hold pots of flower pots that reflect their colours behind the cascading water. Broad cascade of terraces lined with avenues of Chinar and Cypress trees,

The key to the gardens of the Islamic world was the idea of an oasis. All around stretch bare hills in the burning sun. Within the garden wall, the essentials are cool shade and the sight and sound of water. Common features of Persian gardens A high surrounding wall Straight tile-lined channels of water Bubbling fountains Trees for shade and fruit A Pavilion or gazebo Strong emphasis on flowers in beds and pots There are no statues as Islamic law forbids idols in human form. The Gazebo or baradari may rise to several storeys depending on the size of the garden and were completely surrounded by water. Persias native rose includes the brilliant yellow and the red Rosa Foetida. Lacking flowers in summer, the paving tiles on every surface and their pattern provided colour in the garden. Low hedges line flowerbeds near the gazebo. Ornamental fowl and peacocks introduced from India and Ceylon brought colour to the gardens.

Some of the typical features include pools, fountains and canals inside the gardens. The Mughals were obsessed with symbol and incorporated it into their gardens in many ways. The garden might include a raised hillock at the center, reminiscent of the mountain at the center of the universe in cosmological descriptions, and often surmounted by a pavilion or palace

Trees :
Trees of various sorts, some to provide shade merely, and others to produce fruits; flowers, colorful and sweet-smelling; grass, usually growing wild under the trees; birds to fill the garden with song; the whole cooled by a pleasant breeze. Cypress trees represents female beauty and are an ancient symbol of immortality and eternity and often seen in Persian art and literature.

Shangri La , Honolulu,Hawaii

Earlier: Home owned by Doris Duke, an American heiress

Now: Owned by the Doris Duke Foundation for Islamic Art (DDFIA)
www.unstitchedblog.com/2011/11/shangri-la-in-honolulu/

You might also like