Philip’s Garden Blog

Located in the temperate vale of Kashmir outside Srinagar on the Dal Lake, the region was a summer retreat from the heat of the plains. It was here in 1616 that Jahangir, Persian meaning “Conqueror of the World,”  created a pleasure garden for his beloved wife, Nur Jahan. By all accounts possessing remarkable beauty, intelligence and will, Nur Jahan “light of the world.” wielded vast imperial power in her own right.  A brilliant court was established and it was during their reign that the artistic achievements of the Mughal empire came into full flower. The gardens of the Shalimar Bagh was the setting for courtly entertainments, lavish with wine favored by Jahangir, and poetry contests instituted by Nur Jahan, herself an accomplished poet. Accounts tell of moonlit soirees,  accompanied by the sound of fountains and the heady fragrance of perfume made by Nur jahan from her own formula.

The Mughal gardens were enclosed spaces much like the European Medieval counterpoint, the hortus conclusus. The Persian word paridaida meant to enclose or an enclosed garden, and the word was translated eventually into English as “paradise”. This concept was utilized in the Shalimar Bagh along with another Persian form, the chahar bagh. In this garden arrangement, a walled garden was divided into four equal parts, with the central feature being a fountain or pool. Here at Shalimar, this approach is relaxed, with elements such as pools tranformed into wide watercourses with cascades, flanked by tall chenna trees and expansive lawns with flowering plantings.

The overall plan of the Shalimar Bagh echoed palace architecture with a hierarchal division from the public sphere (the lowest part of the garden) to the middle section for the Emperor and his friends. The highest part of the garden was reserved for the Empress and ladies of the court. It was here that the Black Pavillion, crowned by its tripartite roof ,was surrounded by basins issuing numerous fountains. Lamps in niches illuminating the scene at night created a scintillating atmosphere.  The Shalimar bagh was renown for its flowers, and Jahangir’s court painter  Nadri al Asi painted exquisite depictions of kashmiri flowers such as the rose, jamine and champa.

After the collapse of the Mughal dynasty, the allure and romance of the Shalimar Bagh held the British Raj in it’s thrall. Glimpsed from houseboats on lake dal, the gardens were once again celebrated in verse:

Pale hands I loved beside the Shalimar,

Where are you now? Who lies beneath your spell?

Whom do you lead on Rapture’s roadway, far,

Before you agonise them in farewell?

Oh, pale dispensers of my Joys and Pains,

Holding the doors of Heaven and of Hell,

How the hot blood rushed wildly through the veins

Beneath your touch, until you waved farewell.

Pale hands, pink tipped, like Lotus buds that float

On those cool waters where we used to dwell,

I would have rather felt you round my throat,

Crushing out life, than waving me farewell!

Amy Woodforde-Finden, 1901

I have to admit I love garden retreats. I have a very modest one. We think it is great fun.
 
The rudimentary place I call “the teahouse” simply incorporates as its structure the wall of the house and a tall  retaining wall placed at a right angle. The roof is the deck above. The other two”walls” are matchstick blinds which can be adjusted to filter the light and create a door. A pair of french garden chairs and a built-in shelf face the garden and city view beyond. I suppose I could embellish this place further beyond the simple structure and the odd assortment of lanterns, but if it is effective, why fight it?
Garden retreats are neither here nor there; they exist outside conventions. They have no apparent domestic use, and indeed the concerns of daily life and its functions are to be eliminated entirely. The garden retreat exists for pleasure.

Providing shelter from the elements, the garden retreat yet also welcomes the natural air and breezes.  To observe a rainstorm whilst in the retreat is one of life’s great pleasures. It is this ability to be in the garden and yet away from distractions and the eyes of others which allows the mind to wander, to meditate and to refresh one’s spirit that is at the key of the garden retreat.

The Mughal pavilion, the Japanese teahouse, The Italian Renaissance casino, the summerhouse  and my own retreat may be separated by culture, geography and time, yet all are expressions  of the same impulse, and the enjoyment found therin is shared by all.