New Delhi: President Droupadi Murmu on Sunday inaugurated Udyan Utsav-2023, the opening of the Rashtrapati Bhavan gardens, including the rechristened 'Amrit Udyan', for the public.
The celebrated Mughal Gardens, sprawling premises of the Rashtrapati Bhavan were renamed to 'Amrit Udyan' on Saturday. Spread over 15 acres and boasts over 150 varieties of roses, tulips, Asiatic lilies, daffodils and other ornamental flowers.
"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’," Navika Gupta, Deputy Press Secretary to the President, said in a statement on Saturday.
The renaming of the Mughal Gardens comes months after the rechristening of Rajpath to Kartavya Path by the government.
Originally, the garden at Rashtrapati Bhavan included East Lawn, Central Lawn, Long Garden and Circular Garden.
During the term of former presidents Dr A P J Abdul Kalam and Ram Nath Kovind, more gardens were developed, namely, Herbal-I, Herbal-II, Tactile Garden, Bonsai Garden and Arogya Vanam.
The history of the famed gardens of the Rashtrapati Bhavan is as rich and intertwined with the President's House (originally built as Viceroy's House), designed by architect Sir Edwin Lutyens.
Rose remains a key feature of the famed gardens even today. The gardens boast of growing 159 celebrated varieties of roses which blossom primarily in February and March. The varieties of roses in the gardens include Adora, Mrinalini, Taj Mahal, Eiffel Tower, Modern Art, Scentimental, Oklahoma (also called black rose), Belami, Black Lady, Paradise, Blue Moon and Lady X.
The Mughal Gardens also include roses named after people of national and international fame such as Mother Teresa, Raja Ram Mohan Roy, Abraham Lincoln, John F Kennedy, Jawahar Lal Nehru, Queen Elizabeth, and Christian Dior, amongst others. Arjun and Bhim, from the Mahabharata, also find a place in the presidential palace.
After renaming of the Mughal Gardens on Saturday, the Rashtrapati Bhavan secretariat has also updated its website, which carries a brief history of the celebrated gardens.
"Spread over a vast expanse of 15 acres, Amrit Udyan has often been portrayed, and deservedly so, as the soul of the Presidential Palace. The Amrit Udyan draws its inspiration from the Mughal Gardens of Jammu and Kashmir, the gardens around the Taj Mahal and even miniature paintings of India and Persia," reads the description on the website.
According to the website, Sir Edwin Lutyens had finalised the design of the gardens as early as 1917, the planting was done during the year 1928-1929. His collaborator for the gardens was the Director of Horticulture, William Mustoe.
Rashtrapati Bhavan has two different styles of architecture, Indian and western, similarly, Lutyens brought together two different horticulture traditions together for the gardens, the Mughal style and the English flower garden. Mughal canals, terraces, and flowering shrubs are beautifully blended with European flowerbeds, lawns and private hedges.
The garden also grows 60 of the 101 known types of bougainvilleas. Edging and flowering of flower beds are done with alyssum, daisies, and pansy, among others. The grass that covers the garden is the doob grass, which was originally brought from Calcutta (now Kolkata) when the Mughal Gardens were being planted.
The Gardens has almost 50 varieties of trees, shrubs, and vines, including the Moulsiri tree, Golden Rain tree, flower-bearing Torch Tree, and many more. At present, there are over 300 permanent and casual employees who work on the development and maintenance of the gardens.
From March 28 to 31, the gardens will be open for special categories. For farmers on March 28, for differently-abled persons on March 29, for defence, paramilitary forces and police personnel on March 30 and for women, including tribal women's self-help groups, on March 31.