The Hindu Business Line : Valley of tulips

Opened to the public by Sonia Gandhi, the garden is currently in bloom with 1.2 million tulips of more than 60 varieties and in an amazing range of colours.

Kashmirinewz

Paradise in bloom: The tulip garden is a beauteous addition to the Kashmir Valley, a much-beloved tourist destination.

Haroon Mirani

This summer, besides the splendid mountains, valleys and lakes, Kashmir has an added attraction in the form of a colourful tulip garden. The Indira Gandhi Memorial Tulip Garden is among the largest in Asia. Thousands of tourists, as well as locals, are thronging the garden, which is in full bloom.

Situated ideally on the foothills of the mighty Zabarwan Mountains, the garden is just a stone’s throw from the famous Dal Lake. Tourists are effusive in their praise of this visual feast. “I have never seen so many flowers in my whole life and this garden is simply a piece of paradise,” says Arshad Ahmad, a local visiting the garden for the first time.

Opened to the public on March 29 by Congress leader Sonia Gandhi, the garden is currently in bloom with 1.2 million tulips of more than 60 varieties and in an amazing range of colours. The rows and rows of tulips give the impression of a rainbow in bloom. Though spread over 12.5 hectares, the garden currently grows tulips in only 5 hectares. There are plans to extend the tulip-growing area, and next year the garden hopes to see more than 2 million tulips in bloom.

Intended to be a terraced garden, three terraces have been laid out already while two more are expected to be ready next year, complete with fountains and other decorations.

Flowering Season

This is the time of year when Kashmir bursts into a riot of blossoming flowers. Everywhere one can see the almond, cherry and peach trees in full bloom. For visitors this is a delightful addition to the many attractions on offer in this richly-endowed State. “I did not know anything about the Tulip Garden in Kashmir. Somebody told us here that it is a beautiful garden to visit,” says Asha Mathur, a tourist from central India. “Thank God I visited this beautiful garden whose memories I will cherish for years to come.”

The authorities also plan to cultivate other varieties of all-season flowers to attract visitors year round, as the tulip season usually does not last beyond two months.

The brainchild of Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad, the tulip garden’s development was accorded importance from the highest offices of the State. No effort was spared by the authorities to make the garden one of the best of its kind. Nearly 900,000 tulip bulbs were imported from Holland and an army of about 400 gardeners and labourers have been working in triple shifts to bring the dream garden to life in a record period of one-and-a-half years.

Long association

Experts say tulips have more than thousand years of history in Kashmir where it was cultivated in unique ways. “In Srinagar most of the houses in the olden days used to have thatched roofs, which was spread with soil. The tulips used to be grown on these roofs and it was a delightful sight during the spring season,” says Farooq Dar, an elderly person. “Many travellers have captured the image of tulips in full bloom during summer in their travelogues.”

Besides the locals and tourists, the tulip garden has found an ardent fan in Sonia Gandhi, who turned nostalgic during her recent visit to the garden. “Indira Gandhi loved Kashmir in its different manifestations like streams, meadows, snow-capped mountains and especially flowers,” she reminisced.

She recalled how Kashmir used to be a regular holiday destination for Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi and Sanjay Gandhi and that the sheer magic of the beauty of Kashmir had lessened their tensions of politics and governance. “Such was the passion that in October 1984, Indira Gandhi came to Kashmir just to see the Chinars,” she said.

The idea for the tulip garden was warmly welcome by the tourism industry too. In Kashmir the tourist season normally starts in May and there was a general feeling that tourists had nothing to look forward to during March and April. The tulip garden is now expected to fill that void and add two full months to the tourist season. The Chief Minister has asked tourism department officials to publicise the tulip garden countrywide to help attract the maximum number of tourists.

While generating approval all round, the project has also had its share of controversies. The renaming of the tulip garden from Siraj Bagh to Indira Gandhi Memorial Tulip Garden has irked many Kashmiris who feel the garden project should have steered clear of politics. But far-removed from such controversies the floriculture department is working single-mindedly to make the garden truly world-class. Their dream is to match the world-famous tulip gardens of Holland and China, both of which attract a quarter of a million tourists each year during the flowering season.

More Stories on : Tourism | Floriculture

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Valley of tulips