Yadavindra Gardens

The garden in the city of Pinjore on the Ambala-Shimla road, near the ancient 8th century open-air archaeological museum site of Bhima Devi TempleComplex, is 22 kilometres (14 mi) from Chandigarh, 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) from UNESCO World Heritage Kalka–Shimla Railway and 255 kilometres (158 mi) from Delhi. It is approachable by road, rail and air from all parts of the country.

The gardens at night

Mughal Gardens in Pinjore in Haryana

Yadvindra Mughal Gardens, Pinjore, Haryana

It was built in the foothills of Himalayas as one of the Mughal gardens summer retreat for the Aurangzeb (r. 1658–1707), who then had his capital at Lahore, by his foster brother and architect Muzaffar Hussain. He was known as Nawab Fidai Khan Koka and was also Aurangzeb's master of ordnance.[2] He had also supervised the construction of Badshahi Mosque (1671–73) of Lahore. It was built during the early days of Aurangzeb's rule but the accurate date is not known. Since the time of Shah Jahan, mughals reserved the pavilions with Balustered columns supporting the cusped arches only for the use of emperor and his immediate family, hence, it was likely built for Aurangzeb's personal use as summer retreat.[3]

In 1775, the Maharaja of Patiala Amar Singh bought it from the King of Sirmur State Jagat Prakash.[4]

English author-painter C.M. Villiers-Stuart, who resided in the gardens for a time, included a description in her book on "Gardens of the Great Mughals" (1913). She wrote:

"A quaint story still survives, how, when at length the work was finished, and Fadai came in state to spend his first summer there, his enjoyment of the garden and its beauties was short-lived; for the Rajas quickly frightened him away. In the districts round Pinjor, and in fact all along the foot of the Himalayas, occasional cases of goitre are to be seen; so from far and wide these poor people were collected by the wily Brahmins, and produced as the ordinary inhabitants of the place. The gardeners all suffered from goitre; every coolie had this dreadful complaint; even the countrywomen carrying up the big flat baskets of fruits and flowers to the zenana terraces were equally disfigured.

The ladies of the harem naturally were horrified; it was bad enough to be brought into these wild outlandish jungles, without this new and added terror. For the poor coolie women, well instructed beforehand, had told how the air and water of Pinjor caused this disease, which no one who lived there long ever escaped. A panic reigned in the zenana; its inmates implored to be removed at once from such a danger; and finally, Fadai Khan had to give way, and take his ladies to some other place less threatening to their beauty.

Had it been the terrible Emperor himself instead of his foster-brother, the cunning Rajas would have met their match. But Fadai Khan, thoroughly deceived, rarely came back to visit his lovely gardens, and the Rajas and their fields were left in peace for a time."

This stratagem led to the abandonment of the garden by Mughals. Part of the walled outer enclosure of the abandoned garden was demolished in 1793 to build a road. The garden, covered with wild overgrowth, came under the territory ruled by the Maharaja of Patiala during the 19th century British Raj, who used the garden terraces to grow roses for making attar perfume for the maharaja. The Maharaja Yadavindra Singh (1914–74) of the princely state of Patiala restored the garden to its former splendour. In recent times, it has been renamed as Yadavindra Garden in his memory, used as a setting for filming Bollywood movies.

View of the Sheesh Mahal from inside the Rang Mahal at Pinjore Gardens

Built in a similar style to Shalimar Bagh in Kashmir, the garden has been laid in seven terraces, with the main gate of the garden opening into the highest first terrace, which has a palace built in Rajasthani–Mughal style.[4] It is called the “Shish Mahal” (palace of glass), which is adjoined by a romantic "Hawa Mahal" (airy palace). The second terrace with arched doorways has the "Rang Mahal" (painted palace). The third terrace has cypress trees and flowerbeds leading to dense groves of fruit trees. The next terrace has the "Jal Mahal" (palace of water) with a square fountain bed and a platform to relax. Fountains and tree groves are provided in the next terrace. The lowermost terrace has an open-air theatre, which is designed as a disc-like structure.

The garden and the temple complex laid in an open-air museum, set up by Haryana State Directorate of Archaeology & Museums, are integrated through well-laid-out and well-drained pathways to remove any water logging. The whole complex has been beautifully illuminated at night.

A restored heritage train has been introduced to visit all the monuments and the gardens in the complex.

Special festivals such as the Pinjore Baisakhi festival (spring festival) in April, Pinjore Mango Mela in July and Pinjore Heritage Festival in December are major annual celebrations at the gardens.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Yadavindra Gardens.

• Summary description of the garden, history, architecture Archived 7 October 2017 at the Wayback Machine
• Pinjore Gardens near Chandigarh Archived 10 March 2013 at the Wayback Machine
• Online text: Gardens of the Great Mughals by C.M. Villiers Stuart
• Pinjore Gardens
• The Herbert Offen Research Collection of the Phillips Library at the Peabody Essex Museum
• Pinjore garden Jal Mahal