For my final journey with Monty Don this summer, we're heading to India to visit gardens, and see famous movie star plants in their native environment. In this episode Monty explores historical gardens influenced by Hindu Maharajahs, Mughal emperors, and the British empire. One of his favorite gardens turns out to be a modern garden in the jungle, made with found and recycled objects. Grab your sunglasses, hat, and water jug for our final summer destination!
Agra, Deeg, Jaipur, Kochi, and New Delhi (2008, Episode 3)
Monty kicks off his first trip to India with a dawn visit to the iconic Taj Mahal in Agra. The white marble tomb was built by the Mughal emperor, Shah Jahan, in the mid-1600s for his wife. The design is based on a description of heaven in the Koran; it is meant to be a paradise garden - heaven on earth. An hour away Monty visits another Mughal-inspired tomb - Akbar's Tomb. It was built of red sandstone in the early 1600s. The Mughals were conquerors from Afghanistan, establishing their empire in 1526. Their garden designs were based on the Islamic idea of paradise on earth, filled with animals, nature, and water. Before the Mughal empire, India was a series of Hindu states, each with it own Raj. Their gardens were devoted to pleasure, not Allah.
Next Monty visits Deeg Palace in Rajasthan, built in late-1700s. Of special interest is Keshav Bhawan, the monsoon pavillion. During the monsoon, water was harvested and stored in large tanks, then during the dry season used to simulate a monsoon storm in a grand spectacle for the king and his court. The technology for collecting and using the water is interesting and ingenious. Deeg is set in a very dry place. The spectacle is a thing of the past, and the tanks are now used for laundry and bathing.
In nearby Jaipur, the red city, Monty visits Jal Mahal, a water palace and garden that is being restored. When the monsoons come, water forms a lake around the building. Visitors arrive by boat and disembark on the flooded lower floors. Also in Jaipur, Monty visits a small Hindu Temple Garden, to enjoy the beauty of the small. His tour guide describes the plants that are grown for offerings (banana, jasmine, ficus, basil, and more), all of which are auspicious.
Then to the south of India to Kochi, formerly the British port of Cochin. where evidence of spice merchants, Chinese fishing nets, Portuguese churches, Dutch streets, and English culture converge. Nearby, Monty visits Mr. Abraham's Spice Garden, drives through the Kannan Devan Hills Plantation (KDHP) tea farm, and takes tea with Mrs. Abbas in the British-style Old Railway Garden that is maintained by KDHP. All their teas come from camellias that originated in China (Camellia sinensis), and are handpicked.
Then north again to New Delhi, the ambitious capital designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens (a British architect and landscape architect, who worked with Gertrude Jekyll) and built in the early 1900s. Lutyens mixed British pomp with Mughal and Maharajah elements, and incorporated parks and tree-lined avenues to lower the temperature by 7 degrees. New Delhi is a grand show of imperial power, which started to fade within 10-15 years.
Finally Monty heads to The Rock Garden of Chandigarh, close to the Himalayas. Nek Chand started the garden in the jungle in the 1950s, using rocks and castoffs. It was discovered in the 1970s and almost bulldozed, but then saved and turned into a tourist destination. The garden has a maze-like structure, with water works, stone paths, and delights everywhere. It is a modern garden that looks to the future, recycling castoffs and rubbish to make art. Monty loves the garden, and leaves India energized and full of hope. Thank you for joining me on this final leg of our summer tour!
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