Shalimar Gardens (Jammu and Kashmir)

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The Shalimar Gardens in summer
The Shalimar Gardens in summer

The Shalimar Gardens (Hindi: शालीमार बाग़, Urdu: شالیمار باغ) is an example of Mughal gardens built by the Mughal emperor, Jahangir, in the lake city of Srinagar, which is the summer capital of the northernmost Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir. It was built specially for his beloved and talented wife, Mehrunissa, titled Nur Jahan.

The gardens comprise four terraces, containing a canal supplied with water from the Harwan gardens nearby.[1] The top garden, unseen from below, was reserved for the ladies of the court.[2] The garden is considered to be very beautiful during the Autumn and Spring seasons due to the colour change in leaves and the blooming of flowers.

The gardens were the inspiration for other gardens of the same name, notably the Shalimar Gardens in Lahore, Pakistan.

Upon completion of the gardens, the emperor is said to have recited the famous Persian expression:

If there is a paradise on earth, it is this, it is this, it is this.

[edit] References

  1. ^ The Official Website of Jammu & Kashmir Government, India: Shalimar Garden
  2. ^ Jammu and Kashmir Tourism: Shalimar Garden

[edit] See also