LAL BAGH walk through history

By Hameed Ashraf | NT

Vijay Thiruvady speaks softly and with a certain formality of manner. But it works very well, as he goes from reminiscence to anecdote to history and back to reminiscence.

Thiruvady has been conducting Lalbagh Heritage Walks since 2005, taking more than 3,500 visitors through the history of Lalbagh. So for anyone who has gone on a Bengaluru Walk through Lalbagh on a Sunday morning, Thiruvady is a familiar name.

“It is just two month since the Walks have resumed again after the pandemic,” the naturalist said.

After a brief stint on his family’s ancestral farm, Thiruvady came to Bengaluru in 1974 and started working with Tata Consulting Engineers for a few years before striking out on his own. And when he had time, he’d find himself in Lalbagh armed with a Hutchinson’s tree guide, trying to identify the trees there. Then, in 2008, he got a call from Arun Pai, who had organized the popular ‘Bangalore Walks,’ and a whole new road opened up.

An engineer turned naturalist, Thiruvady’s beautiful book ‘Lalbagh- Sultans’ Garden to Public Park,’ presents the most comprehensive history of Lalbagh written to date. Spanning some five centuries from the time Kempegowda’s time when he laid the seeds for a 30 acre flower garden in 1537, through Haider Ali and Tipu Sultan (1760 to 1799), to the advent of the East India Company when the Scots in the British Army and their medical corps tended to the sprawling estate for over a century under the eagle eye of six Kew trained gardeners.

“Can you believe that Bengaluru was a rocky barren plateau just 250 year ago? Since then, thanks to the efforts of first the rulers of Mysore, and then botanists and horticulture authorities, Bengaluru has managed to become home to one of the greatest collection of trees from around the world,” says Thiruvady, now a Koramangala resident and Trustee at the Bangalore Environment Trust (BET).

The only notable patch of greenery was a 40 acre ‘rose and cypress garden’ set up in 1760 by Haider Ali. Inspired by the legendary gardens of Persia, the 18th century rulers of Mysore, Hyder Ali and Tipu Sultan, laid the foundation for this layered garden which was later named as Lal Bagh.

“Plants come into Lal Bagh from all over the world now. But in those days, Hyder Ali got plants from existing Islamic gardens in Lahore, Multan, Delhi and Arcot, while his son Tipu got plants from Africa, South America, Central Asia, East Asia, Australia and Canary Islands. The father-son duo also pioneered the concept of organised tree planting in and around Bengaluru and Mysuru,” he said.

Later, the colonial administration saw a series of horticulturists descending upon Bengaluru. Major Waugh, Nathaniel Wallich, Sir Mark Cubbon, High Cleghorn, William New, A. Black and John Cameron introduced a wide variety of exotic trees from around the world.

During the period of Dr MH Marigowda, Lalbagh was expanded to 240 acres including 25-30 acres of lakes in it.

Thiruvady has also given talks on the history, culture and environment of Bengaluru city at various universities across the country. His book captures origin, growth, lives and contributions of noted botanists who worked incessantly to make Lalbagh what it is today and the wonders that the garden hides in its bosom. For the lovers of nature, this book is a must read.

(Vijay Thiruvady was speaking with Arun Pai of Bangalore Walks on ‘Why Lalbagh Matters’ at the Bangalore International Centre on Friday)