The Shalimar Garden

Three miles north-east of Lahore is the renowned and delightful garden of Shah Jahan, the Shalimar, or House of Joy, most appropriately called the Versailles of the Panjab.  It is a magnificent of Moghal grandeur, in form an ablong parabllelogram, surrounded bya high wall of brick work, 1,200 paces in length and 800 in breadth, with three successive terraces, raised one above the level of the other by a height of 12 or 15 feet, the whole area of the garden covering 80 acres more or less.  A canal, brought from a great distance, intersects this beautiful garden and discharges itself in the middle terrace into a large marble basin ; from this basin and from the canal rise 450 fountains which throw up water that is subsequently received into marble tanks, the profuse discharge of water in this way serving to render the atmosphere deliciously cool and pleasant. 

Bara Dari:-

  On the upper terrace is a substantial pillared marble kiosk, or arcaded pavilion (Baradari) open on alludes, and rendered delightful by a string of jets d eau in front, and some on the lower terraces, which play over a cistern crossed by narrow marbel bridges in miniature.

Cascade:-

 In the center is a reservoir, bordered by an elaborate coping, and a cascade.  Down this the water ripples into a pond below, whence, falling into another reservoir, it passes to the extremity of the garden.  The fountains, when playing, not only add to the pictures queens of the scene, but have the effect of sensibly diminishing the heat.  Pavilions and other buildings are scattered about in various places.  The alcoves and summer-houses are of marble and red stone, and tastefully designed.   

Fruit Trees:-

The garden is well stocked with magnificent fruit trees and flowering shrubs.  There are beautiful groves of lemon and pomegranate trees.  The avenues of oranges are laden with such an abundance of large fruit, in their season, that the branches seem ready to break under the weight.  The fine tall mango trees are in flourishing condition, and yield delicious fruit, which is hawked for sale in the streets of Lahore.  As aptly remarked by a recent traveler, outside all is glare and dust ; within all is green foliage, white marble cool reservoir, and rippling cascade.

Garden Scenes:-

 The garden has become the favorite resort of the European community of Lahore and Mian Mir for fetes, picnics and other parties of various kinds.  The grounds are, on such occasions, artistically laid out with walks, flower beds and promenades ; the fountains play ; the branches are tastefully formed into graceful arches over the walks.  The illuminations have a most admirable effect on the luxuriant foliage of the mango and orange trees, and their bright reflections in the watery sheets below spread like so many transparent mirrors, constitute a magic scene.  The chateau glittering with colored lamps, seems like a fairy palace the trees, the lakes, the parts, the roofs of the marble structures, all shimmering with variegated lights.  The fireworks, diffused in most singular lights and colors, float the garden in an ocean of fame.

The garden has splendid cupolas of red sand stone at the angles, from which a fine view of the surrounding country is obtained, especially to the south-east, in which direction are the village Baghbanpura and the old ruins. 

Foundation period

The gardens, or the royal pleasure grounds of Shalimar, were laid out in the sixth year of Shah Jahan reign, or in 1634 A.D., after the plan of the royal gardens in Kashmir, by orders of the Emperor, under the management of Khalilulla Khan.  The canal, or Hasli, to irrigate the gardens was brought from Madhupur, at the expense of two lakhs of rupees.  It was the combined work of Ali Mardan Khan, the great canal engineer, and Mulla Ala-ul-Mulk.

 The cost of the gardens and the buildings attached to it was six lakhs of rupees, and they were laid and constructed in one year, five months, and four days.  Mulla Abdul Hamid, Lahori, in his excellent work the Badshahnama, gives the following interesting particulars of the first State visit of the Emperor to these gardens.  It having been represented to His Majesty that the gardens, the management of which had been entrusted to Khalilullah Khan, had been finished, the royal astrologers were ordered to fix an auspicious hour for the visit of the augst sovereign.  Accordingly, the 7th of Shaban 1052 A.H. was fixed as the date of the royal visit.  His majesty honored the gardens with a visit on that day, and was highly pleased with the scene he witnessed.  The omerahs and grandees of State offered their congratulations, while all joined in prayers for the duration of the Imperial grandeur.  Multitudes of intelligent and wise men who were present before His Imperial Majesty, and who had seen Rum Irak and Mawar-un-Nahar, represented to yhim that a garden such as this had never to this that date been constructed, or seen, or even talked of by any body.  So many edifices adds Abdul Hamid, were constructed in this garden, that , whenever it pleases the Emperor to pay a visit to it with the Royal Harem, who remain with him at Lahore the capital (Dar-us-Saltanat), the necessity of pitching tents is avoided.   

Royal Bath Rooms

In the second story, towards the east are, the Royal Bath Rooms.  These consist of four arched chambers, with beautiful reservoirs, which can be heated by fire placed outside the rooms to the east.  The chambers and reservoirs have been maintained in perfect preservation.  It is said, several hundred mounds of fuel was required to warm the Baths, which are constructed after the Turkish fashion.   

Gardens Division

 The garden is divided into two divisions, the first being called Farah Bakhsh, and the second, which includes the middle and the third terraces, Fyz Bakhsh.

Sikhs Period:-

 During the troublous days of Ahmad Shah, the Sikhs laid their ruthless hands on this magnificent garden, and robbed it of much of its decorative works.  A costly pavilion of agate was removed by Lahna Singh, one of the three rules of Lahore, and sold for Rs. 24,000 to stone-polishers in the city.  Ranjit Singh barbarously defaced the gardens by removing a large portion of the marble embellishments, to decorate his new constructions at the favorite religious cpital of Amritsar, and the contiguous fortress of Govindgarh.  The marble pavilions, by the central reservoir, were used in adorning the Ram Bagh of Amritsar, and, in their stead, structures of brick and whitewash were substituted.

Name Shalimar

 It cannot be exactly ascertained at what time the garden come to be called “Shalimar,” its present designation.  In the Badshahnama of Mulla Abdul Hamid, Lahori, written b orders of Shah Jahan, and in the Ma-asir-I-Alamgiri of Muhammad Saki Mustaid Khan, written in the itme of Shah Alam successor of Aurangzeb, the garden, in connexion with royal visits, is called Farah Bakhsh.  The first mention of the name Shalimar that we find, is in the work of the historians of Nadir Shah, but how the name came to be adopted is not clear.