DELHI TOURISM
The Garden of Five Senses
The
Garden of Five Senses is not just a park, it is a space with a variety of
activities, inviting public interaction and exploration. The project, developed
by Delhi Tourism Transportation Development Corporation, was conceptualized to
answer to the city's need for leisure space for the public, for people to socialize
and unwind. Such spaces add atmosphere and life to a city and cater to all sections
of the society.
The twenty-acre site, located at
Said-Ul-Azaib
village, close to the Mehrauli heritage area in New Delhi, is spectacular area
in New Delhi, is spectacular. The Garden was inaugurated in February 2003. Majestic
rocks stand silhouetted against the sky, others lie strewn upon the ground in
a casual yet alluring display of nature's sculptural genius. It was the ideal
ground on which to realize the concept of a public leisure space that would awaken
a sensory response and thereby a sensitivity to the environment.
Soaring
stainless-steel birds mounted on slate-clad pillars welcome you into the park.
An expansive plaza, set on the natural slope of the site, invites you up the spiral
walkway. Across, a troop of elephants, cut in stone, regaling in a water bath,
tempts exploration.
The garden itself is divided into distinct areas.
On one side of the spiral walkway is the Khas Bagh, a formal garden patterned
on the lines of the Mughal Garden. Slow-moving water cascades in channels along
its length, while flowering and fragrant shrubs and trees line its paths. The
Central axis leads to a series of fountains, some of which are lit up by fibreoptic
lighting systems. Encapsulating the expression here is the sculpture of 'A Fountain
Tree".
Secluded, away from the heart of the garden, on the other
side of the walkway is the
food and shopping court. A series of terraces
provided with seating face the food court.
The heady
Trail of Fragrance
leads away to a rocky ridge to the north, where elevated amongst the rocks, a
sculpture in stainless-steel, inspired by a pin-wheel, dances in joyous abandon.
Wander down the meandering paths to
Neel Bagh, a pool of water-lilies encircled
by pergols covered with climbing plants of different colours and textures.
Overhead, hundreds of ceraminc bells chime, whispering secrets to the breeze,
teasing you with their gentle laughter.
There are
Colour Gardens
- beautiful compositions of flowering shrubs and ground covers that have you looking
at familiar plants with new eyes.
The Courts of Specimen Plants display
not so frequently seen species - of bamboo, for instance, or cactii, or herbs.
Nestled amongst the natural slope of the site is the
amphitheatre with
blocks of sandstone to serve as seating. At the rear of the garden is an open
exhibition area for displaying art and for holding art workshops
Almost
two hundred varieties of plants are introduced. In addition, there are large areas
where the existing vegetarian , consisting mostly of trees such as the local Kikar
and he thorny Ber bush, has been left untouched.
The Garden has been
designed to the imagery suggested by the name Garden of Five Senses. Colour, fragrances,
texture and form all come together in an evocative bouquet that awakens the mind
to the beauty of life and invokes a grateful prayer for the gift of sight, sound,
touch , smell and taste.
