Rashtrapati Bhavan, Mughal Gardens to remain close for public viewing
KS Diwan/ royalpatiala.in/ New Delhi
Rashtrapati Bhavan and Mughal Gardens will remain closed for public viewing from January 25 to 27, 2019, due to rehearsals for the forthcoming RepublicDay Parade.
The Change of Guard Ceremony will also not take place between January 19 and February 2, 2019 (i.e. January 19, 20, 26, 27 and February 2), due to rehearsals of Republic Day Parade, Beating Retreat Ceremony and Rashtrapati Bhavan Divas Celebrations.
Mughal Gardens
Spread over a vast expanse of 15 acres, Mughal Gardens has often been portrayed, and deservedly so, as the soul of the Presidential Palace. The Mughal Gardens draw its inspiration from the Mughal Gardens of Jammu and Kashmir, the gardens around the Taj Mahal and even miniature paintings of India and Persia.
Sir Edwin Lutyens had finalized the designs of the Mughal Gardens as early as 1917, however, it was only during the year 1928-1929 that plantings were done. His collaborator for the gardens was Director of Horticulture, William Mustoe. Like the building of Rashtrapati Bhavan have two different styles of architecture, Indian and western, similarly, Sir Lutyens brought together two different horticulture traditions together for the gardens, the Mughal style and the English flower garden. Mughal canals, terraces and flowering shrubs are beautifully blended with European flowerbeds, lawns and private hedges.
