Lal Bagh of Bengaluru

Peninsular Gneiss - Geological Monument

That evening, the sun setting in the horizon and the clear sky turning to a dark orange and dusky purple with gentle breeze blowing to your face, all over the city. The nature responded in a beautiful gesture, that evening when I was at one of most strikingly beautiful place in Bangalore, the “LAL BAGH“. Yes, it was not only beautiful but also felt like the God’s nature at it’s best, giving you the slight glimpse of Heaven.

Peninsular Gneiss – Geological Monument
Glance on Peninsular Gneiss

Gustav Hermann Krumbiegel has showered this place with so much love and nurtured in a good way, that is how it now is carelessly maintained by the ASI Department, which is to be known as  the “Magic of Gustav“. Once being just a gardener in Hamburg, later gained exposure for his best know work at the Lal Bagh Botanical Gardens. He is alive in many hearts of architects and horticulturalists. Gradually came the end of British era and so did the showers of magic. It was commissioned by many of the Gowdas, Odeyars and Tipu in the past and now is managed by the Directorate of Horticulture, Government of Karnataka.

Clean lakes, large trees, beautiful sky and an excellent piece of architecture is what represents Lal Bagh. We always think about the famous food - Idli and Masala Dosa, in Bangalore. Ever wondered? Where all this originated from? Who was behind it? Yes Idli was one of the best discoveries during World War II by the famous MTR and Masala Dosa would have never been possible without Europeans! Why? Because tomatoes and chillies were not the native plants of India until it was bought in India by the western trading companies.

Indian Emblem on Glass House
Glass House

Glass house which was depicted on London’s Crystal Palace (now re-modeled with a different layout), is the best known centre of attraction. The statue of Sri ChamRajendra Odeyar (ex ruler of Mysore) at Lal bagh was a rare sight only because of its completely out of the box architectural style. It is a complete blend of Indo – European Architecture with Goddess of knowledge and Goddess of Justice guarding the Gowda on either sides of his statue. With its Beautiful architecture, rare flora and Vivid landscape makes it such a beautiful place to visit.

Glass House Foundation stone

Now I feel, there should be some way to protect and conserve these monuments, so I did my best by documenting the whole Garden. All this knowledge I gained because of Mr. Mansoor Ali who is a proud architect and a true Bangalorean. He was here to Coordinate one of the task from Internship program of GoUnesco’sMake Heritage Fun” event and also runs Bangalore by foot for the knowledge seekers. It was a day well spent. Going back home with lots of photographs and stories behind them is always fun to share, for me.

Lal Bagh a step into the natures lap for nature lovers. Trust me you’ll never regret being in this place.

Tile Work in Lalbagh
An old monument about to collapse