Machibet AffiliateSunder Nursery: Why Sunder Nursery is Delhi’s biggest draw

When you enter Sunder Nursery, the clean design lines and utilitarian structures could create an impression of pragmatic functionality — a manicured green space for structured leisure. That couldn’t be more wrong. Because as you walk ahead, you realise that the biggest draw is the number of surprises it throws at you. Interrupting the well-paved trails of hundreds of trees are centuries-old tombs and modest ‘palaces’. And it is this synchronous landscape of nature and history that has made Sunder Nursery the indispensable spot on every Delhi list. medium94097710So it’s shocking that Delhi had almost lost most of it in 2007. Preparation for the 2010 Commonwealth Games included a proposal to destroy what is now Delhi’s most swinging green space — slashing the Sunder Nursery by half, so that two important roads could be connected. But the trust trying to revive the rebuffed nursery fought the plan and prevailed. It’s hard to imagine what the city would have lost out on. Thousands of trees lining Lutyens Delhi today come from Sunder Nursery (more on that later).In 2021, even after being shut for four months, Sunder Nursery drew six lakh visitors. But its ascent on the Delhi tourist circuit is actually quite surprising, given how little people knew about it even a decade ago. The rush of people is not just of tourists but also of those who have lived in Delhi all their lives. http://youtu.be/ThZL9brOl0UA century-old nursery for Delhi and a tomb for ‘no one’Sunder Nursery is what’s called an arboretum, Delhi’s first — where trees and plants are grown for scientific and educational purposes. By now, over 21,000 saplings have been planted.It has nearly 300 tree species, many of which are rare. Like the arara nut tree, native to Brazil, or cocoa trees from Peru and Bolivia — the only ones in Delhi. Or the Brazilian ironwood, whose small yellow flowers remain fragrant for days even after they fall, and the shaving brush tree from Mexico and Guatemala, with its brush-like bright pink flowers — both extremely rare.When you walk past the trees, the sound of warbling on a hundred different scales surrounds you. It’s near the Delhi Zoo which, besides the vast green expanse, is why birds flock here — 78 bird species are found here. Artificial clay nests have been installed in the park to provide a safe and secure habitat for birds and to raise t… http://t.co/xZweRR0ahh— Sunder Nursery Park (@sundernursery) 1659080110000Studies have shown how quickly being immersed in greenery makes people happier. The 1980s Japan had even come up with a term for it, forest bathing. But, located in posh areas, green spaces often have an access problem in most parts of the world. Sunder Nursery does not. It’s in central Delhi, well-connected, with an affordable entry fee.“For years, my family has been going to Lodhi Gardens for picnics. Options were limited. When Sunder Nursery opened, it became our perfect weekend spot,” says Shayra Mittal, a resident of a south Delhi locality close by. medium94098202There are six Unesco World Heritage structures in the Sunder Nursery landscape. Sunderwala Burj, garden tombs from the 16th century, gives the nursery its name and is the central point of the complex. It is a tomb, but no one knows where the grave is or who it was meant for. Because it is close to Nizamuddin Dargah and Humayun’s Tomb, it’s assumed the tomb must have been meant for someone of high standing.A little ahead is the Sunderwala Mahal. While mahal literally means palace, here, it is a tomb building. This and the Sunderwala Burj originally stood inside an enclosure you entered through a gateway. It’s gone now. There is, however, a Mughal period arched platform to the north of the mahal. medium94097740 medium94097746Next is a lotus pond and another tomb, Lakkarwala, on a high platform with arched doorways on all sides. Inside, verses from the Quran are inscribed in elaborate calligraphy, just like in Sunderwala Burj. On the other side of the park, the tomb of Mirza Muzaffar Hussain (Humayun’s grand-nephew and Akbar’s son-in-law), Chhota Batashewala and the Unknown Mughal’s Tomb are part of the Batashewala complex. They are also on the Unesco list. Finally, the Mughal Pavilion is the structure we spoke of at the beginning. The 18th-century Lakhori brick building was ‘found’ on the route the government wanted for the Commonwealth Games road. At the time, there was overgrowth all around, snakeskins were strewn all over, and the walls were cracked. Its transformation is possibly the most striking. “Historically, Sunder Nursery, Humayun’s Tomb and Purana Qila were all part of the same landscape. What we wanted was to give the people of Delhi multiple attractions in a single setting,” says Ratish Nanda, project director of the Aga Khan Trust for Culture (the Aga Khan is the imam of the Nizari Ismaili Shias), which oversees the nursery and did the restoration. “If any part of the complex is restricted, like what happened at Taj Mahal when Covid broke out, visitors have other options.” medium94097810 medium94097929 medium94097967 medium94097988boxcontentWhat else is on the Sunder Nursery list?Open space is great for kids‘Model farm’ teaches kids about Indian farming practicesEvery weekend, there’s a farmers’ market with local producePublic art displaysA silent book club meets sometimes to read together, quietlyGuided walksVictorian benches (some of them originally so) can be dedicated to loved onesOpen-air theatreThe complex is wheelchair-friendly and allows petsTimings are available hereHow was it revived?In Mughal times, it used to be called Azim Bagh. But it fell into disuse. In 1911, when British administrators decided to move their capital from Calcutta to Delhi, they realised they needed to make the city breathe. At that point, British administrators posted in Delhi had been trying to afforest the Ridge for three decades (the Ridge is now the city’s largest green area though most parts of it are not accessible to people).What is now Sunder Nursery, meanwhile, was set up north of Humayun’s Tomb — a nursery to experiment with plants from across the British Empire and produce saplings to line the avenues of Delhi. medium94098038 medium94098061 medium94098070 medium94098079 medium94098416 medium94098423Over the years, the nursery fell into oblivion, its purpose only to produce what the directorate of horticulture needed and, occasionally, sell a bit to willing local buyers. While the nursery was spread across a 70-acre area, less than 10% of it was being used for cultivating plants. The capital grew more polluted and crowded, and Lodhi Gardens, Deer Park and India Gate provided green refuge. But it was not enough. In 2007, the Centre and the Archaeological Survey of India entered into an agreement with the Aga Khan Trust. The revived nursery would be over a 90-acre area now.The Aga Khan Trust engaged Mohammad Shaheer, eminent landscape architect who had collaborated with them since 1997 on restorations in India and Afghanistan, to work on Sunder Nursery. A difficult balance had to be struck. The monuments were our cultural heritage but some of the trees were almost 100 years old as well. The design, Shaheer said, should not “overpower what exists”. medium94098473The first thing they did was dismantle 22,000sq m of roads that criss-crossed the park. “Instead,” an Aga Khan Trust official said, “a peripheral 3km road was created to access the nursery beds.” By restricting the movement of vehicles, Sunder Nursery became safer. For all conservation work, they used traditional building practices. Shaheer wanted the space to reflect the “traditional Indian concept of [congruence], not division,” he wrote in his masterplan. The 550m central axis, he decided, would have a “Persian carpet design” — seen from the plinth of the Sundar Burj, the garden would look like a carpet.The project would finally be completed in 2018, abiding by all that Shaheer wanted. It was among the 100 greatest places on TIME magazine’s 2018 list and got two awards from the Unesco in 2020 for the restoration and its impact.(Lead image: South East Delhi administration website. All other images are by Anindya Chattopadhyay and from the Aga Khan Trust)