Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): December is yet to take Bhopal into its icy embrace. Noon is warmer than morning and evening, but late lies the sun in Aurora’s quilt, so rise late, the feathered friends. The weather will soon change, and if it rains, the city will be under the blanket of thick fog; and its residents will search for a cosy corner.
Many will light bonfires to beat the cold. The winter in Bhopal is not as severe as it is in other places. So, it is the right time to visit the city, and Chinar Park, close to New Market and Shivaji Nagar, is the place to begin with. It looks like a canvas painted with the mass of pulsing foliage. It is a joy to sit on green grass in the park under the warm sunlight. It gives the feel of real winter.
The park lies in the heart of the city. Yet, the nosy vehicles do not disturb tranquillity of the place, because of huge trees full of green leaves and flowers and boughs in which nestle Bulbuls, the Indian Nightingale. They twitter throughout the day.
Adjacent to Chinar Park, is Rose Garden, where flower shows are held every year in January when winter reaches its peak. The fairy queens in red, yellow, dark red, white, pink and various other tinges take the centre stage of the garden. Many citizens flock to this place to bask in sunshine and see their beloved queens fluttering and dancing in the winter breeze.
When it is spring, the Chinar Park turns into a heaven on earth, because then, the trees there are in full bloom. Kachnar trees (mountain ebony), bougainvillea, Gulmohor (flamboyant), and Amaltas (golden shower) portray nature in stately colours. Trees and grass are well trimmed. There are many other plants that generate positive vibes and keep the place cool even in summers when the city experiences over 40 degrees Celsius temperature.
The winding walking tracks inside the park remain strewn with flower petals and dry leaves that fall from the trees in the spring. Then a wild fragrance hangs over the boughs. Under the silvery moonlight, it turns into a fairyland and reminds one of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. In the rainy season, the park wears a dark green look. Besides luxuriant kinds of plants and thick coppice, there are sculptures of various animals made of waste material.
These sculptures that generally attract children have resulted from community effort, called Art for Change, set up by a group of local artists and social workers whose object was to raise awareness about waste management and about the importance of protecting the environment among the residents of Shivaji Nagar. As part of the project, they collected waste material to make figures of various animals.
This is the place where art flowers in the womb of nature and takes a visitor far away from the frantic haste of daily life. Chinar Park inspires anyone to work for Mother Nature through whom all beings breathe. There are many gardens other than Chinar Park in the city.
This is the reason why it looks more verdant than any other cities in the country. A visitor may also come across a few coochie- cooing young couples. Chinar, derived from the Persian word, means What a Fire. Because of its vibrant look and manicured lawns, the garden has been rightly christened as Chinar Park.
