Cubbon Park
Encyclopedia
Bangalore
Bengaluru , formerly called Bengaluru is the capital of the Indian state of Karnataka. Bangalore is nicknamed the Garden City and was once called a pensioner's paradise. Located on the Deccan Plateau in the south-eastern part of Karnataka, Bangalore is India's third most populous city and...
city, located (12.97°N 77.6°E) within the heart of city in the Central Administrative Area. Originally created in 1870, when Major General Richard Sankey
Richard Hieram Sankey
Lieutenant General Sir Richard Hieram Sankey KCB was an officer in the Royal Engineers in the East India Company's army in British India, later transferring to the British Army after the Indian Mutiny and the assumption of Crown rule in India.See also The Sankey Tank in Bangalore which he...
was the then British Chief Engineer of Mysore state
Mysore State
The Kingdom of Mysore was one of the three largest princely states within the erstwhile British Empire of India. Upon India gaining its independence in 1947, the Maharaja of Mysore merged his realm with the Union of India...
, it covered an area of 100 acre (0.404686 km²) and subsequent expansion has taken place and the area reported now is about 300 acres (1.2 km²). It has a rich recorded history of abundant flora and fauna plantations coupled with numerous impressive and aesthetically located buildings and statues of famous personages, in its precincts.
This public park was first named as “Meade’s Park” after Sir John Meade, the acting Commissioner of Mysore in 1870 and subsequently renamed as Cubbon Park after the longest serving commissioner of the time, Sir Mark Cubbon
Mark Cubbon
Lieutenant-General Sir Mark Cubbon KCB was a British army officer with the East India Company who became the British Commissioner of Mysore state in 1834. He retained this office until 1860. He moved the capital from Mysore to Bangalore, helped reform the finances of Mysore, and created a...
. To commemorate the Silver Jubilee of Sri Krishnaraja Wodeyar’s rule in Mysore State, in the year 1927, the park was again renamed as "Sri. Chamarajendra Park", in memory of the 19th Century ruler of the state Sri Chamarajendra Wodeyar (1868 – 94) during whose rule the park came into existence.
The landscaping in the park creatively integrates natural rock outcrops with thickets of trees, massive bamboos, with grassy expanse and flowerbeds and the monuments within its limits, regulated by the Horticulture Department of the Government of Karnataka
Government of Karnataka
The Government of Karnataka is a democratically elected body with the Governor as the constitutional head. The Governor who is appointed for a period of five years appoints the Chief Minister and his council of ministers...
. The predominantly green area of the park has many motorable roads, and the well laid out walking paths running through the park are frequented by early morning walkers and the naturalists who study plants in the tranquil natural environment.
Tourists visiting this Park in the city of Bangalore have nicknamed the city itself as 'Garden City'.
The importance of the Park to the city's environment is best stated by two Urban Architects who have won the national competition to design 'Freedom Park.'
Access
The Park is accessible from M.G. Road, Kasturba road, Hudson Circle and AmbedkarB. R. Ambedkar
Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar , popularly also known as Babasaheb, was an Indian jurist, political leader, philosopher, thinker, anthropologist, historian, orator, prolific writer, economist, scholar, editor, a revolutionary and one of the founding fathers of independent India. He was also the Chairman...
Veedhi (Road). The motorable roads which run through the park are allowed for light motor vehicles only. All locations of the park are accessible through walking paths.
The Park is open to the public at all times but the roads are closed for traffic from 5 A.M to 8 A.M every day.
Botanical assets
Indigenous and exotic botanical species found in the park are about 68 genera and 96 species with a total of around 6000 plants/trees. Indigenous species found in the park are:artocarpus
Artocarpus
Artocarpus is a genus of about 60 trees of Southeast Asian origin and the Pacific, belonging to the mulberry family, Moraceae.-Description:...
, cassia fistula, ficus
Ficus
Ficus is a genus of about 850 species of woody trees, shrubs, vines, epiphytes, and hemiepiphyte in the family Moraceae. Collectively known as fig trees or figs, they are native throughout the tropics with a few species extending into the semi-warm temperate zone. The Common Fig Ficus is a genus of...
, polyalthia
Polyalthia
Polyalthia is a genus of plant in family Annonaceae. It contains the following species :* Polyalthia angustissima Ridl.* Polyalthia chrysotricha Ridley* Polyalthia elmeri Merr....
s etc., and exotic species such as araucaria
Araucaria
Araucaria is a genus of evergreen coniferous trees in the family Araucariaceae. There are 19 extant species in the genus, with a highly disjunct distribution in New Caledonia , Norfolk Island, eastern Australia, New Guinea, Argentina, Chile, and southern Brazil.-Description:Araucaria are mainly...
, bamboo
Bamboo
Bamboo is a group of perennial evergreens in the true grass family Poaceae, subfamily Bambusoideae, tribe Bambuseae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family....
, castanospermum australe, grevillea robusta
Grevillea robusta
Grevillea robusta, commonly known as the southern silky oak or Silky-oak, or Australian Silver-oak, is the largest species in the genus Grevillea. It is a native of eastern coastal Australia, in riverine, subtropical and dry rainforest environments receiving more than 1,000 mm per year of...
, millettia
Millettia
Millettia is a genus of legume in the Fabaceae family.It consists of about 150 species, which are distributed in the tropical and subtropical regions of the world.-Species:Species include:* Millettia aurea*Millettia brandisiana...
, peltophorum
Peltophorum
Peltophorum is a genus of between 5–15 species of flowering plants in the family Fabaceae, subfamily Caesalpinioideae. The genus is native to certain tropical regions across the world...
, schinus molle
Schinus molle
Peruvian Pepper is an evergreen tree that grows to 15 meters . It is native to the Peruvian Andes...
, swietenia mahagoni
Swietenia mahagoni
Swietenia mahagoni, commonly known as the West Indies Mahogany, is a species of Swietenia native to southern Florida, USA, The Bahamas, Cuba, Jamaica, and Hispaniola. It is the species from which the original mahogany wood was produced....
, tabebuia
Tabebuia
Tabebuia is a neotropical genus of about 100 species in the tribe Tecomeae of the family Bignoniaceae. The species range from northern Mexico and southern Florida south to northern Argentina, including the Caribbean islands of Hispaniola and Cuba...
. sp etc.
Amongst the ornamental and flowering exotic trees lining the roads in the park are the Grevillea robusta
Grevillea robusta
Grevillea robusta, commonly known as the southern silky oak or Silky-oak, or Australian Silver-oak, is the largest species in the genus Grevillea. It is a native of eastern coastal Australia, in riverine, subtropical and dry rainforest environments receiving more than 1,000 mm per year of...
(silver oak)—the first oaks introduced to Bangalore from Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
—and the delonix
Delonix
Delonix is a genus of flowering plants in the pea family, Fabaceae, subfamily Caesalpinioideae. It contains trees that are native to Madagascar and east Africa. By far the best known species is the Royal Poinciana ....
or the gulmohar tree (bright red flowers with long petals) along the Cubbon road in the park, which is a widely cultivated tropical ornamental tree around the world.
Avenues
The avenue of araucarias along with cannaCanna
-Places:Australia*Canna, a locality in the Shire of Morawa, Western AustraliaItaly*Canna, Calabria, a comune in the Province of Cosenza*Cannae, a frazione in the Province of Barletta-Andria-Trani, ApuliaScotland*Canna, Scotland, an island in Lochaber...
beds on either sides of the road from the Central Public Library to Hudson circle, avenue of Swieteninas in the Northern side of the park, the Java fig
Ficus
Ficus is a genus of about 850 species of woody trees, shrubs, vines, epiphytes, and hemiepiphyte in the family Moraceae. Collectively known as fig trees or figs, they are native throughout the tropics with a few species extending into the semi-warm temperate zone. The Common Fig Ficus is a genus of...
avenue along the road leading to the Government Museum, polyalthia avenue along the road from Queen’s statue to King Edward
Edward VII of the United Kingdom
Edward VII was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910...
statue and the chestnut
Chestnut
Chestnut , some species called chinkapin or chinquapin, is a genus of eight or nine species of deciduous trees and shrubs in the beech family Fagaceae, native to temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. The name also refers to the edible nuts they produce.-Species:The chestnut belongs to the...
tree avenue from the Chamarajendra statue to Siddalingaiah circle are testimony to the botanical richness of the park. From the Attara Kacheri towards the East, terrace garden developed on a gradient provides a beautiful sight.Other attractions at the Park are the Ringwood circle, lotus pond and bamboo grove nook.
Historical buildings and monuments integral to the park
The formal gardens, from the central hall of the original Attara Kacheri (means 18 government offices) now the Karnataka High CourtKarnataka High Court
The Karnataka High Court is the High Court of the Indian state of Karnataka. It is located in Bangalore, the capital city of Karnataka. The High Court functions out of a red brick building known as Attara Kacheri...
, extends alontrng the ceal promenade developed symmetrically with avenues, to the Museum building. Another impressive artistic structure in susu Iyer potty susu Hall, which houses the Central Library with a rose garden as a frontage. Other buildings located within or at the periphery of the park are 1) the Indira Priyadarshini Children’s Library, 2) the Venkatappa Art Gallery, 3) the Aquarium (stated to be the second largest in India), 4) the YMCA, 5) Yuvanika — the State Youth Centre, 6) Century Club, 7) Press Club, 8) Jawahar Bal Bhavan, 9) Tennis Pavilion, 10) the Cheshire Dyer Memorial Hall and 11) the Ottawa Chatter.
A bandstand, in an octagonal shape made with cast-iron, was built in the early part of the 1900s. Before India’s Independence, the British Royal Air Force used to play western band music at the band stand every Saturday evening.
An attraction for children is the well planned children's amusement park as part of Jawahar Bal Bhavan, which has the toy train, Puttani Express that runs (0.75 miles or 1.2 km) within the Park, the Doll museum and a boating facility. A 20 million year old fossilized tree — a gift from the Geological Survey of India, is also reported at the park.
Memorials in the form of marble statues in honour of Queen Victoria (installed in 1906), King Edward VII (installed in 1919), Major General Sir Mark Cubbon, Sri Chamarajendra Wodeyar (installed in 1927) and Sir K. Sheshadri Iyer (installed (in 1913) are seen located in front of the historical buildings within the park.
Attara Kacheri
Attara Kacheri, built in 1864 A.D during British rule, is a stone structure in an intense red hue, a two storied building with CorinthianCorinthian order
The Corinthian order is one of the three principal classical orders of ancient Greek and Roman architecture. The other two are the Doric and Ionic. When classical architecture was revived during the Renaissance, two more orders were added to the canon, the Tuscan order and the Composite order...
columns in Gothic
Gothic Revival architecture
The Gothic Revival is an architectural movement that began in the 1740s in England...
Style of architecture and is located at the entrance to the Park. The Public offices (Secretariat of the Government of Karnataka) were located here from 1868 AD to 1956 AD, which were later moved to the Vidhana Soudha, opposite to it. The building now accommodates the Karnataka High Court
Karnataka High Court
The Karnataka High Court is the High Court of the Indian state of Karnataka. It is located in Bangalore, the capital city of Karnataka. The High Court functions out of a red brick building known as Attara Kacheri...
. In the Central Hall a portrait of Sir Mark Cubbon decorates the ceiling. An equestrian statue of Cubbon by Baron Marochetti is located at the back of the building..
Museum
The State Archeological Museum, one of the oldest in IndiaIndia
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, built in 1876 by Colonel Sankey, located within the Park, is similar in design to the Attara Kacheri in its architectural style and hue. While the original collection in the museum belonged to Benjamin L. Rice
Benjamin L. Rice
B. Lewis Rice was the director of the Department of Archaeology of Mysore state in India and an epigraphist. He is known for his work Epigraphia Carnatica which contains his study on about 9,000 inscriptions he found in the Old Mysore area....
of the Mysore Gazetteer
Gazetteer
A gazetteer is a geographical dictionary or directory, an important reference for information about places and place names , used in conjunction with a map or a full atlas. It typically contains information concerning the geographical makeup of a country, region, or continent as well as the social...
, antiquities from Mohenjodaro period are on display in the Museum
Museum
A museum is an institution that cares for a collection of artifacts and other objects of scientific, artistic, cultural, or historical importance and makes them available for public viewing through exhibits that may be permanent or temporary. Most large museums are located in major cities...
. Exhibits in the Museum include specimens of Vijaynagar and Halebid architecture
Architecture
Architecture is both the process and product of planning, designing and construction. Architectural works, in the material form of buildings, are often perceived as cultural and political symbols and as works of art...
, ancient coins and stone inscriptions as old as 5000 years...
Seshadri Iyer memorial hall
Tuscan order
Among canon of classical orders of classical architecture, the Tuscan order's place is due to the influence of the Italian Sebastiano Serlio, who meticulously described the five orders including a "Tuscan order", "the solidest and least ornate", in his fourth book of Regole generalii di...
and Carinthian columns, in honour of Sir K.Seshadri Iyer who was Dewan
Dewan
The originally Persian title of dewan has, at various points in Islamic history, designated various differing though similar functions.-Etymology:...
of Mysore State
Mysore State
The Kingdom of Mysore was one of the three largest princely states within the erstwhile British Empire of India. Upon India gaining its independence in 1947, the Maharaja of Mysore merged his realm with the Union of India...
from 1883 to 1901, is an impressive red building with gables. It houses the Seshadri Memorial library.The memorial building is ensconced in the middle of the park, framed by the greenery of the park and with a beautiful frontage of the rose garden.The Library has an area of 300 km² and functions as the Apex of the Karnataka Public Libraries system, which is governed by State Library Authority.In the year 2000 AD, the Library was awarded the Raja Rammohan Roy Library Foundation Award for the best state central library in India in recognition of its outstanding contribution to meritorious services rendered in the spread of knowledge and gearing up of library movement in the city of Bangalore in particular and in the state of Karnataka in general. The library has presently a collection of 2.65 lakh books and also a Braille section.
Preservation Act, 1979
The Preservation Act,1979 passed by the Government of Karnataka to preserve the uniqueness of the park is under the provision of Karnataka Government Park (Preservation) Act, 1975 , which states:
Accordingly, it is directed that neither any land should be granted to nor any further constructions be permitted whether temporary or permanent by any organization or individuals in the Cubbon Park and Lalbagh areas except the constructions taken up by the Horticulture Department in furtherance of the objectives of the department.
Awareness campaign
The Centre for Environment Education (CEE), India, in the year 2006, embarked on a project to develop a brochure on the Park and involve the young in several activities to help them to explore the park and through it, learn more about the wider environment. The brochure brought out as a joint effort of CEE, Department of Horticulture, ING Vysa Bank and volunteers brings out all the facts about the park and also invites, through the post card attached to it, for interested individuals to become ‘Friends of the Cubbon Park.’.External links
- the Cubbon Park
- Deccan Herald : "He sure did make a mark!" on Cubbon Park history