Sunder Nursery to have a Garden House to showcase India’s biodiversity

What started as a nursery in the early 1900s as the British built the new Capital, it fed the city with native and exotic species of plants and trees. Post-independence, it moved from being a government nursery to becoming an important urban park developed by the Aga Khan Trust for Culture (AKTC).

At the event, a book ‘Gardens Within A Garden’ (Mapin) was also released that traces the journey of the Nursery’s revival over the past years, documenting the site’s original conditions, the restoration of its built heritage, the renewal and enhancement of its ecological character, and its emergence as a vital urban space in New Delhi.

The book ‘Gardens Within A Garden’ traces Sunder Nursery’s revival and its emergence as a vital urban space in New Delhi. (Image: Navya Dua)

Edited by landscape architect and academic Geetawahi Dua and Archana Saad Akhtar, Programmes Director for Design & Outreach, AKTC, the event had Luis Monreal, Director General of the Aga Khan Trust for Culture; Srinivas Katikithala, Secretary Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs; Anil Rai Gupta, MD, Havells; book contributors; senior architects and government officials in the audience.

In his speech, Monreal spoke of how the book records the history of the site, its built heritage, its plant and animal life, and how the space has been developed for people.

Drawing parallels between Sunder Nursery and the Persian concept of ‘pairidaeza’ or paradise, Srinivas spoke of how the restoration of the Nursery has recreated a civilisational imagination of heaven on earth.

Supporting the vision for the Garden House, Gupta emphasised that the initiative reflects a corporate responsibility to promote humane and liveable cities, where “progress and preservation must move forward together” to counter rapid urban densification.

While the book marks the completion of one phase of work, the Garden House project is expected to add to the vibrancy of the Nursery, which sees over 1.6 million visitors annually.

Ratish Nanda, CEO, AKTC, acknowledged the collaborative effort of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) and the Central Public Works Department (CPWD) in the renewal of the Nursery, also reminding the audience of the contribution of late Professor Mohammad Shaheer, the landscape designer and thinker for the Nursery design.

Navya Dua is an intern with The Indian Express