Nishat Bagh, Srinagar, Jammu & Kashmir India

Nishat Bagh is a Mughal construction and has interesting aspects to its design which are not seen in any other garden. It is one of the three Mughal Gardens lying on the banks of Dal Lake and flanked by Zabarwan Mountains and Pir Panjal Mountain ranges. The Bagh was planned and constructed in 1633 AD by Asaf Khan, brother of Nur Jahan. The garden encloses flower beds, trees and numerous fountains. A channel of water forms the cross-section of Nishat Garden. One also finds buildings of Mughal Era with artistic constructions. The Gopi Tirth is a spring behind Nishat Bagh, serving as a source of pure water to the garden. The 12 terraces rising in Nishat Bagh are representative of a zodiac sign each. This is a unique feature of this garden, and is a splendid sight. The Nehru Garden is close by and one can use a Shikhara (ferry) to reach it from Dal Lake.

The brightest spot in the garden is the second terrace. This, in the words of R.C. Kak, "with its thick groves of Persian lilacs, its high, broad and vertical cascade of sparkling water and its beds of brilliant pansies, is the most fragrant beauty". R.C. Kak further says that the "twenty-three small niches in the arched recess immediately behind the cascade were originally intended for rows of lamps, whose flickering light, reflected and multiplied in the transparent sheet of water behind which they lay, must have presented a singularly pleasing spectacle at night". Mrs. Stuart, in her poetic language, quoted by Dr. Sufi, says : "The stream tears foaming down the carved cascade, fountains play in every tank and water-course, filling the garden with their joyous life and movement".

The architecture of Nishat Bagh spreads over the large terraces lined with avenues of Chinar and Cypress trees which starts from the lakeshore and reaches up to an artificial fa‡ade at the hill end. Beginning from the edge of Dal Lake it includes twelve terraces which rises from to bottom to top. It is believed that each terrace represents a single Zodiac. The garden is further divided into two parts - the public garden for the mardanas and the private garden for the Zananas. Nishad Bagh resembles with the Shalimar bagh which is another Mughal garden of Kashmir Valley which is famous for its exotic look. Both the gardens receive water from the same source .Designed in east- west direction these gardens have a separate terrace garden for the ladies which is situated in the upper part of the garden while men`s garden is situated in the Lower part of the garden. Usually the upper part of the terrace garden receives water from the streams of the mountain and the lower part is connected with Dal Lake. A central canal runs through the centre of the garden which is 4 mts wide and carries a water depth of 20 centimeters. Water flows from first terrace to the road level which can be approached through shikaras. All the terraces of the garden is decorated with fountains and exotic flower beds which give an enchanting look to the garden. The garden has number of seats and benches fore its visitors. It includes twelve cascades which have separate meaning. While the first chamber is a water collection chamber the following chambers help in shifting the water from one level to another. Overall the water flows gracefully from the top to bottom passing through every cascade.