Kalam’s vision gave Rashtrapati Bhavan its herbal garden

LUCKNOW: The herbal garden of Rashtrapati Bhavan, which consists of a large number of medicinal and aromatic plants, owes its existence to the vision of APJ Abdul Kalam. The former president roped in Lucknow-based Central Institute of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants CIMAP to realise his dream. The institute supplied and planted all the medicinal plants in the herbal garden.
Recalling his meeting with Kalam at Rashtrapati Bhavan, senior scientist at CIMAP, AK Singh, said, “The herbal garden was initiated in 2002 during his (Kalam’s) tenure.My job was to identify the place and its layout, and ensure the delivery and plantation of the saplings.” The scientist-president remained closely involved with the project, Singh added.
“The speciality of Dr Kalam’s chamber was that it utilised the natural light during daytime (to save electricity), and he insisted in working under natural light. Kalam asked CIMAP to focus on medicinal and aromatic plants, as they are required by the industry (both in India and abroad),” Singh said.
In August 2003, President Kalam was the chief guest at the silver jubilee function of CIMAP. In his address, Kalam told CIMAP to focus on establishing linkage between modern sciences of medicinal and aromatic plants with age-old traditional knowledge of herbs. He also stressed on conserving the rich biodiversity in the country.
“He planted a Rudraksh sapling at the institute and spent 2-3 hours interacting with scientists, children and farmers,” Singh recalled.