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'I am the caretaker of world's most beautiful garden'

Last Updated 27 February 2015, 02:14 IST

For Sukhram, the art of beautifying the grand gardens in the home of the country’s first citizen has come in  legacy.

The 55-year-old caretaker of Mughal Garden in the Rashtrapati Bhavan belongs to a family of gardeners whose half a dozen members have served here at some point of time in past few decades.

“I have learnt the tricks of gardening from my father and elder brother and that is why I am the caretaker of the world’s most beautiful garden,” he says.

Sukhram has personally planted and tended some of the exotic flowers which are the pride of the President’s Estate.

Nearly 5,000 tulips, 200 varieties of roses, 250 bonsai plants, 80 varieties of cactus along with flowers like Dahlia, Calendula, Gerbera, Linaria, Larkspur, Gaznia, Verbena, Viola, Pansy Carnation, Chrysanthemum, Marigold and Salvia are in full bloom in the Garden.

 “For the past 33 years, I have been serving Mughal Garden and will retire in 2018,” says Sukharm, who claims gardening is not just his occupation but also his hobby.

Sukhram recalls the days when former president A P J Abdul Kalam took big steps to personally beautify the garden.  “He used to come to the garden personally and seek information from us on the blossoming flowers,” he says.

“He often used to interact with schoolchildren who visited the garden and spent time with them and take pictures,” the gardener adds.

“The Herbal Garden, known for its medicinal plants, and the Spiritual Garden, which has plants and shrubs treated as holy by different religions, are concepts of Kalam,” he says

Sukharm, whose family hails from Haryana, was born and brought up in the President’s Estate and has served in lmost all sections of Mughal Garden.

“We make organic things like perfumes, oils from the produce of medicinal plants,” he says.
Designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens for Lady Harding, the Mughal Garden’s beautification is a gift of W R Mustoe, who planted the proper shrubs.

The  garden is designed in a Mughal style with canals, terraces and fountains.

The garden opens to public for just one month in an year during spring. The visitors’ entry is open till March 14 from 10 am to 4 pm, except Monday.

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(Published 27 February 2015, 02:14 IST)

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